Fridolard / Berelyn Heathermead

You grew up in Spudbarrow, a bucolic village deep in the Feywood. It is a farming village known for turnips, strawberries, potatoes of course, and... absolutely nothing exciting. In other words, it's a boring place, and you crave excitement. At the age of 28, you are at that point in a Halfling's life when you are supposed to get any wanderlust and excitement out of your system so you can settle down in a few years to enjoy a pleasant, quiet life. Personally, you can't imagine that far in the future right now, and rarely bother to try.

Since you were a child, your favorite times of year where the semi-annual visits to the village by the Traveling Troupe - a group of entertainers that would bring tales of great adventurers, and brave warriors, and fantastic, dangerous beasts. You were always fascinated by these tales, and much of the play with your friends involved wooden swords and hunts for mighty dragons in the forests around the village. In your later teen years, you began to realize that you wanted more than a stick for a sword, and more than an imaginary dragon (or the occasional tiny gremlin) for an opponent.

At the age of 25 - as soon as you were old enough, you got a job in the Pewter Mug, a tavern on the village square. At first, you cleared empty plates and tankards from tables, and scrubbed them clean in the kitchen. But customers and employers liked your outgoing personality and soon you were working the common room more - even taking an occasional turn behind the bar at the taps. The employer and job were pleasant enough, but you knew that this was not how you wished to be spending your time. So you did your job, and after adding a bit of coin to the family cofferes, you squirreled away every copper you could. You had a plan.

Six months ago, you had enough money saved. You abruptly announced that you were quitting your job at the Pewter Mug, and would be leaving Spudbarrow to "see the world for a few years". Saying goodbye to family and friends, you headed down the road to Karnstown. There, you converted practically all of your hard-saved coin into a chainmail shirt, two cheap but serviceable matched shortwords, and enough gear to make your way in the wilderness. Since then, you've been traveling around the Feywood, through Spirit Lake, and Dryad Falls, and most recently Feybridge Crossing, looking for a band of adventurers to join up with. You've met many adventurers, but even the most polite of these chuckled at the idea of taking on a farm-boy turned bartender, three-foot-tall fighter. You were not discouraged, though. You knew you had the skills, you just needed to find the right companions.

You knew that it was almost time for the annual Strawberry Festival back home, and you knew there would be adventurers there. Some that you were already acquainted with, in fact. Perhaps you would find your adventuring future there, and it would be nice to visit with family and friends. So that's your plan. A short stop back home for the Festival, and a new, exciting future after that.

Role-Playing this Character

You are an extremely extroverted, and generally happy person. You are quick to laugh, quick to compliment, and VERY quick to suggest getting into action. You are polite, though. You rarely interrupt when others are speaking, and in fact you are listening closely. You've learned that many interesting things can be uttered in passing by others - you just need to keep your ears sharp to hear them.

When it comes time to fight, you will wade in alongside the much larger folk in your party - in fact you may lead the charge. You like to open your attacks with your "signature" double-slashing attack, but you are also quick to use the buckler strapped to your arm to deflect the blows that follow your initial flurry.

You may well be one of the smallest members of your party, but you are capable of having a much larger charismatic "presence" if you wish. You can turn on the charm to Make an Impression with strangers, or you can turn on the bravado to intimidate and Coerce a potential foe.  

Special Abilities, Features, and Feats

Because of your Halfling Ancestry...

...you rely more on your agility than your strength to get by, and that agility is greater than other Folk may at first guess it to be.
...you have particularly keen eyesight, especially when it comes to noticing small details or very subtle movement. While you are not gifted with the ability to see in the dark that some other Folk enjoy, you may be the one that will spot the trap's tripwire, or the dropped diamond in the grass, or the subtle leaf-movements that tell you an ambush is imminent.
...you are inherently good natured, and you find it difficult to pass up an offer to have a good time. Nothing says relaxation better than a tankard of ale and a good, long, story of some long-ago adventure. When there's a job to do, you'll do it, and as you do, you will look forward to the upcoming reward of a meal, or retiring to the tavern.

Because of your Dauntless Culture...

...you have a tendency to rush into battle without fear, and sometimes without really thinking things through. You are not exactly reckless, but you are pretty close to that line. You do not scare easily. Even as a youth, you noticed that in situations that brought fear to your companions, you seemed to shrug off that fear easily, if you even felt it in the first place.

Because of your Barkeep background...

...you have learned how to "work a room". You are very good with people. You discovered that by listening, asking a few carefully pointed questions, and guiding the conversation in subtle ways, you could get people to open up and talk about things they normally would not.

As a Fighter...

...you are expected to be one of the brave ones that wades into battle. You are expected to defend the companions who are not as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as you are. Sometimes, you must draw opponents away from fellow adventurers - especially the spellcasters that need to concentrate on their magics to aid the cause. But most of all, you are expected to be a leader, because, as a fighter, you are the epitome of the Adventurer.

Halflings, Meals, and Telling Time

As a Halfling you are accustomed to enjoying a hearty repast at least five or six times a day, if not more. Meals define the day for a Halfling: After rising around dawn, there's Breakfast. As the sun reaches its peak, there will be Lunch, but Brunch comes in between. As the sun goes down, it's Suppertime, but in the afternoon before that, there's Tea-time. Supper is itself just the appetizer; Dinner is a few hours after, before retiring for the night. But if you are not heading to bed early, there's the Nightcap at around midnight, and if you happen to be on watch, or partying very late, there's the Vigil meal in the predawn hours of the morning. You will actually tell time using these meals: "just before Supper", "just after Tea", or "between Breakfast and Brunch" are enough to let any Halfling narrow down a time to within a half-hour or so.