Vashrin Naevirion's page

Vashrin is constantly haunted by something so terrible that you dare not speak of it, the taking of his sister, Celeste, and the dreadful imagery that he sees in place of his own reflection. Try as he might to bury it and run away from it, to no avail, it is simply a memory that refuses to die. The burden has taken its toll, isolating Vashrin from most people and making him question his sanity. Despite this, it is a driving goal for Vashrin to overcome, no matter the cost, even it destroys him.
To make his way in the world, Vashrin plays on what he and Celeste loved best, stories. He thrives in front of an audience, in fact that might be the only time he feels normal. He knows how to entrance them, entertain them, and even inspire them. His poetics can stir the hearts of those who hear him, awakening grief or joy, laughter or anger, but it all a means to an end that provides him the funds he needs to continue his research to find a way back to the Witchlight Carnival and how to survive the Feywild should he need to.

Skill Proficiencies: Investigation, Performance
Tool Proficiencies: Disguise kit
Languages: Choose one exotic language (In this case, Sylvan)
Equipment: A musical instrument (lute), the favor of an admirer (love letter, lock of hair, or trinket), a costume, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 15gp

By Popular Demand:You can always find a place to perform, usually in an inn or tavern but possibly with a circus, at a theater, or even in a noble's court. At such a place, you receive free lodging and food of a modest or comfortable standard (depending on the quality of the establishment), as long as you perform each night. In addition, your performance makes you something of a local figure. When strangers recognize you in a town where you have performed, they typically take a liking to you.

You have learned to untangle and reshape the fabric of reality in harmony with your wishes and music. Your spells are part of your vast repertoire, magic that you can tune to different situations.

Cantrips
You know two cantrips of your choice from the bard spell list. You learn additional bard cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Bard table.

Spell Slots
The Bard table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your bard spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell Cure Wounds and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast Cure Wounds using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
You know four 1st-level spells of your choice from the bard spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Bard table shows when you learn more bard spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the table. For instance, when you reach 3rd level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the bard spells you know and replace it with another spell from the bard spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your bard spells. Your magic comes from the heart and soul you pour into the performance of your music or oration. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a bard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Ritual Casting
You can cast any bard spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.

Spellcasting Focus
You can use a musical instrument (found in chapter 5) as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.

You can inspire others through stirring words or music. To do so, you use a bonus action on your turn to choose one creature other than yourself within 60 feet of you who can hear you. That creature gains one Bardic Inspiration die, a d6.

Once within the next 10 minutes, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls the d20 before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once the Bardic Inspiration die is rolled, it is lost. A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Your Bardic Inspiration die changes when you reach certain levels in this class. The die becomes a d8 at 5th level, a d10 at 10th level, and a d12 at 15th level.

Starting at 2nd level, you can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus.

Beginning at 2nd level, you can use soothing music or oration to help revitalize your wounded allies during a short rest. If you or any friendly creatures who can hear your performance regain hit points at the end of the short rest by spending one or more Hit Dice, each of those creatures regains an extra 1d6 hit points.

The extra Hit Points increase when you reach certain levels in this class: to 1d8 at 9th level, to 1d10 at 13th level, and to 1d12 at 17th level.

At 2nd level, if a creature has a Bardic Inspiration die from you and casts a spell that restores hit points or deals damage, the creature can roll that die and choose a target affected by the spell. Add the number rolled as a bonus to the hit points regained or the damage dealt. The Bardic Inspiration die is then lost.

At 3rd level, choose two of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies. Performance, Perception

At 10th level, you can choose another two skill proficiencies to gain this benefit.

When you join the College of Lore at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with three skills of your choice. History, Nature, Acrobatics

Also at 3rd level, you learn how to use your wit to distract, confuse, and otherwise sap the confidence and competence of others. When a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you makes an attack roll, an ability check, or a damage roll, you can use your reaction to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and subtracting the number rolled from the creature's roll. You can choose to use this feature after the creature makes its roll, but before the DM determines whether the attack roll or ability check succeeds or fails, or before the creature deals its damage. The creature is immune if it can't hear you or if it's immune to being charmed.

When a creature within 30 feet of you casts a spell, you can use your reaction to strum this lute, drawing it as part of the reaction. Roll a Performance check with a DC of 10+ the spell's level. On a success, the spell completes as if you cast it, using your spell attack modifier, saving throw, and your spellcasting ability. You can choose new targets or areas for the spell as if it were cast from your space. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to half your level, rounded up. Requires attunement.

Stories...it was always the stories that grabbed the attention of the Naevirion twins. Growing up, Vashrin and his sister Celeste spent the majority of their time in the inn their mother worked in. They spent the nights of their earlier childhood years listening to boastful stories of traveling adventurers and fanciful tales told by the bards who would frequent the Grand Griffon Inn. Once they were old enough to do so, the pair would often sneak out of the inn and get in all manner of trouble, trying to live out the stories they had heard so often in the inn.

The night the shadowy woman took Celeste, Vashrin left home. How could he stay, given the horror of his reflection. He was going to find Celeste and bring her home. That night, he tried to return to the Witchlight Carnival, but to no avail, as the Carnival had already moved on.

Vashrin’s heart sank when he saw that the Witchlight Carnival had moved on and he would not be able to free Celeste. Knowing that going home wasn’t an option, and that the Witchlight Carnival wasn’t likely to return to Silverymoon for at least a generation, Vashrin left out for the western Northbank district, hoping to stow away upon a merchant’s wagon and begin his search for the Carnival.

