Witherbloom Faculty
Lisette, Dean of the Root
Dean Lissette (neutral good human Witherbloom professor of growth) is a world-class healer and herbalist; it’s even said she once cured the Lorehold founder dragon of a secret illness. Lisette’s classes lean more toward demonstration and hands-on experience than lectures. When Lisette speaks, her words are soft and full of colorful metaphors.
Lisette believes in preserving nature and life, and she instills in her students a respect for all living things. While Dean Valentin’s exploitation of living creatures disgusts her, she also knows she can use the results of his cruelty to help future lives.
Valentin, Dean of the Vein
Dean Valentin (neutral vampire) is ancient and drinks the blood of living creatures throughout the bayou. Valentin is a kind of sangromancer—he receives visions from the blood he consumes, which he uses to learn things about a creature or place. He has no qualms about exploiting the bayou’s creatures for personal gain.
Valentin’s classes focus on dissection and decay. He and Dean Lisette often clash over his cavalier treatment of animals, but that hasn’t stopped her from using his discoveries for her research.
"Serafina Onyx"
Professor Serafina Onyx is a brand new addition to the Witherbloom faculty. As a Witherbloom alumna herself, Onyx now teaches the reanimation and undead magic courses she was so proficient in during her youth, now as a professor of rot. Onyx is currently laying low at the school with her new position, but is not inconspicuous. She stays away from Lorehold students in particular, aware that their knowledge of history may make it easy to identify her as more than she seems.
She can often be found in the restricted areas of the Biblioplex and is hesitant to form attachments to students. Despite being at the school for a number of years now, she still sees her position as temporary until something better comes along. Yet, Onyx skipped the introductory Instructor period and was offered a professorship immediately. A number of faculty from both Witherbloom and the other colleges were a tad jealous as something like this is unheard of. Onyx feels a need to prove herself and her teaching ability. As such she holds regular office hours and is happy to have mentoring sessions with students.
Asana Vargundil
Asana is an elf with a mastery of using various ingredients to create both potions and antidotes. Asana is young, by elf standards, but learned her skills by taking classes under Dean Lisette when Lisette was still just a professor. The two worked closely together during Asana's time as a student and even after Asana had graduated. When Lisette was offered the position of dean it was a no-brainer to ask Asana to teach the healing courses she had excelled at as a student. Asana happily accepted and over the course of a few years was offered a promotion from Instructor to Witherbloom professor of growth.
Asana has a scientific mind and horrible bedside manor. As she cares for students who may have been attacked or suffered some other injury in the Detention Bog she more often than not will start talking to their wounds or talking about the horrors they could have faced instead of talking to the patients themselves and attempting to keep them calm. As a scientist Asana prefers to stay within her lab at Widdershins Hall and happily pays students for any potion ingredients they might bring to her. She also worries frequently about the work that Venoc is doing and asks students to bring her any notes about his research so she can prepare proper cures ahead of time.
Kojil the Tamer
Even as a young firbolg Kojil always had a way with animals. At only seven years old he helped calm a mad scurrid, foaming at the mouth, for long enough to find the wound that had caused the disease. Unable to heal the creature, the village elder helped the scurrid pass on. However, instead of passing on, the spirit of the scurrid remained and quickly climbed up to Kojil's shoulder.
In the years to follow Kojil either tamed or was approached by all manner of dangerous or rare creatures such as Karoks and Cervins and was visited at times by the spirits of other creatures as well The village elder wrote to Strixhaven about these feats, hoping for an explanation and receiving only an admission letter for young Kojil in return.
Kojil now serves as a Witherbloom professor of growth with his faithful scurrid ghost/familiar, whom he calls Tall Ear. Despite the dangers of Sedgemoor and the Detention Bog Kojil teaches students how to connect with the fauna of the land and how to use that connection to feel a creature's thoughts, desires, and even fears, allow his charges to form a bond with the creature. He also shows that even in death creatures can still be called upon and works with the spirits of pests and other creatures who die in the classes taught by other professors. Sometimes these spirits don't want to ser and sometimes spells can call on other forces, so Kojil teaches all students how to send dangerous entities back to where they came from.
Venoc Plaguescale
As a green dragonborn who has always been afflicted with various illnesses, Venoc has never found much acceptance in the world. Which is just fine with him because for all he cares the world can suffer with him. Venoc's primary goal in life is to create increasingly powerful diseases using Banelock magic. If he can create just the right concoction he can spread a disease that will cause others to suffer just as much as he has.
