Clive is a timid mouse, always sticking to the shadows. He was born in the burrow behind the Johnson Farm, a few miles away from Fitzgibbon Farm. When he was only 9 weeks old, his parents never returned from collecting food. He found out a week later from one of his parents friends, a robin named Daisy, that they had been caught by an owl. Shortly after this, the corn field caught fire, catching most of his fellow mice off guard. Clive was one of the only survivors. He started to adapt to survive, gaining speed to escape predators easier, and working on kicking and punching to deter them from following. He much prefers to sneak around and flee than fight. He came across some small daggers and shortswords once, left behind after another small animal must have been snatched by a bird or cat which he took to add to his paws, and even managed to get some small pieces of metal that flew through the air when thrown (darts). One day, just after his 1st birthday, Farmer Johnson was found dead, with rumours going around that somehow rat poison had got into his drink. Unfortunately for the animals at the farm, no one was willing to continue farming there, and the seasons crops hadn't been planted. With the knowledge that come summer, there would be no food, Clive left in search of a new home, coming across Fitzgibbon farm just as summer hit. He spent a summer there with the mousefolk, the first time he wasn't alone in the world, starting to open up, and the the rumours started....

(I do not own the artwork, credit to Ladaline Prune on Pintrest) https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/113124786/XxZrkI

Quote from Swiftgale >>

Clive is a timid mouse, always sticking to the shadows. He was born in the burrow behind the Johnson Farm, a few miles away from Fitzgibbon Farm. When he was only 9 weeks old, his parents never returned from collecting food. He found out a week later from one of his parents friends, a robin named Daisy, that they had been caught by an owl. Shortly after this, the corn field caught fire, catching most of his fellow mice off guard. Clive was one of the only survivors. He started to adapt to survive, gaining speed to escape predators easier, and working on kicking and punching to deter them from following. He much prefers to sneak around and flee than fight. He came across some small daggers and shortswords once, left behind after another small animal must have been snatched by a bird or cat which he took to add to his paws, and even managed to get some small pieces of metal that flew through the air when thrown (darts). One day, just after his 1st birthday, Farmer Johnson was found dead, with rumours going around that somehow rat poison had got into his drink. Unfortunately for the animals at the farm, no one was willing to continue farming there, and the seasons crops hadn't been planted. With the knowledge that come summer, there would be no food, Clive left in search of a new home, coming across Fitzgibbon farm just as summer hit. He spent a summer there with the mousefolk, the first time he wasn't alone in the world, starting to open up, and the the rumours started....

(I do not own the artwork, credit to Ladaline Prune on Pintrest) https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/113124786/XxZrkI

 

 

 

 

 Thats a really cool idea for a character :) nice job

I’m working on “Indy,” Shrewfolk Rogue and de facto archaeologist. Always digging in the dirt, poking his long snout where it doesn’t belong, collecting assorted “treasures.” He is possessed with an insatiable curiosity.

Firstly, as a Deep Mouse, if you will, would you consider allowing Svirfneblin Magic, as a feat? I’m thinking that, though wild born, he was exposed to some sort of experiment. Either nosing around the facility, or perhaps just a delivery truck (chemicals, drugs, whatever).

Regarding languages, could he have taught himself English, through sneaking around listening, surreptitiously reading books?

Also, would you permit proficiency in whip, maybe in place of hand crossbow?

Thanks!

This looks really interesting! I am somewhat familiar with the Legend of NIMH, by that I mean I've seen the movie but haven't read the book. :)

Still working out exactly what I want with the character, but here's what I'm thinking.

Theodor's father was a NIMH survivor while his mother was wildborn. However, as an albino, and a bit of a runt, he was rarely able to venture outside the rosebush and thus led a very sheltered life. As a result of the experiments done on his father, Theodor is much smarter than the average rodent. He spends most of his time studying anything he can get his paws on. He's a bit of a recluse, though that is not really his choice. He's a perfectly social rat when given the opportunity to talk, and is very friendly...its just other rodents tend to be uncomfortable around him. Maybe because of his red eyes. Or perhaps they just pity him for what they see as a disability. After all, his white fur makes him an easy target.