The young half-elf, well out of his element, found his plan – such as it was - far more difficult to enact than to think about. Several times, he had been found by caravan guards and quartermasters hiding among the goods bound for points beyond Silverymoon’s walls. This was Vash’s routine for several weeks, sleeping during the day, sneaking bits of bread for his meals when he could not rely on the kindness of strangers, and at night, he would try and try again to find his way out of Silverymoon.

Eventually, Vashrin was successful, hiding among a wagon of furs bound for Triboar. The caravan master, Gregor Trevian, found Vash, nearly starving to death, hiding among the furs a few days outside of Yartar. Gregor took mercy on the wayward, young half-elf , fed him and tried to get Vash’s story out of him. Vash wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the full explanation, only saying that something had happened that wouldn’t allow him to stay at home any longer. Fortunately for Vash, that explanation was enough to satisfy Gregor. Along the rest of the journey to Triboar, Vash made himself as useful as he could, doing whatever odd job was needed, but where he earned his keep – at least according to Gregor – was entertaining the caravan drivers with stories, the same stories Vashrin and Celeste grew up listening to in the Grand Griffin back in Silverymoon. Sure, some of the details were missed and other parts of the story were embellished – sometimes by a great deal – but the stories were well received, more times than not, regardless. Seeing the effect that these stories had on his employees, Gregor offered to keep Vash on, at least for the time being. Given that Triboar was not exactly a metropolis, nor was it likely to be a destination for the Witchlight Carnival, Vashrin accepted. As an added bonus to the young half-elf, he found that telling his stories let him – at least for a short time – think about something other than the horrible fate that had befallen his sister.

For the better part of three years, Vash traveled with Gregor and his caravan, taking him as far south as Balder’s Gate, as far north as Luskan and many points in between, including Waterdeep. It was in Waterdeep Gregor and Vash would part ways. Vash had always been careful to not allow himself to be bare-faced around a reflective surface for fear of the fey curse rearing its ugly head and frightening the man Vash had come to think of as a father-figure. On one night sitting in the Full Cup in Waterdeep’s Southern Ward, a too full flagon of ale spilled on the table that Vash and Gregor sat at. Not thinking too clearly, perhaps from too many ales for a 16-year-old to have partaken in, Vash looked down at the puddle of ale at the same time as Gregor. Gregor was horrified to see the same ghoulish sight that stared back at Vashrin, the bloated, drown face of a young half-elf woman, who if it were not for the state of decomposition, would look quite similar to Vash. ”What devilry is this?” Gregor yelled, scrambling away from Vashrin. Quickly sobering, Vash got to his feet and ran out of the Full Cup, ashamed of his secret and still sorrowful for the loss of Celeste.
No closer to finding the Witchlight Carnival and now again on his own and alone, Vashrin would chose to stay in Waterdeep. Where else in all of Faerun would he be able to find information about the Witchlight Carnival? Waterdeep had everything, all manner of merchants, adventurers, and such. Surely if he stayed in the City of Splendors and continued to ply his trade as a storyteller and entertainer in the various inns thoughout the city, he would come across someone, something that knew how to find the Witchlight Carnvial.

The next five years went by in a blur. The evenings and nights spent earning his coin and the daylight hours spent in the halls of any sage that might have even the smallest inkling of a clue to when and where the Witchlight would show up next, until one fateful day he saw the poster…the Witchlight had finally returned and now Vashrin would have his chance to bring Celeste home.

Faith: Polytheistic, but has a particular liking for Erevan Ilesere of the Elven Pantheon, Exarch to Corellon Larethian

Personality Traits:
1) There’s nothing I like more than a good mystery/story, as such I ask a lot of questions to get to those stories.

2) I know a story relevant to almost every situation.

3) I like to read and memorize poetry. It keeps me calm and brings me fleeting moments of happiness.

For all of Vashrin's feigned confidence and outwardly care-free attitude to the public, in truth he is a badly broken and emotionally damaged man. The loss of Celeste and Vashrin's deep belief that he was ultimately responsible for her loss, not to mention the various fates that befell his friends, has left him obsessed with finding the Carnival and remedying those ills

Ideals: Determination. I’ll stop the curse that haunts me and get Celeste back, or die trying.

Bonds: I would do anything for the other members of the Defenders.

Flaws: I assume the worst in people.

The Lost & the Curse: Celeste, Vashrin's twin sister, was stolen from their room by a shadowy fey woman. His curse is that any time his reflection appears in a mirror, pool of water, or any other reflective surface, it looks like Celeste, always dead, a different way each time. As he grows older, so does she, but she is never see her alive in these reflections. Others can see it as well.

Height: 5'10"
Weight: 167 lbs
Hair: Jet Black
Eyes: Emerald Green
Skin Tone: Fair
Age: 21

At 21 years of age, life has not been kind to Vashrin. He appears a bit older than he actually is, likely from years of living on the streets, followed by even more years of late nights in various inns and taverns. Still lean, with dark hair that falls just below his shoulders. His once bright green eyes, are now pale, but still green. When not on stage, he favors simple clothing. While on stage, his costumes tend to darker colors, with splashes of bright reds, blues, or greens. Around his neck still hangs the ever-present locket that is the match to his sister's

13 year old Vashrin was fairly tall (5'4") for his age and lean with dark shoulder length hair and bright green eyes. When clean, his skin tone is fair, although at times that can difficult to tell depending on the trouble he and Celeste have been getting into at the given moment. His clothes are in decent repair for the most part and he and his sister - nearly inseparable - have matching silver chains and lockets hanging around their necks.