Pip

Pip is the keeper of Hearth Grove, a microglial resident who covers the awkward east bend. Pip is not a mentor. Pip knows every route and neighbour, but a familiar routine can mislead them when the problem is new.

Appearance#

Pip has a narrow, swept body that leans forward like a leaf, with a pale stripe along its back. The plan forbids mentor robes, clipboards, hats or a humanoid worker. Pip walks the same route each day and cuts one familiar corner.

Personality#

Pip is organised, reliable in a crisis and wary of requests that sound like an excuse to leave work undone. Pip's private worry is whether Hearth could run without them; nobody has ever tested it. Pip is often right about local risk.

Role in the story#

Pip and Mote are the central pair of Arborwake: The Long Wake. Pip argues for dependable coverage; Mote argues for understanding the pattern. Both are partly right, and the game proves it through play rather than a lecture. In Act V, Pip cannot leave a home duty that would then be uncovered.

Recruitment#

Pip is the last of the three possible companions. The Relay post (30 Supply) must cover Pip's keeper watch, and Pip must spend real time away while it holds (step PIP6). Only then can the separate invitation pip:PIP7 add Pip to the field roster. If Pip is the first recruit, the Coordinator unlocks then. See Recruitment.

Abilities#

As a field companion, Pip is a keeper: reliable local coverage and a bounded task handoff. Pip is never a universal free worker. "Keeper" is a fictional preference, not a microglial subtype.

Development#

• Story: plan v0.5 §7 and §18; dossier Part VI. The user approved Pip's placement on 31 October.
• Art: the user accepted the named-cast identities on 2 November: "Fen A, Bram B, Mote B, Pip A, Rill A, Cress B". Production sheets animate idle, start, move, stop and tend in six facings. The generic Pip sprite keeps its original size and colours (user, 2 November).
• In the alpha In the Placeholder alpha, Pip is a named resident at Hearth who walks to real home duties. The integration installs Pip's named sheet. Pip's side story can reach PIP1 there, according to the code.

Gallery#

See also#

• Someone Else's Shift
• Mote
• Relay post

Sources#

1. .GAME_PLAN/ARBORWAKE_THE_LONG_WAKE_COMPLETE_GAME_PLAN_v0.5.md (working copy, not in Git)
2. .GAME_PLAN/ARBORWAKE_COMPANIONS_NARRATIVE_AND_SYSTEMS_DOSSIER_v0.5.md (working copy, not in Git)
3. 16c9aab43:art/characters/named-cast/CANONICAL.jsoncopy
4. 16c9aab43:art/characters/named-cast/anim/README.mdcopy
5. b89f778c2:src/main-game/game/residents.jscopy