Br'aad

Br'aad Vengolor is a character created by Slimecicle for the Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Just Roll With It.

Character Details
Br'aad is an entertainer bard. He is highly attracted to goblins (later retconned) and irrationally afraid of cows due to past trauma. Br'aad is well-versed in deception, theft, and persuasion. His favorite drink is chocolate milk and his favorite food is ravioli.

Br'aad used to be a warlock serving Ob'nockshai. After the Storyteller (a god of time) showed Br'aad that Ob'nockshai was manipulating him, he helped Br'aad end his pact and Br'aad became a warlock under the Storyteller.

History
Br'aad was raised in an orphanage in the Great King's Wharf with his older brother, Sylnan. Their mother had died giving birth to him, and their father had left shortly after. Despite never really knowing their father, they both still use his last name. Because the orphanage never fed them well, the brothers began pulling coins together in order to buy food, where Br'aad would talk to a person and distract them enough for Sylnan to steal from them. They were treated badly by the others in the orphanage because of their race, and the other children often called them names and beat them up. Unbeknownst to them, they were in the orphanage under the orders of King Rigmund. The King despised their father, Brendan, for falling in love with one of his consorts, and he was paying the orphanage owners to house the younger Vengolors.

When Br'aad was 7, the two of them escaped the orphanage to live on the streets. They eventually found a home in an abandoned factory, sharing the building with the Rat King.

When he was around 19, Br'aad began to feel like he was not pulling his weight, and wanted to become more capable so that Sylnan didn't have to work so hard to support him. Br'aad delved into books and eventually decided to form a pact with an otherworldly being in return for arcanic abilities. However, he accidentally drew the wrong magic symbol and summoned Ob'nockshai, a trickster god who convinced Br'aad that he was a god of time. Br'aad formed the pact under unknown terms, but his new powers were dangerous and hard to control. When Sylnan realized what Br'aad had done, he was extremely upset, and they got into an argument. Br'aad attempted to reach out to him, but accidentally fired a blast that Sylnan only narrowly avoided. In shock, Sylnan stormed out. Br'aad eventually left the Wharf, traveling on his own for a year, at which point he decided to return.

Arc 1
During the first episode of the campaign, Br'aad is introduced while stowing away in a crate, which he promptly crawls out of and meets Taxi and Velrisa. Br'aad reveals that he is on the ship, which is heading to the Wharf, in order to reunite with his brother Sylnan.

He has previously met or heard of The Rat King, as he claims that the man's mannerisms were normal.

While trying to distract the Barber in the sewers, Br'aad sung him a song before getting stabbed by his poisoned knife.

When underground, he, Sylnan, Taxi, and Mountain touched a mysterious crystal which gave him "bad vibes" and, he alone was able to understand the words of the creature inside, who told him that it was searching for body parts from the minority races and that Hilltree's brain was one of them.

Br'aad was briefly taken to another plane by a Gith, where he spent approximately 20 minutes before returning. The Gith also gave him a magical ring which allows them to observe Taxi as long as Br'aad wears it near him.

When Mountain, Sylnan, and Br'aad were about to get attacked by Jacquot, Ob'nockshai intervened, transporting Br'aad to where Taxi and Velrisa were instead. However, Br'aad still got a chance to pull Jaquoit's pants down, which, although perhaps not very helpful in the long run, was appreciated by his friends.

In Episode 16, Br'aad used his illusion magic to try to distract the guards who were going to arrest the party. However, after numerous shenanigans, he was exposed and locked up with his friends.

He (along with Sylnan) do not feel a strong connection to The Great King's Wharf, with both of them coming up with a backup plan to just ditch along with Taxi after they at least try to snoop around.

Br'aad is given a Wand of Wonder at the end of Arc 1.

Arc 2
In the first episode of Arc 2, Br'aad accidentally starts a wildfire by attempting to cast a spell with his Wand of Wonder, which ultimately gets them banished from the nearby town and sends them to Shaygrove. The wand gets confiscated by Velrisa for a few episodes as a result of his impulsive actions, although she gives it back once he pays for her haircut.

Br'aad accepts a deal with Ob'nockshai at the beginning of Arc 2, which entails robbing the dragonborn Thardo, who owns the Shaygrove theater. However, this is the last deal he has made with Ob'nockshai so far, as afterwards, he ends his pact with the god.

During a fight with a beholder in Episode 9, "An Unmarked Grave", Velrisa is killed by a surprise attack after the beholder feigns its death. She is turned to ash by a beam of dark energy, and not even Ander can bring her back to life, as there are no parts of her body remaining. Br'aad decides to reach out to Ob'nockshai in an attempt to bring back Velrisa, and he is given a choice between violently killing an innocent child named Alexander or allowing Velrisa to stay dead. Unable to doom an innocent person, Br'aad chooses to allow her to stay dead, but a god of time named the Storyteller restrains Ob'nockshai and turns back time to before Velrisa died, allowing Br'aad to end his pact as well as prevent Velrisa's death. After the Storyteller becomes Br'aad's patron, he makes him promise not to tell anyone about the altered timeline. As a result of this pact being broken, his tattoos turn gold and he loses his powers as a warlock, but remains within the party as a bard. As of the most recent episode, Br'aad has kept his promise; however the rest of the party met the Storyteller in Episode 32: “Take Your Time”, where the Storyteller elaborates on who he is and who Ob'nockshai is.

