Sourwind Hedskor (Gnome Alchemist)
Here's another gnome NPC to use in your campaigns. Enjoy!
“Separately, any one of these components could strip the skin off your face in a heartbeat. Combine them in exact proportions and you get a bracing beverage that will tickle your nose and make you the life of any party. Wait! Did I already add the toe-wort?"
Sourwind (NG) is an awkward, 52-year-old, female rock gnome who channels the energy that most gnomes spend on socializing, eating, and pranking into alchemical research and experimentation instead. She runs a cluttered alchemist’s shop called Potions Plus where she concocts a variety of intoxicants, restoratives, fragrances, and other alchemical curiosities. Some are effective. Some are hokum. A small number are quite popular and always in demand. Almost all were accidental discoveries.
Sourwind and her siblings all suffer from silent but particularly foul flatulence, the unfortunate result of an unwise prank her father, an adventuring bard of some minor celebrity, once played on a vengeful hag. Much of her research is devoted to curing this curse. Because of the curse, she is a fanatical user of perfumes and air fresheners, many she developed herself. Potions Plus is an olfactory experience that cannot be captured by mere words or panicked gesticulations.
Bond: I must cure my family of the “silent but deadly” curse that plagues us.
Flaw: I tend to blurt out whatever is on my mind, often insulting others by accident.
Play Sourwind as always in deep contemplation regarding several alchemical experiments at any given moment. Periodically blurt out these thoughts regardless of what is going on around you. Never fully engage in social activities; your conversational style is closer to that of a diver coming up for air than of a charismatic bard working a room. Because of this, your comments are rarely on point. When they are, you miss subtle but important social cues and are frequently unintentionally offensive. The closer you come to an experimental breakthrough, the more excitable and obsessive you are about that experiment. Talk about it with anyone who is unfortunate enough to engage you in conversation at a speed that no one can fully track.
Strongly Like: intense conversations about alchemy
Like: discussing new ideas, jointly working on experiments, general curiosity about the world, sympathy regarding the curse
Dislike: dogma, lack of curiosity, dismissal of alchemical arts
Strongly Dislike: forcing dogma onto others, making fun of the curse
The Curie-Cod Foundation does just that with their Erent Materials Absorption System (EMA for those who are into naming their gear), a full-body protective suit of the highest quality and brightest colors. The suit includes a masked helmet, full-body onesie made of tough but flexible materials, and a complex filtration system that all work together to absorb poisons and keep the wearer just a little bit safer when something goes amiss at their alchemical workstation.
Upon activating EMA, the suit provides protection for up to 1 hour. Some chaffing is known to occur with prolonged use, but a healthy helping of Curie-Cod’s Chafe-away will clear that up in no time. EMA cannot be worn in combination with armor.
The following is the stat block for this gadget, using the rules in my Epic Gnomish Inventing supplement available on the DM's Guild (link below).
Sourwind Hedskor
(sour-WIND HEAD-score)“Separately, any one of these components could strip the skin off your face in a heartbeat. Combine them in exact proportions and you get a bracing beverage that will tickle your nose and make you the life of any party. Wait! Did I already add the toe-wort?"
Sourwind (NG) is an awkward, 52-year-old, female rock gnome who channels the energy that most gnomes spend on socializing, eating, and pranking into alchemical research and experimentation instead. She runs a cluttered alchemist’s shop called Potions Plus where she concocts a variety of intoxicants, restoratives, fragrances, and other alchemical curiosities. Some are effective. Some are hokum. A small number are quite popular and always in demand. Almost all were accidental discoveries.
Sourwind and her siblings all suffer from silent but particularly foul flatulence, the unfortunate result of an unwise prank her father, an adventuring bard of some minor celebrity, once played on a vengeful hag. Much of her research is devoted to curing this curse. Because of the curse, she is a fanatical user of perfumes and air fresheners, many she developed herself. Potions Plus is an olfactory experience that cannot be captured by mere words or panicked gesticulations.
Using Sourwind
Ideal: Inquiry and curiosity are the roots of progress and self improvement.Bond: I must cure my family of the “silent but deadly” curse that plagues us.
