Pike Trickfoot

Pike Trickfoot is a gnome cleric of Sarenrae, a member of Vox Machina and the wife of Scanlan Shorthalt. She was played by Ashley Johnson.

Intro
"Pike grew up in the outskirts of town, near the Bramblewood. Her ancestors were a family of deep gnomes with quite an unfavorable reputation. Thievery, destruction, and trickery left them with the curse of the last name of Trickfoot.

''Sarenrae, the goddess of healing and redemption, had other plans for Pike's great-great-grandfather Wilhand, who left his family at a young age after a dream—a dream that changed the course of the Trickfoot family. Wilhand devoted his life to Sarenrae, and pledged from then on that he and his family would live a life of service and devotion.''

''As a child, Pike seemed to have an affinity to heal. Whether it was animals, people, or even flowers, she felt she had a purpose in making things whole that had once been broken. She studied and learned the ways to heal through divine magic. She lived a peaceful life, quiet and simple, until one day, Wilhand was captured and almost killed by a group of goliath barbarians. One of the goliaths took a stand against the murder of the innocent gnome, and he himself was beaten, bloodied, and left for dead, abandoned by his herd.''

''Wilhand went to Pike for help. She prayed, and healed this barbarian as best she could, bringing him back to life. When he awoke, she discovered his name was Grog Strongjaw. After that, they were the best of friends—a rather unlikely pair. Little did she know that in a few years time, Grog would soon return the favor and bring her back from the clutches of death.''

''After being killed in battle, Pike felt angry. She wanted to be stronger, so that it would never happen again. She spent four months at sea, training with the men and women aboard a ship called The Broken Howl. Gripping her holy symbol in one hand, and her morningstar in the other, this time, Pike is ready."''

Appearance
Pike, being a gnome, is small in stature with long white hair wrapped up in braids and occasionally buns. She also has a scar that runs down her left eye and (presumably) a scar across her lower torso from being bisected by a glabrezu.

Pike's hair was originally black with a purple streak. After her first death and resurrection her hair turned white.

Personality
Pike, being a cleric of Sarenrae, is very faithful to her. Ever since she died and was brought back, she has been dealing with feelings of frustration, guilt, and anger. Despite being kind and welcoming, she has shown a more violent side, as shown when she killed an unconscious duergar in the Emberhold fortress.

Pike cares very deeply for all of her party members and often goes out of her way to ensure nobody falls unconscious or dies in battle. She often feels like she has to put on a brave face for everyone just so they do not worry about her.

Pike's alignment is either chaotic good, like Vax'ildan and (currently) Vexahlia, or chaotic neutral, like Grog.

Background
Pike is Vox Machina's main healer, capable of healing the entire group at once. She descended from a family of deep gnomes that used to be brigands and thieves before Wilhand, her great-great-grandfather, became a devout follower of Sarenrae. The rest of the family followed in his footsteps, Pike included.

Pike was a childhood friend and companion of Grog, after saving him from the brink of death when he protected Wilhand from the Herd of Storms. When Grog became a victim of a necromantic mage's ritual to achieve lichdom, Pike joined up with other adventurers to save him—becoming the group eventually known as Vox Machina.

Before the Stream
Pike first met the group of adventurers that would become Vox Machina when they traveled to Westruun in search of Grog, who had gone missing several weeks before. She told them that he had been acting strangely and was headed towards Gatshadow Mountain. Pike joined the group to help them find her friend.

Pike landed the killing blow on the white dragon Skysunder, earning her the sobriquet "Dragonslayer".

Pike purposely injured Vax when she found out he had been a "peeping tom" by stepping on his foot. She dealt one nonlethal damage.

Pike died in battle against a glabrezu named Jurazel. Jurazel picked her up in its pincer-like hand and cut her in half, dealing enough damage to kill her. Fortunately, the group was in Emon and very close to a temple with well-trained clerics, which increased their chances of resurrecting the gnome. After the battle, the group took Pike to the temple to perform a resurrection ritual with the aid of Father Tristan. The challenge of the ritual required various contributions from the group, and they offered three tears from different women, a figure of Pike that Scanlan carved two months before, and a kiss from Scanlan on Pike's brow. It was Scanlan's kiss that pushed the ritual over the edge of success, bringing Pike back to life. Her originally black hair—with purple streak—turned white as a result.

After her resurrection, Pike trained and built up enough strength to wear plate armor in an effort to avoid falling in battle again. The added protection is counterbalanced by its noise while Pike moves, significantly diminishing her stealthiness—sometimes comically so.

Grog

 * &rarr; Main article: Relationship between Grog and Pike.

Pike became a friend and companion of Grog Strongjaw after saving him from the brink of death when he protected Wilhand from his own tribe. Joining up together as an adventuring group, the two later became members of Vox Machina.

Grog and Pike have a very close friendship, the two of them being like brother and sister, and Pike has often defended him from insults made by fellow party members and sometimes outsiders. After Pike's death from Jurazel, she became more violent and bloodthirsty, sometimes impressing Grog with her ferocity.

