| Name | Oleander Tam |
|---|---|
| Age | 18 |
| Race | Half Moon Elf, Half Human |
| Hometown | Vega, Umbria |
| Class | Graviturgy Wizard |
| Status | Alive |
Overview
Oleander is the young apprentice of Cinnamon and a member of the party in Bali DnD whenever his academic responsibilities don't draw him away from adventuring. He commonly an NPC companion, but he also serves as a player character for various sidequests and oneshots throughout Umbria.
Personality and Relationships
Outwardly, Oleander is a rather shy individual. While he does not like attention and has trouble expressing himself, he appreciates the companionship of others and very much values his friends. When it comes to his interests, he can get very obsessive and perhaps too curious for his own good. Oleander prefers to avoid conflict, though his mentor has taught him to fight ruthlessly when necessary - he will not show mercy to anyone who attacks him, nor will he express remorse for slaying them. Generally, he tries to act with a focus on strategy. Still young and inexperienced, though, he does have a tendency to lose his cool when under significant threat. He has a bad habit of repressing his feelings until he can no longer control himself, at which point he becomes surpringly ornery and vindictive. This was demonstrated on a minor scale when he shrunk Omni out of spite for getting the party attacked and hiding instead of fighting.
By far the most important relationship in Oleander's life is with his mentor, Cinnamon. The elder wizard took him in ten years ago and nursed him back to health after he suffered a particularly bad affliction. Though the two are opposites, they seem to complement each other quite well. Despite others' opinions of him, Oleander holds Cinnamon in high regard. Glimpses into their private moments suggest that Cinnamon is unusually gentle with him and that Oleander is more open towards him. While Oleander's presence forces Cinnmon to behave in a more responsible and less destructive way, Cinnamon tries to get Oleander to loosen up and advocate for himself. He frequently encourages Oleander to duel with him to relieve his pent-up emotions, even prompting his apprentice to "just beat the shit out of [him]." However, regardless of what Cinnamon says, Oleander will not seriously harm him. He is very observant, so it has not escaped his notice that his mentor appears to be... less mentally sound as of late. Oleander is worried for him, but unsure of how to broach the subject.
Oleander has an amiable relationship with the rest of the party and would generally consider them friends. He is closest to Nag, who, similar to his mentor, is quite unlike Oleander in demeanor but complements him well. Oleander also gets along well with Solomaz due to their shared interest in spellcasting and calm demeanor. He actually has a lot in common with Kevin personality-wise. Oleander sometimes serves as his "intern" and has learned a bit of artificer knowledge from him (i.e., the artificer initiate feat), making Cinnamon a little jealous.
He was initially raised in a convent, and, while his mother was also a part of it, they were not especially close. He has never met his father. Oleander ran away from the convent as a child and was found by Cinnamon after spending several days wandering the Umbrian trails alone and exposed to the elements.
Appearance
Oleander has many of the racial traits of his elven father, with the facial structure and build of his human mother. He has straight, chin-length dark blue hair. His skin is sickly pale, near white with splotches of blue. Oleander is around 5'5" and thin, certainly weighing less than 100 pounds. His dark grey eyes are a bit droopy in a way that makes him look perpetually sad. In fashion sense, he clearly takes after his mentor, Cinnamon, though Oleander usually dresses in darker colors and cool tones. His pointed ears are pierced several times with large silver studs. He always wears a magical torc make of meteorite ore around his neck. Using the stolen Necronomicon pages as a guide, Cinnamon created it to bolster Oleander's life energy and keep his health... manageable. However, Oleander does not like to discuss this, wearing a scarf over it most of the time to keep people from asking questions.
History
Pre-Campaign
Campaign
Stats
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 14 | 10 | 20 | 16 | 10 |
Trivia
- Oleander is transgender. He wears a binder that's enchanted in order to not constrict his ribs.
- He is asthmatic, due to the volcanic vapors present in Umbria making the childhood asthma rates unusually high.
- He is also anemic, which is unrelated to the volcanoes.
- Despite his usual inclination to prioritize strategy, he is fashion-concious and chooses his spells to fit an aesthetic, much like Cinnamon. As a result, he has no fire spells (unlike Cinnamon, who has many, many fire spells).
- Of all the languages he knows, Elvish is actually his worst.
- Oleander has an annoying habit of guessing what others will say and finishing their thoughts for them.
- He secretly enjoys shitty 1gp pulp novels but would be mortified if anyone found out.
- Contrary to what one might expect, Oleander has a shockingly high spice tolerance and enjoys foods that are hot to the point of just being kind of gross.
- Oleander is autistic. Early in his wizard training, he started using the verbal and somatic components of the cantrip Ray of Frost as a stim. This caused multiple incidents, but Cinnamon quickly intervened and conditioned him to repeat the components of the defensive cantrip Blade Ward instead.
- He is hopelessly addicted to caffiene.