I'm not sure what class I want to go with. I'd like to play a caster, but I can picture this guy studying swordsmanship on his own even though he's not as strong as some rats, that doesn't mean he has to be weak either.

He's a bit naive when it comes to 'outside', but i kind of like the idea that everyone think's he's just a bookworm only to have him shock them when they realize he can actually use a weapon.

Even though he himself wasn't from NIMH, I'm thinking I'd still go with the NIMH survivor feat since he'd inherit some abilities from his father. Is that fine with you?

Also I've got one problem, right now I can't access your homebrew race for character creation since I don't have a subscription. Do I need a sheet to apply? (There are ways around this if I'm chosen. Even if you cannot share content you will be able to edit my character sheet...)

Anyways! Let me know what you think!

This looks awesome! I've actually both read and watched the Legend of NIMH, but I have yet to read Redwall (have heard of it though!). 

I'm open to playing either a mouse or a rat, whichever is needed. Either will work for the characters I'm thinking of. I do have a question though: I realize that we are starting at level 1, but thinking ahead to subclasses, I was wondering if Drakewarden would be allowed. I thought it would be cool to substitute a snake or lizard for the drake, but I'm still trying to work out how that would work at higher levels. I just thought it was a cool idea, but wanted to ask if it was even possible before putting too much time into thinking about it lol. 

Either way, I have two possible characters in mind. 

1) Jerad, a survivor of NIMH, remembers the escape vividly and everyone they lost. He is a generally gentle soul, who just wants to protect everyone within the rosebush. And to do so, he has taken it upon himself to be the guard, watching who comes in and out, doing his best to quell arguments, and raising warnings whenever Dragon or the humans get too close. There is only one problem: at his heart, he is a pacifist. This means that he rarely will actually raise a hand to someone, and hates carrying weapons. That said, he has to protect everyone somehow, so he does carry a spear around, but he scarcely ever actually puts it to use. He even takes pity on the predators outside, going so far as to rescue an abandoned serpent egg (I can remove this if drake warden isn't an option), which he keeps hidden a short distance outside of the bush, as he wants to keep it safe but also doesn't want it to harm anyone. 

For Jerad, if drakewarden isn't an option, then I may choose barbarian... yeah. Let's just say, as a pacifist, he really will only fight if he gets super angry or is left without any other choice. Oh, and if he can be a drakewarden, he might be a pacifist, but the snake definitely wouldn't be lol. 

2) Another NIMH survivor, Lyra has a strong love for healing, and has a passion for herbs and the natural world. Of course, she is more than willing to help on a raid, and often volunteers in case one of her fellows is injured during their outings. She can be gentle, which is no surprise for one who loves healing, but she is also strong headed and stubborn. If she gets it in her head that she wants to do something, nothing short of death will make her change her mind. That said, with her knowledge of plants, it wouldn't be too far fetched for her to come up with some sort of poison if needed. (Not sure what class to go with yet, but leaning towards druid or ranger. Though it could also be interesting for her to be a cleric... I'm willing to adapt to whatever the party needs to be honest.) 

For these two characters, I lean towards Jerad being a rat, and Lyra being a mouse, but like I said either could work as either. ;) 

For the clueless: Redwall is amazing and if you like NIMH I think you should read redwall because, they look pretty similar! Yes redwall is great, go read it.

Peanut lived out in the fields of the Fitzgibbon farm.  She is a young hedgehog that has made a few friends out in the fields and has found a home by building up some vegetation up next to the large oak in the South end of the farm.  The friends she has made has helped her nerves a bit as she is a very anxious little creature.  She's only lived out in the farm for about 3 months.

