Protea Cynaroides
Protea Cynaroides
Race: Elf
Class: Druid (Circle of the Land)
Level: 7
Background: Urban Herbalist / Bartender
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Current Location: Traveling with the party (first met in the maze beneath Dreadmoor Institute)
Campaign: Gothika Noir
Notable Traits: Fey lineage, plant knowledge, powerful druidic magic, and huge Gerdor fangirl
Companion: Fey Sprite (originated as imaginary childhood friend)
Backstory:
Protea Cynaroides was raised in a quiet, loving farming community where plants were not just a livelihood but a way of life. Her parents were supportive and grounded, and although she had no blood siblings, she grew up surrounded by the children of neighboring farms who felt like family.
Restless and craving adventure, Protea struck out for the big city as soon as she could. Eschewing formal schooling, she got straight to work behind the bar, using her knowledge of plants to make magical cocktails and herbal infusions. She lives in a tidy, well-kept apartment above the bar and tends a lush green rooftop garden where she harvests ingredients.
Protea ended up in Dreadmoor Institute after unknowingly selling a cocktail infused with poisonous herbs to an undercover cop. There, she met the party in the underground maze—officially joining the campaign in Echo’s place.
She is a huge fan of Gerdor Greenwood, whose adventures she read about obsessively. Part of her motivation for pushing into the maze was to finally meet her hero in person.
Personality:
Extroverted, enthusiastic, and flirtatious
Spacey but grounded, especially when it comes to plants or bartending
Maintains an immaculately clean space despite being a chaotic thinker
Deeply romantic and a fan of steamy self-insert fiction
Emotionally intuitive, though prone to trusting too easily
Fiercely independent, yet quietly longs for connection
Carries regret about one thing: sleeping with a dragonborn
Key Stats:
| Ability | Score | Modifier |
|---|---|---|
| STR | 15 | +2 |
| DEX | 10 | +0 |
| CON | 16 | +3 |
| INT | 14 | +2 |
| WIS | 14 | +2 |
| CHA | 18 | +4 |
AC: 13
HP: 59
Speed: 35 ft
Initiative: +0
Proficiency Bonus: +3
Spell Save DC: 13
Spell Attack Modifier: +5
Darkvision: 60 ft
Passive Perception/Insight: 15
Proficiencies: Alchemist’s Supplies, Herbalism Kit, Vehicles (Land)
Skills:
Nature +7
Insight +5
Perception +5
Survival +5
Animal Handling +5
Arcana +4
Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion, and Performance all +4
Spellcasting (Druid – Circle of the Land):
Notable Spells:
Find Familiar (Wind Companion – possibly her sprite friend)
Freedom of Movement
Lightning Bolt
Misty Step
Pass without Trace
Sleep
Speak with Animals
Longstrider
Cure Wounds
Druidcraft, Mending, Shocking Grasp, Thunderclap
Spell Highlights:
Powerful AoE options like Lightning Bolt (up to 9d6)
Support and stealth with Pass without Trace and Misty Step
Communication and charm through Speak with Animals and Druidcraft
Find Familiar allows her to summon a fey sprite companion, likely a callback to her imaginary friend from childhood
Companion:
Protea had a childhood imaginary friend she has yet to fully reveal. This being now appears as her sprite familiar, summoned through Find Familiar (Wind Companion). The sprite may exhibit a quirky personality and serve as her emotional anchor and magical helper.
Role in the Party:
Protea balances emotional warmth, fey-flavored magic, and chaotic energy. She’s the team’s go-to for nature, healing, and stealth magic—and provides comic relief and romantic intrigue alongside it. Though ditzy at times, her spells are powerful and strategic.
Thorn & Bloom
Thorn & Bloom
Tucked on a quiet corner between a bakery that never opens and a pawn shop that never closes, Thorn & Bloom is the kind of place you stumble into once and never forget. Ivy winds up its stone façade, mingling with faded painted signage that glows faintly under moonlight. The scent of citrus and clove drifts through the front door, inviting and mysterious.
Inside, the bar is a lush, mismatched symphony of botanical beauty and urban charm. Dim lighting filters through glass jars of preserved herbs, and dried flowers hang in curated chaos above the bar. The air always smells faintly of rosemary, vanilla, and the sharp tingle of gin. A record player spins slow jazz in the corner, half-drowned by the low murmur of late-night conversation and clinking glasses.
Behind the bar, Protea Cynaroides works like a magician—harvesting ingredients from labeled jars and freshly plucked sprigs from the rooftop garden. Her drinks are an art form: infused with syrups she steeps herself, garnished with tiny edible blooms, and often glowing with just a touch of subtle fey magic.