As a Witherbloom professor of decay Venoc is barely interested in his students or their studies unless they're a prodigy. Venoc is really only at Strixhaven for the access to research and materials. He absolutely hates Asana, whom he considers to be a rival who is always getting in his way by coming up with cures for his diseases. The two professors tend to draw their students into their rivalry as well Venoc pays students for any dangerous spell components they find and encourages them to bring back information about Asana's cures and other research.
Verooja
People are sometimes surprised that Verooja, a male loxodon and Witherbloom professor of growth, doesn't actually have two green thumbs. The middle-aged Loxodon maintains a fairly large garden on the outskirts of Widdershins Hall near Sedgemoor in addition to maintaining an eye on the flora of both Sedgemoor and the Detention Bog. The garden maintains a number of rare and difficult to maintain plants, some of which sell for a pretty penny, which Verooja teaches about in his classes. Students that attempt to enter, damage, or steal from the garden typically fail to read the signs posted indicating the garden can and will defend itself from anyone who is not authorized
Students and staff who wander past the garden can often hear Verooja talking to his plants with a kind tone, a tactic Verooja swears helps the plants flourish. Verooja has recently expanded the garden to include a nearby cave where he's learning how to grow and care for various magical mushrooms.
Willowdusk, Essence Seer
No one knows how old Willowdusk (neutral good treant) really is. This professor of growth claims to be older than Strixhaven itself, and although many suspect that she exaggerates, no one else who has lived long enough to refute her cares to do so. Many years ago, a group of rebellious students got lost in Detention Bog and took shelter in what turned out to be Willowdusk’s roots. She protected them from a pack of hungry groffs and shepherded them back to Widdershins Hall, offering a lecture on proper herb-gathering practices during the journey.
Her lessons proved so effective that she was asked to stay as a professor. She loves passing on her knowledge of medicinal herbs, pest mascot cultivation, and dissection techniques to generations of new students, and she almost always has a pot of tea brewing. Her classes mostly focus on plant identifying and sniffing out spell components, and as such, she's adored by students who prefer to learn outside and take field trips.
Tivash, Gloom Summoner
It’s tough to study the secrets of life and death without getting your hands dirty—which is the first thing Tivash (neutral human Witherbloom professor of decay) teaches Witherbloom students. Some call the forces he manipulates evil, but he asserts that power is only as good or evil as how you use it. Unlike Onyx, Tivash focuses entirely on creating death and keeping things that way, for he has no love for reanimation.
As a powerful death mage, Tivash commonly uses pests to fuel his work, a feat frowned upon for those who favor the adorable creatures. Tivash has occasionally needed extra fuel for more powerful spells and has no problem substituting his own life energy. Because of this his entire left hand and arm are shriveled, completely black, and entirely unusable. Tivash considers this a minor obstacle on his path to greatness as he merely uses magic to do things his left arm used to do. Tivash teaches a general studies course on using magic to solve such problems for those students brave enough to have him as a teacher.
Verelda Lang, Arcano-Biologist
Verelda Lang (chaotic neutral dryad) is a respected Witherbloom professor of growth who teaches introductory courses in magical physiology, helping students in every college learn about the many unusual creatures they’re likely to encounter, whatever the students’ field of study. Her research extends to the vital functions of fractal creatures and other artificial life-forms, leading her to teach courses at Quandrix College as well. She's not exactly a groundskeeper, but along with Kojil, she cares for most of the mascots and animals around campus, as well as Nexus itself.
Yedora, Grave Gardener
Yedora (neutral treant) is the head groundskeeper and unofficial undertaker of Strixhaven. Students and graduates often wish to spend their afterlife at their beloved university, and she honors that wish. Each tree she plants represents the essence of a fallen mage, and she remembers them all by name. Some of their spirits can be found wandering the campus or spending their days in Effigy Row.
She works tirelessly to maintain the entire Strixhaven campus from the rampant chaos that takes place every day. Students often come to her for grounds-keeping jobs, like trimming bushes or growing flowers under Yedora for more nature-inclined students. Yedora is also a survivor of Brittleblight, a disease that destroys different groves, and can become over-protective of diseased trees because of the horrors she witnessed.
Gyome, Master Chef
Anyone who thinks a troll can’t be a great chef has never met Gyome (neutral troll). He combines local ingredients with flavors from his homeland into an ever-changing menu of delicacies. Students from every college trek through Sedgemoor in droves for his food. The only complaint he ever receives is that he gives out unreasonably large portions.
While not a professor, Gyome does teach some general courses and sometimes takes students in as apprentice chefs. Everyone was encouraged to bring "exotic meat" they're looking to dispose of to him, which he promises to take care of discreetly. Because of this, The Black Hand and he have a little-known but beneficial relationship.
