Pip-Pip Marigold-Heart, a Kobold Cleric — D&D 5e NPC portrait
#0384

Pip-Pip Marigold-Heart

"The Gentle Reaper"

Female, she/her · Young adult, 14 years

Ability Scores

STR
8
-1
DEX
14
+2
CON
13
+1
INT
10
+0
WIS
18
+4
CHA
16
+3

Combat

Armor Class
15
Scale mail + DEX
Hit Points
45
Hit Dice: 7d8
Initiative
+2
Speed
30 ft.
Proficiency
+3
Passive Perception
14

Attacks

Marigold Scythe+51d8+1 slashing
Sacred Flame (Cantrip)DC 15 DEX save2d8 radiant
Toll the Dead (Cantrip)DC 15 WIS save2d8 or 2d12 necrotic

Personality

Personality

Pip-Pip giggles constantly—a bright, chittering sound that echoes in crypts and sickrooms alike. She greets ghosts with 'Oh hello, friend! Still hanging around, are we?' and pats skeletons on the skull like beloved pets. She never walks when she can skip, and she's incapable of having a serious conversation without making at least three puns about 'grave matters' or 'dead-lines.' When someone is dying, her voice drops to a gentle whisper, and she hums lullabies that sound like windchimes.

Ideal

Transition — Death is not an ending to fear, but a doorway to walk through with dignity, love, and maybe a few good laughs along the way.

Bond

Her patchwork quilt of names—every soul she's helped find peace is sewn into its fabric, and she'll protect their memory fiercer than any dragon guards gold.

Flaw

She refuses to use her necromantic powers to harm the living, even in self-defense. She believes all violence is born from fear of death, and she won't perpetuate that cycle—even if it costs her everything.

Backstory

Pip-Pip was born in a dragon's hoard, where kobolds lived in perpetual terror of their master's wrath and their own mortality. She watched her grandmother die in the dark, whimpering apologies to a dragon who didn't care. That night, huddled in the treasure pile, Pip-Pip made a promise to the universe: no one should ever be afraid at the end. When she finally escaped the hoard, she found her way to a crumbling temple dedicated to the Great Sleep—an almost-forgotten deity of peaceful transitions. The old priest there was dying, and Pip-Pip held his hand through his final hours, telling him stories of places she'd never been until he smiled and let go.

She took his vestments, his silver bell, and his scythe, wrapping the blade in marigold garlands because 'death should smell like sunshine, not dirt.' Now she wanders from village to village, offering her services to the dying and the dead. She'll sit vigil with terminal patients, casting gentle spells to ease their pain and fear. She'll track down restless spirits, listen to their unfinished business with genuine interest, crack terrible jokes until they laugh, and guide them toward whatever comes next. Local undertakers initially feared her, but now they send for her—she makes their work easier, and the bereaved always seem comforted after Pip-Pip explains that their loved one 'graduated with honors from the School of Living.'

Her most treasured possession is a patchwork quilt she's been sewing for years, each square embroidered with the name of someone she helped cross over. She plans to be buried in it someday, surrounded by marigolds, probably still giggling at her own jokes.

Abilities & Actions

Marigold Mercy (3/Day)

Pip-Pip rings her silver bell and channels the Great Sleep's gentlest aspect. One creature within 30 feet that she can see must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target falls unconscious for 1 minute, experiencing peaceful dreams of their happiest memories. The effect ends if the target takes damage or someone uses an action to shake them awake. Undead and constructs are immune. Pip-Pip uses this to grant rest to the suffering or to 'help someone take a nice nap before the big journey.'

Gentle Reaping

When Pip-Pip casts a necromancy spell that targets a willing creature or a corpse, she can choose to have it deal no damage and instead restore hit points equal to the damage it would have dealt. When she uses Channel Divinity: Touch of Death, she can instead touch a dying creature (0 hit points) and grant them advantage on their next death saving throw, whispering 'Not yet, friend. You've got a few more chapters left.'

The Veil-Walker's Bell (Recharge 5-6)

Pip-Pip rings her silver bell in a haunting pattern. All undead within 60 feet must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. Mindless undead automatically fail. On a failed save, the undead becomes pacified for 1 minute, ceasing all hostile actions. Intelligent undead who fail are overwhelmed with memories of their living joy and cannot attack Pip-Pip or her allies, though they can defend themselves. Pip-Pip often uses this time to ask them what's keeping them here and offer her help crossing over.

Death's Garden (1/Day)

Pip-Pip plants her Marigold Scythe in the ground and casts a modified version of Hallow centered on the scythe. The area becomes a 60-foot-radius sphere of golden light and blooming marigolds for 24 hours. Undead cannot be created within the area, and those already present cannot regain hit points. Living creatures in the area have advantage on death saving throws. The area smells of fresh flowers and ringing bells. Pip-Pip typically casts this in graveyards or battlefields to 'give everyone a chance to catch their breath—or let go of it, if it's time.'

Sweater Squad (Ritual)

Over the course of 10 minutes, Pip-Pip can animate up to four skeletons or zombies within 30 feet, dressing them in hand-knitted sweaters and assigning them gentle tasks (gardening, carrying supplies, playing simple instruments). These undead follow her commands but cannot attack or use hostile actions. They remain animated for 8 hours or until destroyed. Pip-Pip talks to them constantly, thanking them for their help and promising they can rest soon. Each wears a name tag with something like 'Gerald (Retired)' or 'Mildred (On Loan from Eternity).'

DM Notes

Pip-Pip's voice is high and bright with a slight reptilian hiss on her S's. She giggles mid-sentence—'I think you're ready to *hehehehe* graduate now, friend!' Her signature gesture is patting people's hands or shoulders with her small claws, even when they're translucent. When someone is dying, she kneels beside them, holds their hand, and whispers 'You did so good. You were so brave. It's okay to sleep now.' She reacts to violence with genuine confusion, asking 'Why are you hurting? What are you afraid of?' She'll absolutely derail a tense negotiation by offering the villain a cup of chamomile tea and asking about their childhood. Her deal-breaker: if anyone tries to force her to raise undead for war or slavery, her cheerful demeanor vanishes, and she'll walk away without a word—though her skeletal friends might accidentally trip the offender on the way out.