Abjurer’s Armor: Whenever Vaelish takes damage, he can apply half to his mage armor. His mage armor effect can absorb no more than 13 hit points per day.
Spellcasting: Vaelish is a 5th-level spellcaster that uses Intelligence as his magic ability (spell save DC 13). He has the following spells prepared:
Cantrips—light, prestidigitation, shocking grasp
1st Level (4/day)—charm person, magic missile, shield
2nd Level (3/day)—invisibility, scorching ray
3rd Level (2/day)—fireball
Sapphire Staff: Vaelish uses his staff to cast one of the following spells stored within it (save DC 13).
Cantrip—ray of frost
1st Level (2/day)—detect magic
4th Level (1/day)—dimension door
Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, range 20/60 ft. Hit: 3(1d4+1) piercing damage, simple, finesse, light, thrown.
Sapphire Staff. Melee Attack: +2 to hit (reach 5 ft.; one creature). Hit: 5(1d6+2) bludgeoning damage.
Shield [1st-Level Spell]: When Vaelish is hit by an attack, he makes a Dexterity saving throw or if he is the target of magic missile, he can use a reaction to gain a +4 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws, as well as immunity to magic missile, until the start of his next turn.
Description
Many traders profit in the lucrative market for Icewind Dale’s “white gold,” but the way Vaelish Gant sees it, ivory and scrimshaw are only the beginning. If the Arcane Brotherhood can gain access to the dwarven mines of Kelvin’s Cairn and the unexploited wealth of the tundra—with its rich furs and pelts—that is currently wasted on the Reghed barbarians, the dale will be well worth holding. And if someone were to discover a valuable new mineral lode somewhere in the Spine of the World, Ten-Towns might become another Mirabar. The Brotherhood’s leadership hasn’t displayed any interest in Icewind Dale; this operation is Gant’s alone. The wizard is less interested in Ten-Towns than in the prestige that success there will bring him among his peers in the Brotherhood. He especially hopes that the profits generated in Ten-Towns will help Jendrick the Blue secure the position of Archmage Arcane, and then the senior wizard will reward him with a position as an Overwizard.
Vaelish Gant was born in the southern city of Athkatla, far down the Sword Coast. He joined the Arcane Brotherhood under Jendrick’s tutelage and started his operations in Waterdeep, hoping that effort would be the key to his career. Gant was soon frustrated by stifling competition, and he decided that gaining a stranglehold on the markets in Ten-Towns would be a better use of his energy and an easier way to impress his mentor. Vaelish Gant is a heavy man of medium height, with short, black hair, dark eyes, and light brown skin that marks him as a foreigner in Icewind Dale. He dresses the part of a wizard, wearing a brown robe with a fancy white mantle fastened with a seashell brooch. His ornate metal staff is tipped with a glowing sapphire, displaying his magical acumen for all to see. Though he gives the impression of magical might, his wizardry skills have not progressed far beyond his apprenticeship. This arrogance extends to his every mannerism—he is cocky and confident, believing himself to be destined for greatness and superior to everyone he meets.
One of Vaelish Gant’s agents from Ship Rethnor, a wererat called Slim, is setting up a protection racket to secure Gant’s power base in Bryn Shander. Helped by a brutish hobgoblin named Marek the Shank, Slim has put the squeeze on Bryn Shander’s merchants. Those who are too foolish or too stubborn to submit to the Luskanites’ demands meet with misfortune. Ultimately, Gant aims to be elected town speaker, which will afford his operations a veneer of legitimacy as he attempts to bring the rest of Ten-Towns under his control. The only obstacle to his ambition is Bryn Shander’s current speaker, Duvessa Shane.
Killing Duvessa would deny Gant the legitimacy he craves, so instead he has encouraged several of the town’s leading citizens to declare their lack of confidence in Duvessa’s leadership, based in large part on her inability to contain the protection racket run by his thugs. Although her political instincts tell her that these declarations are a gambit arranged by a rival, Duvessa doesn’t know who is behind them, so she has little choice but to answer the grievances in a public audience to maintain her good standing as a town speaker.
(Information from the Sundering adventure Legacy of the Crystal Shard and stats are adapted from those provided for D&D Next.)
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