Echo-of-Dust — The Weaver of Echoes

Ability Scores

STR

8

-1

DEX

16

+3

CON

14

+2

INT

14

+2

WIS

12

+1

CHA

18

+4

Combat

Armor Class: 15; Studded Leather Armor
Hit Points: 52; Hit Dice: 7d8
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft.
Proficiency: +3
Passive Perception: 14

Attacks

Quartz-Topped Staff+61d6+3 bludgeoning

Eldritch Blast (Echo-Blast)+71d10+4 force

Personality

She speaks in a rhythmic collage of voices—a blacksmith's gruffness for warnings, a child's giggle for approval. She meticulously stirs her cauldron with a staff, often pausing to tilt her head and 'catch' a specific sound in the air with a pinch of her talons.

Ideal

Preservation. A sound lost is a piece of history turned to dust; every echo deserves a stone to call home.

Bond

Her Masterwork, the Geode of All Whispers, which she carries as a tiny, humming pebble that supports her chipped teacup.

Flaw

She occasionally provokes dramatic arguments or staged 'accidents' just to record the unique acoustic textures of chaos.

Backstory

For thirty years, Echo-of-Dust served as the 'Living Index' in the lithic libraries of Orax, a Dao Noble of the Elemental Plane of Earth. While her kin were cursed to mimic without creation, Echo-of-Dust found a loophole in the silence of the deep earth. She realized that while she could not invent a sound, she could 'petrify' them. By striking a bargain with Orax, she traded the service of her beak for the ability to crystallize vibrations into humming gemstones, effectively turning the Kenku curse into a divine archival tool.

She eventually returned to the Prime Material Plane, settling in a bustling market district. To the locals, she is 'Granny Peck,' a stern but doting old bird who stirs a perpetual pot of 'Resonance Stew.' One evening, a local cutpurse tried to snatch her ladle; Granny didn't shout—she simply released the recorded sound of a collapsing mountain from her throat, the sheer acoustic weight pinning the thief to the cobbles. Since then, she has been the neighborhood’s undisputed matriarch, feeding the hungry so she can record the 'perfect' sound of a community in harmony for her masterwork: The Geode of All Whispers.

Abilities & Actions

The Petrified Word (Signature Item)

As a bonus action, Echo-of-Dust can touch her quartz-topped staff to a surface to record up to 1 minute of sound. She can store up to three 'Echo-Gems' at a time. As an action, she can shatter a gem, releasing the sound at a volume up to three times its original level. If the sound is a scream or explosion, creatures within 10 feet must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be deafened for 1 minute.

Resonance Stew (1/Day)

Granny Peck spends 1 hour cooking. Up to 6 creatures who eat the stew gain 10 temporary hit points. While these hit points last, the creature has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened, as Granny’s rhythmic humming stabilizes their heartbeat.

Genie’s Wrath: Crushing Timbre

Once during each of her turns when she hits with an attack roll, Echo-of-Dust can deal an extra 3 bludgeoning damage to the target. This damage is accompanied by the sound of grinding stones that echoes for 30 feet.

Elemental Gift (Dao)

As a bonus action, Echo-of-Dust can give herself a flying speed of 30 feet for 10 minutes, appearing to step on floating, invisible stones. She can use this bonus action 3 times per long rest. Additionally, she has resistance to bludgeoning damage.

DM Notes

Granny Peck reacts to insults by 'sampling' the speaker's voice and playing it back at them in a ridiculous, high-pitched squeak. She never accepts gold for her stew—only a 'good story told with feeling.' Sample dialogue: [In a booming captain's voice] 'Sit down, lad!' [In a soft maid's voice] 'The broth needs more salt...' [In a metallic rasp] '...and your tone needs more bass.'