Artemis Entreri

Vanshoon's page

21 posts. Alias of Krinn.


Full Name

Vanshoon

Race

Fetchling

Classes/Levels

Ninja 10 / Shadowdancer 10

Gender

Male

Size

Medium

Age

38 years

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Deity

Shelyn

Strength 18
Dexterity 24
Constitution 20
Intelligence 20
Wisdom 18
Charisma 24

About Vanshoon

Fetchling Ninja 10 / Shadowdancer 10
CG Medium outsider (native)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 90 ft., low-light vision; Perception +32

DEFENSE:

AC 37, touch 22, flat-footed 37 (+10 Armor, +6 Dex, +5 Deflection, +5 Natural, +1 Dodge)
hp 267 (20d8+100)
Fort +17, Ref +24, Will +16
Defensive Abilities improved evasion, improved uncanny dodge, no trace +3, slippery mind; Resist cold 5, electricity 5

OFFENSE:

Speed 30 ft.
Melee +5 holy mithral wakizashi of evil outsider bane +26/+21/+16 (1d6+9/15-20, +2d6 holy damage vs evil, +2 to hit and +2+2d6 damage vs evil outsiders)
Ranged +5 seeking composite shortbow (+4 Str bonus) +28/+23/+18 (1d6+10/x3)
Special Attacks sneak attack +5d6
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10; concentration +17)
5/day - Silent Image (DC 18)
4/day - Greater Shadow Conjuration (DC 24)
2/day - Shadow Evocation (DC 21)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20; concentration +25)
3/day - Detect Magic
2/day - Magic Aura (DC 16)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20; concentration +27)
1/day - Disguise Self (humanoids only, DC 18), Shadow Walk (self only), Plane Shift (self only, to Material Plane and Shadow Plane only), Prestidigitation

STATISTICS:

Str 18, Dex 24, Con 20, Int 20, Wis 18, Cha 24
Base Atk +14; CMB +18; CMD 40
Feats Weapon Finesse, Skill Focus (Stealth), Combat Relfexes, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Improved Critical (wakizashi), Dimensional Agility, Dimensional Assault, Dimensional Dervish
Traits Scholar of the Great Beyond, Magical Talent
Skills Acrobatics +35, Appraise +9, Bluff +14, Climb +13, Diplomacy +18, Disable Device +34, Disguise +17, Escape Artist +17, Intimidate +18, Knowledge (Arcana) +25, Knowledge (Local) +9, Knowledge (Religion) +25, Knowledge (Planes) +31, Linguistics +9, Perception +32, Perform (Dance) +15, Sense Motive +27, Sleight of Hand +30 (+35 in dim light or darkness), Spellcraft +25, Stealth +53 (+58 in dim light or darkness, +61 if taking no action), Swim +13, Use Magic Device +33; Racial Modifiers +2 Knowledge (planes), +2 Stealth; Favored Class Modifiers +5 Stealth and Sleight of Hand in dim light or darkness
Languages Common, Osiriani, Tien, Infernal
SQ ki pool (14 points), ninja trick (vanishing trick, minor magic, major magic, feather fall), master trick (ghost step, assassinate, invisible blade, dispelling attack), poison use, light steps, defensive roll

GEAR:

