Mike

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

Mike was a Vedalken cleric, druid and wizard played by Brian in sessions 17 and 18, built around the Mizzium Apparatus, an Arcanthys-school device that let him cast any spell on his prepared list through an Arcana check, at the risk of a backfire [40]. Pulled half-dead from an Aurelian-sunk shipwreck in the Sapphire Sea, he refused Hugo’s Black Mask contract on lawyerly grounds and promised him one wish, eventually, instead [3][35][8]. On 843-03-31, on the road inland from the Aurelian coast, a Message cast through the apparatus was ruled arcane heresy, and the patrol knight Glenn cut him down and beheaded him [42][82][83]. The patrol took the apparatus, Hugo buried him by the road, and the promised wish died with him [31][84].

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 trait was lawyerly precision. Caught by Hugo’s rigged bet, he picked the contract apart rather than sign it, declaring that Hugo had bet “with something you don’t have” [35], and he later pinned the wish he promised instead to a 9th-level spell slot [9].

His other conviction was technological. He had left his people, whose wisdom held that no one could master every kind of magic, to prove with the Mizzium Apparatus “that through technology, all things are possible” [36], and he meant to go back and prove them wrong [37][38].

After the bet he trusted Hugo less, and having seen into Hugo’s blood he called him “an abomination” [39][15]. The DM later described this as fear or disgust at Hugo’s altered nature, early distrust rather than permanent hatred (DM clarification, 2026-05-17); the thread had no time to develop.

Build

  • Race: Vedalken ([1]; the DM confirmed the spelling after s17).
  • Origin: from Arcanthys [26].
  • Classes: cleric / druid / wizard multi-class built around the Mizzium Apparatus [40].
  • 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” [41]. 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 [42][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][47]), Bless (2nd-level on three swimmers, [48]; again on the swimmers at the end of the swim, [24]).
  • Druid spells used: Shillelagh (bonus action, [49]), Detect Thoughts ([12]; resolved mid-session as Mizzium-castable, [50]), Goodberry (with his last spell slot; five berries handed out and five kept for the next day, [51][52]), Find Familiar (the fey deer Bobby, [25]).
  • Wizard spells used: Shield (reaction, [53][54]), Mirror Image, Enhance Ability (advantage on Perception, [55]), Unseen Servant (six in rotation rowing the skiff, [56]), Phantasmal Force (2024 edition: 2d8 psychic per turn; the lava cube around the Brinemaw Wyrm, [57], held into s18), 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, [58][42]).
  • Level: matched the party (level 4 since the end of s14; no later level up is on record).

Equipment

  • Mizzium Apparatus: Brian’s signature item, by his own account his invention [59]; Mike was from Arcanthys [26]. Its look was settled in s18: “an amulet or something that fused itself into my chest”, with “magic veins kind of running through it” [20], an Iron Man arc reactor analogy. Most of his s18 magic went through it, the fatal Message included. Confiscated by the Aurelian patrol after Mike’s death [31]. Status: in Aurelian custody.
  • Spellbook: presumed taken by the patrol, though not shown; asked, the DM said they “would have searched the body before leaving” [60][61]. Status: presumed in Aurelian custody.
  • Chain mail and shield [4]: presumed on the body, presumed confiscated.
  • Backpack with herbalism / leatherworking / alchemy crafting kit (mentioned [62], where a Perception check turned up no usable materials at sea).
  • Hugo’s Voidforged blood: Mike corked the blood from the ritual to study once they reached a library, but gave it back when Hugo asked for it [63][64][65]. Whether he kept any of it is unclear.
  • Two vials of Biogloom (normal + rare): handed to him by Hugo for the Detect Magic comparison [66][67]; whether they went back at the end of the ritual is unclear [63][68]. That the item of his own Hugo took back at the burial was these vials is an unconfirmed hypothesis ([69]; s21 register §4.1).
  • Captain Stone: a small grey pebble with a scratched face, a gift from Pim [70], non-magical by Mike’s Detect Magic [71]. 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 [69].

Campaign role

Mike was at the table for two sessions, and his story ran in three short arcs.

The contract. Within hours of being pulled from an Aurelian-sunk wreck with Steven, he lost Hugo’s rigged breath-holding bet, refused to sign Hugo’s Black Mask contract, and promised one wish instead (see Hugo and Mike’s contract attempt).

Hugo’s secret. His spells made him the first in the party to look into Hugo’s nature: a mind-reading drew out Hugo’s admission that he had survived an experiment, and a ritual on his blood showed a glimpse of the Project Veilbreak chamber. Mike kept what he saw to himself.

