Kashaw Vesh

Kashaw Vesh (, as in "cash awe") is a human cleric, a member of the Slayer's Take guild, and an ally of Vox Machina. Kashaw is played by special guest Will Friedle.

Appearance
Kashaw has a striking appearance; a notable feature of this being his heterochromia: one of his eyes is blue, but the other is bright yellow. He has a leather cord adorning his head. His right arm is covered in one-inch cuts..

Personality
Kashaw has a caustic personality and a scathingly cynical view on life, frequently making sarcastic remarks about friend and foe alike.

He has, however, proven himself to be a reliable ally, even a caring individual for those who can weather his personality long enough to become his friend.

Background
Kashaw was born with a pair of bright yellow eyes; the fact that one of them is now blue was not explained.

Kashaw was chosen to be the cleric of a dark goddess named Vesh who married him from the moment he was born. He was trained to be a healer in order to balance out Vesh's overly dark presence. During his fifteenth name-day, they consummated the marriage and, as part of a ritual called the 'bind’ach maano’, Vesh inflicted fifty one-inch cuts on her right arm, which Kashaw then repeated on his own right arm. This ritual showed him a "glimpse into the soul of his blushing new bride", which allowed him to see Vesh's memories and learn of her evil nature. Afterward, Kashaw attempted to kill her but was unsuccessful.

Kashaw is the only person left alive who knows about Vesh, as she killed his entire village—possibly related to his attempt to murder her, be it a cause or a consequence.

With nowhere to go, Kashaw dedicated himself to using his healing capabilities for good to stay away from Vesh's darker impulses. At some point during this time, Kash became indebted to the Slayer's Take in Vasselheim.



Assigned to a contract together for the Slayer's Take, Kashaw was unenthusiastic about working with Vox Machina initially. His demeanor suggested that he was an unwilling participant in the party and the task at hand. In particular, he seemed to disdain Keyleth's optimism about their predicament, establishing a catchphrase by repeatedly asking, "Is she always like this?"

After the completion of the Slayer's Take contract, Kashaw gave up his share of the reward money to be split among the others, saying that his obligation had been fulfilled and he had no desire to stay, though Huntmaster Vanessa told him he was welcome back any time.

Despite his initial impatience with her, Kashaw boldly kissed Keyleth as he parted from the party.

Kashaw, who had just returned from slaying a doppelganger with Vanessa Cyndrial and Zahra Hydris, reunited with Vox Machina when the party traveled to the holy city of Vasselheim to find allies to aid them against the Chroma Conclave. He also mentioned that he bet against Grog Strongjaw in his first match against Kern the Hammer.

In the chamber with Osysa, he offered to heal the sphinx as she was bleeding from looking too far beyond her veil.. He originally disagreed with aiding Vox Machina against the dragons, but Zahra persuaded him to help.

Kashaw apologized to Keyleth for stealing the kiss, as it wasn't his to take. He and Keyleth then shared a moment discussing how it was his second kiss and Keyleth's first.

Kashaw and Zahra later helped Vox Machina recover one of the Vestiges of the Divergence from the sunken tomb of Purvan Suul. Scanlan Shorthalt later has an awkward conversation over Kashaw's supposed affections towards Vax. When Vex'ahlia died from a trap in the tomb, Kashaw resurrected her with the aid of their allies.

Kashaw has an acquaintance named Dale, who joined in the larger-scale resistance against Thordak the Cinder King. Not much is known about Dale or his relationship to Kashaw, but it was friendly enough for Kashaw to greet him in a sea of people.

Zahra and Kashaw, riding a pair of wyverns, arrived at Entropis during Vox Machina's battle against Vecna. The duo managed to help out a bit, with Zahra attacking the newly risen deity and Kashaw healing the wounded members of Vox Machina. However, Zahra, Kashaw, and their wyverns were soon targeted by one of Vecna's Hold Monster spells, paralyzing all four of them. They were last seen falling past the tower, down into the mist below and out of sight.

