Character Profile: Captain Nixispix Powderboom
"The Keg's Fury," "Sole Survivor of the Maelstrom"

I. Vitals

Full Name: Nixispixia "Nixie" Powderboom

Race: Goblin

Age: 23

Class Archetype: Gunslinger / Rogue (Swashbuckler)

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Occupation: Pirate Captain (currently without a ship or crew), Survivor.

Motto: "Respect is earned with gold and kindness. Fear is earned with powder and lead. I find it's best to have a bit of both."

II. Physical Description

Overall Appearance: Nixispix is a wiry, surprisingly sturdy goblin standing just over three feet tall. Years of clambering up rigging and hauling lines have given her a toned, athletic build beneath her oversized clothes. Her skin is the color of sea-moss green, weathered by sun and salt spray, and marked with a few faint scars from errant hooks and close shaves.

Face & Features: She has the classic sharp features of a goblin?a pointed chin, a slightly upturned nose, and large, expressive ears that twitch and pivot to catch the faintest sound. Her most striking feature is her eyes; they are large and luminous, the color of dark, polished obsidian. They can sparkle with mischievous kindness one moment and narrow into cold, calculating slits the next. Her teeth are filed to sharp points, a habit she picked up from the crew, and she often reveals them in a grin that is both charming and unnerving.

Attire: Her most prized possession is her captain's outfit, inherited from her adoptive father. It's a heavy, dark blue naval greatcoat with tarnished brass buttons and worn leather cuffs. It has been meticulously tailored to fit her small frame, yet it still looks comically large, the coattails nearly dusting the ground. Beneath it, she wears a simple linen shirt, sturdy canvas trousers tucked into knee-high, salt-stained leather boots. She is never without her tricorn hat, slightly too big for her head, which she keeps perched at a jaunty angle.

Distinguishing Marks: The most significant mark on her body is the tattoo that covers her left breast, stretching over her heart. It is her "family crest," a stark black-ink drawing of a classic powder keg, mid-explosion. Lines of force and shrapnel burst outwards from the center, a symbol of her name and her philosophy: small, unassuming, but capable of devastating impact.

III. Personality & Psychology
The Duality of Command: Nixispix is a walking contradiction. In moments of peace, around a campfire or in a quiet tavern, she is surprisingly kind and empathetic. She has a soft spot for outcasts and underdogs, remembering her own beginnings as a foundling. She is fiercely loyal to those she considers family and possesses a sharp, sardonic wit.

However, when challenged, threatened, or in the heat of battle, a different person emerges. Her voice drops, her posture becomes rigid, and her eyes go cold. This is the brash, ruthless captain who seized power through bloodshed. She becomes pragmatic and brutally efficient, making life-or-death decisions without hesitation. This isn't cruelty for its own sake; it's the hardened survival instinct of a goblin fused with the unforgiving lessons of a pirate's life.

Haunted by the Waves: Since the maelstrom, a deep melancholy haunts her. She is a captain without a ship, a leader without a crew. She suffers from survivor's guilt, often waking from nightmares filled with the screams of her crew and the roar of the endless storm. She talks to herself, or rather, to the memory of her old captain and crew, seeking their guidance or apologizing for her failure.

Quirks:

Goblin Hoarder: She has an instinctive goblin love for shiny things and will absentmindedly pocket unattended coins, buttons, or interesting shells.

Powder Sniffer: She can tell the quality of black powder just by its scent and feel.

Sea Shanty for Every Occasion: She knows dozens of sea shanties and hums them constantly?a jaunty tune when she's planning, a mournful one when she's remembering.

IV. Skills & Abilities

Master Marksman: Her adoptive father didn't just teach her to shoot; he taught her to make the pistol an extension of her will. She is a crack shot, able to hit a moving target from the deck of a rocking ship. She is an expert at reloading flintlocks with astonishing speed.

Superb Stealth: Leveraging her small size and goblin agility, Nixispix is a master of infiltration and escape. She moves with a quiet confidence, able to slip through crowds, scale walls, or hide in shadows where larger folk would never fit.

Sailor's Instinct: She can read the weather in the clouds, the currents in the water, and the mood of a crew in their grumbling. She is an adept sailor and navigator, though the memory of the maelstrom has shaken her confidence in predicting the sea's temper.

Intimidation and Leadership: She learned from her father that leadership can be inspiring. She learned on her own that it can also be terrifying. She can command a room with a quiet, deadly promise as easily as she can with a rousing speech.

V. Backstory
Nixispix?s story began in a crate of gunpowder. As a goblin infant, she was found as a stowaway aboard the pirate ship The Sea Serpent, captained by the grizzled but fair-minded Barnaby "Grisly" Thatch. Rather than tossing her overboard, the captain, who had lost his own family long ago, saw a spark in the child's defiant eyes. He named her Powderboom and made her the ship's cabin girl.

For years, Nixie scrubbed decks, patched sails, and endured the crew's teasing. But she watched, learned, and survived. Captain Thatch took her under his wing, treating her like the daughter he never had. He taught her to read maps, to tie knots, and most importantly, to fight. He saw that her small size made her a poor swordsman, so he gave her a flintlock and taught her that a well-aimed shot was the great equalizer. He trained her in stealth, encouraging her to use her goblin nature as a weapon.

When Captain Thatch died from a festering wound, the crew fell into chaos. The first mate, a brutish man named Silas, declared himself captain and dismissed Nixispix as a "mascot." When he moved to have her thrown overboard, Nixispix, with grim resolve, used the skills Thatch taught her. She emerged from the shadows of the captain's cabin and, with a single, precise shot from her father's pistol, ended Silas's claim. She turned the still-smoking flintlock on the stunned crew and declared that any who did not accept her as captain would join Silas in the deep. None disagreed.

She renamed the ship The Keg's Fury and became a feared captain. She was ruthless to her enemies but fair to her crew, who came to respect her cunning and skill. For five years, her name was a whispered legend across the oceans.

This reign ended in a storm that was more than a storm. A supernatural maelstrom of green lightning and colossal waves caught The Keg's Fury in its grip. Despite Nixispix's expert command, the ship was torn to pieces. She was lashed to the helm, fighting to the last, but she watched helplessly as her crew?her family?were claimed by the sea one by one. She awoke days later, clinging to a piece of her shattered ship, the only survivor.

VI. Motivations & Goals

Rebuild: Her primary goal is to acquire a new ship and a new crew to rebuild her legacy and honor the memory of the one she lost.
Vengeance or Understanding: She is convinced the maelstrom was unnatural. She hunts for answers, seeking any legend or mystic who might know what caused it, and is prepared to exact vengeance on whatever entity?be it a sea god, a rival wizard, or a mythical beast?was responsible.
Find a Purpose: Without a ship to command, she feels adrift. She is searching for a new cause, a new family to protect, to fill the gaping void left by the loss of her crew. She wants to prove that her survival was not a fluke, but a second chance.