Vax'ildan

"Dagger, dagger, dagger."

- Liam's attack catchphrase for Vax'ildan

Vax'ildan, also known as "Vax", is a half-elf rogue/paladin and member of Vox Machina. He is played by Liam O'Brien.

Intro
"Never entirely welcome in the company of elves or men, Vax'ildan learned at a young age to skip past formality, preferring instead to invite himself in your door.

''Along with twin sister Vex'ahlia, Vax was born by a chance encounter between elven royalty and human peasantry. Raised by their mother in their early years, the twins were eventually sent off to their father in the elven capital of Syngorn. But their cool reception among the elves there never warmed, and their time in the capital didn't last. The siblings stole away one autumn night and set out on the open road.''

''After a few years of wandering, they eventually decided to return to their mother, and journeyed back to the lands of their youth. But instead of finding their childhood home, they returned to a pile of rubble. Their mother was gone, their home burned to ash. Pressing the townspeople for answers, they learned of the day the dragon came.''

''With their ties all severed, Vax'ildan and his sister set out to find their fortune together in Tal'Dorei. An outsider since birth, Vax quickly learned to solve life's challenges in his own particular way, often by sidestepping them entirely. And when his knack for circumventing adversity isn't enough, the way of blades the elves schooled him in more than makes up the difference."''

Biography
Vax is a close-ranged combat fighter and often uses a deadly combination of sneak attacks, magical weaponry, items, agility, and various abilities when in combat. He is naturally the sneakiest member of Vox Machina and often scouts ahead for the group when in dangerous situations. He is incredibly deceptive, and often navigates through social situations with ease and occasionally coin.

Vax occasionally mentions his instructors in Syngorn, one of whom is named Master Tharindriel.

Vax was the first one out of the group to kill an illithid in.

While waiting in Vasselheim for the other members of Vox Machina to return from their Slayer's Take trial, Vax got a pair of tattoos. On the inside of his left wrist are the sounds for "V" and "M" written in Elvish script. On the inside of his right wrist is an icosahedron.

Vax'ildan is bisexual. He has shown interest in both men and women, specifically Shaun Gilmore, a human wizard, and Keyleth, a half-elven druid and fellow member of Vox Machina.

Before the Stream
Vex and Vax ran into their father, Syldor Vessar, in Emon. The conversation was frosty, and the twins discovered that they now have a half-sister named Velora Vessar.

Vax was able to land the killing blow on a blue dragon, Brimscythe. Brimscythe had assumed a human form as General Krieg for some time, and after Vox Machina discovered Krieg's secret, he revealed his true nature to them. After a long fight, Vax ran up a wall and sunk his daggers into Brimscythe, sliding down and slowly killing him.

Pike purposely injured Vax when she found out he had been a "peeping tom" by stepping on his foot. She dealt 1 nonlethal damage.

The Clasp
Sometime after leaving their father but before returning to their home town, Vax'ildan learned that his sister and fellow member of Vox Machina, Vex'ahlia, was marked for death by the Clasp. Vax gave the Clasp the living body of a child rapist that had been transformed to look like her and in exchange he was branded with their mark.

After talks with the Clasp to help the survivors of Emon after the Chroma Conclave attack broke down, Vax asked Keyleth to burn away the brand on his back.

Grog

 * &rarr; Main article:  Relationship between Grog and Vax'ildan.

Vax and Grog Strongjaw, a goliath barbarian and a fellow member of Vox Machina, have a rather antagonistic relationship, the two of them occasionally playing pranks on each other.

Keyleth

 * &rarr; Main article:  Relationship between Keyleth and Vax'ildan.

Vax is in love with Keyleth. He eventually admitted it to her and kissed her after they took down Professor Anders. Keyleth, in turn, later reciprocated after they discovered the corpse of Tiberius Stormwind and returned to Whitestone.

Kynan Leore
Vax first met Kynan outside of Greyskull Keep upon their return from Vasselheim, during which he personally crushed the boy's dream of joining Vox Machina by telling him that he was not ready for the life that they live. Later on, when Kynan was revealed to be working with Anna Ripley, Vax took it upon himself to talk some sense to the boy, convincing Kynan that despite what he had done while working with Ripley, he could still find redemption. He later gave him two daggers he had bought from Gilmore's shop in addition to his Keen Dagger, and then later gave him his Serpent Belt, telling him that he earned his second chance.