Magical Gear

  • Belt of Physical Perfection +6 (144000)
  • Headband of Mental Superiority +6 (144000) (grants 20 ranks to Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Religion) and Spellcraft)
  • Cloak of Resistance +5 (25000)
  • +5 Mithral Kikko Armor of Greater Shadow (62780) (Kikko Armor is a medium Eastern Armor, base statistics without mithral are +5 AC, -3 ACP, +4 MDB, -20% ASF, Greater Shadow grants a +15 competence bonus to Stealth checks)
  • +5 Holy Mithral Wakizashi of Evil Outsider Bane (129035) (Mithral bypasses silver damage reduction)
  • +5 Seeking Composite (STR +4) Shortbow (72675)
  • Freedom of Movement Ring of Sustenance (40000 + 1.5*2500 = 43750)
  • Protection +5 Ring of Mind Shielding (50000 + 1.5*8000 = 62000) (The wearer is continually immune to detect thoughts, discern lies, and any attempt to magically discern her alignment.)
  • Ki Serenity Amulet of Natural Armor +5 (50000 + 1.5*16000 = 74000) (The wearer gains a +4 bonus to his effective level when determining the size of his ki pool and the level-based effects of his ki pool ability (such as bypassing damage reduction).)
  • Elven Boots of Speed (12000 + 1.5*2500 = 15750)
  • Greater Bracers of Archery (25000)
  • Sniper Goggles of the Eagle (20000 + 1.5*2500 = 23750) (The wearer of these goggles can make ranged sneak attacks from any distance instead of the normal 30 feet. When making ranged sneak attacks within 30 feet, the wearer gains a +2 circumstance bonus on each sneak attack damage die.)
  • Vest of Escape (5200)
  • Handy Haversack (2000) (items starting with a # are into the Handy Haversack)
  • #Ki Mat (10000) (Each hour its owner spends sitting on the mat without taking any other action, he can attempt to center himself by making a Wisdom check with a DC of 10 plus the monk's current number of ki points (note that ability checks, like skill checks, do not automatically succeed on a 20). If the check is successful, the ninja regains 1 ki point.)
  • #Bottle of Air (7250)
  • Circlet of Persuasion (4500)
  • Gloves of Swimming, Climbing and Arrow Snaring (6250 + 1.5*4000 = 12250) (Twice per day, the wearer can act as if he had the Snatch Arrows feat (see Feats for details), even if he does not meet the prerequisites for the feat. Both gloves must be worn for the magic to be effective, and at least one hand must be free to take advantage of the magic.)
  • Efficient Quiver (1800) (items starting with a § are into the Efficient Quiver)

Expendable Items


  • #2x Universal Solvent (100)
  • #2x Wand of Cure Light Wounds (1500)
  • #Wand of Inflict Light Wounds (750)
  • #Wand of Protection from Evil (750)
  • #Wand of Resist Energy (750)
  • #Wand of Lesser Restoration (750)
  • #Wand of Pass without Trace (750)
  • #Wand of Negate Aroma (750)
  • #Wand of Comprehend Languages (750)
  • #4x Scroll of See Invisibility (300)
  • #4x Scroll of Silence (300)
  • #Wand of Darkness (4500)
  • #10x Doses of Drow Poison (750)
  • #Potion of Remove Blindness (750)
  • #Scroll of Remove Curse (375)
  • #Scroll of Remove Disease (375)
  • #4x Soothe Syrup (100)
  • #4x Antitoxin (200)
  • #2x Bladeguard (80)
  • #10x Smoke Pellet (250)
  • 2x Smoke Pellet (50)
  • #4x Alchemical grease (20)
  • §80 arrows (4)
  • §20 blunt arrows (2)
  • §10 smoke arrows (100)

Other Nonmagical Gear


  • #Hourglass, 1 hour (25)
  • #Small tent (10)
  • Signal whistle (8)
  • #Smelling salts (25)
  • #Compass (10)
  • #Bedroll (0.1)
  • #Winter Blanket (0.5)
  • #10x chalk pieces (0.1)
  • #Flint and steel (1)
  • #5x 50 ft silk rope (50)
  • #Grappling hook (1)
  • #Ink (8)
  • #Inkpen (0.1)
  • Belt pouch (1)
  • #10x Parchment sheets (2)
  • #2x Sacks (0.2)
  • Explorer's outfit (10)
  • #Explorer's outfit (10)
  • #Cold weather outfit (8)
  • #Healer's Kit (50)
  • #Hot weather outfit (8)
  • #1000 gp
  • 26 gp


SPECIAL ABILITIES:

