Mike

Start-class article · First seen: s17 · Last seen: s18
Mike
Mike — portrait.
Character
StatusDead
First seens17
Last seens18
PlayerBrian
FactionSevryn's recruits

Mike was a Vedalken multi-class cleric / druid / wizard played by Brian from session 17 to session 18, when he was executed by Glenn (an Aurelian patrol knight) at the road approach to the Bright Gate on 843-03-31. Built around the Mizzium Apparatus - an Arcanthys-school magical device that let him cast any spell on his prepared list via an Arcana check, with a backfire risk on a failed roll [41]. Blue-skinned, small, partially amphibious (one hour of underwater breath, [5]. Lawyer-brained: refused Hugo’s Black Mask soul-bond contract on three escalating legal grounds within minutes of being rescued from an Aurelian-sunk shipwreck [7], replacing it with a verbal “one wish, eventually, should I live long enough” commitment [8]. Joined the party when Hugo and Terry pulled him and Steven from the wreckage of an Aurelian-sunk ship in the Sapphire Sea [3]. Died two in-game days later when his Mizzium-cast Message during a patrol stop was detected as arcane spellcasting; the lead knight Glenn dropped him to 0 in one round of greatsword swings and decapitated him on Round 2. His Mizzium Apparatus and spellbook were confiscated by the patrol; Hugo dug a roadside grave by hand axe. With Mike’s death, Hugo’s s17 voluntary Voidforged disclosure [13] and the verbal “one wish, eventually” IOU [8] both went to the grave with him.

Appearance and personality

Mike was a Vedalken - blue-skinned, partially amphibious, able to breathe underwater for up to an hour [5]. Small build, wore chain mail and carried a shield [4]. On first appearance he was half-dead, draped across a piece of Aurelian shipwreck, barely moving [34].

His defining personality trait was lawyerly precision. When Hugo tried to recruit him into the Black Mask’s pact via a rigged breath-hold bet (Hugo is Voidforged and doesn’t need to breathe), Mike refused to sign the contract on three escalating legal arguments: that Hugo “bet with something you don’t have” - Hugo’s soul being already pledged - and so the contract was “null and void” [35]; that “there’s an expectation of reasonableness” and “in any court of law in these lands… anyone would consider this to be something a reasonable person would consider signing” [36]; and that the analogous reciprocal terms didn’t balance because Hugo couldn’t deliver his side. He later clarified at the table that the verbal “one wish, eventually” commitment he eventually offered meant a 9th-level spell slot - “You said grant you one wish. And I said, ‘Eventually, I’ll be able to do that.’ With a 9th level spell slot” [9].

His second-defining trait was technologist conviction. The s18 Mizzium Apparatus monologue is the clearest snapshot of his character voice: “This is mine. I invented it. I am its master” [37], self-correcting “It is my master. It is my precious” [38]. The full Vedalken-orthodoxy break: “All the wisdom of my people all said that you must decide if you want to be a master of one trade, of one kind of magic, or you want to dabble a little bit in all of them, but you can’t be a master of all of them. And I challenge that assumption. And I believe that through technology, all things are possible” [39]. And the vow that aged five real-time minutes before his death: “I’m going to come back, and I am going to prove you all wrong. I’m going to redefine what is and is not possible for as far as magic goes. I’m going to learn it all” [40].

In his first session he also caught Hugo trying to lie about his biology via Detect Thoughts [12], L1335), probed deeper despite Hugo’s resistance, and delivered the keystone inter-PC line of the session: “You are an abomination” [15] - said calmly, after the blood-vision ritual revealed the iron-restraints / dark-glass chamber of Hugo’s Project Veilbreak origin. Per DM clarification 2026-05-17: Mike reacted with fear or disgust to Hugo’s altered nature, creating possible distrust. The thread did not have time to develop. Mike took Hugo’s voluntary Voidforged disclosure [13] with him when he died; no other PC currently knows the canonical Ascendancy connection by name.

