Player character

Vaelith Sunsong

Male Elf Bard 1 · Lorekeeper of Lost Casmaron

Vaelith Sunsong is an elven scholar-performer who has spent decades collecting sailor songs, Keleshite route-poems, locathah trade chants, and ruined fragments of Ninshaburian verse. To most tavern audiences he is merely a graceful singer with old stories. To the expedition, he is something far more useful: a living archive of the Castrovin Sea’s strangest legends.

Vaelith fills the party’s support, lore, diplomacy, and morale role. He helps the group survive social scenes in Kridorn, negotiate with Keleshite traders, identify ancient references, interpret maritime folklore, and keep the party fighting through long expeditions. Late game, his knowledge of ancient catastrophe, Rovagug’s Spawn, and Darklands legends becomes just as important as his songs.

Level 1 Character Sheet

Male elf bard 1
NG Medium humanoid (elf)
Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +8

Defense

AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12
(+2 leather armor, +3 Dex)

hp 8 (1d8)

Fort +0, Ref +5, Will +3; +2 vs enchantments

Immune sleep

Offense

Speed 30 ft.

Melee rapier +3 (1d6/18–20)

Ranged shortbow +3 (1d6/×3)

Special bardic performance 7 rounds/day, countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire courage +1

Statistics

Str 10, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 16

Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 13

Feats Lingering Performance

Skills Acrobatics +7, Bluff +7, Diplomacy +7, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (local) +6, Knowledge (planes) +6, Linguistics +6, Perception +8, Perform (sing) +7, Profession (sailor) +5, Sense Motive +5, Spellcraft +6, Use Magic Device +7

Languages Common, Elven, Aquan, Kelish, Undercommon, Azlanti or Cyclops

Bard Features

Bardic Knowledge: Vaelith adds half his bard level to all Knowledge checks and may make them untrained. This is central to the campaign’s lore-heavy structure.

Bardic Performance: Inspire Courage is his primary combat contribution at low levels. Lingering Performance lets the song continue briefly after he stops spending rounds.

Countersong and Distraction: Useful against sonic effects, strange sea-stack harmonics, madness chants, and later abyssal rituals.

Spells: Vaelith casts spontaneous arcane spells using Charisma. His magic should emphasize support, utility, social leverage, illusion, and emergency control.

How to Play Vaelith

Start fights with Inspire Courage. A +1 bonus to hit and damage across the whole party is huge, especially with gunslinger shots, hunter attacks, rogue sneak attacks, and the warpriest’s melee pressure.

Be the lore engine. Ask what old songs, ruined inscriptions, sea-stack carvings, pirate ballads, or Ninshaburian fragments might reveal.

Handle diplomacy before knives come out. Vaelith is ideal for Keleshite traders, locathah negotiations, suspicious captains, salvage guilds, and nervous villagers.

Do not stand on the front line. Vaelith wins by making everyone else better, not by dueling monsters alone.

Bard Spells

Support, Lore, Illusion, and Expedition Utility

Level 1 Spellcasting

Caster Type: spontaneous arcane caster

Concentration +4; Spell DC 13 + spell level

Cantrips Known: detect magic, ghost sound, light, message

1st-Level Spells Known: cure light wounds, grease

Core Spell Notes

Spell	Use
Cure Light Wounds	Backup healing so Caldris is not the only emergency support.
Grease	Excellent control on docks, ship decks, bridges, stairs, and tunnel chokepoints.
Charm Person	Strong social tool for smugglers, pirates, informants, and dockside witnesses.
Comprehend Languages	Great scroll or known spell for sea-stack carvings and Ninshaburian fragments.
Saving Finale	Very strong later bard spell for protecting allies from critical failed saves.
Silent Image	Useful for ambushes, distractions, false cover, and maritime trickery.

Recommended Spells by Tier

Level	Spell Tier	Recommended Priorities	Reason
1–3	1st	cure light wounds, grease, charm person, comprehend languages	Support, control, social utility, lore access.
4–6	2nd	glitterdust, heroism, invisibility, sound burst	Major party support and anti-stealth utility.
7–9	3rd	haste, good hope, dispel magic, glibness	Signature bard power tier.
10–12	4th	freedom of movement, dimension door, greater invisibility	Escape, mobility, and major combat support.
13–14	5th	shadow evocation, song of discord, greater dispel magic	Flexible late-game problem solving and anti-magic support.

Scrolls and Wands

comprehend languages — perfect for ruins and sea-stack inscriptions.
cure light wounds — backup healing economy.
invisibility — scout support for Auren.
water breathing — emergency expedition utility.
remove fear — helpful against horror and abyssal threats.
silence — infiltration and anti-caster tool.

Campaign Role and Lore Hooks

Why Vaelith Fits Razored Labyrinth

Campaign Phase	Vaelith’s Role
Kridorfrost	Identifies old bridge legends, local river songs, and mismatched historical claims.
Kridorn	Negotiates with merchants, hears pirate ballads, tracks rumors of the Flayed Map.
Citadel Allatro	Recognizes locathah chant-structures and helps translate trade customs.
Ninshabur	Deciphers surviving hymns, civic inscriptions, archive fragments, and catastrophe records.
Vladmirr	Handles salvage guild politics and keeps the expedition coalition from splitting.
Darklands	Recalls ancient Spawn lore, abyssal legends, and old warnings buried in song.

The Last Song of Ninshabur

Vaelith believes some ancient cultures preserved evacuation routes, disaster warnings, and historical records inside performance traditions rather than stone tablets. His personal quest centers on a lost Ninshaburian hymn said to encode a route through submerged ruins and warn against something beneath the Castrovin basin.

Alternate Sidequest — The Hollow Choir

Vaelith encounters a maritime cult whose songs resonate with submerged structures beneath the Razored Labyrinth. Their music may awaken ancient mechanisms, calm storms, or draw the attention of something listening from below.

Roleplay Notes

Soft-spoken until performing, then commanding.
Collects songs from sailors, locathahs, pirates, and prisoners.
Believes old stories are distorted records, not entertainment.
Respects courage but values memory more.
Fears civilizations that forget why their ancestors sealed doors.

Recommended Progression Through Level 14

Level	Choice / Feature	Recommendation	Reason
1	Feat	Lingering Performance	Best early bard economy feat.
3	Feat	Extra Performance	Keeps Inspire Courage available through long adventuring days.
5	Feat	Discordant Voice or Improved Initiative	Damage support if allowed; initiative if not.
7	Feat	Spell Focus: Enchantment	Improves control and social magic.
9	Feat	Greater Spell Focus: Enchantment or Skill Focus: Perform	Choose magic DCs or performance identity.
11	Feat	Spell Penetration	Late-game magical enemies become common.
13	Feat	Greater Spell Penetration or Improved Initiative	Reliability in final acts.

Performance Priorities

Performance	Use
Inspire Courage	Default combat performance for most fights.
Fascinate	Social/infiltration tool when violence is not yet required.
Suggestion	Excellent once unlocked for negotiations and deception.
Dirge of Doom	Strong when enemies need to be softened for witch spells and fear effects.
Inspire Greatness	Useful in boss fights or when the tank must hold a deadly line.

Preferred Gear

Masterwork instrument: shell-harp, silver flute, or sea-bone lyre.
Mithral shirt: long-term light armor.
Cloak of resistance: essential.
Headband of alluring charisma: primary caster/support item.
Page of spell knowledge: excellent for expanding bard versatility.
Handy haversack: scrolls, maps, song fragments, ink, rubbings, and relic notes.

Campaign Quote

“Legends are not lies. They are warnings sung long after the witnesses died.”