Vinnie Vice | Shadows Unleashed

Main article on Vinnie
In this lifetime, Vinnie Vice was a member of Lothal's Adventurer's Guild. He had a penchant for wandering off into the wilds drunk and fighting monsters that found him there, thus gaining monster parts to turn in for money to buy more drinks. Vinnie joined the Headhunters after running into them completely by accident but proved to be a helpful fighter to the group, being the one who finally destroyed Mesogog for good.
Table of Contents

History

Joining the Headhunters

When Iskierka took Chigiri and Hugh to forge Chōmei, she assured them that the place they were going was guarded by constructs she'd created. They arrived to find Vinnie passed out at the entrance and quickly discovered the dwarf had warped the control sigils on the constructs by trying to get them to drink with him, causing them to go berserk. To make up for this, Vinnie decided to help the group fight through the now hostile construct guardians.
The group fought across stone bridges stretching across rivers of lava, making their way through the defenders and arriving at the Dragon Forge. Iskierka offered a prayer to Bahamut to unseal the entrance, a massive stone monument shaped like the head to the Platinum Dragon. Just as the way forward opened Mesogog arrived to put a stop to the Headhunters efforts.
Mesogog mocked the party for their wasted efforts coming all this way just to die here, summoning Shadow Skulls as he traded barbs with the group. Iskierka told the party to go ahead while she held the line; Vinnie & Hugh reluctantly went in after Chigiri, somewhat unwilling to abandon Iskierka but knowing this was the right decision after seeing her transform into Shimmerscale.
Once inside, a Void Beast rose from the forge while Nadira attacked from above and the Headhunters realized Mesogog kept them talking to give Nadira time to slip inside and release the creature. The creature took the form of a giant snake made of darkness and fire. Despite the villain's efforts, Chigiri was able to forge Chōmei and used it to slay Void Beast as Nadira fled.
Running back outside, the group saw Shimmerscale on her last leg against Mesogog. They managed to briefly distract the cambion, allowing Shimmerscale a moment to escape into the lava. On the downside, they now had Mesogog's full attention. Some quick thinking allowed the party to put up a magic barrier to protect themselves, at least for a time.
Unable to hurt them, Mesogog was reduced to once again trading barbs with them. He commented that he'd used the power of a Quintus Gem to steal some of Iskierka's magic and left them with a final piece of advice, "Never turn your back on anyone you respect or anyone who is a threat," before turning his back on them and walking away.

Abandoned by a Coward

Returning to the guildhall in Inkhear, the Headhunters took a quest off the guild's job board to get a little normalcy back into their lives. Taking Eko with them, the job took them to the town of Stonescore where the dwarf Hoggle was looking for adventurers to examine a frost giant ruin he'd stumbled across.
Heading into the nearby mountains, they found the entrance easily enough. The central chamber of the ruin contained a large pit with an undead frost giant chained inside. When it noticed and attacked them, the Headhunters were quick to slay it. While Hugh stayed back to translate the runes carved into the undead (now dead dead) giant's chains, Vinnie and Chigiri continued to explore.
Vinnie stumbled onto a room filled with wights that seemed to be the remains of dwarven explorers who had discovered the tomb previously and quickly put them down. Further inside, the party found a group of cultists attempting to open a magically sealed tomb and free the frost giant everlasting one from inside. While they did kill the cultists, they were unable to do so before the magic circle sealing the tomb was weakened. They debated opening it themselves, but decided to check the rest of the rooms for enemies first.
Entering the last unexplored chamber, they found a pair of young remorhazes feeding on a dead elk. Chigiri attacked on of them and it roared in pain and anger, a roar that was answered by a much deeper, louder roar. The angry remorhaz mother arrived as its children fled, causing Eko to flee in fear of the monster and leave his fellow adventurers for dead. The Headhunters were equal parts shocked and angered by the kobold's blatant violation of the guild's code.
The angry remorhaz chased the Headhunters throughout the cave while burrowing through the icy surroundings. The enraged creature very nearly devoured Chigiri, but he was saved by Vinnie at the last moment as Vinnie delivered a killing blow and the creature fell dead. With the ruin now cleared of hostile creatures, they reported their success back to Hoggle and headed for home.