Build

  • Race: Vedalken (Brian’s spelling at intro is “Valdekin”, [1]; the transcript renders variously as Veldekin / Vidalcan / Vildulcan / Vildalcan through Whisper-mangling. Per the DM’s post-s17 correction, all of these Whisper variants are transcription errors for Vedalken, which is canonical.)
  • Origin: from Arcanthys [26].
  • Classes: cleric / druid / wizard multi-class built around the Mizzium Apparatus [41].
  • Mizzium Apparatus mechanic: he could cast any spell on his prepared list via an Arcana check; on a fail the apparatus backfired and cast a different random spell from the same level instead. At his Arcana modifier, level-1 spells effectively could not fail - “right now it’s impossible for me to fail at a level one spell” [42]. The s18 patrol ruling clarified the limit: cantrips that were not on his prepared list cast via the apparatus counted as magic-item casts and were therefore detectable as arcane spellcasting in Aurelia [27]. This ruling is what killed him.
  • Cleric spells used: Mending (on Nessa’s torn sail, [43]; on the boat hull, [44], Light [45], Cure Wounds (held in reserve), Detect Magic (ritual, [46] + L1468), Bless (2nd-level on three swimmers, [47].
  • Druid spells used: Shillelagh (bonus action, [48], Detect Thoughts [12] - resolved mid-session as Mizzium-castable, [49], Goodberry [50], ten created, ~5 consumed, 5 lost on his body), Find Familiar [25] - the fey deer Bobby).
  • Wizard spells used: Shield (reaction, [51] + L1815), Mirror Image, Enhance Ability (advantage on Perception, [52], Unseen Servant (six in rotation rowing the skiff, [53], Phantasmal Force (2024-edition: 2d8 psychic per turn - the Rimeclaw Skulker lava-cube, [54]; carried through to s18 trapping the Brinemaw Wyrm), Booming Blade (the Wyrm tick at [17], Command (“approach”, same), Prestidigitation, Misty Step (back to the boat, s18 Round 2 of the catfish fight), Message (the fatal cantrip, [27].
  • Level: matched the party (level 4 at end of s14; presumed levelled with the party at s16 end, confirmation pending).

Equipment

  • Mizzium Apparatus - Brian’s signature item. An Arcanthys-school magical apparatus from the school of Whim & Wonder. Canonical visual settled in s18: “an amulet or something that fused itself into my chest”, with “magic veins running through it” [20] - Iron Man arc reactor analogy. Used twelve distinct times in s18 (Mending the hull, Booming Blade carry-over, Command, Bless x2, Phantasmal Force carry-over, Prestidigitation, Goodberry, Find Familiar for Bobby, Cure Wounds revive on Mike, the fatal Message). Confiscated by the Aurelian patrol after Mike’s death [31]. Status: in Aurelian custody.
  • Spellbook - taken by the patrol [33]. Status: in Aurelian custody.
  • Chain mail and shield [4] - presumed on the body, presumed confiscated.
  • Backpack with herbalism / leatherworking / alchemy crafting kit (mentioned [55] - perception check turned up no usable materials at sea).
  • Two vials of Hugo’s Voidforged blood - Mike took one, Hugo took the other back at the end of the blood-vision ritual; Mike kept the second for “research at a library” [56]. Fate of these vials after Mike’s death is unresolved - presumed on the body, presumed found by the patrol or recovered by Hugo at the burial [32]. Flagged.
  • Two vials of biogloom (normal + rare) - handed to him by Hugo for the Detect Magic comparison; given back at end of ritual [57].
  • Captain Stone - a painted pebble gift from Pim [58]. Confirmed non-magical via Mike’s Detect Magic [59]. Mike kept it. Not referenced in s18; presumed on Mike’s corpse and therefore presumed confiscated. Flagged for DM clarification.
  • Holy water flask - recovered by Hugo from the body at the burial [60].

Death

Killed by Glenn (Aurelian patrol knight) at the road approach to the Bright Gate on 843-03-31, the morning after the long rest at the Aurelian-aligned farming cottage. The patrol intercepted the party on the inland road; the lead knight was making friendly small talk about Aurelian field doctrine when Mike, mid-conversation, attempted to discreetly coordinate the bluff by casting Message via the Mizzium Apparatus to the rest of the party [27]. The DM ruled that cantrips off his prepared list cast via the apparatus counted as a magic-item cast, which counted as arcane spellcasting, which the confessor would detect.