Divine Purpose (Su) At 4th level, the favor of a deity or religious institution grants a special blessing on a sanctified rogue, shoring up some of her weaknesses. She gains a +1 sacred bonus on Fortitude and Will saving throws.
Divine Epiphany (Su) At 8th level, once per day, a sanctified rogue can peer into the immediate future and predict the results of a specific action as if she had cast an augury spell. The caster level of this spell is equal to the sanctified rogue's rogue class level.
Hide in Plain Sight (Su) A shadowdancer can use the Stealth skill even while being observed. As long as she is within 10 feet of an area of dim light, a shadowdancer can hide herself from view in the open without anything to actually hide behind. She cannot, however, hide in her own shadow.
Shadow Blending (Su)Attacks against a fetchling in dim light have a 50% miss chance instead of the normal 20% miss chance. This ability does not grant total concealment; it just increases the miss chance.
Shadow Call (Sp) At 4th level, a shadowdancer can create creatures and effects out of raw shadow. This ability functions as shadow conjuration, using the shadowdancer's level as the caster level. A shadowdancer can use this ability once per day at 4th level, plus one additional time per day for every two levels attained beyond 4th (2/day at 6th level, 3/day at 8th level, and 4/day at 10th level). Upon reaching 10th level, this ability functions as greater shadow conjuration. The DC for this ability is Charisma-based.
Shadow Illusion (Sp) When a shadowdancer reaches 3rd level, she can create visual illusions. This ability functions as silent image, using the shadowdancer's level as the caster level. A shadowdancer can use this ability once per day for every two shadowdancer levels she has attained. The DC for this ability is Charisma-based.
Shadow Jump (Su) At 4th level, a shadowdancer gains the ability to travel between shadows as if by means of a dimension door spell. The limitation is that the magical transport must begin and end in an area with at least some dim light. A shadowdancer can jump up to a total of 40 feet each day in this way; this may be a single jump of 40 feet or four jumps of 10 feet each. Every two levels higher than 4th, the distance a shadowdancer can jump each day doubles (80 feet at 6th, 160 feet at 8th, and 320 feet at 10th). This amount can be split among many jumps, but each one, no matter how small, counts as a 10-foot increment.
Shadow Master (Su) At 10th level, whenever a shadowdancer is in an area of dim light, she gains DR 10/— and a +2 luck bonus on all saving throws. In addition, whenever she successfully scores a critical hit against a foe who is in an area of dim light, that foe is blinded for 1d6 rounds.
Shadow Power (Sp) At 8th level, a shadowdancer can use raw shadow to damage her foes. This ability functions as shadow evocation, using the shadowdancer's level as the caster level. A shadowdancer can use this ability once per day at 8th level, and one additional time per day upon reaching 10th level. The DC for this ability is Charisma-based.
Summon Shadow (Su) At 3rd level, a shadowdancer can summon a shadow, an undead shade. Unlike a normal shadow, this shadow's alignment matches that of the shadowdancer, and the creature cannot create spawn. The summoned shadow receives a +4 bonus on Will saves made to halve the damage from positive channeled energy and the shadow cannot be turned or commanded. This shadow serves as a companion to the shadowdancer and can communicate intelligibly with the shadowdancer. This shadow has a number of hit points equal to half the shadowdancer's total. The shadow uses the shadowdancer's base attack bonus and base save bonuses. If a shadow companion is destroyed, or the shadowdancer chooses to dismiss it, the shadowdancer must attempt a DC 15 Fortitude save. If the saving throw fails, the shadowdancer gains one permanent negative level. A successful saving throw avoids this negative level. A destroyed or dismissed shadow companion cannot be replaced for 30 days.

Ongoing Buffs:

Each day I cast Magic Aura on one of my 17 worn magical items that are not inside the Handy Haversack, and the Bottle of Air. Magic Aura's CL is 20 so it lasts for 20 days. There are 18 items affected so all items are affected at all times barring dispel magic or the like.
Each item so affected registers to detect spells (and spells with similar capabilities) as though it were nonmagical.

Shadow spells:

Greater Shadow Conjuration

  • Acid Fog
  • Summon Monster VI
  • Wall of Iron
  • Cloudkill
  • Mage's Faithful Hound
  • Major Creation
  • Wall of Stone
  • Black Tentacles
  • Secure Shelter
  • Solid Fog
  • Phantom Steed
  • Sleet Storm
  • Stinking Cloud
  • Acid Arrow
  • Fog Cloud
  • Summon Swarm
  • Web
  • Glitterdust
  • Mage Armor
  • Grease
  • Unseen Servant
  • Geyser (APG)
  • Hungry Pit (APG)
  • Aqueous Orb (APG)
  • Acid Pit (APG)
  • Spiked Pit (APG]
  • Arrow Eruption (APG)
  • Dust of Twilight (APG)
  • Slipstream (APG)
  • Stone Call (APG)
  • Conjure Black Pudding (UM)
  • Corrosive Consumption (UM)
  • Acid Spray (UM)
  • Fleshworm Infestation (UM)
  • Phantom Chariot (UC)
  • Communal Phantom Steed (UC)
  • Touch of Slime (UM)
  • Ash Storm (UM)
  • Mad Monkeys (UM)
  • Phantom Driver (UC)
  • Rain of Frogs (UM)
  • Cushioning Bands (UM)
  • Abundant Ammunition (UC)
  • Corrosive Touch (UM)
  • Icicle Dagger (UM)
  • Air Bubble (UC)

