Apis Hive

Apis is a 53yo, non-binary (they/them), Hill Dwarf Ranger, Outlander and a Horizon Walker. They are 4.5m tall and their birthday is the 17th of Altabris (2nd Month of Spring).

They are cunning, resourceful and introverted, avoid trouble where they can and will always help those in need; only killing when necessary. They will always do what they can to protect an animal in danger. Apis can be indecisive, inconsistent and slow to trust.

They are skilled with panpipes, brewing, and hunting. Their favoured enemy are green dragons, and favoured terrain is forest.

Apis has their money stashed in a "river bank" near the town of Shadridge.

Background
Apis was raised in Schafguchel, a hill dwarf village near the Gyftigald Forest. Apis is very well book learned both from school and home. Apis has a childhood friend called Lokara.

Apis learned the language Sylvan from school, and about the Fae from their mum, Eldeth (nee Redfist) when she told bedtime stories. Their father was called Lurtum and Apis had two sisters, one older called Yangrit and one younger called Sada. They also had an older brother, Gilras.

They were a hunter for the town, spending more time in the forest in the town itself.

Dwarven Background
Dwarves live to around 350 years old, reaching adulthood at roughly 40 years of age. They age at half the rate of humans until about 50, when aging slows right down, allowing them to reach 300-400 years old.

Dwarves have an affinity for stone. They are hardy beings used to being underground. Because of this they have developed Dark Vision and Dwarven Toughness.

In Rinn, the dwarven language is inspired by German, but they speak with a Scottish accent.

Unguheff and the destruction of Schafguchel
Three years before Apis's story started, their whole family were killed when the green dragon Unguheff attacked and destroyed their village. Apis was not in the town at the time as they were out foraging. When Apis has nightmares, it is often about what happened to their family and town.

Apis never found the body of Eldeth or Yangrit. Lurtrum, Gilras and Sada all lie in the cemetery in Schafgushel with many of Apis’ extended family and friends. Apis has not been back to the village since.

Favoured Enemy
Unsurprisingly, Apis's favoured enemy as a Ranger is Dragons. Anything with the Dragon type (which included Kobolds in Rinn), Apis will get advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track them, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.

Dreams
Apis has had a number of interesting dreams.

After attacking the Goblin camp, Apis has a dream about killing a green wormling dragon:

They are hunting in the Gyftigald forest and has been particularly lucky today; arrows seem to be meeting their targets, they manage to take down several kills before noon, and have enough to feed their entire family and then some. They go to reclaim their arrows from the deer's hide and notice that they are sticking out in a perfect X from the side of the deer. The shafts perfectly criss crossing each other. Apis remembers that this is the sign of Altames, the God of Beasts, Animal Kind and Hunting and takes it as a sign that Altames is watching over them and is appreciating and aiding their efforts in this hunt. Maybe this is why their arrows are meeting their mark.

Pulling out a hunting knife, Apis starts to cut away at the hide of the deer. The hide seems tough, hard to get into, more than it should be. There are scales that are preventing their knife from getting into the meat. The green scales of this creature doesn't seem to want to come off in their hands. Eventually they manage to pry one of the scales loose and they realise that this isn't a deer. Looking down, Apis sees a green dragon, no more than a few years old. Dead. A wormling.

A voice in Apis's head says "Kill her". Apis doesn't want to kill her. The voice continues "...or I will make you watch as I eat her". Apis still doesn't want to kill her. They are not sure they can bring themselves to do it. They are filled with a sense of foreboding and it wakes them.

Casting Spells
Apis has learned to use the magical essence of nature to cast spells. They have three 1st level spell slots and can cast Cure Wounds (action), Protection from Evil and Good (action), Zephyr Strike (bonus action), Hunter's Mark (bonus action) and Primeval Awareness (action). They also have Detect Portal (action) and Planar Warrior (bonus action) from being a Horizon Walker.


 * In Episode S1E5, Apis casts Hunter's Mark for the first time. It appears as green energy from Altames, the God of the Hunt.
 * In Episode S1E7, Apis casts Cure Wounds on Mel and to do so they call on the nature magic of the forest around them. Flonanshale appears in Apis's mind and says "I am with you" and they feel the power in their hand of Flonanshale, the God of Healing. Flonanshale flows through Apis and into Mel, appearing as a calming green energy.

Trivia

 * The character of Apis was created during a Character Building Stream on Twitch before Episode 1. Rob rolled dice for the character stats and options (i.e. gender, species, class, etc). The name of Apis Hive was suggested by discord chat.