Initiative followed. Steven tried to talk the patrol down with a Deception roll at disadvantage; the unnamed Aurelian Confessor’s Insight beat the Deception [29]. The confessor’s initial in-fiction order was “kill the heretic and bring him in”, walked back to “he seems to be telling the truth” - which spared Steven and the rest of the party but committed Mike to execution. On Round 1, Glenn closed and rolled two greatsword swings: 22 to-hit for 9 slashing + 1 radiant, then 17 to-hit for 14 slashing + 7 radiant [61]. Mike dropped to 0 HP in a single round. His Round-1 regret was “I could have shielded that” [62] - the equivalent of last words.

The party stood down rather than escalate. Hugo explicitly refused to engage, told Caelumn “the only way of doing that will be killing Mike” [63], and pre-disowned the casters in-fiction. Caelumn capitulated and took Dodge after a long failed plea to remove the body without the execution [64], L2262-2264). Terry stood down after the DM ruled that Bladesong qualified as unsanctioned arcane power under Aurelian doctrine [65]. On top of Round 2, Glenn raised his greatsword “and makes one cut about two thirds through his neck, and raises it again before completely severing the head” [66]. DM: “that was max fucking damage” [67]. Mike’s character was dead.

The patrol “eyed the very obvious magical artifact that he used to cast the spell and removed it from the body” [31], took the spellbook [33], wished the rest of the party a friendly “good day” [68], and continued on patrol. Hugo dug a small grave with a hand-axe over a couple of hours [32], recovered Mike’s holy water and a transcript-garbled item rendered as “biogrimmed auctions” [60] - item-name unverified; flagged), and the party buried Mike beside the road and walked on.

Mike’s verbal “one wish, eventually, should I live long enough” IOU to Hugo [8], clarified at [9] as a 9th-level spell-slot equivalent) is void with his death. The substitution clause of Hugo’s renegotiated Black Mask pact remains open - Hugo can still attempt to recruit another party member, but the Mike contract is closed as a failed first attempt. Hugo’s voluntary s17 Voidforged disclosure [13] - the “I am the result of some form of experiment. And that I’m one of a few survivors” line that Mike pulled out of him under Detect Thoughts - went to the grave with Mike. No other PC currently knows the canonical Ascendancy connection by name.

Campaign role

Mike joined the party in session 17 and was at the table for two sessions before his death. Notable beats:

  • [3]: Pulled half-dead from the Aurelian-sunk shipwreck by Hugo and Terry; the wreck’s golden-sunburst-on-white sailcloth half-scorched marked it as Aurelian.
  • [69]: After being revived, told the party (via Steven’s 26 Deception cover story) that he and Steven had been chased down by Aurelians; the actual reason (Steven’s fake-holy-water hustle) wasn’t his hustle but he played along.
  • [70]: Hugo’s breath-hold-bet recruitment attempt - Mike agreed verbally, lost, refused to sign the contract, replaced it with a verbal “one wish, eventually, should I live long enough” commitment [8]. The verbal commitment was load-bearing for Hugo’s renegotiated Black Mask arc until Mike’s death voided it.
  • [71]: At the Nessa encounter, cast Mending on her torn sail (a cleric spell, so safe under Aurelia’s arcane-magic ban) and used Prestidigitation theatrics to mask the casting register. Volunteered a ration to Pim and Leo [72]; accepted Captain Stone in return [58].
  • [73]: Cast Detect Thoughts on Hugo during the night watch despite Hugo’s resistance; pulled the inner answer “I don’t know what I am” out of Hugo’s mind [74]; subsequently ran Detect Magic on Hugo’s luminous-blue blood; the ritual produced the iron-restraints / dark-glass / no-clean-air vision [75] and the half-second “comply” whisper [76]. Verdict: “You are an abomination” [15].
  • [77]: Combat against the Rimeclaw Skulker and water-wolf pack. Mike’s signature spell of the encounter was Phantasmal Force (2024-edition 2d8 psychic/turn) - he conjured an illusory cube of lava around the Skulker, which failed two Intelligence saves.
  • [78]: Reef-line resolution. Mike jumped into the water, triggered the Booming Blade tick on the Brinemaw Wyrm for an extra d8 thunder (L131-137), and cast Command “approach” to pull the Wyrm back inside the lava-cube illusion. The Wyrm died on Steven’s nat-20 dagger crit.
  • [79]: The Mending-the-hull moment and the apparatus monologue. The defining-vow line and the apparatus-as-arc-reactor visual landed here.
  • [80]: The catfish fight. Bless on the three frontliners on Round 1, jumped into the water on bonus action, was bitten by the surfacing catfish on Round 2, Misty-Stepped back to the boat, and was caught in the Round-3 acid breath on a failed save (despite Luck Point + Inspiration advantage) for 42 acid damage. Downed at 0 HP. Revived same round by Caelumn’s 1st-level Cure Wounds [23] before death saves came up.
  • [81]: The open-ocean swim. Took 1 level of exhaustion. Nat-20 on the final landfall CON save [24].
  • [82]: Summoned a fey deer familiar he named Bobby at the cottage long rest. One scene; Bobby never appears again on-transcript.
  • [26]: Named Arcanthys as his place of origin during the Caelumn-backstory exchange. The Bahamut conversation: Mike’s character had not heard of Bahamut despite the dragon-god’s setting-canon status.
  • [83]: The Aurelian patrol intercept and Mike’s death. See “Death” section above.