Flaw: I tend to blurt out whatever is on my mind, often insulting others by accident.
Play Sourwind as always in deep contemplation regarding several alchemical experiments at any given moment. Periodically blurt out these thoughts regardless of what is going on around you. Never fully engage in social activities; your conversational style is closer to that of a diver coming up for air than of a charismatic bard working a room. Because of this, your comments are rarely on point. When they are, you miss subtle but important social cues and are frequently unintentionally offensive. The closer you come to an experimental breakthrough, the more excitable and obsessive you are about that experiment. Talk about it with anyone who is unfortunate enough to engage you in conversation at a speed that no one can fully track.
Recurring Appearances
You are most likely to encounter the party either at Potions Plus or when you’re running errands related to the shop. Incrementally shed your social awkwardness with the party over time; become more comfortable and outgoing. More likes lead to “friends-and-family” discounts and eventually engaging the party to help with the curse. More dislikes lead to “suckers-and-enemies” price markups and a defensive demeanor.Strongly Like: intense conversations about alchemy
Like: discussing new ideas, jointly working on experiments, general curiosity about the world, sympathy regarding the curse
Dislike: dogma, lack of curiosity, dismissal of alchemical arts
Strongly Dislike: forcing dogma onto others, making fun of the curse
One Off
Sourwind hires the party to rescue an assistant who was sent on a scavenging expedition (alternatively, an assistant hires the party to find Sourwind). One of the following has happened to him/her: is lost in a cavern full of monsters, was taken by bandits who demand a ransom, is trapped in a haunted tomb, is being held by authorities on fake charges.Story Arc
Sourwind hires the party to do one of the following: clear an area of monsters before she sets up a new shop, uncover lost lore regarding the hag that cursed Sourwind’s family, deliver badly needed medicine to a combat zone, find an ill patient before he or she spreads a dangerous disease.Side Quest
While working with Sourwind one of the following occurs: an experiment ends in a disaster and must be cleaned up, a potion has an unexpected side-effect on one of the party members, thieves raid Potions Plus and steal an unstable concoction, the party must collect the ingredients for a special meal.Gadget: Errant Materials Absorption system
Look. Any alchemist worth their supplies will tell you that an experiment can take a turn for the worse in a heartbeat. Come to think of it, alchemist friends, families, and neighbors can tell you the same thing. While the uncertainty of mixing several volatile compounds just to sate one’s curiosity is part of the fun of being an alchemist, one generally does not become a legend in the field by accidentally offing oneself early in one’s career (those obvious contradictions notwithstanding). It's time someone put the safety back into alchemy. (A rudimentary exploration of the etymological arts will reveal the original gnome term for alchemy to roughly translate to “no, it really is safe.”)The Curie-Cod Foundation does just that with their Erent Materials Absorption System (EMA for those who are into naming their gear), a full-body protective suit of the highest quality and brightest colors. The suit includes a masked helmet, full-body onesie made of tough but flexible materials, and a complex filtration system that all work together to absorb poisons and keep the wearer just a little bit safer when something goes amiss at their alchemical workstation.
Upon activating EMA, the suit provides protection for up to 1 hour. Some chaffing is known to occur with prolonged use, but a healthy helping of Curie-Cod’s Chafe-away will clear that up in no time. EMA cannot be worn in combination with armor.
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- Epic Gnomish Inventing
Rules supplement for creating gadgets. - Gnome Concept Packages 1
Collection of gnome-related backgrounds, feats, magic items, and more. - Great House Servants
Collection of backgrounds centered on the servants of a great house. - Mildew's Revenge
A first-level adventure. - Random Plot Generator
A tool for creating adventure prompts for one-shots and story arcs. - The WhatNot Shop’s Absurd Accoutrements
A collection of unusual magical items. - The WhatNot Shop's Bracing Beverages
A collection of strange potions. - The WhatNot Shop's Common Curiosities and Trivial Trinkets
A collection of common magic items and trinkets. - The WhatNot Shop's Dastardly Doodads and Orc Oddities
A collection of orc-themed common magic items and trinkets.
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