Scanlan

 * &rarr; Main article:  Relationship between Scanlan and Vax'ildan.

Vax and Scanlan Shorthalt, gnome bard and another member of Vox Machina, have a strong bond of friendship. At times, Scanlan is able to offer words of advice to Vax.

Shaun Gilmore
Vax and Gilmore enjoy flirting with each other and spending time together. In, Vax asked out Gilmore to a meal and a walk, which is the first time in the game that this has happened. Vax also seems to view Gilmore as a confidant, as he told him about Vox Machina's struggles in the Underdark and about the Horn of Orcus, which the party had agreed to keep a secret. After defeating the Briarwoods and returning to Emon, Vax took a moment to sit down with Gilmore and explain that he was in love with someone else. Gilmore, although saddened by the news, took it very well, and after a final kiss the two parted amicably. They remain close friends.

Trinket

 * &rarr; Main article:  Relationship between Trinket and Vax'ildan.

Vex has a companion bear named Trinket. If she is Trinket's adoptive mother, then Vax is his uncle.

Vex'ahlia

 * &rarr; Main article:  Relationship between Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia.

Vax and Vex both usually work together when scouting and ambushing opponents. They haven't been separated for very long since birth, at least until after the events of, where they were forced to work with different groups of people.

Quests
Vax'ildan, along with his sister Vex'ahlia, is on a quest to kill Thordak, the ancient red dragon that killed their mother when it destroyed their home town of Byroden.

Notable Items

 * Blinkback Belt
 * Boots of Haste (allowing the "dagger, dagger, dagger" third attack)
 * Brooch of Living Essence
 * Cape of the Mountebank
 * Clarota's Helmet
 * Cloak of Displacement (given to Keyleth)
 * Cloak of Elvenkind (given to Vex'ahlia)
 * Dagger of Lifestealing
 * Dagger of Venom
 * Deathwalker's Ward (obtained by Vox Machina and given to Vax)
 * Earring of Whisper (made by Tiberius)
 * Flametongue Dagger
 * Keen Dagger (given to Kynan Leore)
 * Ring of Invisibility (obtained by Vox Machina from the treasure horde of Vorugal and later given to Vax)
 * Serpent Belt (named Simon after Simon Brist; given to Kynan)
 * Symbol of Sarenrae embedded in his glove (has some kind of connection to Pike, a cleric of Sarenrae; ruined but still present after Vax submitted himself to the Raven Queen)
 * Whisper (obtained from Kynan Leore; Vox Machina briefly debated who would keep it, but eventually it was given to Vax)

Abilities
As an assassination rogue, Vax'ildan excels at dealing high damage very quickly, especially while stealthed, while evading and minimizing damage to himself. After reluctantly becoming a Champion of the Raven Queen, Vax eventually multiclassed as a paladin, granting new abilities and proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons. With his second paladin level, he also gained access to paladin spells and Divine Smite.

Half-Elf Abilities

 * Darkvision
 * Fey Ancestry

Rogue Abilities

 * Assassinate
 * Cunning Action
 * Evasion
 * Impostor
 * Infiltration Expertise
 * Reliable Talent
 * Sneak Attack (7d6)
 * Uncanny Dodge

Paladin Abilities

 * Divine Sense
 * Divine Smite
 * Fighting Style: Defense (+1 to AC when wearing armor)
 * Lay on Hands
 * Because Lay on Hands grants a pool of healing power to the paladin, Vax could expend only one hit point to bring an unconscious creature back to consciousness, while reserving the remainder of his healing power.  As a Champion of the Raven Queen, a goddess of death and fate, this method of using Lay on Hands provides a rich role-playing opportunity for Vax to pull allies back from the clutches of death throughout a battle, especially with the extra movement granted by his Boots of Haste.
 * Spellcasting (Charisma-based ability)

Spells
''Note:  Like clerics and druids, paladins have access to the class's full list of spells for which they have spell slots, but they can only prepare a limited number from that list after each long rest. Vax'ildan has used the following spells:''
 * Bless
 * Shield of Faith

Feats

 * Dual Wielder
 * Lucky
 * Sharpshooter

Weapon Damage
Vax'ildan has an assortment of daggers, some of which also deal additional damage of the following types:
 * Fire (Flametongue Dagger)
 * Poison (Dagger of Venom)
 * Necrotic (Dagger of Life-Stealing)
 * Psychic (Whisper)