may I ask about the necromancer landlord because I love DnD stories and that sounds like a good one
OK. Fair warning this is a little background-story heavy because I gotta give some context to explain why the necromancer landlord is a thing at all.
Edit: In fact, it got so out of hand I gotta put it under a cut.
So I know a lot of players don’t like using prefab background/trait/contact stuff from the books, but for Sam I wanted to give it a shot and modified them as-needed to suit him since we were rolling character concepts that already existed (Chemist and Cryptid). One of Sam’s contacts reads as-follows:
I helped a Golgari spore druid with the fertilization and growth of their fungus field.
This single line actually shaped a good chunk of Sam’s backstory. After clearing it with my DM, I spent some time with him fleshing out the background behind this contact. I gave the DM my notes in the end, to build off of for the sake of his metaplot. (And HOLY SHIT did my DM take this and weave it into his metaplot in the most fantastic of ways? I love my DM.)
So Sam’s field of specialty in the college during his early teen years involved the application of magic and technology to the study of genetics, specifically with regards to grafting the features of living specimens onto one another as the Simic are wont to do.
However, rather than applying his studies to self-improvement, he chose instead to see how deep into the genetics themselves he could apply new and existing techniques through the study of flora and fungi. In the process he developed some unique theories, including a method which allowed splicing of features between specimens in a way that the host itself produced the fresh material; This reduced rejection rates to near-irrelevant levels and allowed the “natural” crossing of species that would otherwise be considered risky or outright incompatible.
It was also faster than the current standards. Much faster: The use of living, established specimens allowed the introduction of features over the course of months or even weeks rather than generations.
(Parts of this research would later be stolen by a former romantic acquaintance in the college and repurposed to springboard the final stages of advancement for a rogue branch-off of the Guardian Project, which is how Funnel got Fucked Up, but that’s a story for another time. TL;DR: Fuck Squad 6, the bastards.)
As part of his studies and in preparation to present his findings to the guild, Sam spent about six months on-site optimizing a private Golgari operation as a chance to apply his research in a practical setting. Six months isolated in a cave below a crypt, with nobody but his sponsor/benefactor and her (numerous) undead sentries for company.
Enter Natasha.
If there’s one thing we know about the Sams in any dimension, it’s that their type is “how can you ruin my life today”. Nat fits the bill: Predatory, forward, sassy, and most definitely a woman who knows what she wants and how to take it. What would you expect from a woman with suspiciously high standing in the Golgari Swarm? Not that Sam knew that at the time.
The two grew close. Admittedly a bit too close when you consider that the prodigy met his 17th summer under her employment. Not only did the application of Sam’s research exceed expectations, he also learned plenty about the Swarm’s unique take on the magical school of necromancy from observing Natasha’s work when she was present. In the end the youth made one hell of a good impression, and when his work was complete they parted on fantastic terms.
... Which is why when Sam and his swiftly mutating companion found themselves on her doorstep a year later, Nat welcomed the two with open arms.
Fugitives from their own guild with not a soul in the world they could trust, Sam had suggested she might still have some of the equipment from his time with her, and they might be able to build off those remnants to make their own field laboratory. This proved to be the case, and after a little work (and some wise allocation of party funds) the three established a mostly-functional lab in Nat’s caves, as well as a small but homey subterranean living quarters for the boys.
Art credit: Funnel’s player @spudinacup [LINK TO POST]
And so, Sam and Funnel's current “home base” is a makeshift laboratory located in a ruin/cave system below some crypts.
With a necromancer landlord.
And numerous undead sentries.
All of which, by the way, now have “Hi my name is” name-tags christening them “Todd”. Which is coincidentally the name of the stray paladin we brought home a few weeks ago. Honestly at this point I’m not sure if she’s threatening him or fucking with him and I’m not sure if I want to know - but it’s certainly hilarious to watch it play out every time we return to our little hub for downtime.
There are a lot of similarities between canon!C&C and D&D!C&C but I have this image in my head and-- s o f t ?
He may not say it outright, but Funnel is pretty self-conscious of his appearance following his mutations. The dejected and paranoid elf-turned-Simic hybrid sitting while his charge oh-so-carefully takes a straight razor to his hair in the absence of proper scissors. Enveloped by the smell of damp stone and the barest whiff of sulphur from the lab equipment bubbling away in the next room. Not a sound between them, just the quiet crackle of the extra candles Sam’s set up for enough light to properly work by.
A razor mere inches from his throat, but Funnel unconcerned. Bored, even.
Neither of them acknowledging the level of pure, unadulterated trust present in that moment.
