Dancer

Dancer
Official art of Dancer, by Jacob Grimoire.
Type	NPC
Character Information
Pronouns	she/they
Creature type	Humanoid
Race	Firbolg
Class	Artificer (likely)
Languages	Common
Place	Bassuras, Hellcatch Valley
Connections	Fresh Cut Grass, Oatmeal, Apple Pie, Pussy, and Thunderstorm (her automatons) Axer, Terrawyn, and Ozene (members of the Division of Public Benefit) Esmer (romantic partner) Imahara Joe (competitor)
Profession	Tinkerer
Status
Status	Alive
Appearances
First seen	"Breaking Point" (3x31) (via Sending)
Last seen	"A Gathering of Heroes" (3x76)
Stream	Campaign Three: Bells Hells (6 episodes)

“

Love equals friendship plus alcohol.

”

– 

A saying of Dancer's, according to Fresh Cut Grass

[!h]

Dancer is a tinkerer from Bassuras who allegedly built Fresh Cut Grass and other automatons. FCG learned later that apparently she had acquired him already fully assembled, though inactive.

Fan art of Dancer meeting with FCG, by Kiera James.

Appearance

Dancer has jet black hair, "olive skin with a bit of fuzz fur on the edges", and a star tattoo on her cheek. Her eyes are light brown. Since the attack that led Fresh Cut Grass to believe Dancer was dead, she acquired a metal arm. Her voice is low, gravelly, and world-weary.

Personality

According to Fresh Cut Grass, Dancer frequently attended parties at which she got drunk and he would have to pick her up and take her home to sleep after she passed out. She would often curse when passing the shop of Imahara Joe, because she was jealous of his popularity among the other inhabitants of the area.

Esmer described Dancer as a "complicated person", but in comparison to most of the inhabitants of the neighborhood, "shining".

Biography

Fan art of Dancer, by @porzio art.

Dancer was a tinkerer who worked on various automatons and other mechanical devices, which she often named for her favorite smells. She specialized in "small friendly types, like pets." Fresh Cut Grass was her most advanced piece. Although FCG believed that Dancer had built him from scratch, Imahara Joe told him that his design was of Aeorian craftsmanship and Dancer just purchased him, fully assembled though inactive, from a merchant caravan.

After acquiring FCG, Dancer formed a group of adventurers along with several of her friends called the Division of Public Benefit working out of Bassuras, and they had begun making a name for themselves in the Hellcatch Valley and beyond in the Oderan Wilds. At some point many months before the beginning of Campaign Three, the group was hired by the Rayia Family to clear out their silver mine near Evishi in the Oderan Wilds from unknown monsters. The adventurers camped outside the cave to rest for the night, and sometime during the evening FCG went berserk and killed the entire party except Dancer, who narrowly escaped. FCG believed they had been attacked by a one-eyed monster and that Dancer was dead because of it.

Fresh Cut Grass later learned that according to Esmer, Dancer had been in Bassuras within the past month (well after her assumed death), now with a metal arm. Esmer let her stay in her house for a few days, but when the things got "a little too intimate", Dancer vanished. Esmer assumed she was living in The Ends.

When Fresh Cut Grass first contacted her via Sending, reporting in that he was awaiting designation and assignment and asking her current status, her response was simply, "How'd you find me? What do you want from me?" The next morning, he tried again, asking for her help and her location, and she answered in a terrified voice, "Please, leave me alone. I barely got away. I hope I never see you again. You know what you did."

The next day, she agreed to meet Imogen, who had used Sending to contact her and suggested they had captured FCG. Dancer confirmed she had purchased FCG from a masked wandering trader who told her he'd found FCG deep in the Rumedam Desert. She made no modifications to him other than him mimicking her voice.

After the apogee solstice, when FCG was wondering who could fix a special harness that once belonged to Ludinus Da'leth, he cast Scrying on Dancer and found her sleeping inside a building, although there was no way to tell where. She later told FCG that he needed to move on past his apparent need to gain her forgiveness, and that her missing arm didn't need to be fixed, but served as a reminder to be careful who she trusted. However, she reluctantly agreed to help repair the harness when FCG told her they needed it to help save the world. The party agreed to transport her to Bassuras with them so that she could collaborate in the repairs with Imahara Joe. When they returned to the city in the Hellcatch Valley they found out that Joe and a friend of his, Verna the Viper, were being held in the former's shop by General Ratanish and six members of Paragon's Call; Bells Hells fought them, and although initially FCG told Dancer to stay out of trouble, she ended up intervening in combat, using Pussy II to heal Chetney with Cure Wounds, and later trying to Shocking Grasp an enemy.

After that the group went to Hondir's abandoned home, after Dancer confirmed that her old place wasn't available, since Esmer wouldn't be happy to see her. The two rescued tinkerers joined her, inspecting the harness together and revealing more information about it, as well as the time and materials needed in order to repair it. It was decided that Keyleth would bring the three of them to Whitestone, which would provide them a more suitable environment to work, as well as access to residuum and the potential assistance of Percival de Rolo.