Shadow Evocation


  • Fire Shield
  • Ice Storm
  • Resilient Sphere
  • Shout
  • Wall of Fire
  • Wall of Ice
  • Daylight
  • Fireball
  • Lightning Bolt
  • Tiny Hut
  • Wind Wall
  • Continual Flame
  • Darkness
  • Flaming Sphere
  • Gust of Wind
  • Scorching Ray
  • Shatter
  • Burning Hands
  • Floating Disk
  • Magic Missile
  • shocking Grasp
  • River of Wind (APG)
  • Dragon's Breath (APG)
  • Detonate (APG)
  • Ball Lightning (APG)
  • Twilight Knife (APG)
  • Hydraulic Torrent (APG)
  • Elemental Aura (APG)
  • Draconic Reservoir (APG)
  • Campfire Wall (APG)
  • Fire Breath (APG)
  • Elemental Touch (APG)
  • Burning Gaze (APG)
  • Hydraulic Push (APG)
  • Telekinetic Charge (UC)
  • Chain of Perdition (UC)
  • Spontaneous Immolation (UC)
  • Pilfering Hand (UC)
  • Frost Fall (UC)
  • Volcanic Storm (UM)
  • Vitriolic Mist (UM)
  • Force Punch (UM)
  • Distracting Cacophony (UM)
  • Protective Penumbra (UM)
  • Frigid Touch (UM)
  • Defensive Shock (UM)

Ophelia, shadow companion:

CG Medium undead (incorporeal)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8

Defense
AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+2 deflection, +2 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 133
Fort +6, Ref +14, Will +7 (+4 vs channel, can't be commanded or turned)
Defensive Abilities incorporeal, channel resistance +2; Immune undead traits

Offense
Speed fly 40 ft. (good)
Melee incorporeal touch +16 (1d6 Strength damage)

Statistics
Str —, Dex 14, Con —, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 15
Base Atk +14; CMB +16; CMD 29
Feats Dodge, Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Fly +11, Perception +8, Stealth +8 (+12 in dim light, +4 in bright light); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth in dim light (–4 in bright light)

Special Abilities
Strength Damage (Su) A shadow's touch deals 1d6 points of Strength damage to a living creature. This is a negative energy effect. A creature dies if this Strength damage equals or exceeds its actual Strength score.

If you have read the backstory, there's a reason why Vanshoon chose Ophelia as a name for his shadow companion. He believes that his dead sister has actually become the shadow that accompanies him, to protect and keep an eye on him. Whether this is the truth or just a figment of his imagination, it's up to the philosophers.


Backstory:

Vanshoon was born 38 years ago in a small Cheliaxian village near the border with Andoran, fourth son in a very poor family.
He almost doesn't remember his mother and his father, a rough and violent man who passed days working on the dry field, and nights getting drunk. He almost doesn't remember his three elder sisters, to whom the father did unspeakable things. Vanshoon was born during a famine, and was abandoned by the family when they thought that the famine went because of him. Nothing was more untrue, obviously, perhaps it was just his mother's last act of love to save her son from that family, forgotten by the gods, after the second-born died for her father's violence.
Little Vanshoon, two years old, has been sold to an elder priest who has been passing by, for 80 gold pieves. The priest said he needed "apprentices".
In truth, the priest was an evil illusionist, who wanted to use the young body as component for a vile spell. Something in the ritual went wrong though. The Necromancer died, while Vanshoon was spared and transformed into a foul being of shadows, a Fetchling.
Then the Devil Lord appeared, a fearsome figure who came from the ground, fearsome for anyone who knew anything about devils. Vanshoon didn't know, and was looking, curious, at the fiend.
The Devil had to take a sacrificial soul in exchange of the powers over the Shadows, as the illusionist's plan was, but devils are skilled to circumvent people... The fiend took the illusionist's more powerful and valuable soul, and gave powers over shadows to Vanshoon. His pact with that mortal ended, the fiend then gazed upon the small baby. He sensed the baby suffering, a delicacy indeed! He would have taken his soul too, but the wording on the pact with the illusionist didn't allow for that. Instead, it would have been more entertaining to teach him, to survive in the world as a Fetchling, in order to later use him to to his bidding.

