Gravos Etnad
Overview
- Race: Halfling
- Class: Rogue
- Background: Carpenter / Tradesman
- Age: Early 20s
- Gender: Male
- Hometown: Southport
- Affiliation: Former crew of The Sea Spray
Description
Gravos is lean rather than skinny, standing just under average height for a halfling, with a build shaped by labor rather than training. His black hair is curly and perpetually unruly, usually crushed under a hood or cap. His skin is almost always sunburned, no matter the season, as though he forgets—daily—that the sun is not optional.
He wears whatever he is given, though every morning he makes a quiet, stubborn attempt to change back into his old clothes if he still has them. When those clothes are gone, he lingers a moment longer than necessary over whatever remains, as if offended by the idea of improvisation.
Gravos does not speak much. When he does, it is usually dry, sideways, or muttered just loud enough to be heard. His eyes miss little. His hands are scarred from tools, rope, thrown blades, and bad decisions.
Personality
Gravos is observant, cautious, and quietly stubborn. He does not seek attention or leadership, but often ends up acting when no one else will. He prefers preparation over courage, exits over entrances, and plans that involve not being there when things explode.
Despite this, he has repeatedly found himself:
- Diving back into danger to pull others out
- Standing his ground when walking away would be safer
- Getting knocked unconscious for principles he claims not to have
He insists this is coincidence.
Backstory
Before the Sea
Gravos Etnad grew up in Southport, apprenticed early to carpentry and repair work. He learned how things fit together—and more importantly, how they fail. Ships, crates, doors, wagons, furniture: if it broke, he could fix it, or at least tell you why it broke.
He ran small jobs along the docks, rarely staying in one place too long. He knew which planks creaked, which ropes snapped under load, and which people couldn’t be trusted to pay on time.
When work was slow, he drifted between two places:
- The Brazen Onager (usually called the Brass Ass), where sailors talked too much
- A small apothecary near the docks, where he bought supplies he never explained
Gravos insists this was just practical.
The Sea Spray
Gravos signed onto The Sea Spray for steady pay and fewer questions.
He was aboard when the ship passed its destination. He was aboard when the storm hit. He was aboard when the ship exploded from the inside.
He survived.
That fact bothers him more than he lets on.
The Wreck & After
Shipwreck does strange things to people. Gravos woke on a beach surrounded by wreckage, corpses, and far too many weapons that no one remembered loading. He helped bury the dead. He noticed things that didn’t make sense.
Since then, his life has been a chain of near-deaths:
- Mauled by sea devils
- Knocked unconscious underwater by the walking dead
- Nearly drowned multiple times
- Crushed by falling stone
- Dragged into fights he never volunteered for
- Beaten, chained, and sold toward slavery
- Repeatedly bleeding out, only to survive by stubborn refusal or sheer luck
At some point, Gravos stopped assuming he would be rescued.
He started acting like he might be the only one left standing.
Dragonglass & Consequences
Gravos has seen dragonglass explode ships, collapse tunnels, vaporize structures—and fail to explode when it absolutely should have. He does not trust anyone who claims to fully understand it.
He has proposed:
- Mining approaches with dragonglass
- Destroying buildings to deny enemies shelter
- Burning entire villages if it prevents worse outcomes
He does not enjoy these ideas. He believes they may be necessary.
This worries people.
Habits & Quirks
- Keeps careful track of thrown weapons; retrieves them whenever possible
- Counts food days obsessively
- Mutters plans aloud when stressed
- Hates improvising clothing, tolerates improvising violence
- Has strong opinions about dwarves, especially innkeepers
- Does not like babies that change species
Beliefs
- Survival is not the same thing as luck
- People who talk too much are hiding something
- If something feels wrong, it probably is
- Someone needs to be thinking about the worst-case scenario
Gravos has accepted that this someone is often him.
Relationships
- Deep, unspoken loyalty to those who have bled beside him
- Persistent suspicion of authority, especially cheerful authority
- Uneasy tolerance of idealists—until they prove themselves
Current Outlook
Gravos does not believe he is a hero.
He believes he is still alive.
And given everything that has happened so far, he is no longer convinced those are unrelated facts.