Sylnan
Sylnan is Br'aad's brother, who he is deeply devoted to keeping happy. They grew up together and often were each other's only companions. Since their reunion at the start of the campaign, they have remained inseparable.

Like Sylnan, Br'aad has been shown to be very distraught when something bad happens to his brother. When Sylnan was turned into a rat by The Rat King, Br'aad had a full-on breakdown and went catatonic. He was also very concerned when Sylnan began hearing a voice in his head that compelled him to eat the flesh of others, and comforted him in the aftermath of the first time the feeling overtook him. Br'aad holds an enormous amount of love for his brother, also choosing to stay behind with Sylnan while he rested at the barracks at Sylnan's request.

When Sylnan was stabbed by the blue orc, Br'aad was willing to go to any length to save him, telling Ob'nockshai that he would "do anything, just get [Sylnan] out of here." Later, when Sylnan was confirmed dead by Velrisa, Br'aad refused to believe it and kept trying to revive him despite having no healing magic or skill. Additionally, Br'aad jumped at the chance to revive his brother, undergoing many trials in order to bring Sylnan back to life.

Later in the second Arc, as Sylnan starts to lose control of the demons possessing him, Br'aad feels very hurt by his animosity towards him but doesn't stop trying to cheer him up. Br'aad is the one who proposes throwing a party for Sylnan, and when said party is trashed, forgives him afterwards.

Mountain
In their first interaction, Br'aad managed to distract Mountain by pretending to have a Snockers bar (created by Prestidigitation) while his brother stole his money pouch. Mountain tried to kill them when he realized they'd robbed him, but they've since forgiven and forgotten after returning the pouch. They are very amicable, sharing a meal of their first monster together while the others are wary. Mountain often encourages Br'aad to drink with him, although after Br'aad's previous experiences with alcohol he is usually not too willing.

Taxi
Throughout the first Arc, Br'aad enjoys messing with Taxi by calling him "Saxi", much to Taxi's displeasure. When Taxi is not around, Br'aad will deliberately call him "Taxi". Similarly, Taxi often calls Br'aad "Bradley". However, as the arc goes on and events become more serious, Br'aad stops teasing him in this way.

Taxi and Br'aad seem to be good friends. They are close in age, and while they occasionally tease each other, they seem to be able to talk about serious issues as well. When Sylnan and Mountain were taken by Jaquot, Taxi lends a sympathetic ear, and lets Br'aad vent about their predicament. He also suggests to the team that Br'aad should choose what they do next.

When Sylnan punches Mountain and goads him into throwing the cake Taxi and Br'aad baked at his face, Taxi is the one who comforts Br'aad and cheers him up by baking with him for the remainder of their journey on the air ship.

Velrisa
Br'aad is slightly at ends with Velrisa, as she is a very reserved person, so he can't get a reaction out of her like the rest of the party with his antics.

Being one of the more responsible members of the group, Velrisa has tried to rein Br'aad in several times, most notably being how she confiscated his Wand of Wonder.

He was upset with her for fleeing the fight with the Collector and leaving him to drag Taxi to safety, seeming to care more about her glass of water and staying hydrated. He tried to drag her to Jaquot's house, and was openly frustrated with her when they arrived to find the dining room in shambles, Sylnan and Mountain missing, and a severed arm with a ransom note. He became unusually angry at Vel for seeming to not care this whole time, and not having an opinion on their next course of action, and made passive-aggressive statements involving water to her repeatedly. However, part of his anger likely came from the stress of the situation, rather than purely Velrisa's actions. Velrisa did stay with the party and take shifts watching the Factory at Br'aad's request, to see if Sylnan and Mountain would be returned.

Br'aad is also the only one to become furious with Velrisa after she accidentally kills a little girl in the Barren, frequently making passive-aggressive comments about it and choosing to stay away from her for days afterwards. He's said himself that he doesn't know if he will be able to forgive her, but after she accepts a mission to gain repentance, Br'aad becomes less hostile towards her.

Ob'nockshai
Ob'nockshai was Br'aad's patron who granted him warlock abilities in exchange for entertainment, which means he would often mess around with Br'aad and the people he was close to. Br'aad thought the abilities received from the pact were nice, but Ob'nockshai's games and punishments were a huge drawback.

In Arc Two he left Ob'nockshai's patronage to become a bard under the Storyteller, after learning of Ob'nockshai's true nature. The Storyteller also revealed that Sylnan's death, as well as Velrisa's death in the alternate timeline, were not supposed to occur but were manipulated into happening by Ob'nockshai. Since the trickster god views people as only characters in a story for his amusement, with Br'aad as his protagonist, he wanted to make Br'aad suffer in an attempt to spice up the story. When Br'aad found out that Ob'nockshai caused these deaths, especially Sylnan's, he became very hostile towards Ob'nockshai and has expressed wanting to kill him.