Vardis Vaden is a former pirate currently living in the castle of Widow's Watch.
History and Personality[]
Vardis was born in a slum in the city of Coldharbour to a whore and a travelling mage. Unlike most of the other gutter children he shared the streets with, Vardis displayed remarkable traits which mystified his mother and the other children alike. When he was fifteen, he inadvertently killed a guard while trying to rob a merchant. Vardis was forced to flee, and stole a boat from the dockside, casting off into the Silver Sea.
After seven months of general piracy, Vardis' boat was attacked from below by a bizarre craft. The captain of this ship, the mind flayer Squidface, took Vardis as a hostage, recognising his eldritch prowess. Vardis served for four years upon the Drowned Dragon, Squidface's ship, learning how to appease his tentacled master. He frequented the shores of Eriabourne and the Dales, his charm and quick wit earning him popularity among the peoples of the coastal cities.
He appears to have often smuggled goods from the Ruby Reaches to Squidface, notably crates of starglass which he purchased from corrupt dwarves from Eriabourne. He was forced to return all of these goods to Squidface upon his return to the sea, but was eventually granted a large sailing boat for his own use.
Vardis is irreverent, covetous and whimsical by nature, but he is capable of acts of great bravery and heroism. He dresses with distinctive flair to match his cutting personality, often wearing a blood-red leather jacket with a matching cloak.
Skills and Powers[]
Vardis is surprisingly strong and agile, using his spear to great effect against his numerous enemies. He is also able to get along with people, using his silver tongue to influence others, often for his own ends. However, his most powerful trait is his natural magic, an unpredictable mishmash of eldritch power which he is capable of channeling into lethal blasts. Vaden is also capable of tuning into magical items that would normally require specialised training by asserting his authority over the artefacts.
In the Campaign[]
Azuk, Renagen and Keldin interrupted a meeting between Vardis Vaden and Nash, following a tip from the mind flayer Jazid. They took Vardis and Nash as hostages, bringing Nash back to Winterhome to await trial. However, they decided that should Vardis prove his loyalty while aiding the ranger Renagen, they would simply accept him into their mercenary company, the Bloodsworn. Once the werewolf Rhama was dead and the village of Redwood at peace, Vardis accepted this offer.
Since then, he has assisted the party on a number of occasions, notably defeating the halfling assassin Mikael with one powerful invocation and clearing Rhobar the Rotting from Widow's Watch. Vardis was cursed with blindness by Rhobar, but Lord Fenry of Watermeet agreed to pay for the curse to be removed. Along with Azuk, Vardis was turned to stone by the gaze of an ancient medusa upon the island of Shendric, so he could not be present for the killing of his former master Squidface, which he regrets.
He was captured by Ra'Zeel and imprisoned within Tazar's manor for a few days. The ranger Straker impersonated him during this time but the deception was unsuccessful and Vardis was promptly rescued.
Character Sheet[]
Vardis Vaden - Human Warlock 9
HP 46 Initiative+3 AC 21 (T13, FF18) Speed-30(6)
Spear +15/ + 10 (d8 + 6 + embed spear/x3) or Eldritch Blast +10 (5d6 damage + any invoked effects)
Hideous Blow +15 (d8 + 6 + 5d6/x3)
SQ - Detect Magic, DR 2/cold iron, Eldritch Blast 5d6, Deceive Item (take 10 on any use magic device check), Fiendish Resilience 1/day (enter a state of fast heal 1 for 2 minutes), Invocations
Feats - Eldritch Blast Focus, Magical Aptitude, Force of Personality, Arcane Mastery
Abilities 14, 16, 12, 13, 8, 20 (16) Saves +4/+5/+11 Skills - Speech + 14, Use Magic Device + 16, Profession(Sailor) + 13, Concentration + 15 Languages - Common, Draconic
Invocations DC 15 + IL
1 - Hideous Blow (Standard Action, channel Eldritch Blast into attack)
2 - Frightful Blast ( Eldritch Blast applies will save or shaken for 1 minute)
3 - Sickening Blast ( Eldritch Blast applies fortitude save or nauseated for 1 minute)
4 - Curse (as bestow curse spell, on a succeeded save subject still takes -1 on attacks for 1 minute)
5 - Voracious Dispelling (as per dispel magic spell, and subjects takes 1 point of damage for each spell level removed, no save)
Equipment - Flaming Spear + 1, Chain Shirt + 2, Clasp of Charisma + 4, Ring of Protection + 2, Hogspear +3 (longspear, target hit must grapple/escape artist check at DC equal to damage dealt, or take d4 constitution damage per turn that the spear is left in, bonus d6 damage against swine)
Gold - 1300