The apparatus. At sea his magic, much of it channelled through the Mizzium Apparatus, mended Nessa’s sail and the party’s hull, rowed the skiff and trapped the Brinemaw Wyrm, and he meant to prove through the apparatus that one person could master every kind of magic. On Aurelian soil it killed him: a cantrip cast through it counted as arcane heresy, and the patrol knight Glenn executed him.

Session by session

Session 17: New Hands, the Black Mask’s Renegotiation, and the Rimeclaw

Main article: Session 17

Mike joined the party: Brian’s Vedalken cleric, druid and wizard, pulled half-dead with Steven from the wreck of the ship they had fled Aurelia on [1][4][72]. Within hours he lost Hugo’s rigged breath-holding bet, refused to sign the contract on lawyerly grounds and promised Hugo one wish, eventually, instead [35][73][8]. He mended Nessa’s sail, calling it a cleric spell, and her daughter Pim gave him Captain Stone [43][70]. On night watch he read Hugo’s mind and found that Hugo did not know what he was, though Hugo admitted to surviving an experiment; a Detect Magic ritual on Hugo’s blood showed Mike a chamber of iron restraints and dark glass, and his verdict was “You are an abomination” [74][13][75][15]. At the reef line he trapped the Brinemaw Wyrm in a Phantasmal Force cube of lava [76][77].

Session 18: The Wyrm Falls, the Catfish Escapes, and Mike Dies on the Road

Main article: Session 18

Mike kept the Brinemaw Wyrm in his illusion with Command until Steven killed it [78], mended the hull through the Mizzium Apparatus, now an amulet fused into his chest, and told the party he had left his people to prove one person could master every kind of magic: “I’m going to learn it all” [44][36][38][20]. The catfish’s acid breath dropped him until Caelumn’s Cure Wounds brought him back [79][80]. Ashore he summoned the fey deer Bobby, named Arcanthys as home and admitted he had never heard of Bahamut [25][81][26]. Next morning he cast Message through the apparatus in front of an Aurelian patrol; the DM ruled it arcane magic, and the knight Glenn cut him down and beheaded him [58][42][82][83]. The patrol took the apparatus, and Hugo buried him by the road [31][84].

Death

Executed by Glenn, the knight leading an Aurelian patrol, on the road inland on 843-03-31, the morning after the party’s long rest on the landfall beach [85]. Mid-conversation he had cast Message to the party through the Mizzium Apparatus; because the cantrip was not on his own list, the DM ruled it a cast through the apparatus, and the patrol’s priest named him a heretic [58][42][86]. Glenn dropped him with two greatsword blows and beheaded him on the next round, while the rest of the party, spared by the Aurelian Confessor, stood down [82][87][83]. The patrol took the apparatus, and presumably his spellbook; Hugo buried him in a roadside grave [31][84][61].

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

The contract Hugo offered is summarised clause by clause at Hugo and Mike’s contract attempt. It was never signed: Mike replaced it with a promise of one wish, eventually, which he pinned to a 9th-level spell slot [88][8][9]. His death voided the promise. The substitution clause of the Black Mask’s renegotiated pact remains open, so Hugo can still try to recruit another party member. Mike never learned that the Mask had renegotiated the terms with Hugo in frozen time [89], and he took to the grave what Hugo had told him under Detect Thoughts, that he was “the result of some form of experiment” [13].

Status

Dead since session 18 [90]. The Mizzium Apparatus is in Aurelian custody, and his spellbook presumably with it [31][61].

Player

Played by Brian (Discord handle; from the US, [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 stayed at the table after Mike’s death; his new character, Father Thomas, joined in s19.

Notable quotes

“I am playing a what race? Vedalken. Vedalken, Cleric, Druid, Wizard.” — Mike, [1]

“It’s a partially amphibious feat. […] Partially amphibious. I can breathe underwater for up to an hour.” — Mike, [91]

“You bet with something you don’t have I declare this contract null and void” — Mike, [35]

“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” — Mike, [73]

“Ah That I can Commit to Eventually doing Should I live Long enough” — Mike, [8]

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

“I’m not sure and I’m not sure you’re prepared to know the truth about yourself” — Mike, [92]

“You are an abomination” — Mike, [15]

“This is mine. I invented it. I am its master. […] It is my master. It is my precious.” — Mike, [93]

“All the knowledge and 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.” — Mike, [36]

“I’m going to come back, and I am going to prove you all, I’m gonna prove you all wrong and yeah. And no one, and 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, [38] (the defining vow; he died the next in-game day)

“Oh I could have shielded that I probably should have shielded that” — Mike, on going down to Glenn’s greatsword, [94] (the equivalent of last words)

