Syl Vipershade

Syl Vipershade

"Business stays as business, and nothing else."

Player Name	Geoffrey
Languages	Common, Serpenttongue (Primordial), Thieves Cant
Affiliations	The Federation
Marital Status	"Complicated"
Species	Yuan-Ti Malison (Half-Blood)
Gender	Nonbinary (They/Them)
Height	6' 3"
Weight	160 lbs
Eye Color	Milky White

Syl Vipershade (pronounced like "Psy-L") is a multiclassed Rogue/Bard (3/1) that works a a securities enforcer for the Federation in the Bedlam in the Badlands community campaign.

Physical Appearance

Syl is a tall, intimidating Yuan-Ti Malison (half-blood) with dark purple scales and milky white eyes. The back of their cobra hood has several different scars from many different transactions that "have gone wrong". They wear light leather armors that allow them to stay mobile while still offering protection against the elements and enemy attacks.

Personality

At a glance, Syl can seem intimidating and very to-the-point, yet they have a somewhat carefree attitude.. They take their work as a securities enforcer very seriously and put business as their first priority when on a job. When off the clock, Syl is more relaxed and laid back, taking care of some of the street urchins in the Arboretum. They are prone to excessive drinking if a job goes poorly or some other incident affects them deeply.

History

[insert backstory about federation roots and stuff]

Languages

As a Federation Rogue, Syl is fluent in Common and Thieves Cant. They are also knowledgeable in Serpenttongue, which is a (flavor) variant of Primordial made up of dark and beguiling whispers.

Powers and Abilities

Being a Yuan-Ti provides Syl with some magical and natural abilities. They have Darkvision which allows them to see in the dark, but they are unable to tell colors apart in dark environments. The magical nature of their Yuan-Ti blood provides them with a bit of Magic Resistance that helps them resist spell effects by letting them flow with their body without excessive harm. Syl also has Poison Resilience, which they commonly use to taste-test poisons by directly licking them. Additionally, they have a connection with snakes in general, granting them the ability to spit poisonous mists (Poison Spray), befriend snakes (Animal Friendship), and subtly influence others with words laced with Serpenttongue charms (Suggestion) through Serpentine Spellcasting.

Syl is an exceptional Rogue who is extremely Perceptive and able to Persuade others with the right words (Expertise). They know how to exploit an enemy's weaknesses with precise strikes (Sneak Attack). Their snakelike agility also allows them to move extremely fast, avoid attacks, and blend into shadows relatively easily (Cunning Action).

Serpenttongue is a very ancient variant of Primordial that enables Syl to charm their words with magical effects. They can inspire allies with encouragement (Bardic Inspiration) or psychologically disrupt an enemy (Vicious Mockery). Other offensive uses include weaving a curse that weakens enemy morale (Bane) or a disturbing melody that can deeply disturb an enemy (Dissonant Whispers). The magical nature of Serpenttongue also allows Syl to sense nearby magical effects (Detect Magic) and determining the properties of an item (Identify). However, Syl would rather avoid using Serpenttongue, as it requires dark incantations that deeply unsettle them whenever they need to use it and reminds them of a dark moment in their past.

After about a month of the attack on the Arboretum, Syl suddenly gained a burst of Psionic Power that manifests as Soulknife abilities. They can tap into their psionic wellspring to succeed on actions they may potentially fail on (Psi-Bolstered Knack), or create a long-lasting and wide-range telepathic connection between multiple people (Psychic Whispers). Additionally, they can mentally conjure Psychic Blades that cause psionic damage and leave no visible traces, which is good for silent engagements and infiltrations. Syl also learned how to time their attacks to penetrate enemy weakspots by sacrificing mobility for greater precision (Steady Aim).

Attacks and Weapons

In combat, Syl prefers using a shortbow when at range and wields either a pair of matching daggers or their rapier when fighting up close. After unlocking their psionic ability to conjure soulknives, Syl is now never without a weapon and uses them if they need to transition between their rapier and shortbow during combat.

Mission Logs

Kickoff Megagame Part 1: Out of the Pot

Party: Syl, Gobbo + Froggy (Goblin Battle Smith Artificer + Steel Defender), Sixsplitter (Stitched Hexblade/Wizard)

Mission: Investigate a nearby Shend camp located in the Vinaash Oasis, and report back any discoveries.

What Happened: The camp was left unguarded with not a single soul to be seen, other than a rock gnome captive in a locked cage. There were traces of strange black substances around the area, and a hidden storage room that housed several creatures that took the form of bats and bugs. The party was able to retreat without becoming overwhelmed by the creatures, before spotting an emergency signal flare from the Arboretum.

Kickoff Megagame Part 2: And Into the Fire

Party: Syl, Gobbo + Froggy (Goblin Battle Smith Artificer + Steel Defender), Sixsplitter (Stitched Hexblade/Wizard), Caesanna (Eladrin Aberrant Mind Sorcerer), Jynx (Goblin Battle Smith Artificer), Dallas (Mousefolk Archfey Warlock)

Mission: Prevent two siege ballistae from reaching the Arboretum.