Checking in on an Old Friend (Accidentally)

Arriving back in Inkhear, Chigiri spotted Eko sitting in the guildhall and immediately accused the kobold of abandoning them. Eko claimed it wasn't his fault because Chigiri had provoked an unprovoked creature. Their argument was as intense as it was public and the two had to be separated before they came to blows.
Deciding some additional distance would be good for them, the group grabbed Leliana and went to investigate a gorgon sighting. After talking to a few farmers about what they'd seen, the group spotted the "gorgon" but noted its unusual color and non-hostile behavior. Instead of attacking, they decided to follow it and the creature led them to a cave.
The cave quickly transitioned from rough natural rock to smooth man-made tunnels. Several constructs were found inside (some of which were hostile) in additional to books in draconic and a holy symbol of Bahamut, Dragon Lord of Justice. Chigiri accidentally triggered several traps and released a giant spiked ball that unfolded legs made of swords and chased him through a chamber before he retreated.
Escaping and finding a new passage, Vinnie and Chigiri distracted a pair of patrolling constructs so that Hugh and Leliana could sneak by them. While exploring the structure, the group had noticed several pedestals with rubies and now discovered they could open passage ways. Unfortunately, one of those inactive pedestals was in the room with the spiky death ball.
Vinnie was able to activate the pillar and teleport to safety, eventually uncovering a hidden room once they were all active. Due to the constructs not liking him and evidence that this was a place of dragon worship, Chigiri opted to stay behind while the rest of the party continued forward. The hidden room contained a teleportation circle that took Vinnie, Hugh, and Leliana to the shore of a magma lake.
Following a tunnel, they found a carved pillar depicting the legend of The Four Weapons. Further in was a workshop where it looked like constructs had been assembled and beyond that, they found the still-injured Iskierka with her treasure horde. She warned them that Mesogog's blade carried a powerful curse that made wounds it caused slow to heal.
Leliana was able to use her magic to break the curse, allowing Vinnie to heal up Iskierka to the best of his abilities. While they did that, Iskierka filled them in on the history of the true Destroyer and its creation during the Dawn War. The party expressed interest in gathering the remaining members of The Four Weapons, but Iskierka warned them at each weapon recovered would weaken the Destroyer's seal.
She gave the party a few magic items from her treasure horde, as well as permission to keep the rubies they'd taken from her home, to better equip them for the battles ahead. Leaving her to finish healing, the party departed and headed back home while filling Chigiri in on what they'd learned.

Prelude to the Finale

Heading home once again, the party was preparing to find another job when they heard a commotion outside. A hawk carrying a crystal ball had collapsed in front of the guildhall doors. Chigiri was able to identify the item as a crystal that recorded sounds and images, deciding to bring it to Guildmaster Nergalee immediately.
The rest of the party followed him into Nergalee's office as she was discussing Eko's recent trial & execution for violating the guild's code with Dume and Sir Huntington. They started the recording, which showed Gentleman Jack in a cave tunnel. Chigiri and Hugh recognized the cave as the one where The Raven Queen's shrine had been located, though the shrine was gone and the Morlocks had set up shop.
Levira emerged from the shadows (literally) and chased Jack, who teleported outside and gave the crystal to his hawk familiar before fleeing the Morlocks. Nergalee told the Headhunters to follow her into the main hall, where she instructed every adventurer present to immediately depart for war.
The Headhunters stopped by Ohnaka's shop to stock up on potions and other supplies before heading into battle. They returned to the guildhall but as they were about to leave a messenger arrived and told Nergalee that Levira had been cornered in an alleyway in town. While the other adventurers made for the mountains, the Headhunters and Nergalee went to confront Levira.