Dean Lissette (neutral good human Witherbloom professor of growth) is a world-class healer and herbalist; it’s even said she once cured the Lorehold founder dragon of a secret illness. Lisette’s classes lean more toward demonstration and hands-on experience than lectures. When Lisette speaks, her words are soft and full of colorful metaphors.
Lisette believes in preserving nature and life, and she instills in her students a respect for all living things. While Dean Valentin’s exploitation of living creatures disgusts her, she also knows she can use the results of his cruelty to help future lives.
Valentin, Dean of the Vein
Dean Valentin (neutral vampire) is ancient and drinks the blood of living creatures throughout the bayou. Valentin is a kind of sangromancer—he receives visions from the blood he consumes, which he uses to learn things about a creature or place. He has no qualms about exploiting the bayou’s creatures for personal gain.
Valentin’s classes focus on dissection and decay. He and Dean Lisette often clash over his cavalier treatment of animals, but that hasn’t stopped her from using his discoveries for her research.
"Serafina Onyx"
Professor Serafina Onyx is a brand new addition to the Witherbloom faculty. As a Witherbloom alumna herself, Onyx now teaches the reanimation and undead magic courses she was so proficient in during her youth, now as a professor of rot. Onyx is currently laying low at the school with her new position, but is not inconspicuous. She stays away from Lorehold students in particular, aware that their knowledge of history may make it easy to identify her as more than she seems.
She can often be found in the restricted areas of the Biblioplex and is hesitant to form attachments to students. Despite being at the school for a number of years now, she still sees her position as temporary until something better comes along. Yet, Onyx skipped the introductory Instructor period and was offered a professorship immediately. A number of faculty from both Witherbloom and the other colleges were a tad jealous as something like this is unheard of. Onyx feels a need to prove herself and her teaching ability. As such she holds regular office hours and is happy to have mentoring sessions with students.
Asana Vargundil
Asana is an elf with a mastery of using various ingredients to create both potions and antidotes. Asana is young, by elf standards, but learned her skills by taking classes under Dean Lisette when Lisette was still just a professor. The two worked closely together during Asana's time as a student and even after Asana had graduated. When Lisette was offered the position of dean it was a no-brainer to ask Asana to teach the healing courses she had excelled at as a student. Asana happily accepted and over the course of a few years was offered a promotion from Instructor to Witherbloom professor of growth.
Asana has a scientific mind and horrible bedside manor. As she cares for students who may have been attacked or suffered some other injury in the Detention Bog she more often than not will start talking to their wounds or talking about the horrors they could have faced instead of talking to the patients themselves and attempting to keep them calm. As a scientist Asana prefers to stay within her lab at Widdershins Hall and happily pays students for any potion ingredients they might bring to her. She also worries frequently about the work that Venoc is doing and asks students to bring her any notes about his research so she can prepare proper cures ahead of time.
Kojil the Tamer
Even as a young firbolg Kojil always had a way with animals. At only seven years old he helped calm a mad scurrid, foaming at the mouth, for long enough to find the wound that had caused the disease. Unable to heal the creature, the village elder helped the scurrid pass on. However, instead of passing on, the spirit of the scurrid remained and quickly climbed up to Kojil's shoulder.
In the years to follow Kojil either tamed or was approached by all manner of dangerous or rare creatures such as Karoks and Cervins and was visited at times by the spirits of other creatures as well The village elder wrote to Strixhaven about these feats, hoping for an explanation and receiving only an admission letter for young Kojil in return.
Kojil now serves as a Witherbloom professor of growth with his faithful scurrid ghost/familiar, whom he calls Tall Ear. Despite the dangers of Sedgemoor and the Detention Bog Kojil teaches students how to connect with the fauna of the land and how to use that connection to feel a creature's thoughts, desires, and even fears, allow his charges to form a bond with the creature. He also shows that even in death creatures can still be called upon and works with the spirits of pests and other creatures who die in the classes taught by other professors. Sometimes these spirits don't want to ser and sometimes spells can call on other forces, so Kojil teaches all students how to send dangerous entities back to where they came from.
Venoc Plaguescale
As a green dragonborn who has always been afflicted with various illnesses, Venoc has never found much acceptance in the world. Which is just fine with him because for all he cares the world can suffer with him. Venoc's primary goal in life is to create increasingly powerful diseases using Banelock magic. If he can create just the right concoction he can spread a disease that will cause others to suffer just as much as he has.