The crowd is eclectic—tattooed poets, quiet witches, night-shift workers, and the occasional out-of-town adventurer who just needed a good drink. No one causes trouble at Thorn & Bloom. Whether it’s the soft power of Protea’s glare, or something unseen that whispers from the rafters, everyone behaves.
Upstairs, Protea lives in a small but pristine apartment that smells like lavender and old books. The rooftop above is her sanctuary: rows of herbs, flowering vines, and tiny lanterns that twinkle like stars—even when it’s cloudy.
Soleil
Raphael
Alwyn Mossgrip
Role: Owner of Thorn & Bloom
Vibe: Grumpy old dwarf with a heart locked behind three bolts and a dusty bar ledger
Notes: Alwyn has run Thorn & Bloom for decades, but it was never his dream—it was his wife’s. She built the bar with love, herbs, and community, and after her death, Alwyn stayed out of stubborn loyalty and a quiet grief he refuses to name. He grumbles constantly about “lazy staff” and “city idiots,” but he’s always the first to patch a leak or fix a loose step.
He lives alone in the attic above the bar, and though he keeps to himself, he watches over the place like a crotchety guardian spirit. Alwyn offered Protea the apartment when she was down on her luck—not out of kindness, of course (he’d say)—but because she reminded him of his wife: vibrant, messy, and full of life.
Quirk: Keeps an enchanted sourdough starter named Francine that he talks to more than people. Still brews his wife’s signature liqueur once a year and never serves it.
Alwyn Mossgrip
Owner of Thorn & Bloom
Alwyn Mossgrip
Owner of Thorn & Bloom
The Nocturne Blades
The Nocturne Blades
Weapon (twin daggers), Legendary (requires attunement)
Forged by Valas in the deepest vault of the Underdark, these twin daggers hum a broken lullaby—one he once whispered to Alaia. Their touch burns with ambition, their song bleeds regret.
Twin Blades of Night
Each dagger grants +2 to attack and damage rolls
When you hit with both daggers on your turn, unleash a Demonic Pulse:
All creatures within 5 ft of the target must make a DC 15 Dex save or take 3d6 necrotic damage (half on success)
As One
When dual wielding, you can add 1d8 + STR to one dagger’s damage once per turn
On a critical hit, the lullaby surges—your target’s name echoes softly, only you can hear it
Cursed – Valas’s Whisper
While attuned, you dream of Alaia weeping and Valas laughing. Once per day, the daggers hum on their own—he knows you’re using them.
Aetherblown Wand
Aetherblown Wand
Wondrous Item (wand), Uncommon (requires attunement)
Forged by water-mages of Illuvan. Still smells faintly of lilac and ozone.
🫧 Bubbles of Delight
As an action, you can emit a stream of harmless, glistening bubbles.
🌊 Breath of the Aether (1/day)
As a reaction, create a magical bubble of air around a willing creature’s head.
Lasts 1 hour
Grants underwater (or airless) breathing
Ends early if the target takes damage
🌀 Cursed: After 3 days of use, the wand whispers at night. On a natural 1 when activating, the bubble attaches to something else.
Ring of Quiet Bloom
Wondrous Item, rare – requires attunement by a Druid or Nature-aligned character
Ring of Quiet Bloom
Wondrous Item, rare – requires attunement by a Druid or Nature-aligned character
A divine gift given by Trixie to Protea, grown from the roots of something that refused to die.
This delicate, gold-wrapped ring appears to be shaped from living petals and vines, its jeweled blossoms shifting subtly with her mood. When Protea is calm, the ring is warm and radiant. When she’s hurt or anxious, the petals tighten and harden like thorns.
🌿 Verdant Grace
While wearing this ring, Protea may cast Cure Wounds once per long rest without expending a spell slot.
When she casts any healing spell, small glowing blossoms bloom briefly around the target, offering advantage on their next saving throw against disease or poison.
🌸 Flourish
As a bonus action, Protea can touch a living creature or patch of soil and cause sudden, rapid growth.
Mechanically, this allows her to:
Cause entangling vines (as Entangle, once per long rest), or
Grow a small patch of fruit-bearing plants, creating enough food to feed 3 creatures.
🧘♀️ Unfurling Spirit
When Protea finishes a short rest in natural terrain, she regains one expended Wild Shape use or 1d4 expended spell levels (e.g., one 2nd-level spell or two 1st-level spells).
This effect is accompanied by subtle vines weaving into her clothing, reinforcing her connection to the land.
Flavor/Lore
This ring was once the crown of a fey queen who fell in love with the cycle of seasons and chose to be forgotten. Trixie reshaped it into something smaller—but no less powerful—for someone just as patient, and just as important. It doesn’t shout its power. It grows it.
Protea doesn’t need armor. She is the soil that remembers, the flower that refuses to wilt, and the bloom that follows the storm.