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The table page is the home for public character material, playbook notes, and quick session reference. Lord Cassian Vale lives here now; he is not wandering the site unsupervised, which is probably for the best.

Lord Cassian Vale

Half-elf bard · disgraced noble · professional name-dropper · built from the Chris Raner character bit.

Half-elf Bard 1 · future College of Eloquence · Noble / charlatan

Lord Cassian Vale

“I know a man.”

Cassian is temporarily embarrassed rich: Formerly liquid. Permanently insufferable. Absolutely certain a more civilized entrance exists somewhere nearby.

ClassBard 1, College of Eloquence planned.

ConceptDisgraced noble who solves problems with charm, favors, and legal ambiguity.

Table roleFace/support bard; social angles first, sharp objects later.

Core bit

Formerly rich in theory, broke in practice, aristocratic in spirit. Cassian offers money he does not currently possess and acts wounded when accounting enters the room.

Useful instincts

Ask who he knows nearby.
Look for noble, legal, church, tavern, and criminal angles.
Let armored people touch suspicious objects first.

“Surely there’s a more civilized entrance.”

“Liquidity is a temporary social condition.”

“I may have a relationship here.”

“This is exactly why one maintains relationships with criminals.”

Cassian playbook

The practical “what do I actually do at the table?” layer.

Quick Build

STR 8, DEX 14, CON 14, INT 12, WIS 10, CHA 17.
AC 13, HP 9/10 depending final sheet.
Vicious Mockery, Minor Illusion, Charm Person, Disguise Self, Healing Word, Dissonant Whispers.

Use this when stuck

I know a man.
Can we bribe this problem?
Do I recognize the crest?
Is there a servant entrance?
I lie with confidence.

Contacts and favors ledger

Osric Penn — banker.
Mara Vell — smuggler.
Father Aldren — priest.
Voss & Candle — law firm.
Cousin Elowen; The Red Hart tavern, banned twice.

Combat role

Buff allies, debuff enemies, distract guards, talk out of unnecessary fights, talk into worse fights with better branding, and hide behind metal. Cowardice is only funny if he still helps.

House Vale bardsong: “By firelight, remember Vale, / A house once bright, now pale. / We lost the coin, but kept the name, / And lived to tell the tale. / So raise the cup and tell the tale, / Though fortune’s face may fail— / ‘I know a man,’ the old lords say, / In broken House of Vale.”