What Happened: After returning to the Arboretum, the party was informed that the Arboretum was under attack, and that they needed to stop two siege ballistae near the outskirts that were being pulled by two giant beetles. After meeting the enemy forces halfway, the party was able to successfully detach the ballistae and kill the attackers before they reached the Arboretum. The ballistae were then torn down to be used as scrap components.

Session 5: Bombs (And How Not to Make Them 101)

Party: Syl, Glorivesh (Kalashtar Shadow Sorcerer), Koro (Air Genasi Kensei Monk), Mizuka (Desert Vulpine Lore Bard), Avel (Shadar-Kai Swords Bard), Ollie Olllivine (High Elf Beast Master Ranger)

Mission: Build bombs to lure out and kill the demons lurking in the Junkyard.

What Happened: The Scrapper Lieutenants (Baftzmyr, Kicyr, and Cilvdy) explained that there were demons infesting the Junkyard, and the best way to flush them out for extermination was to attract their attention with bombs. Cilvdy went over her process of creating origami frog bombs (fold the frog, fill the frog, wax the frog) which potentially violates many QOSHA regulations (who dips black powder in melted wax???) before handing over the job to the party. Syl and Koro folded the frogs, Ollie and Avel filled them with black powder, and Gloria and Mizuka sealed them with the wax. A handful of bombs exploded during the waxing process and nearly downed Gloria, but everyone else was otherwise fine. After a short rest, the party each took a bomb and began spreading out to lure out the demons: Abyssal Chickens and Leeches. Several people were heavily wounded by the bleed wounds from the Leech bites, but Koro was able to deal with the majority of the demons while Mizuka kept everyone up with Healing Words. In the end, the Junkyard was cleared without any other loss of life, and the party was allowed to attempt to scrap for biological demon parts. Unfortunately, the two attempts to extract leech eggs (which made for great bombs) caused them to burst, but there was still additional scrap regardless.

Session 10: Problems in the Port Town

Party: Syl, Lenore (Kenku Twilight Cleric), Lyrina Moonshadow (Owlin Land Druid), Voscaera (Maedar Artificer/Fighter), Bob Celestio (Aasimar Paladin/Divination Wizard), Delaiah (Abyssal Tiefling Armorer Artificer)

Mission: Investigate the port town of Arrafell to determine why trade shipments are being disrupted.

What Happened: The party arrived in Arrafell and was debriefed by Krispin, Lord Pavan's swordmaster, of potential leads in the form of locations and rumors for the trade situation. The first destination was the Tradesman Guild to get an idea of any potential suspects before the party split up into three groups (Syl + Lenore, Lyrina + Voscaera, Bob + Delaiah) to cover more ground. Syl and Lenore went to the Craftsman Guild, where the Thieves' Guild was also presumably located for more information. Lenore was able to get inducted into the Craftsman Guild after displaying her artisan mimicry skills... while Syl miserably failed to find both their standard contact in Arrafell and the entrance of the Thieves' Guild. The party reconvened at the barracks to pick up Lyrina and Voscaera after they had a misunderstanding with the guards at the warehouse, before deciding to head to the warehouse to investigate. During the investigation, the source of the trade problems revealed itself: an Alkilith, which was essentially demonic moss that could create a portal to the Abyss and was able to mentally disorient the party with fear. Unfortunately, Syl ended up having an existential crisis while hiding in a pile of crates during the entire time the demon was engaged... but the trade problems were (mostly) resolved, and the guards were now aware and on guard for the demonic presence.

Session 15: Check on the Livestock

Party: Syl, Rhogar Dreel (White Dragonborn Rune Knight), Silgr Þyrikk (Dwarf Rune Knight), Mizuka (Desert Vulpine Lore Bard), Voscaera (Maedar Artificer/Fighter), Himo Nilo (High Elf Rogue/Artillerist Artificer)

Mission: Check upon the Shepherd livestock in case demons are after them.

What Happened: The party met up with Saltique Petra, who was responsible for guiding them to where the livestock resided. After braving through a sandstorm and flash flood, Petra explained that they needed to gather magical herbs as bait to attract the livestock, which were "free range" animals. During the foraging process, several trapdoor spiders ambushed the party and nearly downed Syl. However, Rhogar was able to dispatch several of them without too much issue, and the rest of the party was able to wipe out the rest. Some of the spiders were able to be scrapped for biological parts, while others foraged for more herbs. Afterwards, Petra led the party to a canyon to place the bait, while explaining that the livestock was drawn to magic. The livestock eventually revealed itself to be two giant sand woims that burst out of the ground and began to gorge on the herbs, when a group of poisonous demons and corpses appeared and began to attack the woims. The party leaped in to protect the woims from eating the poisonous demons, which would have killed them from the inside out as the only defenses they had was eating whatever attacked them. Rhogar and Silgr were swallowed when they activated their Giant Forms, but Petra was able to leap in and force the woims to regurgitate them out safely. When one of the corpses was "killed", it was revealed that the creatures controlling the dead bodies were jellyfish-like demons. The battle drew the attention of another woim appeared: The Grandfather, who ate one of the woims before disappearing again. Eventually, the demons were all slain, other than one jellyfish demon that almost escaped to possess the final woim. Luckily, Rhogar was able to chase it down and kill it before it got too far, preventing the possibility of a possessed woim... for now.