He brought him into the Plane of Shadows, where his training begun under Vanadia, one of his Zebub lackeys who was skilled at stealth and infiltration. Vanshoon grew strong, quick and sharp under Vanadia's tutelage, but in the two decades it took to reach adulthood, he completely forgot about his original family, until one day, while meditating, a dream about his mother touched his mind. It was the Zebub, who was hiding as a pact witness the day of Vanshoon's transformation, and recorded everything since Vanshoon's mother sold him to the wizard. The plan was to make Vanshoon want to come back to Golarion, possibly to know more about his mother and further enslave him with a devil pact.
Vanshoon couldn't help it, the dreams about his mother kept coming and coming, until the Devil with no name who transformed him appeared once again, telling him that his training had ended, that he was free to come back to Golarion. The Devil would fulfill one of Vanshoon's wishes, in exchange for a little favor to be asked later. Vanshoon asked to know about the creature in his dreams, just like the devil had planned, and he made Vanshoon remember things exactly as they were, but just to show his father's cruelty and his mother as he was born and then was sold, carefully avoiding all the beautyful memories about her and cherry picking the ones who would make Vanshoon's anger grow stronger.
"That is your family, Vanshoon. They mistreated you, sold you like an animal and left you to die by the hands of Harack the Illusionist. But I am your savior and know what's good for you. Now you know where you come from, and I'm sending you back there. I'll ask for your services when I see fit."
The devil then vanished, as Vanshoon was brought back to the Material Plane. It was night time and the house he was born in was nearby. Everybody was sleeping, and Vanshoon wanted revenge for his father's abuses. It was easy for him to hide in the shadows and slit his father's throat. As he did so, he realized that he didn't even know the man's name, but it wasn't important. Now it was his mother's turn. He was ready to assassinate her as well, with his blade unsheathed, when he noticed a little pendant on the nightstand. Partially open, there were some poor quality portraits of his three sisters and himself, each holding a letter to form the word LOVE. Vanshoon was holding the V. As he was holding the pendant for closer examination, he didn't notice the club that knocked him out.
Vanshoon woke up in a wagon, in chain, among other prisoners, all looking at him and his strange appearance. Likely nobody ever saw a Fetchling before.
"Where am I?"
"In a wagon of death, greyskin. We're going to be beheaded for our 'crimes', these bastards Cheliaxians."
"...greyskin?"
The talking man was the one directly in front of Vanshoon, the only one with the mood to talk. Vanshoon's head was still pulsing with pain.
"That's what you are, right greyskin? Grey skin, you get it? Man, that bump on your head didn't make you forgot everything?"
"...what are you talking about? You seem pretty talkative for someone who's going to die."
"What can I say? I'm ever optimist!"
Vanshoon remembered everything though, especially the pendant. What was its meaning, since his family only hated him and even sold him to death? He was still thinking about that, when the wagon stopped abruptly as a hail of arrows rained on the guards and the driver.
"See? Optimism! Now get out of here if you don't want to be a pincushion!"
Everything happened quickly and the bandits rescued the prisoners. Vanshoon had no choice but to join them, trading one lord for another. The man he met in the wagon was named Samuel Kinthar, an outlaw sought after both in Andoran and Cheliax. His homeland the wild, Samuel only cared about how much wealth he could acquire by attacking caravans. Having nowhere to go after being sent back to Golarion, Vanshoon stayed with him for a while. Initially feared for his grim appearance, he eventually was able to gain the other bandits' respect for his skills in killing and hiding.
Vanshoon learned the ways of men and some of the languages of those outcast in the couple of years spent with them. When asked about his family, Vanshoon told about the devil who raised him but nobody actually believed him. The tales about his father (whom he killed) and his mother, however, were much more believable. One of the bandits knew his father's name, Osthgar, and eventually Vanshoon learned about the fate of the women: unable to pay the taxes, they've been sent to Ostenso to be sold as slaves. But Vanshoon had to get some answers from them before allowing them to get out of his reach.