See also

References

  1. ^ Session 17, line 37: First introduction: "I am playing a what race? Vedalken. Vedalken, 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, on 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: Mends Nessa's sail with Mending ("which is a cleric spell") and lights his armour with Light.
  12. ^ Session 17, line 1325: Casts Detect Thoughts on Hugo during night watch.
  13. ^ Session 17, line 1431: Hugo's 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 Brinemaw Wyrm (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, I'm gonna prove you all wrong" (s18 L298).
  20. ^ Session 18, line 338: Apparatus visual settled: an amulet fused to his chest, with "magic veins kind of 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: On the final stretch of the open-ocean swim: "Oh, that's a natural.", and casts Bless on the swimmers.
  25. ^ Session 18, line 1685: Summons fey deer familiar Bobby at the beach camp before the long rest.
  26. ^ Session 18, line 1747: Names Arcanthys as his place of origin in the backstory exchange by the beach fire.
  27. ^ Session 18, line 2047: DM ruling (s18 L2039, L2047): cantrips off his prepared list cast via the Mizzium Apparatus count as a magic-item cast, so 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", s18 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 2419-2437: Did the patrol take his spellbook? Someone at the table answers "Yes. They took the spellbook.", and the recording does not show who; the DM says they "would have searched the body before leaving" (s18 L2437).
  34. ^ Session 17, line 140-148: Inline citation.
  35. ^ Session 17, line 738: Inline citation.
  36. ^ Session 18, line 281-283: Inline citation.
  37. ^ Session 18, line 296: Inline citation.
  38. ^ Session 18, line 298: Inline citation.
  39. ^ Session 17, line 1442: Inline citation.
  40. ^ Session 17, line 37-50: Inline citation.
  41. ^ Session 17, line 514: Inline citation.
  42. ^ Session 18, line 2039: 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 17, line 1468: Inline citation.
  48. ^ Session 18, line 696: Inline citation.
  49. ^ Session 17, line 1716: Inline citation.
  50. ^ Session 17, line 1336-1348: Inline citation.
  51. ^ Session 18, line 1813: Inline citation.
  52. ^ Session 18, line 1822: Inline citation.
  53. ^ Session 17, line 1609: Inline citation.
  54. ^ Session 17, line 1815: Inline citation.
  55. ^ Session 17, line 537: Inline citation.
  56. ^ Session 17, line 842-846: Inline citation.
  57. ^ Session 17, line 1691-1711: Inline citation.
  58. ^ Session 18, line 2022: Inline citation.
  59. ^ Session 18, line 269: Inline citation.
  60. ^ Session 18, line 2419: Inline citation.
  61. ^ Session 18, line 2437: Inline citation.
  62. ^ Session 17, line 535: Inline citation.
  63. ^ Session 17, line 1497: Inline citation.
  64. ^ Session 17, line 1505: Inline citation.
  65. ^ Session 17, line 1520: Inline citation.
  66. ^ Session 17, line 1465: Inline citation.
  67. ^ Session 17, line 1471: Inline citation.
  68. ^ Session 17, line 1498: Inline citation.
  69. ^ Session 18, line 2414: Inline citation.
  70. ^ Session 17, line 927: Inline citation.
  71. ^ Session 17, line 938: Inline citation.
  72. ^ Session 17, line 148: Inline citation.
  73. ^ Session 17, line 744: Inline citation.
  74. ^ Session 17, line 1407: Inline citation.
  75. ^ Session 17, line 1483: Inline citation.
  76. ^ Session 17, line 1697: Inline citation.
  77. ^ Session 17, line 1708: Inline citation.
  78. ^ Session 18, line 135: Inline citation.
  79. ^ Session 18, line 953: Inline citation.
  80. ^ Session 18, line 993: Inline citation.
  81. ^ Session 18, line 1739: Inline citation.
  82. ^ Session 18, line 2094: Inline citation.
  83. ^ Session 18, line 2274: Inline citation.
  84. ^ Session 18, line 2413: Inline citation.
  85. ^ Session 18, line 1823: Inline citation.
  86. ^ Session 18, line 2044: Inline citation.
  87. ^ Session 18, line 2115: Inline citation.
  88. ^ Session 17, line 756: Inline citation.
  89. ^ Session 17, line 697-717: Inline citation.
  90. ^ Session 18, line 2276: Inline citation.
  91. ^ Session 17, line 159-161: Inline citation.
  92. ^ Session 17, line 1484: Inline citation.
  93. ^ Session 18, line 269-271: Inline citation.
  94. ^ Session 18, line 2097: Inline citation.