Polar

Stub-class article · Last seen: s16

Polar was the player whose character is Vasquez, the half-elf-then-half-demon gunsmith fighter who was at the table from session 2 to session 16 (absent s11). “Polar” is a Discord handle and is the form used both at the table and in this wiki. The player and character were tightly identified at the table: even out-of-character, the rest of the party often called him by the character name. Polar left the table between sessions 16 and 17; the in-fiction send-off was the s17 retcon in which Vasquez was taken by Aurelians at the end of session 16 [1][13], departing the party offscreen in the same category as Cholmondeley, Harvo, and Ruin, not a pending rescue.

Characters played

  • Vasquez (s2-s16; absent s11; in-fiction departed offscreen via s16-retcon Aurelian capture, [1]): half-elf Fighter (Great Weapon Master, Action Surge, Second Wind), wears a mask. Wields a custom gunblade crafted at Shamil’s forge in s3. From s9 onwards, race becomes Half Demon (Elf) on D&D Beyond after he accepted the bargain of an unseen presence in the Black Vein Quarry; from then he houses Mharos, a parasitic entity that feeds on misery [2][3][4]. Aliases include “Bruise” (jail nickname from s7-s8 Umbrafall arrest, Cruz → Bruce → Bruise) and “Cruz” (jailer alias). Was disguised as a dwarf via Hat of Disguise (attuned s16); the hat was destroyed in the s17 retcon’s escape sequence [5].

At the table

Polar’s Vasquez voice was a terse Western/Spanish-styled mask voice with gunsmith vocabulary and a strong line in pride-and-honour anger. Tells included the deadpan “Probably takes practice, I guess.” [6], “Jokes on you. I’m half gay. I have the right.” [7], and the post-transformation Ghostbusters reference “there is no Vasquez there’s only Zul” [8]. Self-introduction at the start of s2 was the mumbled “Vasquez.” [9]. (Note: an earlier wiki draft listed “Bronze God, I hope your hammer is with me today” as a signature Vasquez oath. Per DM correction 2026-05-17, Hugo’s “Bronze God” reference to Vasquez was OOC table chatter and not in-fiction canon; removed.)

When Mharos whispered, the in-fiction physical tic was for Vasquez to slam his head against a wall [10][11][12]. The Mharos voice, when speaking through Vasquez, was a separate, ominous, manipulative register.

Departure

Polar left the table between sessions 16 and 17, at the same time as Maliwana and for related reasons. Nick (DM) posted a substantive statement on Discord on 2026-05-17 explaining the circumstances. Preserved verbatim, factually, without taking sides:

Mali has left the campaign because we realized there was a mismatch around AI use. I had been open from the start that I use AI for prep, NPC art, scenes, stat blocks, and writing support, but the issue became that their character appearing in AI-generated scene images crossed a boundary they had not expected. I did not use their character art, only a short description, but it still made her uncomfortable. Since AI is a normal part of how I prep and run this campaign, I felt it was better to call it there rather than keep going with something that would keep bothering them. Polar has also left. After seeing the situation, he felt I handled it badly and that I made the decision before Mali was fully ready to leave. I do not agree with everything that was said, but I understand he did not feel comfortable continuing after that. — Nick (DM), Discord, 2026-05-17

The in-fiction explanation is the session 17 retcon: at the end of session 16 Vasquez and Althea split off from the party, and never came back: the party, forced to choose between fleeing the Aurelians and staying with them, left them behind [1]. Vasquez’s Hat of Disguise was destroyed in the escape. Per Chris’s post-s17 clarification, this is the in-fiction send-off for the character: Vasquez is departed offscreen in the same category as Cholmondeley, Harvo, and Ruin: a former party member, not a captured-and-rescuable one. Vasquez’s status: is departed. See the session 17 recap and the s16 Retcon block for the in-fiction framing; the meta is intentionally not surfaced in any in-fiction article.

See also

References

  1. ^ Session 17, line 130: Inline citation.
  2. ^ Session 9, line 78: Inline citation.
  3. ^ Session 9, line 187: Inline citation.
  4. ^ Session 9, line 197: Inline citation.
  5. ^ Session 17, line 134-136: Inline citation.
  6. ^ Session 4, line 736: Inline citation.
  7. ^ Session 5, line 1482: Inline citation.
  8. ^ Session 15, line 1195: Inline citation.
  9. ^ Session 2, line 304: Inline citation.
  10. ^ Session 15, line 803: Inline citation.
  11. ^ Session 15, line 804: Inline citation.
  12. ^ Session 16, line 1052: Inline citation.
  13. ^ Session 17, line 785: Inline citation.
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