Scanlan Shorthalt

Scanlan Shorthalt is a Gnome Bard in the group Vox Machina. He is played by Sam Riegel.

Intro
"Oh, you haven't heard of Scanlan Shorthalt? Well, gird your loins, ladies, because he has his eye on you. A talented musician, master of disguise, and dashingly handsome in his own mind, Scanlan sings songs almost as much as he sings his own praises.

''Born a poor Gnome, Scanlan used his endless charm and soaring tenor voice to croon for coin and support his single mother. One day he was discovered by a half-orc promoter, and joined Dr. Dranzel's Spectacular Traveling Troupe where he learned the ways of the world, and honed his skills as a bard extraordinaire.''

''A loner much of his life, Scanlan has never quite come to terms with the violent death of his mother at the hands of a Goblin invasion. While his years on the road provided many, shall we say, educational experiences with the opposite sex, deep down Scanlan yearns for the one thing he's never known: the true love of a fellow gnome.''

''Still, Scanlan considers himself a lover first, performer second, and fighter distant third. On the battlefield, he'll support his allies, but rarely draws blood unless it's to protect fellow Gnome, Pike. Count on Scanlan for a hearty laugh, a rollicking song, and a twinkle in his eye that melts hearts and makes the females swoon."''

Character Information
Scanlan is fluent in Common and Gnomish. He is very quick-witted, and often acts as support for Vox Machina by enhancing their abilities or weakening their opponents in some way. He also is capable of defending himself for short amounts of time provided that he is quickly backed up by other people. Perhaps just as resourceful as Tiberius, Scanlan is a very powerful member of Vox Machina.

Scanlan has very strong feelings towards his fellow team member Pike, and it is often a source of great humor and emotional moments within the Critical Role campaign whenever the two have a moment. Pike eventually did willingly kiss Scanlan on the cheek in the episode Escape from the Underdark, which has never happened before, after he saved her life.

Scanlan and Tiberius have a bullying form of friendship which started at some point before the stream.

Scanlan (or rather Sam) is known for creating parodies of existing songs on the spot whenever he uses inspiration, Healing Word, or another spell on one of his team members.

Scanlan made his very first kill ever on the first episode of Critical Role, Arrival at Kraghammer.

It was revealed in the episode, to him, that Scanlan has a daughter named Kaylee. He did not reveal this information to the group until the next episode, when he asked for their help to get her out of the stockade for causing a brawl in a bar.

Before the Stream
At some point, the group either accidentally or intentionally walked through the back door of The Clasp, the thieves' guild in Emon, and almost got into a deadly confrontation. Scanlan was able to trick the guild into thinking Vox Machina was part of the custom's cepartment, using a silver star he had had made in a previous town. Part of this scene can be viewed on Matthew Mercer's Youtube channel here.

The bard, by rolling a natural 20 on deception and putting a finger over his upper lip so it looked like he had a mustache, was able to get a man who had access to a tower into letting them in by tricking him into thinking that he was "Burt Reynolds".

Scanlan and Grog managed to intimidate a group of hostile mages in a fighting pit when Scanlan summoned a pony that Grog abruptly decapitated and smeared the gore of on his body while screaming. Scanlan also had Percy build him a bomb to use in that event, but since Grog's intimidation worked, Scanlan kept the bomb, which was later used in the episode "K'Varn Revealed".

Scanlan spent much of his time trying to convince Percy to create an exploding donkey, a request that Percy eventually complied to.

He was able to convince some guards to free Keyleth from prison after convincing them that she had pubic lice. She played along by foaming at the mouth and acting insane. Percy acted as her lawyer. Scanlan was the one who brought Pike back to life after she perished in combat fighting a glabrezu, both by using a small figurine of her he carved two months before and kissing her on the brow. He still keeps the small figurine wherever he goes.

The bard accidentally crashed through a stain-glass window when attempting to charge at the Dread Emperor by rolling a natural 1. He crashed into a bramble bush 3 stories down while glass and wood from the window rained down on him.

Quests
It is unknown what Scanlan's quest is.

More than likely, one long term goal of Scanlan's is to win the love of Pike.

Items

 * Drow Poison
 * Small statue of Pike

Magic Items

 * Dawn Blade
 * Hand-cone of Clarity
 * Ioun Stone
 * Magical Poop of Scrying (placed in the ruins of the temple to Sarenrae Pike is rebuilding in and the kitchen of Greyskull Keep during .)
 * Ring of Mind Shielding
 * Earring of Whisper (Tiberius' making)
 * Wand of Magic Missiles
 * Wand of Fireballs
 * Scroll of Chain Lightning (Used against K'Varn)

Abilities
Because Scanlan is a bard, he is one of a few members of Vox Machina with a huge array of spells and skills which he utilizes both in social and combat situations.

Gnome Abilities

 * Dark Vision
 * Gnome Cunning

Bard Abilities

 * Inspiration
 * Counter Charm Song
 * Cutting Words
 * Mage Hand
 * Song of Rest
 * Vicious Mockery

Air Spells

 * Lightning Bolt
 * Thunderwave

Healing Spells

 * Healing Word

Other Spells

 * Banishment
 * Bigby's Hand
 * Blindness
 * Counterspell
 * Dimension Door
 * Dispel Magic
 * Dominate Person
 * Eye Bite
 * Friends
 * Invisibility
 * Minor Illusion
 * Polymorph
 * Seeming
 * Stinking Cloud
 * Suggestion
 * Unseen Servant