Before that, Peanut was young Jessica's pet.  Jessica is the young sister of Paul and had proudly brought home and named Peanut when she was only about 2 months old.  She lived in the farmhouse for about a year.  Learned several things about the goings on in the house as Jessica liked to carry her cage around with her a lot.  Peanut lived in constant fear of Dragon though, she could smell when that cat was 3 rooms away from her and she would instinctively roll into her protective little ball.

The night of the great escape however, she's not even sure how it happened.  She was in her tight little ball as she could smell that cursed cat, and she thinks Jessica hit the cage against one of the kitchen chairs (honestly this happened a lot) but this time, her cage door must have swung open and she rolled...and rolled... right out the kitchen door that happened to open just at the right time as Paul came bursting in wanting dinner.

When she finally opened her eyes, she was out in the great wild in the dark of night.. not having a clue as to what to do.

Peanut is a hedghog artificer...

@Opheodrys

I love the idea you're cooking up over there.  That's fantastic.  Indy is such a funny little character already.  

Yes, I think there's a plot point that will allow for Indy to have Sverfneblin Magic as a Feat, but I want us to work on it together if Indy is accepted so that we can make sure it makes sense in the world.  And absolutely yes, he can have a whip instead of a crossbow.  

@Rynn_Elocin

That's alright!  I'll definitely be keeping this campaign closer to the movie than the book, but I'm going to try to run it so that it's easy-breezy even for folks who have no prior knowledge of the source material.  

Yes, I think it makes sense for Theodore to take the NIMH Survivor Feat.  It is the best fit for him, being as he has NIMH blood and was raised in the rat society.  

We can discuss the character sheet dilemma.  I could forward the homebrew information to you and you could build PDF character sheet.  You wouldn't be the first person I've had to work with on such an issue. :)

@Aroc_of_Eaf

Either of these characters could work and work well!  

Yes, I would accept a Drakewarden that had a snake as opposed to some sort of drake.  That's a very nice touch and I really enjoy that.  

HOWEVER, I do want YOU to pick which character you'd rather play.  I won't pick for you because more than anything, if you're accepted, I want you to be happy with your character.  

@Everyone

Just a general update.  I have offered positions to two players, with a third offer pending.  I still have three positions left, so we will almost certainly be wrapping up before the deadline.  If you have not applied and are waiting, you may want to go ahead and get your applications in.  

If you don't get picked, don't be discouraged.  There have been some high quality submissions and PM conversations so far.  Anyone who isn't accepted now will be looked at in the future if there are any openings.  

Awesome! In that case I will go with Jerad. :) I just wanted to list two options so I had a fallback in case the drakewarden didn't work out. ;) I'm glad it sounds like it would!

So, in that case, I'll go with the rat race, and ranger class. 

Also... I am in the same boat as Rynn with the character sheet. I have a plan for how to get my hands on the drakewarden class when needed though. 

 EDIT: If I have time, I may decide to make a home-brew version of drakewarden, just to incorporate the dragon being a snake, and to ensure that I have access to it. ...we'll have to see. 

I'll make another post a bit later to expand on his backstory and see about adding an image as well. :)

Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf >>

Awesome! In that case I will go with Jerad. :) I just wanted to list two options so I had a fallback in case the drakewarden didn't work out. ;) I'm glad it sounds like it would!

So, in that case, I'll go with the rat race, and ranger class. 

Also... I am in the same boat as Rynn with the character sheet. I have a plan for how to get my hands on the drakewarden class when needed though. 

 

 

 What’s your plan, because I might benefit from hearing it, seeing as how I’m doing a tabaxi and it’s not on dnd beyond normally.

Num Burr Nin  

Num remembers very little of the before times. The small suns in the sky would suddenly be bright and then go out. The world would rock and shake and then the giant hydras would be there, their fleshy appendages always grabbing. No matter how hard you fought the five headed hydras they kept coming. Num had come from the outside but didn’t know from where. The hydras caught him and jailed him with the others. They poked him with sharp objects and that’s when the rages started; uncontrollable rages.

Num didn’t even know his real name. All he remembered were the fleshy hydras and the big voice calling out Num Burr Nin. An ancient rat, The One, who had been there for ages told stories to Num about the Better Place. Num longed to leave the cold, hydra lands and go to the Better Place. The ancient rat called the hydras Huge Mans. That was so long ago that he barely remembers the escape. The little suns were gone and the big sun was over them. But they had just left the Huge Mans behind when the hawks came. Num was separated from the others and had to make his own way. Num didn’t know what happened to The One.

The cold times came and made life even harder but Num was strong and a survivor and he learned how to fashion axes from sharp stones and thick twigs and learned what to eat and what not to eat. The rages the Huge Mans had caused turned out to be helpful, giving him extra endurance when birds came. But he was lonely. Just when he thought the cold times would go on forever, the big sun came back stronger and warmed his fur. In the growing warmth, Num smelled more food than he thought possible.

He followed his nose to another place of the giants but there were others there too. Good people – rats, mice, shrews. And so much food. Num has a hard time understanding many of the words the others use. What’s a tractor or a farmer? When he tries to understand his brain hurts and he starts to see red. So it’s better just not to try to understand too much. Others can think and Num can do. But nevertheless he works hard to protect his new friends.

He never hesitates to distract Dragon so the others can escape, even jumping on to the big cat’s tail once. Num still has a large scar as a reminder of that encounter. He will brave the dangers of what the others call the coop, to steal the giant eggs from the bad flightless birds.

But now that there is talk of their home being destroyed, Num remembers the stories about the Better Place. He believes in the Better Place and he knows it’s real. He's intent on convincing the others that they need to start getting ready to leave the farm and to look for the Better Place. Many of the others on the ‘Farm’ laugh at how simple Num can be and how much he believes in the Better Place, but Num doesn’t mind. It’s better than being lonely. And he believes with a zealous fervor, and nothing the others say can change that.

Alrighty! Sounds good! I can see the info via the link, I just can't put it into the sheet.

I'm thinking I'll make Theodore a wizard with bladesinger as the intended subclass and maybe multiclass into fighter later on depending on how the story goes. :)

I'll make a new post to expand his backstory later.

Quote from Moon137 >> 

What’s your plan, because I might benefit from hearing it, seeing as how I’m doing a tabaxi and it’s not on dnd beyond normally.

I PM'd you. ^~^

Just didn't want to clutter this thread. 

Here is a PDF character sheet for anyone who needs one.

https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/5E_CharacterSheet_Fillable.pdf

@Rynn_Elocin

Keep in mind that the NIMH Survivors are so specialized they don't have multiclass as an option.  Just a reminder so you don't get set on a build you can't make later if accepted.

Oh jeeze, I must have misread that. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll just stick with straight wizard then.

Alright, character time.

I'm ditching the native name thing, it just feels out of place in a world full of talking animals. So, I'll name them after mountains in Montana instead.

Kintla was born to a family of three—consisting of her mother, Morningstar and her two brothers, Silvertip and Thunderbolt. She has an unnamed sister too, but unfortunately, she was eaten by Morningstar... apparently, it's something largomorphs and rodent likes to do. She never knew her father, in fact, the concept of fatherhood itself is alien to her, pika males don't take any responsibility in raising their young.

Little Kintla was quick to learn how to use bows and swords, she had to defend her home territory from other pikas and predators such as coyotes and hawks. When she isn't fighting or running for her life, she spends her time gathering herbs to store for winter. Most of her life was like that: defend territory, run from coyotes, stock up food.

But it all changed nine months after she was born. The humans came and began cutting down trees and mowing grass, her source of food. They built metallic pillars with wires on top of them, they make loud noises which disturb them at night, and soon, machines start to roll in, squishing any animal and bug it comes across (Note: IRL, there is a ski resort right next to Glacier National Park called Whitefish Mountain Resort, that's where she might have been born).

Her family knew living here was no longer an option, so, they packed their bags and ran, finding somewhere safer for them to stay. They hop on a train, and soon enough, they find themselves on the farm where the story takes place. It's a strange place, indeed, with no snow, mountains, or anything like that, but the animals here are much more welcoming than what it was back in Montana.

Kintla always had an interest in the nature world, she learnt a lot about herbs during her time in the wild, and after settling down on the farm, she taught herself how to read biology books and watch nature documentaries on the television in the living room of the human's house. It's her dream to explore the world one day, she wants to see capybaras in Brazil and elephants in Kenya, but those places are so far away and pikas like her only live for such a small amount of time.

Kintla is overly enthusiastic about anything, especially if it concerns nature, plants, or animals. She can get distracted quite easily by new or shiny things, and it's hard for her to take anything seriously. When she isn't busy drowning herself in books, she spends time chatting with her friends and socialising too, but her naivete makes it hard for anyone to take her seriously.

Her Ranger subclass is probably Hunter or Gloom Stalker, and her background is Outlander.

Indy is a shrew, a true predator! Spiders and snails, slugs and bugs, all fall prey to his voracious appetite! He is a friend to farmer Fitzgibbon, albeit unacknowledged and under-appreciated, behind the scenes- aerating the soil and keeping insect populations in check…

The one thing greater than Indy’s insatiable hunger, is his unquenchable thirst for knowledge and adventure. He is constantly on the move, exploring his territory. If he can eat it, he does; If it can eat him, he hides. If it is even a little bit interesting, he collects it!

Indy is still searching for his father, holds on to hope, they might yet be reunited, someday. His mother fell prey to the coils of a milksnake, when he was still quite young- but his father’s disappearance was altogether more curious: he was collected live, by big folk, and placed into a container!

With some subsequent poking around, Indy discovered a notebook, and managed to read a little of what was written. Something about venomous saliva and chemical compounds, and a lot of other stuff even the shrewdest of shrews might not be able to parse. The mice and rats had been whispering of such things, of course, but he had thought his family safe from such a fate.

Rooting through his burrow, rummaging through his collection, Indy kits himself out for adventure. He is going to find out just what is going on around here! Saber and whip, fighting leathers and bow, and his prized collection of picks and files, an assortment of tiny tools. Lastly, he grabs a plastic pith-style helmet, a lost relic from one of the farmboy’s toys, and secures it firmly upon his head. This would be the adventure of his lifetime!

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/113079161/xhdugU

(Character Sheet is a bit contrived, using available material. If selected, I will provide an accurate, updated sheet).

The smallest of folk must be the stoutest of fighters. 

Armed with these words, Zeke faces each day in the world of Fitzgibbon Farm. With his leather-needle rapier at the ready, Zeke commits one hand to the never-ending routine of gathering food and the other hand to warding off the farm's relentless predators. He is often chided by his many siblings for being more willing to dash into a hopeless fight than scurry wisely into a place of safety. Zeke, smiling broadly, then reminds his mousefolk family of the day he single-handedly drove off Po, the farm's seemingly ever-present corn snake. The fact that, to date, this encounter with Po is Zeke's sole claim to battle fame in no way shakes the confidence of the grey mouse. He is certain that other victories will be seized in months to come. 

If Zeke isn't practicing his footwork and swordplay in his free time, then he's hammering out another lively tune on his banjo. Upbeat jigs and ballads--especially about the demise of Dragon--are his particular favorite. Broken-off whiskers from the farmer's cat are, in fact, what Zeke uses as the strings for his banjo, an irony that is a frequent source of laughter for the mouse. 

Zeke, the confident and idealistic mousefolk fighter

Indy, archaeologist, whip.... Let me guess, mother called Anna, father called Jones. Lovely family, Indy, Anna, Jones.

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