When Bells Hells returned to Whitestone they discovered that their tinkerers (with the additional assistance of Allura Vysoren) had fixed the harness, although Dancer and Percy didn't seem to like each other despite having worked together. When Ashton asked about the possibility of using the Quintessence Array to activate the shard of Ka'Mort inside him, Dancer clarified that the device wasn't designed to nourish already existing sources of power. She also took the opportunity to talk to FCG later and tell him that, although she didn't feel completely comfortable around him yet, she was happy to see him thriving with his new friends; she shared with him what little she knew about D, and the two exchanged an awkward hug, with the tinkerer being extremely wary of the arm with which the cleric wielded the saw. Since they couldn't return to Bassuras, Dancer and the rest of her team stayed in Whitestone as refugees.

Relationships

Fresh Cut Grass

Fresh Cut Grass refers to Dancer not just as their creator, but consistently as a former associate. He was upset when his coin of delving, which she had given to him before she died, was lost.

Esmer told Imogen Temult that FCG was only one of the many different contraptions Dancer had built or worked on, or scavenged and renovated. She was proud of them.

Dancer and FCG had a close and friendly relationship before FCG's berserk rage. She referred to FCG as a friend, although she no longer wanted to be anywhere near them because she feared their break could happen again. FCG understood, but gave her life advice when saying goodbye, reminding her not to drink too late, to sleep because she gets cranky when she doesn't, to remember to eat, and to find someone to talk to because she always does better when she does. FCG still hopes to get her approval and forgiveness, and to have her be able to look at him as a friend again.

Esmer

According to Fresh Cut Grass, Dancer "hooked up" a lot, but didn't date a lot. However, she apparently had a continuing on-again-off-again romantic relationship with Esmer, proprietor of Finders Takers in Bassuras. Esmer described her as "an asshole", but admitted that part of her liked it.

D

Dancer was aware of D's reputation as a dealer of unique pieces, and although she didn't quite trust him, that was part of the reason why she liked his wares.

The Division of Public Benefit

• Terrawyn - "Really cool with earth magic"
• Ozene - "An awesome hi-yah type fighter, and also really great with water"
• Axer - A big surly type with flies buzzing around his head. Used an axe.

Dancer's automatons

Dancer named her automatons after her favorite smells. Each construct was designed for particular tasks, and each was unique. They all traveled together and were therefore built to be quick and nimble.

• Fresh Cut Grass - Task: Healing
• Oatmeal - Task: Making firewood and campsites
• Apple Pie
• Pussy - From whom came FCG's buzzsaw
• Thunderstorm
• Cookie - Built after FCG and she had parted ways. Described as "a moving tripod-type containment assistant." Task: Assisting Dancer and holding her stuff inside itself.
• Pussy II - Built presumably after the destruction of its namesake, described as "a flying bird contraption." Task: Defend Dancer with its laser and deliver her spells.

Character information

Abilities

• Spellcasting
  • Shocking Grasp
  • Cure Wounds

Quotations

• Fresh Cut Grass: (to Dancer) I don't know what I did. I mean, I do, but I don't. But I'm sorry. I just wanted to talk to you because I found some new friends, and I don't want to hurt them. I thought maybe you might know more about me? But also, I belong to you, so if you want to take me back, I'm yours. I promise I won't do it again.
  Dancer: I know that's a promise you can't keep. Look, FCG, there's a lot of time we spent together that I'm real appreciative of. There's a lot of conversations we've had, and a lot of personal shit that you've helped me through. But you also took a lot from me, and I can't forget that. Our paths have diverged. They're gone. I don't want you to do to anyone else what you did to me.

Appearances and mentions

• Campaign Three
  • "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01), mentioned only
  • "On the Trail of a Killer" (3x04), mentioned only
  • "Growing Bonds and Teasing Threads" (3x06), mentioned only
  • "Ghosts, Dates, and Darker Fates" (3x10), mentioned only
  • "Make It Fashion" (3x12), mentioned only
  • "A Dance of Deception" (3x13), mentioned only
  • "Promise and Potential" (3x22), mentioned only
  • "Hidden Truths" (3x26), mentioned only
  • "A Race for the Prize" (3x27), mentioned only
  • "Breaking Point" (3x31), via Sending (first appearance)
  • "A Stage Set" (3x32)
  • "The Fey Key" (3x47), mentioned only
  • "The Aurora Grows" (3x49), mentioned only
  • "Far From The Others" (3x52), mentioned only
  • "Hope Within History" (3x55), mentioned only, unnamed
  • "For The Tempest" (3x68), via Scrying
  • "Nice" (3x69)
  • "Embattled in Bassuras" (3x70)
  • "An Ancient Flame" (3x75), mentioned only
  • "A Gathering of Heroes" (3x76)

Trivia

• Dancer's name is possibly a reference to the 2008 song "Human" by the Killers. In "The Fey Key" (3x47) Fresh Cut Grass says, "Am I human, or am I Dancer's?" In "Human", the chorus says: "Are we human or are we dancer? / My sign is vital, my hands are cold. / And I'm on my knees looking for the answer: / Are we human, or are we dancer?" (The use of dancer in this song comes from a quote from journalist Hunter S. Thompson: "We're raising a generation of dancers, afraid to take one step out of line".)
• While Dancer appears mostly human, she was been described by both FCG and Esmer as having a small amount of fur, traces of her firbolg lineage.

References

Art: