Vantine Roubanis's page

Init +2; Senses Perception +8
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DEFENSE
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AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+2 dex +1 magic)
hp 25
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +4 (+1 vs Illusions)
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OFFENSE
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Speed 30 ft.

Melee +2

Ranged +5
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STATISTICS
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Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 19
Base Atk +3; CMB +2; CMD +14
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TRAITS
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Pattern Seeker (Campaign):
There are patterns in the world, both natural and artificial, that if only one can interpret them correctly, great secrets could be divined. You have long been fascinated by the idea of these hidden patterns, perhaps because a sibling or parent went to the grave obsessed with seeking a pattern, or maybe because you feel that you’ve uncovered a previously unknown pattern. Kintargo has a particularly unique pattern of its own; the belfry atop the Temple of Asmodeus rings at what seem to be random intervals. None know who or what rings the bells, and no true pattern by which the so-called Devil’s Bells has yet accurately predicted the tolling. Many have tried, and extensive but always incomplete documents exist that track the dates and times of recorded ringings back to the end of the Chelish Civil War, when the church of Asmodeus first claimed the abandoned temple of Aroden as their own. Maybe you will be the one to solve the pattern of the Devil’s Bells?
You gain a +1 trait bonus on all Perception checks, and Perception is always a class skill for you. In addition, you increase the save DC of any illusion (pattern) spell you cast by 1, and you gain a +1 trait bonus on all saving throws against illusion effects.

Trustworthy (Social):
People find it easy to put their faith in you. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Bluff checks made to fool someone. You also gain a +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks, and Diplomacy is always a class skill for you.

Tagging Along (Protest):
Tagging Along: You hadn’t planned on going to the protest. Maybe crowds bother you, or you worry that it might get out of hand, or perhaps you’re just not political. But when you found out a close friend (one of the other PCs works best for this friend) was planning on going, you reluctantly agreed to come along, if only to make sure your friend stays out of trouble. You aren’t as interested in joining the protests as you are keeping alert for anything that might escalate the protest into
something more. Someone has to watch out for your friend, and who better to do that than you?
You gain a
+2 bonus on all Perception and initiative checks made during the protest itself.

Drawback

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FEATS
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Extra Hex (Evil Eye):
You have learned the secrets of a new hex.
Prerequisite: Hex class feature.
Benefit: You gain one additional hex. You must meet all of the prerequisites for this hex.
Special: You can gain Extra Hex multiple times.

Extra Hex (Misfortune):
You have learned the secrets of a new hex.
Prerequisite: Hex class feature.
Benefit: You gain one additional hex. You must meet all of the prerequisites for this hex.
Special: You can gain Extra Hex multiple times.

Deceitful:
You are skilled at deceiving others, both with the spoken word and with physical disguises.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all Bluff and Disguise skill checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.

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SKILLS (14 points; 4 class, 6 INT, 4 Background)
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Acrobatics* +2 = DEX 2+0+0
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Appraise +5 = INT 3+2+0 (+2 Background)
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Bluff +13 = CHA 4+3+3+1+2 (+1 Trait) (+2 Feat)
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Climb* -1 = STR -1+0+0
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Craft (Painting): +8 = INT 3+2+3 (+2 Background)
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Diplomacy +14 = CHA 4+4+3+2 (+2 Mirror Familiar) (+1 Trait)
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Disable Device*† +2 = DEX 2+0+0
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Disguise +6 = CHA 4+0+0+2 (+2 Feat)
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Escape Artist* +2 = DEX 2+0+0
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Fly* +6 = DEX 2+1+3
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Handle Animal† +4 = CHA 4+0+0
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Heal +1 = WIS 1+0+0
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Intimidate +4 = CHA 4+0+0
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K (Arcana)† +8 = INT 3+2+3
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K (Dungeoneering)† +3 = INT 3+0+0
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K (Engineering)† +3 = INT 3+0+0
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K (Geography)† +3 = INT 3+0+0
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K (History)† +7 = INT 3+1+3 (+1 Background)
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K (Local)† +7 = INT 3+1+3
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K (Nature)† +3 = INT 3+0+0
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K (Nobility)† +3 = INT 3+0+0
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K (Planes)† +7 = INT 3+1+3
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K (Religion)† +3 = INT 3+0+0
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Linguistics† +3 = INT 3+0+0
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Perception +8 = WIS 1+2+3+2 (Mirror Familiar)
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Perform +4 = CHA 4+0+0
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Profession† +1 = WIS 1+0+0
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Ride +3 = DEX 3+0+0
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Sense Motive +3 = WIS 1+0+0+2 (+2 Mirror Familiar)
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Sleight of Hand*† +3 = DEX 2+1+0 (+1 Background)
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Spellcraft† +9 = INT 3+3+3
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Stealth* +3 = DEX 2+1+0
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Survival +1 = WIS 1+0+0
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Swim* -1 = STR +0+1+0
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Use Magic Device† +10 = CHA 4+3+3
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ACP -0
*ACP applies to these skills
Non-Standard Skill Bonuses

+2 Perception (Familiar / Alertness)
+2 Sense Motive (Familiar / Alertness)
+2 Diplomacy (Mirror Familiar)
+1 Diplomacy (Trustworthy Trait)
+1 Bluff (Trustworthy Trait)

Languages Taldane, Varisian, Elven

CHANGELING:

Witchborn:
Most changelings are talented witches. They gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Charisma instead of a +2 bonus to Wisdom and Charisma. This racial trait alters the changeling’s racial ability score modifiers.

Hag Magic:
Some changelings develop a gift for spellcasting instead of their mothers’ overtly fearsome traits. A changeling with this trait displays one or more stark white streaks in her hair as a child. The DCs of any saving throws against enchantment spells she casts increase by 1, and if her Charisma score is 11 or higher, she also gains the following spell-like abilities, usable once per day each: dancing lights, detect magic, disguise self, and pass without trace. The caster level of these spell-like abilities is equal to the changeling’s character level. The DC for these spell-like abilities is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the changeling’s Charisma modifier. This racial trait replaces the claws and natural armor racial abilities.

Darkvision:
Changelings can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Sea Lungs (Sea Hag):
The changeling can hold her breath for a number of rounds equal to 3 × her Constitution before she risks drowning.

WITCH:

Patron (Deception):

2nd — ventriloquism, 4th — invisibility, 6th — blink, 8th — confusion, 10th — passwall, 12th — programmed image, 14th — invisibility (mass), 16th — scintillating pattern, 18th — time stop.

Hexes (DC 15; Charm DC 16):

*Charm (Su)
A witch can charm an animal or humanoid creature within 30 feet by beckoning and speaking soothing words. This improves the attitude of an animal or humanoid creature by 1 step, as if the witch had successfully used the Diplomacy skill. The effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Witch's Intelligence modifier. A Will save negates this effect. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day. At 8th level, this effect improves the attitude of the target creature by 2 steps. This is a mind-affecting charm effect.

*Evil Eye (Su)
The witch can cause doubt to creep into the mind of a foe within 30 feet that she can see. The target takes a –2 penalty on one of the following (witch's choice): AC, ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, or skill checks. This hex lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the witch's Intelligence modifier. A Will save reduces this to just 1 round. This is a mind-affecting effect. At 8th level the penalty increases to –4.

*Cackle (Su):
A witch can cackle madly as a move action. Any creature that is within 30 feet that is under the effects of an agony hex, charm hex, evil eye hex, fortune hex, or misfortune hex caused by the witch has the duration of that hex extended by 1 round.

*Misfortune (Su):
The witch can cause a creature within 30 feet to suffer grave misfortune for 1 round. Anytime the creature makes an ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result. A Will save negates this hex. At 8th level and 16th level, the duration of this hex is extended by 1 round. This hex affects all rolls the target must make while it lasts. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day.

*Flight (Su):
The witch grows lighter as she gains power, eventually gaining the ability to fly. At 1st level, the witch can use feather fall at will and gains a +4 racial bonus on Swim checks. At 3rd level, she can cast levitate once per day. At 5th level, she can fly, as per the spell, for a number of minutes per day equal to her level. These minutes do not need to be consecutive, but they must be spent in 1-minute increments. This hex only affects the witch.

Seducer:

Otherworldly Allure: A seducer’s power comes from her allure. She uses her Charisma rather than her Intelligence score for the purpose of all class features and effects related to her witch class, such as bonus spells per day, the maximum spell level she can cast, and save DCs of her spells and hexes.

Fey Charm (Su): A seducer gains the charm hex at 1st level. The save DC of this hex is increased by 1. If the target is (or could be) sexually attracted to the seducer, the save DC is instead increased by 2. If she and the target have had willing sexual relations in the past 24 hours, the save DC is instead increased by 3.
This ability alters the hex gained at 1st level.

Familiar

Patron Mirror (Su): At 1st level, a mirror witch creates a direct link to the power of her patron. She chooses a patron as normal, but instead of gaining a familiar that serves as the conduit to her patron, she uses a mirror (worth at least 10 gp) to speak to a fragment of her patron’s power. This fragment teaches her magic and acts as a counselor.

The mirror is essentially an immobile familiar. The mirror witch can activate it with a minute-long ritual that calls the patron fragment to manifest itself through the mirror. While this connection is open, she can prepare spells, add new spells to the mirror, and use the mirror’s special abilities. In place of the boost granted by an ordinary familiar, the mirror grants the mirror witch a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks regardless of whether the mirror is nearby. The mirror can’t be used for abilities that require the presence of a familiar, such as the blight hex.

If the patron mirror is destroyed, the mirror witch can replace it 1 day later through a special ritual, attuning a new mirror to a different fragment of her patron. The mirror witch must purchase or procure a new, suitable mirror and spend 500 gp per witch level she has. The ritual takes 8 hours to complete, and when it is finished, the mirror witch establishes a connection with a new fragment of her patron and loses access to spells stored in the previous mirror, as normal for a lost witch’s familiar.

As the mirror witch progresses in level, the mirror’s defenses increase, and the connection between it and the mirror witch becomes stronger, allowing the patron to manifest more of its personality—see the Patron Mirror section below.

This ability replaces the witch’s familiar.

Patron Mirror
Instead of using the familiar abilities table on page 83 of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, use the table below to determine the strength of a mirror witch’s patron mirror.

Witch Class Level Hardness Hit Points Int Special
1st-2nd 5 2 12 Cryptic omens, seek guidence
3rd-4th 10 5 13 Greater omens
5th-6th 15 5 14 Specialized knowledge
7th-8th 20 5 15 Clairvoyance/clairaudience
9th-10th 20 5 16 —
11th-12th 25 10 17 Scrying
13th-14th 25 10 18 Mirror casting
15th-16th 25 10 19 —
17th-18th 30 10 20 —
19th-20th 30 15 21 —

Hardness: As the connection between the witch and her patron mirror becomes more powerful, so does the hardness of the mirror, making it more difficult to damage. This value is the hardness of the patron mirror.

Hit Points: The base hit points of a mirror witch’s patron mirror are based on what kind of mirror she chooses. A steel mirror has 4 hit points and a glass mirror has 1 hit point. The patron mirror gains the listed hit points in addition to the mirror’s normal hit points, and the hit points increase as the link between the witch and her patron mirror strengthens.

Intelligence: A patron is a powerful and unknowable entity, able to see great distances and offer sage council, but the power of the fragment it manifests through a patron mirror is proportional to the link the fragment has with the mirror witch. This column indicates the effective Intelligence score of the patron mirror as the witch progresses in level. The patron mirror is not a creature, and nothing can increase its Intelligence above the listed value.

Special: As a mirror witch increases in level, her patron mirror grants her additional powers as indicated on the table.

Cryptic Omens (Ex):
Each day, when a mirror witch consults with her patron mirror, the patron fragment can speak a few words of cryptic advice about the witch’s future. While the words are often obscure when the fragment utters them, they nearly always make sense to the witch at just the right moment aid her in dealing with the threats of the day. Once per day, after the witch receives this advice, she can gain one of the following benefits without taking an action: gain a +2 insight bonus on a saving throw she is about to attempt; gain a +2 insight bonus on a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Sense Motive check she is about to attempt; or instead of rolling initiative, treat her initiative as if she rolled a 12 on the die. She can’t use this last option if she can’t act during a surprise round. She doesn’t choose which benefit she gains while consulting the mirror; instead, she does so when she would be about to roll a saving throw, initiative check, or appropriate skill check.

Seek Guidance (Ex):
Whenever the mirror witch consults with her patron fragment, she can spend 10 minutes instead of the usual 1 minute and attempt a single Knowledge check. She gains a +2 insight bonus on any Knowledge check she attempts during such a consultation.

Greater Omens (Ex):
The number of times per day that the mirror witch can use cryptic omens increases by an amount equal to the Intelligence modifier of the patron mirror. Furthermore, after consulting with her patron for 1 minute, she can expend a use of cryptic omens to gain the effects of augury instead of one of the usual three benefits.

+1 DC for Illusion & Enchantment Spells

Changeling Spell-Like Abilities (1/day) DC 15

Dancing Lights
Detect Magic
Disguise Self
Pass Without Trace

0th (4 at will) DC 14

Arcane Mark
Bleed
Dancing Lights
Daze
Detect Magic
Detect Poison
Grasp
Guidance
Light
Mending
Message
Putrefy Food and Drink
Read Magic
Resistance
Spark
Stabilize
Touch of Fatigue

1st (2+1/day) DC 15

Cause Fear
Cure Light Wounds
Ear Piercing Scream
Ears of the City
Hex Vulnerability
Ill Omen
Mage Armor
Shadow Trap
Sleep
Ventriloquism (Patron)

2nd (1+1/day) DC 16

Boneshaker
Glitterdust
Spectral Hand
Vomit Swarm
Web

3rd (2/day) DC 17

Magic Items

Silver Hand Mirror (Familiar)
Silver Falcon Figurine of Wondrous Power

Consumables

Scroll: Summon Monster III
Scroll: Euphoric Cloud
Scroll: Touch of Idiocy x2
Wand: Acid Arrow (7 charges)
Potion of Lesser Restoration
Alchemist's Kindness (2)
Calistria's Kindness (3 month supply)
Tinder Twigs (4)

Mundane

Dagger
Velvet Padded Pouch for Mirror
Courtier's Outfit
Jewelry (various)
Grooming Kit
Belt Pouch x2
Notebook
Pen & Ink
Flint & Steel
Candles x10
Soap
Spell Component Pouch x2
Chalk (5)
Charcoal (5)
Map Case & Sheets of Paper (15 sheets)
10" Reed Tube
Brushes x2
Courtesan's Outfit
Artisan's Outfit
Varisian Scarves x3

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Carrying Capacity
Light 0-33 lb. Medium 34-67 lb. Heavy 68-100 lb.
Current Load Carried 0 lb.

Money 5 GP 4 SP 8 CP

Because they are all cuckoo’s eggs, changelings’ early origins tend to be very similar. In Vantine’s particular case, she came to rest in the nest of a Varisian woman named Kezia Roubanis. Kezia left her home city of Magnimar for Kintargo a little over three decades ago. She intended to start a theatrical career, but never made it as an actor. After a couple of unsuccessful years, Kezia instead opened an imports business. Through family connections in Magnimar, and later Korvosa, Kezia focused on luxury goods such alcohol, foodstuffs, textiles, and artwork. With much hard work, she made a success of her business, and built a comfortable life for herself.

Vantine arrived in Kezia’s life as she entered her mid-thirties. She found the infant girl one morning in a mesh bag left hanging from her door by its handles. Whether through luck or craftiness, Vantine’s hag mother left her at Kezia’s house at the perfect time. Kezia had long put so much time into work there was little left for other things. She had never married or had children of her own, and Kezia had started to feel pangs for the things that might be passing her by. When the infant’s mother couldn’t be located, Kezia gladly adopted her as her own.

Vantine had a wonderful childhood with Kezia as her mother. Kezia was a doting and indulgent parent. The first time any tension crept into their relationship was when Vantine was thirteen years old, and it was caused by a gift Kezia gave her. Her mother has always considered appearances important. Vantine was moving onward into her teens, so Kezia thought it time for braids and wearing whatever was within easiest reach to be left behind.

Kezia gave Vantine a hand mirror. It wasn’t really a quality adult mirror with it’s polished steel surface rather than glass, but the handle and frame were ornate and very fancy looking. It had arrived in a shipment of antiques from Magnimar. Kezia thought having such a mirror might nudge Vantine onward a little toward more mature interests.

Kezia got the results she was looking for, in far greater abundance than she could have imagined. Vantine adored the mirror, and at first it was a source of fun for both of them. Kezia showed Vantine different ways to do her hair. She bought a cosmetics kit for her daughter and showed her how to use it. But after some months, Kezia had exhausted her tricks and tips, while Vantine’s interest in spending time occupied with her mirror only grew. More and more often Vantine spent time with her mirror alone.

Vantine was not as enraptured with her own appearance as her mother believed. It was all of the other things her mirror showed her that kept her enthralled. It did not happen in the presence of her mother, but Vantine’s mirror showed her what she could be in the future, beautiful and adored by all who knew her. Early on Vantine experienced only the briefest glimpses of visions and flashes of feelings, but as she and her mirror slowly adjusted to each other it could communicate more coherently to her. She learned the mirror held secrets it could teach her, magical and otherwise, if she would commit to learning them would and follow the path it could reveal to her. Vantine promised to commit.

It was during the years when Vantine was sixteen and seventeen that Kezia worried about Vantine’s obsession with her mirror the most. Vantine became moodier and withdrawn. She was forgetful, and sometimes seemed to be lost in a waking dream. This was during the time when Vantine’s hag mother began to call for her. The call was nearly constant and very strong at that time. The sweet words and their sound could mesmerize Vantine. She probably would have succumbed and followed the call to her mother if not for her mirror. It had warned her there would be obstacles. Her mirror showed her how she would be tempted, and would struggle to stay on the course charted out by it. Her mirror made her realize if she followed the enticing sounds of the call she heard, Vantine would be unmade and remade by its source. She would cease to exist and instead become something horrible. Vantine believed her mirror and stayed the course. It had proven itself to be a friend she could trust. Her mirror always kept its promises. She was more and more beautiful over time as it had said she would be. It taught her how to use her beauty to best effect, showing her how to be persuasive and how to lie well. She now knew how to do some things with magic, and was learning still more.

Her mother did not intervene during this time. Kezia attributed the problems to puberty and the common difficulties of teenage years. She remembered how difficult they could be. Besides Vantine did not get into trouble, and seriously misbehaved. Vantine was popular and well liked, and maintained friendships. Kezia was mostly, but not completely correct. Vantine did have connections to others her own age, but ‘friendship’ would be too strong a word. Her acquaintances, even closer ones did not know Vantine fully. She never talked about her mirror, the call, or her magic with anyone. Vantine knew those things were outside the experience of any of her peers, and couldn’t possibly understand them. As good as Vantine was at hiding things, most of her acquaintances could tell she was not transparent with them and the gap this created meant Vantine’s relationships were always limited.

There were also missteps on Vantine’s part. With her appearance she received lots of attention, especially from boys. The attention pleased and amused her, and Vantine thought little of returning it. This caused some episodes with hurt and angry would-be boyfriends or sometimes girlfriends, and their boyfriends or girlfriends in some cases. As a matter of social survival Vantine came to understand that the people around her felt possessiveness for those with whom they had physical relationships. While she did not, Vantine learned to take it into account and avoid encounters with those who might be carrying such baggage. The smoothing over of things, shifting of blame, and restoration of amiable relations was far more trouble than any given potential partner was worth.

Vantine truly came into her own in her late teens. The call had receded, if not completely disappeared. When it did come it was weaker and easier to ignore. She and her mirror communicated more fluently than ever. Vanine had also learned a great deal about expertly navigating among people outside her home. As Vantine started to think more concretely about what her life would be like as an adult, she decided a career in the arts was where she belonged.

This was not a random decision; Vantine has other interests besides communing with her mirror. Her mother’s business meant there were always new, interesting works of art and antiques coming in, and Vantine loved to spend time browsing through the items. She had long been a painter as well. She set on either painting or acting as her choices. While she might be able to pursuer painting from home, acting required much more circulation among the right social circles. Kezia was supportive and understood very well from her own experience that social connections were the engine of success in acting. At nineteen Kezia agreed to provide Vantine with a small monthy allowance so she could from her house in the southern portion of Villegre near the harbor to Jarvis End.

Since moving to Jarvis End about one and a half years ago, Vantine has made great strides in establishing herself within artistic and entertainment circles. She’s been so busy at it that she’s done very little painting, and almost nothing regarding an acting career. Vantine may have goals, but she lacks ambition in attaining them. The only compensated work Vantine has done is some modeling for visual artists, some painters and a sculptor. Instead she is mostly becoming someone known for her well-knownness. She isn’t exactly a hanger-on though. People are happy to have her around because she always seems to bring nights out or social gatherings up a notch or two.

Sometimes Vantine feels her life is a bit adrift at present. But her mirror has brought her to where she is, and it assures her that her time of true greatness is approaching. Although it is circumspect about when exactly the time will come and what exactly will catapult her upward, Vantine trusts her mirror and continues to wait.

ON BEING A CHANGELING AND SELF-AWARENESS:

Vantine doesn’t know she is a changeling. She is aware she’s not like most, or maybe all other people, but she doesn’t attribute this to not being human. There are a number of reasons why she doesn’t include not being human among possible explanations for her differences.

The first is that she visibly differs from humans in only a couple of very minor ways. She lacks the two most prominent and well-known physical traits of changelings, heterochromia and claws. She has a white streak in her hair, but this is not a characteristic completely absent in humans. She is young for it yes, but she doesn’t see it as anything more than a rarity. Vantine also has some slight webbing between her fingers and toes. It is very minor though, only reaching to about halfway up to the lowest of her finger and toe joints. She finds it embarrassing, and has become very good at keeping the abnormality artfully concealed. It would take close examination for another person to notice it. Again, it is too small a thing for her to resort to extreme explanations beyond it being a minor congenital condition. After all, she is an orphan with unknown parents. Without knowing what they looked like she can’t assume she knows what she should look like.

Vantine also possesses certain mental and psychological anomalies, mentioned at various points in her backstory and personality sections. While she is certainly aware she of differences between herself and most people, self-diagnosis is very tricky. Since she doesn’t know how other think, she can’t say for sure how different she really is, or name any originating cause for the differences with certainty. Things are very muddled in this area. Her early and mid-teen years were a storm of puberty and standard teen angst, the awakening of her changeling heritage and the call, and early bonding with her mirror familiar, all affecting her at the same time. She knows the first and third of these exist with certainty, but she does not know the second exists. As a result, Vantine suspects the spell-like abities she has inherited as a changeling come from her mirror familiar like the spells she has learned. They are different from spells, but not so different it isn’t a reasonable assumption for her to make.

She suspects she doesn’t feel some things in the same way others do, or perhaps at all, but again she is an orphan unlike most others, and her mirror as tutored and guided her. She has certain insights others simply aren’t privy to.

Finally, both Vantine and her mother Kezia are highly motivated to not consider the possibility she isn’t human. They don’t need to make great leaps of logic to believe the differences are simply because she is a bit odd, but really fine and normal enough all things considered. This is especially true of Kezia. Vantine has concealed almost all of the truly weird stuff like her connection to her mirror and her ability to use magic. Vantine herself tends to lean more toward what her mirror has told her: she is unique and special, which is why her patron sought her out.

Note: During her early years with the mirror, Vantine thought the mirror itself was communicating with her. When she eventually realized the mirror was a conduit and some other being was communicating with her through it, Vantine began cycling through differing beliefs concerning her patrons identity. She variously believed the entity was anther witch, a ghost, and an angel in the past. Her current thinking is the entity is either Calistria or one of her servitors.

Height: 5'6" | Weight: 105 lbs. | Hair: Black | Eyes: Gray

Appearance

Vantine is taller than usual for a human woman and quite slender. She has gray eyes and thick black hair that tumbles in curls and ringlets almost to her waist. At the age of sixteen, one strip of her hair on the left side of her head began to grow in white and has remained so ever since. Her complexion is light and flawless.