Hugo and the soul-bond contract (closed by death)

The contract Hugo proffered is documented in full at Hugo and Mike’s contract attempt. It was unsigned. Mike replaced it with a verbal “one wish, eventually” commitment, redeemable at his moment of death and explicitly capped at a 9th-level spell-slot equivalent [8], L811). With Mike’s s18 execution, this IOU is void. The substitution clause of the Black Mask’s renegotiated pact remains open - Hugo can still try to recruit another party member.

The Black Mask’s frozen-time audience with Hugo [84] renegotiated the substitution clause to keep both Hugo and his substitute on the leash rather than swapping them; the Mask also pledged anti-Ascendancy intent for after the egg quest. Mike never learned of the renegotiated terms or that the audience took place, and took the partial knowledge he had to the grave.

Status

Dead. Killed by Glenn at the road approach to the Bright Gate on 843-03-31. Body buried in a roadside grave by Hugo. Mizzium Apparatus and spellbook in Aurelian custody.

Player

Played by Brian (Discord handle; from the US - Michigan, “about to be Wisconsin” per [1]. Joined the table in session 17 alongside Ash (playing Steven). Brian flagged at the table that he had previously prepped a similar Mizzium-Apparatus build for a campaign that didn’t take off [2], hence the polished first-session pitch. Brian remains at the table after Mike’s death; rolling a new character for s19.

Notable quotes

“I am playing a what race? Valdekin. Valdekin, Cleric, Druid, Wizard.”

“It’s a partially amphibious feat. Partially amphibious. I can breathe underwater for up to an hour.”

“You bet with something you don’t have I declare this contract null and void”

“first of all there’s there’s an expectation of a reasonableness now i do not believe in any court of law in these lands that anyone would consider this to be something a reasonable person would consider signing”

“Ah That I can Commit to Eventually doing Should I live Long enough”

“You said grant you one wish. And I said, ‘Eventually, I’ll be able to do that.’ With a 9th level spell slot.”

“I’m not sure and I’m not sure you’re prepared to know the truth about yourself”

“You are an abomination”

“This is mine. I invented it. I am its master. It is my master. It is my precious.”

“All the wisdom of my people all said that you must decide if you want to be a master of one trade. And I challenge that assumption. And I believe that through technology, all things are possible.”

“I’m going to come back, and I am going to prove you all wrong. I’m going to redefine what is and is not possible for as far as magic goes. I’m going to learn it all.”

  • Mike, [40] (the defining vow; he died the next in-game day)

“I could have shielded that. I probably should have shielded that.”

