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], L785), 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 a transformative encounter with the Succubus in the Black Vein Quarry; from then he houses Mharos, a parasitic entity that feeds on misery. 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 [2].

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. Recurring tells included “I’ll fucking cut you!”, deadpan “Probably takes practice, I guess.”, the “I’m half gay.” running joke, and the post-transformation “There is no Vasquez. There’s only Zul.” Ghostbusters reference [3]. Self-introduction at the start of s2 was the mumbled “Vasquez.” [4]. (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 [5]. The Mharos voice — when speaking through Vasquez — was a separate, ominous, manipulative register that the diariser sometimes split into a phantom speaker label.

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, were forced back to the sewer when Aurelians closed in, and were taken by Aurelians while the rest of the party fled. 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 17, line 134-136 — Inline citation.
  3. ^ Session 15, line 1178 — Inline citation.
  4. ^ Session 2, line 265 — Inline citation.
  5. ^ Session 15, line 788 — Inline citation.
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