Shakäste

 (pronounced /ʃə'kɑs.tə/) is a human cleric. He is played by special guest Khary Payton.

Appearance


The party described Shakäste as "quite handsome". Shakäste describes himself as "striking", and he is old enough that he has gotten past all the "bacheloring". The first thing that one might notice is his shock of white hair, in a billowy afro with fingers of curly hair radiating in all directions. What draws attention away from the hair is his eyes: pupilless and as white as his hair. He has a chin beard that drifts to a point about three to four inches below his chin. He has three dimples (one beneath his beard, that can't be seen). He can look pretty menacing, unless he's smiling.

He is covered in a tangle of brown, red, and green leather straps that cover him from his neck to his calves. He wears boots and a green cloak with a hood big enough to cover his "ample locks".

Personality
Shakäste is generally forthright and a charismatic figure.

Background
Shakäste mentioned that he grew up in the Marrow Valley, not too far from Alfield. He tended to look over the people around Alfield, coming by once in a while. He also claimed to have practiced motivational speaking in the Menagerie Coast.

He had a familiar named Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna. When the party first met "Stacy", she was in the form of a black hummingbird.

Shakäste heard a "commotion" at the Rill's Mouth Mines, and he began freeing a few of the gnolls' captives, leading them to safety. However, he was doing so covertly, until the party made a clatter in their attempt to rescue the townsfolk.

Feats

 * Magic Initiate (Frostbite, Dancing Lights or Light, Find Familiar)

Class Features

 * Channel Divinity (1 use per short rest)
 * Turn Undead
 * Divine Domain: Tempest Domain
 * Bonus Proficiencies (martial weapons, heavy armor)
 * Channel Divinity: Destructive Wrath
 * Domain Spells
 * Wrath of the Storm
 * Ritual Casting
 * Spellcasting (Wisdom-based ability)

Domain Spells
Shakäste always has access to these spells:

1st-level

 * Fog Cloud
 * Thunderwave

2nd-level

 * Gust of Wind
 * Shatter

Cleric Spells
In addition to his domain spells, Shakäste has access to three cleric cantrips and 1st- through 2nd-level cleric spells. As a 3rd-level cleric, he can prepare six of these spells per day.

Cantrips

 * Guidance
 * Sacred Flame
 * Thaumaturgy

1st-level

 * Command

2nd-level

 * Aid
 * Spiritual Weapon (took the form of a bust of Estelle Getty when first cast on Critical Role)

Notable Items

 * a pouch (stolen by Nott)
 * Shakäste's pouch contained 113 gp, some bird seed, some jerky, and various travel supplies.

Quotations

 * "I tend to look over the people who happen to be around here."
 * "I would like to materialize the all-inspiring sass of Estelle Getty..."
 * "This is what your problem is: maybe next time you'll eat something less human-like, baby."
 * "This was a bold move you made.  And we wouldn't have made it, we wouldn't have succeeded without you, so I say you earned that gold.  But make no mistake—be careful where you put your fingers."

Trivia

 * Khary Payton's first dice roll on the stream was a natural one.
 * Shakäste achieved the "How do you want to do this?" against the manticore during the boss fight in.
 * Most (if not all) of the party thought Shakäste is quite handsome. Sam called him a "Bachelorette Finalist" and Liam called him a "Gray Fox".
 * Project Alpha joked that any character that organically incorporated an umlaut (ex: "ä") into their name should be rewarded a free Intimidation proficiency.
 * Stacy's full name (Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna) is the name of the youngest daughter of Tsar Nikolay II of Russia. The real Anastasia was rumored to have escaped the murder of her family by the Bolsheviks.