  • Mike, on going down to Glenn’s greatsword, [88] (the equivalent of last words)

See also

References

  1. ^ Session 17, line 37 — First introduction - "I am playing a what race? Valdekin. Valdekin, Cleric, Druid, Wizard.".
  2. ^ Session 17, line 45-50 — Mizzium Apparatus mechanic explanation (Arcana check or backfire).
  3. ^ Session 17, line 140-200 — Pulled half-dead from the Aurelian-sunk shipwreck onto the party's skiff.
  4. ^ Session 17, line 145 — Visual description - blue-skinned, small, chain mail and shield.
  5. ^ Session 17, line 155-161 — Partially amphibious - can breathe underwater for up to one hour.
  6. ^ Session 17, line 580-588 — Agrees to Hugo's breath-hold bet without knowing Hugo is Voidforged.
  7. ^ Session 17, line 732-744 — Lawyerly refusal of the soul-bond contract - three escalating grounds.
  8. ^ Session 17, line 757 — Verbal commitment - "Ah That I can Commit to Eventually doing Should I live Long enough".
  9. ^ Session 17, line 811 — Clarifies "wish" means a 9th-level spell slot.
  10. ^ Session 17, line 842-844 — Casts Unseen Servants (rotating 6) to row the skiff.
  11. ^ Session 17, line 912-918 — Mending + Light improvisation to cover his arcane casting around Nessa.
  12. ^ Session 17, line 1325 — Casts Detect Thoughts on Hugo during night watch.
  13. ^ Session 17, line 1431 — Hugo voluntary disclosure to Mike during Detect Thoughts - "I am the result of some form of experiment. And that I'm one of a few survivors" (knowledge went to the grave with Mike at s18).
  14. ^ Session 17, line 1469-1497 — Detect Magic ritual on Hugo's blood + biogloom vials; the blood-vision lore reveal.
  15. ^ Session 17, line 1518 — "You are an abomination" - Mike's reaction to Hugo's altered nature (per DM clarification 2026-05-17: early distrust, not permanent hatred).
  16. ^ Session 17, line 1697-1711 — Phantasmal Force lava-cube on the Rimeclaw Skulker (2024-edition 2d8 psychic per turn).
  17. ^ Session 18, line 131-137 — Booming Blade tick on the Brinemaw Wyrm; Command "approach" pulls it back inside the Phantasmal Force box.
  18. ^ Session 18, line 262-263 — Mending the boat's damaged hull via the Mizzium Apparatus.
  19. ^ Session 18, line 269-298 — Mizzium Apparatus monologue and Vedalken-orthodoxy break; defining vow "I'm going to come back, and I am going to prove you all wrong. I'm going to learn it all".
  20. ^ Session 18, line 338 — Apparatus visual settled - amulet fused to chest, magic veins running through it ("Iron Man arc reactor").
  21. ^ Session 18, line 696-698 — 2nd-level Bless on the three frontliners (Steven, Terry, Hugo); jumps into the water on bonus action during the catfish fight.
  22. ^ Session 18, line 967-986 — Round-3 acid-breath save failed despite Luck Point + Inspiration; 42 acid damage; downed to 0 HP.
  23. ^ Session 18, line 987-1001 — Caelumn dashes across the disintegrating boat and revives Mike with 1st-level Cure Wounds (11 HP) before death saves come up.
  24. ^ Session 18, line 1159 — Nat-20 final-stretch landfall CON save during the open-ocean swim.
  25. ^ Session 18, line 1685 — Summons fey deer familiar Bobby at the cottage long rest.
  26. ^ Session 18, line 1747 — Names Arcanthys as his place of origin in the cottage backstory exchange.
  27. ^ Session 18, line 2047 — DM ruling: cantrips off your prepared list cast via the Mizzium Apparatus count as a magic-item cast = arcane spellcasting = detected by the confessor.