Deaths of Comrades

They arrived to find an impatient Levira waiting for them, who at this point revealed that Hugh was the one who'd freed her from the magic mirror and let her begin her reign of terror. Levira threw a worm into the air, causing the damage it took when it hit the ground to break the polymorph spell cast upon it and release a purple worm into the city. Nergalee was forced to use her most powerful magic to banish the monstrous worm as Levira teleported away, exhausting her before the upcoming battle had even begun.
The Headhunters moved quickly to reinforce their fellow adventurers, who were already locked in battle with the Morlocks forces by the time they arrived. The party started fighting their way through Molders, Shadow Skulls, and the Morlocks' duergar allies as they made their way up the mountain.
At a makeshift triage center under guard by Cordelia, they found Leliana healing an injured Pryce. Taking the renewed Pryce with them, they decided to skirt the enemies main forces and take the paths around the cliffside up towards Stronmaus' shrine. They weren't the only ones with this idea and they found Dume and a few other adventurers fighting Shadow Skulls and a wyvern-like Void Beast.
The fight didn't seem like it would be too difficult until Mesogog appeared to attack Dume. The son of Orcus revealed that Dume was actually a soul trapped in a construct, and also originally the wizard who had imprisoned him. Vinnie and Chigiri tried to help Dume but were unable to prevent Mesogog from landing a fatal blow, sending the now lifeless construct falling down the cliffside.
Though victorious over Dume, Mesogog was injured and Chigiri was determined to take advantage of his weakened state. He lunged and managed to deal a mortal blow to Mesogog's physical body. This did not worry the demonic cambion, who planned to simply hop into another undead and form a new body. But Lady Kemlar's machinations had made him vulnerable to Chōmei's magic, and the katana's strike stripped him of this ability and trapped Mesogog in his incorporeal form.
The enraged Mesogog responded with a powerful finger of death spell, striking Chigiri and killing him instantly before Mesogog's spirit fled up the mountain.

Stopping the Gravecannon

The rest of the party continued onward while the other injured adventurers returned to the triage center with Chigiri's body. Opting for stealth to keep their fighting abilities refreshed for the right ahead, the party snuck past the shadow skull and molder guards in the tunnels up the mountain.
At the summit they believed they managed to talk their way past additional Shadow Skull guards by posing as minions of Levira, unaware that Rhith was using his influence to make them unseen and unheard by the undead minions. This influence did not extend to a flying Void Beast that spotted and picked up Pryce to examine him. It flew off after letting him down, the Headhunters unaware that Levira had called it off so that they could destroy Mesogog for her.
Entering the base of the Gravecannon, the group saw Mesogog's spirit shouting at Moltor to aim and fire at Inkhear. A fight quickly broke out with Vinnie and Pryce smashing the cannon's controls to try and stop the firing sequence. Moltor immediately started yelling about how their foolishness could cause the cannon to blow and take the mountaintop with it.
With the cannon damaged, the group focused on bringing down Mesogog's spirit. The demon fought as well in undeath as he had in life, but in the end the Headhunters were victorious. His spirit weakened after being repeatedly struck by magic, Vinnie used his forehead to headbutt Mesogog's own forehead. A crack appeared in his spiritual form that quickly spread over his body, shattering his spirit and destroying the son of Orcus for good.
In that same moment, Levira appeared and smashed the Gravecannon's back-up controls. She revealed her true plan was never to ally with Mesogog. She wanted to free Urthemiel, the true Destroyer, and corrupt it into a Void Beast under her control. Urthemiel was imprisoned under the very mountain they stood upon and the exploding Gravecannon would accomplish both of her objectives. She jumped into the Void through the portal powering the cannon, laughing maniacally as she left.
The party was narrowly able to stabilize the cannon's energy with help from a reluctant Moltor and stop the explosion. Vinnie then proceeded to knock the deathlock out and tie him up before he could try anything funny. Leaving the cannon, they were greeted outside by the recovered Shimmerscale and Gentleman Jack (whom Shimmerscale had rescued), who escorted them back to the triage center.