In exchange for his charges being cleaned and the chance to speak with the prisoners in the cells, Vanshoon arranged for Samuel Kinthar's arrest. He betrayed that talky man who had saved his life a couple years before, with no regret. He got what he wanted, anyway. His mother, chained to the wall, was in front of him to answer his questions.
"What's the meaning of the pendant you're wearing, woman?!"
"They remind me of my children, my lord. Please don't hurt them!"
"You have two sons, woman. What about the other two?"
"My lord, one died when she was 8 years old, the younger is an apprentice to a priest of Asmodeus, I haven't seen him ever since."
"Why do you keep the pendant if you sent your younger son away and the other one is dead?"
"I still love him, and Ophelia, my lord. They're my children and I will always love them as their mother, no matter what."
The guards interrupted the conversation, time for talking with the prisoner was over. Vanshoon thought that the woman was weak, yet that conversation lingered within his heart for the years to come. The pendant would have been sold or trashed by the garrison, so Vanshoon bought it for 80 pieces of gold. The same amount his mother had sold him when he was a baby, as a reminder about her mother and her weakness.
The garrison's chief, Thrune agent Gellius Baradin, offered Vanshoon some work to deal with troublesome people. With nothing else to do, Vanshoon accepted to work for Gellius first and the Thrune agents later. He killed a lot of people in their sleep, becoming ever swifter each month.
He almost forgot about his pact with the devil, when, while he was still performing an important mission for the Thrune agents, he was summoned into the depths of Hell.
The devil lastly presented himself as the Lord of Trickery, Asmodeus himself!
With Vanshoon, there were other people. All have been summoned before his devilish might, and now it was time to honor his part of the deal. Asmodeus wanted those people to find him a powerful artifact known to him who disappeared long ago, a chalice crafted by the angels. The group would not have to touch it, just find it and summon his servants to deliver it to Hell.
It happened so, that Vanshoon knew his devil-bound companions: Neena Duskbreed the Antipaladin of Lamasthu, Bolar the mad dwarf vampire ranger, Bartmos the wicked gnome cleric of Asmodeus, and Fteritos Avtam the Thassilonian mage of Envy. All bound to the will of Asmodeus due to heinous pacts they made years ago.
The group, hastily deployed into the distant land of Osirion where their quest to find that ancient chalice begun. It was a difficult journey, the chalice being undetectable even by the gods themselves, for it was hidden in the sancta sanctorum of Azghaad's spire, held by the mummified body of Azghaad the All-Seeing himself. It took almost three years for the party to find the chalice, by cleverly using magic like discern location and find the path on related things, clerical divinations and true sight magic to foil illusion, not to mention Vanshoon's ability to pass through walls and shadows.
The inner chamber of Azghaad's spire was about to crumble, and Asmodeus offered to help the party after recovering the chalice, in exchange for the usual favor later.
The other party members wholeheartedly agreed, while Vanshoon faltered. His mind had been a battlefield in the late years, doubt creeping through the darkest parts of his souls. Studying alone the people of Osirion to gather information, Vanshoon started to learn the significance of love, especially the one that binds mother and son. During his watch turn, alone in the night, Vanshoon only took comfort with his mother's pendant and eventually decided to seek her and her sisters out once this mission had been dealt with.
Asmodeus was about to put new chains on Vanshoon to save his life again, how convenient. But Vanshoon refused. Everything started to crumble around Vanshoon, while his former party members went away with the help of Asmodeus. Vanshoon tried to leap through the shadows, but the room was dimensionally locked. He passed through every last wall he could as a ghost, but Azghaad's spire crumbled as he was half-way through the exit. As the spire crumbled, so did the protective magic that prevented dimensional travel through the planes. Vanshoon had but one split second to make the longest shadow jump in his carreer, and he barely made it outside.

