Smidge - Pixie Berzerker

Appearance
At more than seven inches tall, Smidge is big for a Pixie.  In every other physical respect though, she is a typical specimine of her kind - small, slender and delicate-looking, with shimmering dragonfly-like wings, long, sharply-pointed ears, and large dark eyes.  Her short-cropped pink hair conceals a pair of feathery, retractable antennae, which detect the presence of magical energy in much the same way that an insect's antennae detect smells.  Although most of her kind are perfectly comfortable flitting about buck-naked, Smidge wears a suite of Pixie-sized plade-armor, specially fashioned for her by a kindly Dwarven smith.  The straps and clasps of this armor are equipped with quick-release catches that allow the individual plates to pop-off harmlessly, should Smidge accidentally expand too large for her suite to contain.  When relaxing in private however, Smidge has no qualms about removing her armor and prancing about in nothing but her own skin, though she is rarely ever this relaxed unless she is drunk, in which case she is often too tired, too smashed, or too swollen to undress anyway.  

In battle, Smidge wields her fearsome mace - Mr. Smashy - and uses her small size and blinding agility to dodge around her opponents' blows and attack their most vulnerable areas.  Whenever possible, she will attempt to charge straight into the heart of the fray, trying to whip herself into as much of a frenzy as possible, so as to take full advantage of her Berzerker Rage, while relying on her armor to absorb any damage directed at her.  If disarmed, she will rarely make any attempt to recover her weapon, instead using her bare fists - and in some cases, her head - to pummel her foes into submission.

Personality
Smidge is the cutest little Pixie anyone could ever hope to meet - at least until she gets angry.  Female Pixies have a reputation for being fiesty, but Smidge takes this concept to a whole new level.  When calm, Smidge behaves more-or-less like a typical Pixie - energetic, gregarious and insatiably curious, with a love of sweets, pranks and shiny things.  When angered however, her personality undergoes a dramatic and terrifying shift, transforming her into an unholy - if diminutive - terror, the likes of which could make even a demon cringe in fear.  As the Berzerker Rage takes hold, the Pixie's vision goes red and her blood begins to boil, sending her into a psychotic frenzy of violence and destruction that lasts until she either exhausts herself, is incapacitated, or the cause of her upset has been removed - usually by beating it into unconsciousness... or a fine paste.  Luckily for the rest of the world, Smidge can be fairly patient with others when she wishes, provided they don't get under her skin.  She is extraordinarily sensitive about her height though, and mocking her small stature is one of the surest ways to wind up with a crushed skull, as many ogres can attest - or at least they would, were they not all dead.  Rather appropriately, Smidge's idea of a good time is vaguely Dwarven in nature.  She likes fighting, and enjoys a good, playful scrap.  She is extremely fond of alcohol, and her intoxication threshold is actually higher than that of her Drow companion - something that infuriates Fizriniah to no end.  Like all Pixies, Smidge has a mischievious streak, and adores playing pranks and practical jokes on people.  Her favorite target is almost always Fizriniah, as she finds the haughty Drow's reactions wildly hilarious.  Despite her often carefree demeanor, Smidge is, like her companion, a victim of lonliness.  Pixies are gregarious creatures by nature, and being seperated from her own kind for so long has left her feeling isolated and adrift.  So far, Smidge has attempted to compensate for these feelings by seeking out companionship among other races, sometimes going as far as to actually flirt with creatures many times her size.  Whether these apparently romantic advances are truly serious or not, only Smidge can say for sure.  

Special Abilities

Sense Magic - Smidge's antennae are capable of detecting magical energy in much the same way that an insect's antennae detect smells.  She can track the magic to its source - provided it is close enough - rather like a bloodhound following a scent.  She can even discern what kind of magic she is sensing, based on its 'scent' (white magic smells sweet, while black magic smells foul).  Smidge has no way to determine the actual function of the magic in question however, nor can she tell if it is the result of an enchantment, a magical creature, or something else.

Elasticity - As a Pixie, Smidge's body is composed of equal parts flesh and magic, making it far more resilient and flexible than one would expect for a creature of her size.  She can, for example, down an entire pint of ale without suffering the slightest physical discomfort, her tiny body quite literally expanding like a water-balloon to accomodate the massive influx of liquid.  Noone knows exactly how far Smidge can stretch - not even Smidge herself.  She has never tested the limits of her elasticity before, and appears to have no interest in trying, or so she claims.

Berzerker Rage - When Smidge becomes angry, she will often fly into a furious, psychotic frenzy which grants her supernatural power and endurance.  While in the grips of this Berzerker Rage, Smidge's strength increases to frightening levels - rivaling that of a bull ogre - and she becomes virtually impervious to pain.  Short of being killed, rendered unconscious, or succumbing to exhaustion, Smidge will only halt her rampage when the cause of her anger has been 'dealt with' - which usually means pummeling it into a greasy smear, or at least a whimpering sack of bruised flesh and broken bones.  In an emergency, Smidge can hold her Rage in check through a supreme effort of will, but this is an incredible strain for the Pixie, and as the anger within her builds, so too does the likelihood of an explosion.  Smidge can maintain her Berzerker Rage for a maximum of one hour, after which the strain it places on her system takes its toll, and she collapses from exhaustion.