As a Witherbloom professor of decay Venoc is barely interested in his students or their studies unless they're a prodigy. Venoc is really only at Strixhaven for the access to research and materials. He absolutely hates Asana, whom he considers to be a rival who is always getting in his way by coming up with cures for his diseases. The two professors tend to draw their students into their rivalry as well Venoc pays students for any dangerous spell components they find and encourages them to bring back information about Asana's cures and other research.
Verooja
People are sometimes surprised that Verooja, a male loxodon and Witherbloom professor of growth, doesn't actually have two green thumbs. The middle-aged Loxodon maintains a fairly large garden on the outskirts of Widdershins Hall near Sedgemoor in addition to maintaining an eye on the flora of both Sedgemoor and the Detention Bog. The garden maintains a number of rare and difficult to maintain plants, some of which sell for a pretty penny, which Verooja teaches about in his classes. Students that attempt to enter, damage, or steal from the garden typically fail to read the signs posted indicating the garden can and will defend itself from anyone who is not authorized
Students and staff who wander past the garden can often hear Verooja talking to his plants with a kind tone, a tactic Verooja swears helps the plants flourish. Verooja has recently expanded the garden to include a nearby cave where he's learning how to grow and care for various magical mushrooms.
Willowdusk, Essence Seer
No one knows how old Willowdusk (neutral good treant) really is. This professor of growth claims to be older than Strixhaven itself, and although many suspect that she exaggerates, no one else who has lived long enough to refute her cares to do so. Many years ago, a group of rebellious students got lost in Detention Bog and took shelter in what turned out to be Willowdusk’s roots. She protected them from a pack of hungry groffs and shepherded them back to Widdershins Hall, offering a lecture on proper herb-gathering practices during the journey.
Her lessons proved so effective that she was asked to stay as a professor. She loves passing on her knowledge of medicinal herbs, pest mascot cultivation, and dissection techniques to generations of new students, and she almost always has a pot of tea brewing. Her classes mostly focus on plant identifying and sniffing out spell components, and as such, she's adored by students who prefer to learn outside and take field trips.
Tivash, Gloom Summoner
It’s tough to study the secrets of life and death without getting your hands dirty—which is the first thing Tivash (neutral human Witherbloom professor of decay) teaches Witherbloom students. Some call the forces he manipulates evil, but he asserts that power is only as good or evil as how you use it. Unlike Onyx, Tivash focuses entirely on creating death and keeping things that way, for he has no love for reanimation.
As a powerful death mage, Tivash commonly uses pests to fuel his work, a feat frowned upon for those who favor the adorable creatures. Tivash has occasionally needed extra fuel for more powerful spells and has no problem substituting his own life energy. Because of this his entire left hand and arm are shriveled, completely black, and entirely unusable. Tivash considers this a minor obstacle on his path to greatness as he merely uses magic to do things his left arm used to do. Tivash teaches a general studies course on using magic to solve such problems for those students brave enough to have him as a teacher.
Verelda Lang, Arcano-Biologist
Verelda Lang (chaotic neutral dryad) is a respected Witherbloom professor of growth who teaches introductory courses in magical physiology, helping students in every college learn about the many unusual creatures they’re likely to encounter, whatever the students’ field of study. Her research extends to the vital functions of fractal creatures and other artificial life-forms, leading her to teach courses at Quandrix College as well. She's not exactly a groundskeeper, but along with Kojil, she cares for most of the mascots and animals around campus, as well as Nexus itself.
Yedora, Grave Gardener
Yedora (neutral treant) is the head groundskeeper and unofficial undertaker of Strixhaven. Students and graduates often wish to spend their afterlife at their beloved university, and she honors that wish. Each tree she plants represents the essence of a fallen mage, and she remembers them all by name. Some of their spirits can be found wandering the campus or spending their days in Effigy Row.
She works tirelessly to maintain the entire Strixhaven campus from the rampant chaos that takes place every day. Students often come to her for grounds-keeping jobs, like trimming bushes or growing flowers under Yedora for more nature-inclined students. Yedora is also a survivor of Brittleblight, a disease that destroys different groves, and can become over-protective of diseased trees because of the horrors she witnessed.
Gyome, Master Chef
Anyone who thinks a troll can’t be a great chef has never met Gyome (neutral troll). He combines local ingredients with flavors from his homeland into an ever-changing menu of delicacies. Students from every college trek through Sedgemoor in droves for his food. The only complaint he ever receives is that he gives out unreasonably large portions.
While not a professor, Gyome does teach some general courses and sometimes takes students in as apprentice chefs. Everyone was encouraged to bring "exotic meat" they're looking to dispose of to him, which he promises to take care of discreetly. Because of this, The Black Hand and he have a little-known but beneficial relationship.
Type
Education
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