As Osirian guards were about to reach him, he tapped into the very substance of the Plane of Shadows. Without Asmodeus's influence, his Fetchling nature eventually called him, and he embraced the shadows. Running across that plane, he reached Egorian, capital of Cheliax.
There he learned that there was a bounty on his head, due to the utter failure of his last mission for the Thrune agents. Vanshoon was alone, in enemy land, with nobody else to count on save for himself.
"But now, *I* am master of myself."
Dancing through the shadows, unseen to the common folk, Vanshoon made it to Andoran, historical enemy of Cheliax, and hired a bard, named Doritian, to delve deep into his mind, in order to clearly remember the facts about his family. As evidence about his mother's love kept pouring off from memory, his heart filled with sorrow for his family and rage for Asmodeus and all devilkind. Lianna, Ophelia, Vanshoon and Estrella, perhaps it was a mere coincidence that their initials formed the word LOVE, but he couldn't doubt that regardless of names, Sophia was truly loving each one of her sons.
With a name, and more importantly, an emotion guiding him, Vanshoon didn't stop until he learned about his mother and sisters' fate. The sisters were prostitutes under the rule of a certain Grachius Ratarion in Kantaria. It was easy enough to kill Grachius, free the women and set up for refuge in Andora, less easy to tell Lianna and Estrella that the shadow man with the grey skin and yellow eyes was their long lost brother, Vanshoon. But Vanshoon remembered every single instant about his mother, thanks to Doritian, and eventually Lianna and Estrella were convinced, and a long embrace was in order. It was the first true love embrace Vanshoon ever experimented. Something broke within his soul and for the first time he wept tears of joy. His sisters were staying with Doritian, who will eventually become Vanshoon's first real friend.
Saving Sophia was going to be much harder. The Thrune agents learned that Vanshoon had brought his two sisters out of Cheliax, and took his mother captive in Egorian to lure and capture him. Vanshoon was about to settle this thing alone, as he always did, but Doritian stopped him. Rescuing a prisoner from the very prison of Egorian would have been a bad hit for Cheliaxian reputation, so if Vanshoon was okay with waiting some days to recruit some more allies, Doritian and his friends would have helped him to free his mother. Vanshoon, surprised by this offer and wary of new pacts, accepted the offer after his sisters' decisive encouragement.
Vanshoon at the head of the rescuing party, Domitian as the party face with his skills at talking with people, Euphemi the charismatic priestess of Shelyn and Theodric paladin of Sarenrae stormed the prison unnoticed for the most part. Vanshoon had told his tale to the three of them, and they were inflamed, particularly Euphemi, who later taught Vanshoon the ways of the goddess of Love: no room left for the devils in his soul, Vanshoon gladly joined Shelyn's religion and later became an agent of the temple. But during the storm at the prison of Egorian, they eventually got discovered by the elite guards of the Queen Abrogail. The party could stand no chance in a head to head battle against them, but Theodric stood in their way, shouting at the other to accomplish the mission.
Theodric fought bravely but ultimately got defeated and killed. But that purchased enough time for the rest of the group to reach the cells and free the dozen of prisoners held in there, including Sophia.
Sophia remembered Vanshoon and called him a thief for having taken her pendant, a monster for accusing her of abandoning her child. Once safe in Andora, with the news about the rescue about to be common knowledge, Vanshoon gave back the amulet to his mother with but a word, she looked at him astonished, then she saw Lianna and Estrella, and embraced each other. That moment was the epitome of satisfaction for Vanshoon.
His sisters explained everything to Sophia, and, after thirty years from the last time, the mother could embrace her son.

Vanshoon, Domitian and Euphemi became heroes for the people of Augustana, while Theodric became a martyr. 11th Desnus, the day of the great escape, became a symbolic day in Andoran for the people who fight for freedom.
After spending some months with his newly found family at the temple of Shelyn, Vanshoon disappeared. Nobody but the highest members of Shelyn's clergy know where Vanshoon is or what is he going to do in the name of the goddess of Love. His missions bring him to the far edges of the continent, to free slaves from oppression and bring hope to those who lost it.

What do you know?:

Knowledge (local)
DC 5 - He's the man who brings hope and freedom in the darkness. He can't be seen. Woe upon the tyrants, for Vanshoon is coming to get them!
DC 10 - They say that it's easier to get his attention through the clergy of Shelyn, especially in Andoran.
DC 15 - Sometimes he actually shows himself. He's not from our world, his skin is grey and his eyes glow yellow in the night. He has a dark and mysterious past involving Cheliax.
DC 20 - He worked with the Thrune agents in Cheliax as an assassin and infiltrator, and he was seemingly involved into the destruction of Azghaad's spire in Osirion.