During the collapse of the tower, Keyleth and Scanlan searched for Kash and Zahra. Keyleth, still in planetar form, raced down where she saw Kash and Zahra barely conscious in the remains on their wyverns. They survived the fall as both had Death Ward. Keyleth grabbed them before they were crushed by the tower and healed them as she returned them to the others. Kash then performed a successful resurrection ritual on Velora, with aid from Zahra, Vex, and Vax. It was confirmed that Kash and Zahra are currently expecting the birth of a child, or possibly twins. They then bid goodbye to the others as they went to help the city deal with the last of Vecna's followers, with Kash joking about naming their child after Vax.

Zahra Hydris
Kashaw developed a deep respect and love for Zahra. He said that she saved his life even though she didn't have to, and that she has shown him what it means to have a family.

The friendship between the two eventually developed into a romantic relationship by the time of the liberation of Emon. Over a year later, the couple would be expecting their first child, which Zahra speculated might be twins.

Keyleth
Throughout the Slayer's Take Trial, Kashaw was mostly annoyed with Keyleth's optimism and upbeat attitude. However, as he was leaving after the completion of the trial, he kissed her.

The next time he encountered Vox Machina, the two of them cleared the air as Kashaw apologized for stealing her first kiss, saying that while it felt good, it was ultimately wrong of him. Keyleth herself said that he didn't have to, that she never meant to hurt anyone physically or emotionally.

When Vex'ahlia was killed due to a trap within Purvan Suul's tomb, Kashaw revived her because he knew Keyleth would have wanted him to. After Vex's resurrection, Kashaw told her that he believes not in Vesh, but in life itself. He later told Keyleth that he noticed the interest that Vax'ildan, Vex's twin brother, had in her and told her to stay near him, that the rogue would look after her in his stead.

Vesh
Kashaw dislikes and fears his deity. Vesh forced him to marry her and then slaughtered his entire village. Kashaw has been shown to be wary of using any power borrowed from Vesh. He hesitated to resurrect Vex'ahlia when she was killed in Purvan Suul's tomb, fearful that using his powers would summon Vesh to their location.

Cleric abilities

 * Channel Divinity
 * Turn Undead
 * Divine Domain: Life Domain
 * Disciple of Life
 * Channel Divinity: Restore Life
 * Domain Spells
 * Ritual Casting
 * Spellcasting (Wisdom-based ability)

Domain Spells
Kashaw always has access to these spells.

1st-level

 * Bless
 * Cure Wounds

2nd-level

 * Lesser Restoration
 * Spiritual Weapon

3rd-level

 * Beacon of Hope
 * Revivify

4th-level

 * Death Ward
 * Guardian of Faith

5th-level

 * Mass Cure Wounds
 * Raise Dead

Cantrips

 * Light
 * Sacred Flame

2nd-level

 * Blindness/Deafness
 * Hold Person

3rd-level

 * Speak with Dead

4th-level

 * Banishment
 * Freedom of Movement
 * Locate Creature

5th-level

 * Flame Strike
 * Geas

Notable items

 * Fire-Resistant Platemail
 * Ring of Protection
 * Sentinel Shield
 * Shadow Spear (+6 necrotic damage)
 * Spear (+2 to attack and damage)

Quotations

 * "I am Kashaw Vesh. Call me Brother Kash. Everyone else does."
 * "Hey buddy, shake it more than twice and you're just playin' with it"
 * [to Tiberius about Keyleth] "Is she always like this?"
 * "I believe in life. That's all I was raised to believe in, was life. When you're married to death, it's pretty much all you have."

Trivia

 * Kashaw has the highest wisdom score of any guest player character thus far, and is tied with Caduceus, Jester, and Pike for the second highest wisdom of any player character. While they all have 20 wisdom, Keyleth has 22 with her Circlet of Wisdom.
 * Kashaw was the winner of the first battle royale where he fought against Grog, Keyleth, and Zahra.
 * In the Critical Role Major Arcana Tarot Card Set, he represents V - The Hierophant.