The Aethervale

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npc

Valerius Thorne

Valerius Thorne
Stat Block
CR 7
Reveal Stat Block
Armor Class
15
Hit Points
80
Speed
30 ft.
str
11
+0
dex
18
+4
con
14
+2
int
18
+4
wis
14
+2
cha
20
+5

Traits

Master of Deception.Valerius can cast 'Invisibility' and 'Major Image' at will, requiring no material components.

Actions

Multiattack.Valerius makes two Rapier attacks and uses one Illusionary Trick.
Gilded Rapier.Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage plus 11 (2d10) psychic damage.
Illusionary Duplicate (Recharge 4-6).Valerius creates three illusory duplicates of himself. This works like the 'Mirror Image' spell.

Valerius Thorne

Valerius Thorne is the charismatic and cunning leader of the Gilded Corsairs, a high-end mercenary and privateering company operating primarily in the eastern trade routes. Born into the influential House Valerius of Kigum, he was groomed from birth for a life of political power and arcane mastery. However, Valerius was caught orchestrating a massive embezzlement scheme involving the Grand Arcane Bank's reserve funds. Narrowly escaping execution through bribery and blackmail, he was exiled from the city, stripped of his titles, and marked for death should he ever return. Rather than fade into obscurity, he embraced his disgrace, leveraging his stolen wealth and extensive network of contacts to build the most elegant and elusive mercenary fleet on the seas.

The Gilded Corsairs operate more like an elite intelligence agency than a traditional mercenary band. They focus on espionage, surgical strikes, and high-value "asset recovery." Thorne eschews heavy galleons in favor of impossibly fast, sleek sloops equipped with cutting-edge illusion magic. His ships can mimic the appearance of merchant vessels, appear as low-lying fog, or vanish entirely from sight. Thorne himself is a master illusionist and enchanter, preferring to fight with a rapier and perfectly tailored suits rather than heavy armor. He insists on a strict code of conduct for his crew, emphasizing precision, subtlety, and theatrical flair over brute force.

Despite his exile, Thorne maintains deep, clandestine ties to the Kigum nobility. The Grand Arcane Bank frequently, and deniably, hires the Corsairs to eliminate rivals or recover stolen artifacts that the official Arcane Guard cannot pursue without causing political scandal. He views his exile as a temporary setback, a long game to amass enough wealth and leverage to eventually buy his way back into the High Council. He looks down upon rougher mercenaries like Commander Vane with barely concealed disdain, considering their reliance on gunpowder and mud to be profoundly uncivilized.