Arsène

Character overview

A gnome well past the flush of youth, weathered and worn in the way that suggests a life lived mostly outdoors and mostly on the wrong side of the law. His most striking feature is his eyes — a vivid, unsettling amber-gold that catch the light like a cat's, sharp and calculating beneath heavy, expressive brows that seem permanently set to "mildly contemptuous." His beard is his most impressive feature — a full, thick auburn-ginger affair, surprisingly well-maintained for someone who otherwise projects deliberate scruffiness. It gives him an odd dignity that clashes entertainingly with the rest of him. He wears a dark hood pulled low, which combined with his naturally compact gnome stature makes him exceptionally good at being overlooked in a crowd — which is almost certainly intentional.
More recently, Arsène participated in the Phaendar market festival, engaging in various games and activities. He attempted the "Smash the Legion/Foxclaws" game, initially getting stuck on protruding metal but eventually completing the challenge, earning ale and congratulations. During the archery range event, he missed several shots, demonstrating a lack of proficiency in archery. When Aubrin the Green was struck down by a ballista bolt, Arsène rushed to her aid and successfully administered battlefield medicine, stabilizing her. He then engaged in combat against the Ironfang Legion, attempting to push one away and recalling knowledge about them. His actions during the skirmish included moving strategically, leading a group that hid Main Camp trail signs, and shouting at a female Fahrak during the clearing fight to make her falter, all while participating in efforts to protect townsfolk and combat the invading Ironfang Hobgoblins.
Earlier, he was a party member who listened from cover at Fender's Bridge, crept into the construction shed, and killed sleeping Hobgoblin Mercenaries Tied To Maltheum. He later stabbed a Fahrak Scout through the back and frightened and cut down the Hobgoblin's wolf. Following these events, Arsène took on a leadership role, directing a stealth team and overseeing an assigned Camp team that foraged and added six provisions. He noted it was unusual to see Zulgats above ground, mentioning a nearby lair. He picked up and carried a badly injured wolf pup after offering it food and spotted a mitflit at a cave mouth tormenting a wolf cub, choosing to help build shelters. He selected crafting or survival for his team and kept a surviving mitflit alive as the Party took it prisoner to guide them to a marked "Treasure House."
In his ongoing adventures, Arsène actively participates in the expedition, moving slowly along the path to check for traps. He examined the approach to Kellogg's cabin and found a single set of human tracks with one leg dragging. He knocked on the cabin door and stepped back. During the fight in the cabin, he attempted to recall knowledge about the shred-skin undead but was not trained in recognizing undead. He struck the leopard Pilla with a heavy blow, suffered a cut from Kellogg, stabbed Kellogg at close range, and later helped finish hacking Kellogg apart. After the cabin encounter, he returned to Camp but failed to cover Camp's tracks. At Gristledown, Arsène tried to identify the Floating Skin as an unnatural undead and then cut it apart with a decisive blow. He later searched for livestock but did not find any sheep or goats.
Arsène, a party scout and watchstander, wields a favored blade known as the +1 Dog Slicer and possesses a Belt Of Good Health. He scouted the southern Small Underground Chamber and warned Fangwood Six of ceiling ambushers. He stood second watch, during which a xulgaths peered into the firelight, saw him, and fled. He spotted cave fishers above the pool, hurled darts, and was snared by a filament, leaving him hanging over the water until one fisher's death released him. He frightened a dark mantle with a display, flanked and cut down another dark mantle using Nova’s position, and later demoralized a crystal-bodied chrysmal before striking it. In the xulgath Unused Empty Sarcophagus, he forced himself through the stench, cowed a smaller caster, struck and finished a wounded xulgath, and later patched Bruneg’s wounds. He struck and carved at a nearly invisible Gelatinous Cube while flanking with Wren, though his precision was impeded by its amorphous body.
Arsène is a combatant known for his effectiveness in battle. He carries a +1 Returning Dagger fitted with a striking rune and a +1 Dog Slicer, along with small stones for ammunition. He is skilled in unarmed strikes. During an encounter with undead, Arsène held his position to attack, flanked an enemy, dropped a weapon to free a hand, and successfully punched a skeleton. He then closed in on a blighted foe and cut its throat. In a confrontation with a Lamplighter, he moved toward a sound but was unable to locate the creature in the darkness. While approaching a Ruined Tower, Arsène dropped down into an ambush, terrified a Hobgoblin, and wounded him. He repositioned to cover, killed a Goblin Dog that engaged him, and frightened another dog. He attempted to demoralize the Hobgoblin before repositioning again. He comforted the rescued Militia Veteran at the ruined Tower, moved in to cut down undead in the Ruined Town after forcing through the melee, and chased down and calmed the mule pulling the Hobgoblin Supply Wagon to prevent the wagon from escaping with supplies.
As a member of Party and leader of a scouting team, Arsène suggested that Keroin might oversee Camp security. He approached Cave Camp mouth to scout, brushed against a shrieker fungus, and set off its alarm. He observed a mounted Hobgoblin and troopers, then initiated combat by slashing the Hobgoblin and withdrawing. He stabbed the officer again and used magic to lash out at a wolf and rider. During the melee, he maneuvered around, battered an enemy's shield nearly to ruin, and slipped away from pressure. He assisted in finishing the officer alongside Bruneg and attacked York from a distance during the centaur's ambush.
Arsène is equipped with apprentice cheating gloves received from a troll woman and Arboreal Boots. He searched a fort alongside Bruneg and Finnetharyn, discovered a troll nest, and opened the commander’s secret door using its concealed lever. In the hidden complex, he observed axe-sized wall slits and loose floor tiles, struck a wooden guardian, and sustained heavy injuries before Vendel treated him. He later attacked a second guardian, warned it in Fey, and checked the corridor floor for traps. Arsène assisted Bruneg with the southern sarcophagus lid and searched the chamber, finding an adamantine starknife beneath a loose floor tile. In the wilderness, he attempted to sneak into a fissure occupied by giant beetles, was severely injured by their trampling and mandibles, and repositioned to help surround one. He recovered Boots of Elvenkind from a dead beetle and later had Gundugar transfer the runes from his returning dagger onto the starknife.

• Exceptional skill with boots.
• Wields a +1 Returning Dagger and a +1 Dog Slicer.
• Uses small stones as ammunition.
• Skilled in unarmed strikes.
• Effective in flanking and repositioning during combat.
• Engaged in multiple encounters with undead and blighted foes.
• Participated in an ambush at a Ruined Tower, demonstrating tactical movement.
• Successfully terrified and wounded enemies during combat.
• Endured and treated poison from a xulgath.
• Intimidated a xulgath.
• Participated in ambush tactics and defensive actions.
• Demonstrated scouting and watchstanding abilities, warning allies of threats.
• Skilled in melee and ranged combat.
• Proficient in magic attacks.
• Experienced in stealth and observation.
• Collaborated with Bruneg to defeat the Hobgoblin.
• Participated in the ambush against York.