Keyleth

 * &rarr; Main article: Relationship between Keyleth and Pike.

Despite having a huge distrust of the gods, Keyleth has a great respect for Pike and the two are good friends.

Before Keyleth departed for the Feywild, Pike told her about how despite being a cleric of Sarenrae, she still has control over her own life. She then gave Keyleth some advice about finding happiness and getting comfortable with Vax. That advice eventually gave Keyleth the courage to confess to him.

Percy

 * &rarr; Main article: Relationship between Percy and Pike.

Pike and Percy are good friends and have the utmost respect for each other despite the latter's views on the gods. During the Whitestone Rebellion, it was Pike who managed to stem the spread of corruption within him, buying him the time that was needed to see his goal through.

Before he departed for the Feywild, Percy was handed a special pendant from Pike that she had taken from her house in Westruun "for his protection". The pendant in question was later used to revive him when he was shot to death during his final encounter with Anna Ripley. However, after it shattered, it was unable to save him twice as Ripley inevitably killed him. His body was later returned to Whitestone where Pike performed a resurrection ritual that ultimately succeeded.

Sarenrae
Pike is a devout follower of Sarenrae, having learned how to use divine magic to heal at a young age. Pike's connection to Sarenrae is very strong, which has given her immense power, but it is a delicate connection. After brutally murdering an incapacitated duergar during the Emberhold assault, her symbol of Sarenrae cracked and caused her to lose some of her power. That moment made Pike think about her actions and after a long period of deep prayer, she reconnected with her deity and her connection with Sarenrae—and her holy symbol—was restored.

When up against formidable foes, Pike would sometimes pray for Divine Intervention from Sarenrae, but usually the deity would offer a few words of advice at most, either because she was convinced Vox Machina could handle the challenge on their own or because the situation was not dire enough to require her aid. However, when Pike prayed for help against the white dragon Vorugal, Sarenrae appeared before her and promised to do what she could. The goddess disappeared and brought down a column of divine energy which manifested as a fist and slammed the dragon into the ground.

During her visit to Elysium along with Vox Machina, Pike finally had the opportunity to meet her patron face-to-face. During this time, Pike felt such absolute joy due to her efforts over the years finally bearing fruit. She was then granted a blessing from Sarenrae to prepare her for the inevitable final confrontation with Vecna.

Scanlan

 * &rarr; Main article: Relationship between Pike and Scanlan.

Scanlan became smitten with Pike when they first met, but the cleric continuously brushed off his advances, no matter how creative, witty, and humorous those advances may have been. Nevertheless, Pike still cared about Scanlan in her own way. She even admitted to the bard that her feelings were growing for him "in a weird way", even though she was in love with someone else. Scanlan proposed marriage to Pike, who did not accept, so before the situation became too awkward, Scanlan rescinded the offer and the two gnomes decided to remain friends.

Pike was deeply saddened after Scanlan's departure, though she initially tried to put on a strong face for the rest of Vox Machina. She spoke into her earpiece every night as if she were talking to him (despite knowing he wouldn't hear her), and she tried in vain to search for where he and Kaylie went off to. When Scanlan finally returned, however, that sadness very quickly turned into anger, and Pike initially brushed Scanlan off. She later admitted to Vex that she just wanted a chance to be angry with Scanlan before forgiving him, and when Scanlan read her a poem he had written for Sarenrae, Pike appeared to fully welcome her fellow gnome back into her life.

After the fall of Vecna, Pike and Scanlan began dating, just to see how things went between them. After a few successful years of dating, Pike committed to a future with Scanlan, though she offered him any space and freedom that he might desire. When Scanlan told her that he felt completely free just by being with her, Pike knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Pike would eventually ask for Scanlan's hand in marriage, which he accepted after receiving Grog's blessing. The two now live together, alongside Grog, in Wilhand's former home.

Vax'ildan

 * &rarr; Main article: Relationship between Pike and Vax'ildan.

Pike, as a person and as a cleric of Sarenrae, was respected by Vax and he originally planned to follow in her footsteps and become a paladin of the goddess, even sewing a symbol of her patron to his glove as a reminder of his bond with his friend. But due to his deal with the Raven Queen, he became fearful that the gnome cleric would shun him for turning away from Sarenrae's light and actively tried to avoid her. When Pike confronted him about his avoiding her, the two came to an understanding, with Vax still believing that despite their differing patrons, he's still following in Pike's footsteps.

Wilhand Trickfoot
Pike cares about her great-great-grandfather very much, expressing deep concern for his well-being when Grog mentioned that his former herd had taken over Westruun. She was greatly relieved when Wilhand was discovered to have survived the herd's occupation.

Quests
Pike's main quest is currently unknown. It can be assumed that her main mission in life is to spread the worship of Sarenrae, as that is what she spends most of her off time doing (while Ashley was not able to make it into the studio).

Ashley has hinted that Pike has somebody from her past that she may be in love with. This was confirmed to be Percy during the campaign wrap up (2017-12-14).

