The premise of this character is that they're an adventurer's assistant, and they've been tasked with the safety of a soon-to-be princess.

My main inspiration here is in the titular 'adventurer's assistant' type character. Like, when you're playing a knight or a noble, what is it you make your little minions do? Stand watch, lift the heavy stuff you can't, test traps, scout campsites, run into town to buy rations and stuff, set up camp, light fires, do the cooking, clean the plates. Boring busy campwork, legwork. Keeping weapons polished. Keeping armor sharp. Bringing the map, remembering the mission.

But like, that's fun and satisfying! I like the idea of a packhorse hireling being thrust into a greater story against their will, armed only with what they've picked up along the way from being around adventurers. I like the idea of solving problems with a grab bag of random tricks you picked up via osmosis, or hard work.

I think to make the character work I need to have been cursed before the story begins. See, in the classic adventuring party there's the fighter, cleric, wizard, rogue, right? I would definitely be leaning into the fighter's assistant - which, if they're a titled knight, would make us a squire! Running around taking weapons to the blacksmith, brushing the horse, saying shit like 'yes my liege!' before running off-screen. Could also be a wee lil page, even, but don't wanna be too young.

Maybe have a pet chicken called Henrietta who supplies breakfast...

Anyway, this is a character for my metamour's one-shot! It's a really cute and unique little story set-up. We've been invited to the wedding of the prince of Annavirus, a diverse kingdom mostly home to a race called devestans (imagine Maleficent without horns). However, not just as a guest. we're there on a mission to make sure no harm comes to the bride. We're not sure what from, yet, as we'll learn that when we meet her.

We are both aprrentices of two members of another adventuring party. It's discouraged for us to play high elves lol, just because there'd be some interesting interactions with people. Guessing this is because the neighboring kingdom is called Xirina, and is run by high elves, but populated with all kinds of elves.

Anavirus and Xirina are these two kingdoms either side of a river, in a small forest between two mountains. The story begins in one of the kingdoms, where the prince is soon to be married. However, his father the king has heard rumors of a plot against the bride. As such, the king approached an adventuring party he was friends with. All the members were well-known and recognisable in the kingdom, however, and so it would be too obvious to use any of them as his daughter's bodyguards. Luckily, a number of members of the adventuring party had assistants, and these could go unrecognised while still protecting the princess.

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My partner is currently playing an Owlin Phantom Rogue who likes three things. Tea, calligraphy, and quiet. (I'd also put money on them liking poetry, specifically haiku's cos they're small and clean). They're an intimidating Horned Owl, with a slight skull mask of white feathers, very subtle, and dark wings with white specks.

Of course, we're both still hashing it out, so if it changes it changes, you know?

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I'm currently playing an Echo Knight - or should I say, an Echo Squire! That's why I'm thinking I was cursed before the story begins, because it doesn't otherwise fit with the aesthetic of a 'random hireling' type character if they're throwing out this awesome magical copy of themselves every fight...

Mostly though, I want them to be an OC I can interact with outside of the one-shot! I want them to be accessible to the little people, if not exactly one of them. Somewhat of an inbetween, where civilian and adventurer mix. I need them to be hella eager, embraces a challenge, very visually interesting! Most of all I want them to respond to scenarios in a predictable but interesting way - maybe compelling internal conflict of some sort.

Playing with echo as a theme, I keep thinking sound, you know? Sound and mirrors, echo and narcissus. I also think wolves, things that hunt in packs.

I also know I want to be a changeling, and have my echo slightly differ in masculine or feminine presentation, whichever I'm not currently. That way I can also pretend to be an elf, or a little page boy, or a member of the homebrew race my metamour has made for this specific adventure. No limits!

My partner suggested the Echo is pulling from alternate timelines where I died. I like the idea of time-loops, myself, but also the idea of ghost-squires is fun. I mostly want the feeling of transluscence, a thing entirely outline, a shape on the world dimly colored in the manner of the original - something closer to the Trickery Cleric's image than a true echo.

The idea of multiclassing Trickery too is very near and dear to me, I won't lie. Lil extra Echo. If we're disguised as someone else, too, there could be like, four of the same person running around the battlefield.

OKAY. Back at it at work again today.

So basing off the idea of copies, right? That's what a changeling is. That's what the echo does. That's a big area of overlap. BUT! Just copies in itself loses so much of the potential! Besides, it's definitely been done before. (Note to self: look up alternate PC designs of Trickery Clerics).

So my multiclassing options right now are as follows:

HEALING:

