Gavin Greene is an eleven-year-old boy from a broken home on Earth. At the start of The Wondrous Wayfarer, he's living in a foster home, with little to call his own. His real family died in a house fire, so he's a little traumatized.

Prior to coming aboard the Wayfarer, Gavin learned how to repair simple objects from the owner of a neighborhood thrift store. Once aboard the Wayfarer, he applies his skills and works in the Wayfarer's workshop.

As part of a gatherer team with Ushu, Rhuk, and Trace, he also explores the different worlds and dimensions the Wayfarer visits.

Ushu is a small lizard-woman (only about three feet tall) who becomes Gavin's roommate. As part of a gatherer team that includes Gavin, Rhuk, and Trace, she frequently acts as a scout, scaling buildings or using her small size to slip into small spaces.

Ushu comes from a primitive world, where her tribe lived in a desert community. She makes baskets and similar objects for the Wayfarer team to trade with natives.

I wanted Gavin to have a friend that was about an equal. Ushu is older and more mature, and she befriends Gavin easily. I liked lizard-people, but I didn't want to use them as enemies. I made her small to make her less intimidating to Gavin - and she's taken the role of scout on the gatherer team.

Rhuk Blackpelt is a dog-soldier with a cybernetic right arm. A powerful and capable combatant, he protects the team and the Wayfarer from any dangers. Unfortunately, his cybernetic arm stopped working some time ago, so he only has one functioning arm. Despite this challenge, he demonstrates tactical skill and prowess.

Rhuk comes from a technological world where he was a member of a military unit. He lost his original arm in battle, so the miltary doctors replaced it with cybernetics. Despite his background, Rhuk is friendly, acting as a big brother to Gavin.

After creating Ushu, I needed a physically intimidating character who could serve as a guardian when necessary. I settled on a dog-soldier as a sci-fi balance to Ushu's background. The bulldog head and his dark coloration is an homage to the bulldog my grandfather had when I was a boy. I forget when the non-functioning cybernetic arm occured to me.

Trace is a shapeshifter who doesn't know where she originated - or what her natural form looks like. She usually serves as a diplomat, relying on a translator pendant to let her communicate with natives on whatever planet the Wayfarer visits.

Trace's shapeshifting talents are limited to humanoid or semi-humanoid forms, and she usually appears as the female of whatever species she's impersonating. When not trying to blend in with natives, she likes to experiment, blending features of whatever she fancies.

I needed a character that could interact with beings on whatever world the crew visits, so a shapeshifter seemed natural. But shapeshifters have been done many times in both fantasy and science fiction, and I wanted something a little different. Thus I came up with the idea of Trace not knowing her true form, and limiting her to only female humanoid forms prevents her from being too overpowered.

Isanthe is a centauress who coordinates the Wayfarer's gatherer teams, ensuring they have the resources and skills necessary. She also knows how to read most of the devices in the Center, and is a capable combatant as well

Isanthe, along with Qhosero and Skreenath, serve as the de facto leaders of everyone on the Wayfarer. When Gavin comes aboard, he begins to see Isanthe as a surrogate mother figure.

Isanthe was one of the first characters I identified for the Wayfarer. I've always liked centaurs, and a centauress fit perfectly for the gatherer team organizer.

Qhosero is an elderly naga (snake-man), with a humanoid upper body and a long snake body below the waist. He coordinates people's jobs aboard the Wayfarer and serves as part of the de facto leadership, along with Isanthe and Skreenath.

Qhosero rarely leaves the Wayfarer, as he has a long scar along his snake-body caused by a sorcerer's lightning bolt. Doctor Znovix gives him a salve to relieve the pain, but he cannot move particularly fast.

Gavin comes to see him as a grandfatherly figure.

Major Skreenath leads the defense of the Wayfarer and handles security. A two-headed eagle man, he comes from a militaristic society. Capable with both melee weapons and advanced firearms, Skreenath is a fierce combatant and a member of the leadership triumvirate.

Initially, Skreenath's stern demeanor intimidates Gavin. However, during the events of The Nefarious Nightscar, Gavin begins to see Skreenath as a substitute father figure.

Skreenath's design was inspired by the Germanic double-headed eagle, which fits his militaristic background, too.

Kraug is an ogre - large and a little stupid. When he grabs Gavin's bike (and the entire bike rack it's chained to) during a gathering foray, he doesn't notice when Gavin grabs onto a bike. He returns to the Wayfarer with Gavin dangling on his back, only noticing his mistake when it's too late to return Gavin to Earth.

Despite his size and stupidity, Kraug is good-natured. He helps on gatherer teams, though Isanthe hasn't let him visit worlds alone since he accidentally brought Gavin aboard. Physically the strongest member of the Wayfarer crew, he's a dangerous combatant.

He's still fascinated by Gavin's bike, though Gavin hasn't figured how to make one that can support the ogre's weight.

The initial concept for The Adventures of Gavin Greene was the front cover - an ogre stealing a boy's bike, rack and all. So I had to figure out why the ogre was stealing it, and that led to the story. So Kraug had to be part of it.

Doctor Znovix is bizarre alien creature that serves as the Wayfarer's doctor. Partially empathic, he treats the occasional injury his crewmates suffer when exploring worlds. Znovix doesn't usually venture out of the Wayfarer unless he knows nothing endangers the crew.

Physically, Znovix has a bright red barrel-shaped body, three stumpy legs, and three tentacles for arms. His mouth is at the top of his body, ringed by three eyes on eyestalks.

I wanted a few regular characters who were really bizarre, and I've always been intrigued by trilateral creatures. Znovix's design is a blend of a Xorn from Dungeons & Dragons and the Redundans from Awful Green Things from Outer Space (the red aliens on the cover, which is also where he got his red coloration).

Dara Jarzoz is a powerful human telepath who uses her talents to aid the crew. Whenever a new being joins the Wayfarer crew, she implants the vessel's comman language in their mind. She also reads minds when necessary.

Jarzoz comes from an unknown world, and frequently carries herself in a haughty manner (Dara is a title from her homeland, roughly equivalent to Lady or Dame). She does not participate in a gatherer team, considering herself too valuable to endanger herself. Instead, she works in the Wayfarer's library, chronicling the worlds the Wayfarer visits and translating any books or other written materials the gatherer teams bring back.

Jarzoz is something of an import from my D&D campaign world; I liked the idea of a psionic-led society where the psions shaved the top of their heads as a status symbol, and I needed a way to have Gavin learn the language used on the Wayfarer.