Before the Last Battle

They arrived back to find that Leliana had revived Chigiri with her magic (against orders, though she stood firm by her convictions and her friend). Returning to Inkhear, they took the opportunity for some well-deserved R&R. Vinnie competed in various drinking contests (beating even Iskierka) while Chigiri took the time to simply rest up and Hugh & Leliana went to answer a letter sent to Hugh.
It was during this seemingly peaceful period that Levira began her endgame. People from miles around, as far away as Inkhear, could see her castle as it rose from the Underdark and began to fly through the air. The castle fired a 2nd Gravecannon built directly into it at the town of Ardenmount, wiping out the town's populace and instantly turning every living thing there undead.
With many adventurers still scattered cleaning up the various messes the Morlocks had left around the country, Vinnie was forced to attack the castle with only Chigiri, Cordelia, and Iskierka as backup, the former three riding on Iskierka's back as she took her true form as Shimmerscale.

Ending Levira's Nightmare

Shimmerscale charged for the castle, dodging blasts of magical energy and landing just long enough to drop off her comrades while she engaged the outer defenses. The three adventurers headed inside, fighting their way through a seemingly endless horde of Shadow Skulls as they made their way deeper and deeper into the heart of Levira's fortress.
They eventually ran into Hugh and Leliana, who had made their way here on the back of The Goose. Together, they made a plan and decided the best way to take out Levira would be to catch her by surprise. The group was discussing this just as they found a swirling portal with a banner hanging above it that read, "Welcome Headhunters!" They dove in and found themselves on the outskirts of Levira's true lair, a fortress on the floating islands of the Void.
The party battled their way past a few remaining Shadow Skulls and multiple Void Beasts, finally arriving at the fortress gates already battered and beaten. Levira was waiting for them alone, standing in the fort's courtyard. After a brief bit of banter, the battle began.
Levira's first order of business was to animate the group's shadows, sending the shadowy clones of the adventurers after them while she fired blasts of dark energy from the air. Levira fought cunningly, using her minions to group the adventurers together and hit several of them with her blasts at once. But she grew too cocky and allowed herself in close, giving them the opportunity to deal a fatal blow...or so it seemed.
Covered in wounds, Levira began to laugh. It was a wicked laugh laced with insanity, but as it went on it started to become something worse. Something inhuman. A dark, shadowy substance began leaking from her wounds as the creature that had been possessing an elf corpse for so many years revealed its true monstrous form. A horrific creature of living shadow that laughed with malicious glee as it asked the Headhunters if they were ready for round two.
Levira proved to be far more powerful in her true form; faster, stronger, and capable of greater magics. It was the hardest battle the Headhunters ever fought and pushed them to their absolute limit with every member of their party on their last legs. But in that final moment, just before Levira could unleash a massive blast of necrotic energy to finish them off, Chigiri struck first with Chōmei.
The katana left a bright glowing slash across Levira's body that quickly began to spread. She, like Mesogog, had been enhanced with the Destroyer's power by Lady Kemlar and was just as vulnerable to The Four's power as the son of Orcus had been. As she started to fade away...she laughed. She laughed and told the party that she was no great world conqueror; she was a scout. And that when she failed to return, it would make her superiors very interested in Nexus.

Shadows Unleashed Finale

While the Headhunters were busy battling Levira's true form, Mira had appeared and dragged the elf corpse she'd possessed off to the side. They destroyed Levira just in time for the group to see Mira complete Rhith's revival and listen to the illithilich explain how he'd manipulated the adventurers of Lothal and largely owed his successful rejuvenation to Artie. He then bid the Headhunters adieu and teleported away with Mira as Levira's castle, cut off from her power, became unstable.
The Headhunters raced back through the Void, coming out of the portal in Levira's castle as it began to crumble and fall from the sky. They ran for the exiting, launching themselves into the sky and onto Shimmerscale's back. The gold dragon took them down to safety as Levira's castle crashed into the hills nearby.
As Iskierka transformed back to her elven form, the group stood there as the sun began to set on the horizon behind the crashed castle. It was finally over. Levira and Mesogog were destroyed and the Headhunters were now the heroes who had saved Lothal. In that moment, they could finally relax and enjoy the moment before moving onto their next challenge.
Some time later, Vinnie departed Lothal and traveled to Tavern Town with The Goose.

Current Status

Traveled to Tavern Town with The Goose

Aligned Organization

The Headhunters

Related Plots

• Campaign 02: Shadows Unleashed

Magic Items
Bead of Force (x7)
Jar of Lightning
Sword of Cold