Although she tends to wear dresses if all things are equal, Vantine does not have a particular look she has adopted. She dresses according to weather, activity, and social convention. She does wear revealing clothing on some occasions, but it isn’t necessary for Vantine to do so. Whatever she puts on seems to cling and mold in just the right rights to highlight her figure. One thing Vantine does always avoid is over-dressing. She considers an overabundance of jewelry or other ornamentation to be gauche and a little pathetic.

She takes great care crafting her appearance, but has the expertise to make it appear she does not. Vantine is an enthusiastic cosmetics user but disguises it cleverly. Only an expert eye could tell she is using more than the barest minimum of these beauty enhancements. Vantine often adds an item, some jewelry or perhaps a scarf, to her outfits to reference the Varisian heritage she claims through her mother. Given the clichéd association most people have of Varisians as mysterious and sensual, she finds doing so can also help to implicitly explain the strangeness some people sense about her in an easy to accept and palatable way.

Personality

"It isn't beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It's just 'It'." –Rudyard Kipling

“That quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force.
It can be a quality of the mind as well as a physical attraction.” — Elinor Glyn

Much of what has been said about her background could lead one to believe Vantine is distant, perhaps an introvert, or at least standoffish and difficult to know; that her physical beauty carries her rather than her personality. While it is true she has her secrets, Vantine is none of those things. She has ‘It’.

Vantine is an extrovert who enjoys, almost craves, the company of others most of the time. She is witty and engaging in conversation, with a polished sense of dark humor. Although it might not play well in all situations, Vantine doesn’t care about convention and is very open to new experiences.

One of her greatest assets is her almost unassailable self-confidence. It helps her often avoid one of the pitfalls of being beautiful and having attention focused on her. She feels no need to be competitive, so she doesn’t engage in the kinds of behaviors that pit her against others for attention, praise, or prestige. She knows she rarely has a serious rival among the people around her, so she has nothing to prove. If the rumors and gossip she’s heard about Shensen are mostly true, then perhaps she would be a true rival, but Vantine has never met her and can’t say for sure. But among her less exalted, new up and comers social set, eschewing drama and pettiness only enhances her position by making her seem more down to earth and relatable.

Vantine usually gets what she wants anyway, without need to be combative or difficult. She is persuasive enough to subtly nudge things in the direction she wants them through making comments and observations, or obliquely signaling approval or disapproval, that she doesn’t need play the queen bee or diva.

Certainly Vantine has her weaknesses as well. It is easy for her to coast on her natural abilities so she’s not in the habit of trying very hard. Her reliance on her mirror to assure her of bigger and better things to come makes her rather lazy. She’s comfortable waiting for them to arrive without striving. Vantine can also be very fickle, picking up and dropping interests, goals, and people because she grows bored or finds something else more engaging to occupy her attention.

She is very much a hedonist, and her sexual appetite is considerable. Due to some earlier, ugly experiences Vantine has adopted some rules she follows in her choices of partners. She steers clear of acquaintances with partners and their partners. Again, she knows she could usually have them if she wanted, so there is nothing to prove. Also the messes and disruptions created are not worth it. There are too many other people out in the world to invite that kind of difficulty into her life.

Vantine never makes or implies any promise of a long term or emotional relationship. Vantine pursues physical intimacy because it’s fun, it’s physically enjoyable, and new ideas are always welcome. No enduring emotional connection is needed, and she doesn’t want a partner to be under the impression there will be any on her part. While Vantine has occasionally experienced brief infatuations in the past, she has never experienced romantic love.

Vantine feels that she goes to considerable lengths to keep her social relationships placid, even if she has to dial herself back to do so. This includes no use of magic. In return (though left unsaid) she expects the same. In the very rare cases when a person has not reciprocated because of a betrayal, a breach of trust, ugly gossip, or targeting her maliciously, Vantine has a nasty, vicious temper. She may be a Calistrian because it’s such an easy fit, and fashionable among her crowd; but if roused to anger she will burn a person down as surely and thoroughly as the most committed Calistrian.