  28. ^ Session 18, line 2094-2102 — Glenn the knight drops Mike to 0 HP in one round (greatsword 22 to-hit 9+1 slash/radiant, 17 to-hit 14+7 slash/radiant). Mike's in-character regret on going down: "I could have shielded that".
  29. ^ Session 18, line 2107-2115 — Steven's Deception with disadvantage beaten by the confessor's Insight; Mike's execution stands while the rest of the party is spared.
  30. ^ Session 18, line 2272-2276 — Glenn decapitates Mike on top of Round 2 (DM: "max fucking damage" L2308). Character dead..
  31. ^ Session 18, line 2287 — Patrol confiscates the Mizzium Apparatus from Mike's body.
  32. ^ Session 18, line 2400-2413 — Hugo digs a roadside grave by hand-axe over a couple of hours; party buries Mike.
  33. ^ Session 18, line 2437 — Patrol also took Mike's spellbook from the body.
  34. ^ Session 17, line 140-148 — Inline citation.
  35. ^ Session 17, line 738 — Inline citation.
  36. ^ Session 17, line 744 — Inline citation.
  37. ^ Session 18, line 269 — Inline citation.
  38. ^ Session 18, line 271 — Inline citation.
  39. ^ Session 18, line 281-283 — Inline citation.
  40. ^ Session 18, line 298 — Inline citation.
  41. ^ Session 17, line 37-50 — Inline citation.
  42. ^ Session 17, line 514 — Inline citation.
  43. ^ Session 17, line 912 — Inline citation.
  44. ^ Session 18, line 262 — Inline citation.
  45. ^ Session 17, line 918 — Inline citation.
  46. ^ Session 17, line 932 — Inline citation.
  47. ^ Session 18, line 696 — Inline citation.
  48. ^ Session 17, line 1716 — Inline citation.
  49. ^ Session 17, line 1336-1348 — Inline citation.
  50. ^ Session 18, line 1813 — Inline citation.
  51. ^ Session 17, line 1609 — Inline citation.
  52. ^ Session 17, line 537 — Inline citation.
  53. ^ Session 17, line 842-846 — Inline citation.
  54. ^ Session 17, line 1691-1711 — Inline citation.
  55. ^ Session 17, line 535 — Inline citation.
  56. ^ Session 17, line 1497-1519 — Inline citation.
  57. ^ Session 17, line 1465-1497 — Inline citation.
  58. ^ Session 17, line 927 — Inline citation.
  59. ^ Session 17, line 938 — Inline citation.
  60. ^ Session 18, line 2414 — Inline citation.
  61. ^ Session 18, line 2094 — Inline citation.
  62. ^ Session 18, line 2097-2102 — Inline citation.
  63. ^ Session 18, line 2243 — Inline citation.
  64. ^ Session 18, line 2210 — Inline citation.
  65. ^ Session 18, line 2176-2182 — Inline citation.
  66. ^ Session 18, line 2272-2274 — Inline citation.
  67. ^ Session 18, line 2308 — Inline citation.
  68. ^ Session 18, line 2296 — Inline citation.
  69. ^ Session 17, line 300-400 — Inline citation.
  70. ^ Session 17, line 580-757 — Inline citation.
  71. ^ Session 17, line 818-980 — Inline citation.
  72. ^ Session 17, line 926 — Inline citation.
  73. ^ Session 17, line 1325-1519 — Inline citation.
  74. ^ Session 17, line 1407 — Inline citation.
  75. ^ Session 17, line 1483 — Inline citation.
  76. ^ Session 17, line 1485 — Inline citation.
  77. ^ Session 17, line 1568-1987 — Inline citation.
  78. ^ Session 18, line 119-176 — Inline citation.
  79. ^ Session 18, line 262-298 — Inline citation.
  80. ^ Session 18, line 574-1001 — Inline citation.
  81. ^ Session 18, line 1019-1164 — Inline citation.
  82. ^ Session 18, line 1685-1700 — Inline citation.
  83. ^ Session 18, line 1946-2287 — Inline citation.
  84. ^ Session 17, line 697-717 — Inline citation.
  85. ^ Session 17, line 159-161 — Inline citation.
  86. ^ Session 17, line 1484 — Inline citation.
  87. ^ Session 18, line 269-271 — Inline citation.
  88. ^ Session 18, line 2097 — Inline citation.