The sorry tale of Vincent McVondell begins with their admission to Denipsam School of Magic. There by the legacy of their mother and the endowments of their father, they simply did not fit in. Looked down upon by the magical nobility and excluded by the talented, their experience was one of loneliness and guilt. This ended at the solstice break when they met Marminon Fogsnow in the woods north of the school. In Marminon they met a kindred outsider’s soul in an old man angry at the rest of the world. In Vincent, Marminon found a pupil not just willing to learn their arts of evocation and alteration but one willing to take on their prejudices and grudges. With their mentor’s help, Vincent began to make progress at school and finally earned something other than his teacher’s pity by the end of their second year. This came to a tragic end in the first few weeks of year three when a few of Vincent ’s classmates decided to follow him and set an elemental upon him to degrade him for their amusement. But the elemental slipped beyond their control and Marminon was killed in the ensuing fight. Now Vincent sits alone in Marminon’s rooms and plots deadly revenge.
Personality: Vincent suffers deeply from insecurity stemming from a life where almost everything has been given to him by the privilege of his parents. His drive for praise and personal achievement made Marminon’s approval deeply meaningful. With that cruelly taken away from him, Vincent now finds himself driven with a vengeful desire to show everyone just how wrong they were to consider him nothing of note.
Plan: Firstly, he seeks revenge for the death of his mentor at the hands of his bullies. He’d seek them out right now in the school but they are too protected under the aegis of the teachers and the other students. He needs to be more powerful to ensure a total victory. He is reading through all the books in his mentor’s library and is using his family connections and wealth to obtain more dangerous texts that play to his magical strengths. For now he continues to play the role of failing student but he spends his free time at his mentor’s rooms.
Power: With Marminon’s help Vincent has been able to become adept at evocation and transmutation magics, though he continues to be woeful in other schools of magic. He has recently found a book on a martial art that blends spell casting with a brutal percussive fighting style. As Vincent is in good physical shape and is stronger and faster than most mages his age, he has quickly learnt the techniques and forms. Vincent is happy to use his family wealth and connections as needed.
Allies: Vincent has no friends at the school itself and is almost completely socially isolated, a loneliness that is only increasing his bitterness. His mentor’s imp, Llid, has transferred its contract to Vincent on Marminon’s death per the spells that bind it. The imp is slovenly but panders to Vincent’s insecurity. Vincent has it watching his bullies to map out their schedule to find an ideal time to strike. Vincent has created a dozen miniature clay golems to assist in simple tasks and housework and he’s rather pleased and attached to them. His wealth allows him to hire additional help as he sees fit but he hides his identity and goals from them and gives them only the information needed for their tasks.
Lair: Marminon lived as a hermit in the woods but they lived comfortably. The entrance to the cave is hidden by a low level enchantment that also serves to keep away animals. At the back of the cave is another hidden door that leads to a set of rooms. There is a laboratory, a store and a studio apartment. Vincent moved most of Marminon’s personal effects into the store when they took over. As much as Vincent would prefer to stay here all the time, they continue to sleep weekdays in their dorm room to maintain appearances.
Plot Hooks:
- The family butler has recruited the party to investigate. He’s noticed the money being spent and the lack of the young master returning home for any of the holidays. Please find out what’s going on and return him safely home.
- The party have been asked by a rival of Marminon to find a magical item the Marminon stole. But the rival only knows the location is vaguely within the vast estates of the Denipsam School of Magic, so the party will have to infiltrate and/or integrate into the school to find out more.
- Vincent is after a selection of magical items that the party is also after. They keep encountering his agents and soon learn he has acquired more than half of the set.
- The Headmaster of the Denipsam School of Magic has hired the party to not only investigate what Vincent is doing off school hours but to also harass and degrade him at every opportunity. The headmaster has a long standing family feud against Vincent’s family and is taking petty revenge on him.
Image Credits – The Wizard by Rosariy – CC-BY-NC-ND-3.0, Athysmante Sphere by Lun-art – CC-BY-NC-ND-3.0.