Pipin ‘Up-Draft’ Fizzlewick, a Forest Gnome Gnome Wizard — D&D 5e NPC portrait
#0188

Pipin ‘Up-Draft’ Fizzlewick

"The Skybound Seedling"

Male (He/Him) · Young Adult, 46 years old

Ability Scores

STR
8
-1
DEX
14
+2
CON
14
+2
INT
18
+4
WIS
10
+0
CHA
14
+2

Combat

Armor Class
15
12 Dex + Mage Armor
Hit Points
44
Hit Dice: 7d6
Initiative
+2
Speed
25 ft.
Proficiency
+3
Passive Perception
13

Attacks

Arcane Burst+72d10 force
Dagger+51d4+2 piercing

Personality

Personality

Pipin speaks at a blistering pace, often finishing his own sentences before his listener can process the first half. He constantly adjusts his goggles and smells faintly of ozone and pine needles. He treats every high-altitude location as a personal victory and often 'rates' the air quality of taverns based on their elevation.

Ideal

Horizon. 'The higher we go, the more of the world we see, and the more of the world we see, the more we understand our place in it.'

Bond

The 'Aero-Codex,' a soot-stained ledger filled with frantic calculations on how to make magic permanent without the use of 'clunky' gravity.

Flaw

He is utterly terrified of being underground or in tight spaces where he cannot see the sky, often suffering from 'vertigo-in-reverse' when forced into caves.

Backstory

Pipin was born in the shadowed cradle of the Deep-Root Woods, where the sun is merely a rumor whispered through thick canopies. While his kin were content talking to squirrels and carving wooden whistles, Pipin spent his youth staring at the tiny patches of blue visible through the leaves. His life changed forever when he climbed the Great Sentinel Tree and witnessed a migration of Aarakocra passing through a thunderstorm. While others saw a hazard, Pipin saw the ultimate liberation. He realized that the ground wasn't a home; it was a tether that needed to be cut.

Rejecting the traditional 'earth-bound' magic of his ancestors, Pipin began a frantic study of Conjuration, though he found the practice of summoning demons and elementals 'dreadfully heavy.' He theorized that if one could conjure a physical object, one could surely conjure 'solidified lift.' His first successful experiment—a self-inflating lounge chair made of semi-solid mist—floated him three hundred feet into the air before popping. He has been falling and flying in equal measure ever since, fueled by the belief that gravity is simply a lack of imagination.

Abilities & Actions

Summon Cloud-Falcon (1/Day)

As an action, Pipin conjures a Large, semi-solid creature made of mist and golden light. It uses the statistics of a Giant Eagle but has a fly speed of 80 ft. and can hover. It lasts for 1 hour or until Pipin's concentration is broken. The falcon features a comfortable, conjured saddle that smells of fresh pine.

Gravity's Insult (Reaction)

When Pipin or a creature he can see within 30 feet starts falling, he can use his reaction to cast Feather Fall without expending a spell slot. While under this effect, the target can move horizontally 2 feet for every 1 foot they fall, as if gliding on spectral wings.

The Up-Draft Swap (Recharge 5–6)

As a bonus action, Pipin can teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space he can see. Alternatively, he can swap places with a Small or Medium conjured creature within 30 feet. Immediately after he teleports, a burst of pressurized air pushes all creatures within 5 feet of his arrival point 10 feet away.

Goggles of the Gale

While wearing his signature brass-and-quartz goggles, Pipin has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight and cannot be blinded by magical light or high-velocity winds.

DM Notes

Pipin should be played as a high-energy guide or an eccentric transport specialist. He will likely try to convince the party that walking is 'terribly inefficient.' Sample dialogue: 'Oh! Look at those thermals! If we catch that current, we could bypass the entire goblin blockade and be in the capital for tea—or at least for a very high-velocity snack!' Signature gesture: Pushing his goggles down onto his eyes whenever he's about to cast a spell, then immediately pushing them back up to 'check the math' on his parchment.