• Wildfire Druid (2): Teleportation. Action summon spirit, 10ft radius DEX save or take 2d6 fire. Takes turn after you, bonus act to command (unless you're incapacitated, when it can do as it likes). Lasts 1 hour. AC 13, 15 hp, 30ft fly, 60ft darkvis, immune to fire, charm, fear, grappled, prone, and restrained. Ranged option 1d6 + prof. fire dmg. OR. Teleport anybody within 5ft, 15ft range, everybody left behind makes a DEX save or takes 1d6 + prof. fire dmg. Also get Burning Hands and Cure Wounds auto. 3+ extra spells prepped, 2 cantrips, 3 slots. The big draw here is the teleportation and AOE tho.
• Trickery Cleric (2): Irresistibly on theme. Channel Divinity for the extra copy running around! Inflict Wounds from the copy, Action Surge: Attack from me, Unleash Incarnation from the echo - maybe even a lil bonus act attack if using light weapons! Also healing, 3 spell slots, 3+ cleric spells, 3 cleric cantrips.
• Fate Cleric (2): On theme. Healing. Ties that Bind is good for both guarding and hitting harder: prof. # uses action, touch a creature and sense which way it is if you lose it. Also once/turn if slot deal damage or heal, d6 extra dmg or healing. Channel Div. concentr. 1 min: reaction grant adv. or dis. to creatures you can see, attack rolls and ability checks. Handy for our rogue buddy, and our bridal ward! Also healing, 3 spell slots, 3+ cleric spells, 3 cleric cantrips.
• Paladin (2): Cliche, but for a reason. 10 pts of Lay on Hands, Divine Sense, Divine Smite, a fighting style, and 2 juicy little spell slots.
• Celestial Warlock (1): Pool of d6's to heal as bonus act. Consider it a twice/day emergency heal. Also can choose Hex and Cure Wounds, refresh the slot on a short rest, reliable healing/damage, even if it's just one slot. At least the warlock cantrips could be Minor Illusion or Green-Flame though, I guess.
• Fate Cleric (1): Ties that Bind is good for both guarding and hitting harder: prof. # uses action, touch a creature and sense which way it is if you lose it. Also once/turn if slot deal damage or heal, d6 extra dmg or healing (but frankly Hex does a better job of dmg, and with only 2 slots, Celestial Warlock's pool + short rest recovery means they do more healing overall, too). Also healing, 2 spell slots, 2+ cleric spells, 2 cleric cantrips.
• Paladin (1): 5 pts of lay on hands and divine sense. We can probably do better. Less healing is okay if we get more along with it, you know?

NON-HEALING:

• Chronurgy Wizard (2): On theme. Adds INT to initiative. Reaction force a creature can see in 30ft to reroll a save, attack, or ability check, 2 uses / long rest. Also Arcane Recovery, 3 spell slots, 8 spells (3+ prepped), 3 wizard cantrips.
• War Wizard (2): Add INT to iniative. +4 to a save, or +2 AC in reaction to a hit, can't cast spells until end of your next turn (oh noooo~). Also Arcane Recovery, 3 spell slots, 8 spells (3+ prepped), 3 wizard cantrips. Depends on the spells we take, but there's not enough unique here that justifies a specific multiclass.
• Stone Sorcerer (1): 13+CON AC so we don't have to wear armor, means we can more easily disguise as someone else on the fly. Better than Barb cos it means we can dump DEX, plus we get spells out of it. Less health but who gives a shit, high CON makes up for it, and it also synergises well with the Unleash Incarnation # of uses. Also 2 spell slots, 2 sorcerer spells, and 4 sorcerer cantrips.
• Barbarian (1): Rage gives us a pocket of extra health, adv grapples and shoves - but mostly after that sweet +2 dmg to melee hits. (Note: Hex does better damage on average, but is also single target until it dies, and concentr.). Unarmored Defence is middling unless we roll well for stats.
• Hexblade Warlock (1): One weapon CHA for dmg/attacks, once/short rest lil curse. Curse gives us prof. extra dmg to the target, health if they die, crits on 19 and 20s, non-concentration. Also get 1 warlock slot, 2 warlock spells, and 2 warlock cantrips.
• Fathomless Warlock (1): Bonus act tentacle thwap. Spell slot. 2 spells. 3 Cantrips. Swim speed and breathe underwater, all terrain vehicle.

Looking over my options, I'm realising I don't need to go so hard into dealing damage, as much? We've got a lovely rogue in the party, don't we? AOE and multi-target spells, defender stuff, that's where we should focus. 100% grabbing Interception for the fighting style - like, I always do, but it's just so good.

Our current options are, it seems:

The "Army of One": Trickery Cleric. Healing, a sneaky buff for the rogue, Guidance. Being able to throw out an extra me once per short rest has a lot of roleplay potential, and a decent amount of mechanical potential to justify it.

The "Stone Angel": Stone Sorc. + Celestial Warlock. AC bump, Hex and Cure Wounds, emergency free 2d6 for bonus action 'acts of grace'. 1 slot that refreshes on a short rest, plus two more in the pocket for just in case. 2 sorcerer spells, 2 cleric/warlock spells (see above), 2 warlock cantrips, and 4 sorcerer cantrips. Expect a high charisma.

The "Phoenix Fury": Wildfire Druid. Another little body on the battlefield is not to be sniffed at, especially if it can teleport friends and blast our enemies. There's too much here to list, so scroll up to check.

Leaving it here for tonight, but frankly unless we come up with a really solid character unifying thing, Trickery seems best? It's the most fun to think about, which is my main draw, I think. Had this idea of a bandit changeling who was cast out young, and out of loneliness manifested an echo of themselves which they referred to as their 'twin', in reference to the mortal sibling they replaced. Was a bandit for a while, got killed by adventurers very young, and resurrected by the party cleric when they realised how young. As such, bears the scars from that death, and owes that cleric a literal life-debt.

Character Notes.

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Additional Session Notes:

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