Magic

Like most Pixies, Smidge has a natural talent for magic, but lacks the focus and attention span to harness this talent for anything more impressive than the occasional prank.

Dazzle - A simple trick taught to all young Pixies, this spell creates a sudden, dazzling burst of flickering white lights that will temporarily blind and disorient anyone who looks at it - with the exception of Smidge herself - preventing them from attacking or defending themselves in any coherent fashion for up to twelves seconds.  Smidge likes to cast this spell at the beginning of a fight, using it to throw her foes off-balance before entering into melee, though if she is Raging, she will often forget about it entirely.  Due to her highly sensitive eyes, Smidge's Drow companion Fizriniah is especially vulnerable to this spell, and its effective duration is doubled on her.

Special Equipment

Mr. Smashy - Smidge's signature weapon, Mr. Smashy is a magical, one-handed mace given to Smidge as a gift by a kindly Dwarven smith who, though well-intentioned, was clearly not the best judge of character.  Shaped like a blocky silver hammer with an over-sized head, the mace is virtually indestructible and astonishingly light, allowing Smidge to weild it almost effortlessly, even when not in the grips of her Berzerker Rage.  Thanks to its enchanted nature, Mr. Smashy can effectively 'compress' itself to fit in Smidge's hip-pocket, allowing the Pixie to stow her weapon safely out of sight when not in battle.  Many would-be bandits have recieved a nasty surprise when the seemingly-unarmed Pixie they were menacing suddenly pulls a huge mace, several-times larger than herself, out of thin-air.  Mr. Smashy is bound to Smidge on a spiritual level, and if lost will always return to her, materializing safely within her pocket within a matter of hours.  Fizriniah secretly suspects that the mace is alive and intelligent on some level, though she has not shared these suspicions with Smidge, due to lack of evidence.

Weaknesses

Hot Temper - Female Pixies are known for being spunky and fierce (when you're that tiny, you need to be), but Smidge's fuse is even shorter than she is - a dangerous quality in a Berzerker.  Quick to take offense and even quicker to anger, Smidge won't hesitate to lash out at anyone she feels has insulted her, and any person foolish enough to mock or humiliate her in any way will earn themselves a broken jaw and some missing teeth at the very least.  She is extraordinarily touchy about her small stature, and making fun of her height or figure is a guarenteed way to make the little pink-haired Berzerker explode.  Fizriniah is especially good at getting under Smidge's skin, and knows exactly what to say and do to bring her pint-sized companion to the brink of an explosion, without ever quite giving her enough fuel to achieve critical mass.

Tiny - Measuring only a little more than seven inches in height, Smidge is, simply put, tiny.  While this can act to her advantage in combat, making her extremely difficult to hit, it also makes day-to-day life in a world built for much larger creatures difficult and exhausting.  Even simple activities, such as buying food and drink, finding room at an inn, or even asking for directions, can become a monumental undertaking without someone to aid her - one of the reasons she has taken to travelling with Fizriniah.  In addition, Smidge's diminutive stature often makes it difficult for other, larger creatures to take her seriously, something that positively infuriates the Pixie.

History
Even as a young Pixie, Smidge had a reputation for being hot-tempered and strong, and her youthful tantrums often left entire swaths of her home forest in disarray.  As she grew older, bigger, and stronger, the problems posed by her anger-issues and immense physical strength went from being a minor annoyance, to a major concern.  The final straw came when, after having her stature and figure mocked once too often by a lecherous and mean-spirited bard, Smidge hurled the obnoxious young musician clean through the trunk of an adult redwood, killing him instantly.  The other Pixies, unaccustomed to such extravagant acts of violence, were horrified, and immediately begged Smidge to leave the forest and never return.  Though many feared this demand would trigger anouther outburst - this time directed at them - Smidge was so shocked and hurt by their request that she left without incident.  She spent several years simply wandering the countryside in search of a home, acquiring her armor and mace along the way.  Eventually, she hit upon the idea of hiring herself out as a mercenary, a line of work that would be ideally suited to her particular talents.  Her initial efforts met with depressingly little success, as few people were willing to take a 'harmless Pixie' seriously as a warrior.  To help carve-out a reputation for herself, Smidge began hunting down dangerous bandits and monsters and turning them in for the reward money, though she found it difficult to convince the local authorities that she had, in fact, been the one responsible for slaying the beast or brigand.  Even when they rewarded her for her efforts, they could rarely bring themselves to publicly credit a mere Pixie with ending the threat, further hampering her attempts to make a name for herself.  Eventually, while traveling between cities, she encountered a freelance - and extremely irritable - Drow rogue by the name of Fizriniah, and decided to have some fun.  After a brief altercation, the two wanderers grudgingly agreed to join forces and work as a team.  The rest, as they say, is history.