Currently, Pike's quest is to rebuild the oldest known temple of Sarenrae, recently unearthed in Vasselheim with a handful of other devotees of the same faith. As a result, Pike is required to separate from the group for long periods of time as the rest of Vox Machina continues with their adventure.

Current Items

 * Celestial Shield
 * Boots of Elvenkind
 * Frostbrand Shortsword
 * Gauntlets of Ogre Power
 * Glove of Storing
 * Holy Oil
 * Mace of Disruption
 * Plate of the Dawnmartyr
 * Small statue of Scanlan
 * Sprinter's Boots

Former Items

 * Gate Stone

Other

 * Mithral Plate Armor (requested to build from Gilmore, but never went back to pick up and purchase)

Abilities
As a cleric of Sarenrae, Pike has many divine abilities that allow her to heal and give buffs to party members. She also has several abilities that let her deal damage to creatures. She was originally of the Life Domain, but after her death and resurrection, she became a cleric of the War Domain to signify her hardened resolve. As a 17th-level cleric, she has access to all cleric spells. She can prepare any 22 of these spells each day.

Gnome Abilities

 * Darkvision
 * Gnome Cunning

Feats

 * Skilled (Stealth, Persuasion and one other, unknown proficiency)

Blessing of the Everlight

 * +2 to Constitution
 * As a bonus action Pike can summon the Wings of the Everlight, granting her a flying speed of 40 feet for 10 minutes. While she has these wings, any spell she casts which cause creatures to regain hit points heal an additional 10 hit points. Once this ability is used, she cannot use it again for another 7 days.

Class Features

 * Channel Divinity (2 uses per short rest)
 * Destroy Undead (CR 4)
 * Turn Undead
 * Divine Domain: War Domain (previously Life Domain)
 * Avatar of Battle (Resistance to nonmagical weapons)
 * Bonus Proficiencies (Heavy armor, martial weapons)
 * Domain Spells
 * Divine Strike (+2d8 damage to weapon attacks)
 * Guided Strike
 * War God's Blessing
 * War Priest
 * Divine Intervention
 * Ritual Casting
 * Spellcasting (Wisdom-based ability)

Domain Spells
Pike always has access to these spells:

1st-level

 * Divine Favor
 * Shield of Faith

2nd-level

 * Magic Weapon
 * Spiritual Weapon

3rd-level

 * Crusader's Mantle
 * Spirit Guardians

4th-level

 * Freedom of Movement
 * Stoneskin

5th-level

 * Flame Strike
 * Hold Monster

Cleric Spells
In addition to her domain spells, Pike has access to all cleric class spells. As a 17th-level cleric, she can prepare up to 22 of these spells per day.

Cantrips

 * Guidance
 * Light
 * Sacred Flame
 * Thaumaturgy

1st-level

 * Bless
 * Command
 * Create or Destroy Water (mentioned; not cast)
 * Cure Wounds
 * Detect Evil and Good
 * Guiding Bolt (up the butt)
 * Healing Word
 * Protection from Evil and Good
 * Sanctuary
 * Shield of Faith

2nd-level

 * Aid
 * Blindness
 * Lesser Restoration
 * Prayer of Healing (mentioned; not cast)
 * Zone of Truth

3rd-level

 * Beacon of Hope
 * Daylight
 * Dispel Magic
 * Glyph of Warding
 * Mass Healing Word
 * Protection from Energy
 * Remove Curse
 * Revivify
 * Searing Light (Pathfinder spell, seen here)
 * Sending
 * Speak with Dead
 * Water Walk (mentioned; not cast)

4th-level

 * Death Ward
 * Guardian of Faith

5th-level

 * Discern Lies (Pathfinder spell, seen here)
 * Greater Restoration
 * Hallow
 * Insect Plague
 * Mass Cure Wounds
 * Raise Dead
 * Scrying

6th-level

 * Blade Barrier
 * Harm (Used in ; not used in campaign yet)
 * Heal
 * Heroes' Feast
 * Planar Ally

7th-level

 * Divine Word (Used in ; not used in campaign yet)
 * Fire Storm
 * Resurrection

8th-level

 * Earthquake
 * Holy Aura

9th-level

 * Mass Heal

Trivia

 * Sarenrae herself is a neutral good deity, but 5th Edition D&D doesn't require Pike to share the same alignment.
 * Pike has been referred to (comedically by Scanlan/Sam) as smelling/tasting like strawberries.
 * Pike was the winner of the second battle royale, where she fought against Percy, Vax'ildan, and Keyleth.
 * There has been much speculation as to the identity of the person Pike is in love with. It was later revealed during the Talks Machina Campaign Wrap-Up that it was actually Percival. One of the early hints was the song "Hello My Old Heart" by The Oh Hellos on Pike's Spotify playlist back in 2015. Ashley explained that Pike saw the darkness within Percy's soul and sought to purify it, praying often for Percy's salvation. However, eventually Pike realized that it would never resolve the way she wanted, especially after the attraction between Percy and Vex became apparent.
 * It is shown in that Pike has ticklish ear lobes.
 * In the Critical Role Major Arcana Tarot Card Set, she represents II - The High Priestess.