Vinster d'Ghallanda
 The Frostbite in your icebox is 3° too warm. | |
| Race | Halfling |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 30 |
| Class | Fighter |
| Homeland | Sharn |
| Job(s) | Health Inspector, Cook |
| Character Sheet | DnD Beyond |
Health Inspector Vinster d'Ghallanda is an affable halfling who works for the Hostelers Guild.
Contents
Personality
Vinster is an affable gentleman who always aims to please. He is always well-dressed. With the Mark of Hospitality, he can turn even the grumpiest person into a friend. If things look rough, Vinster will always try to get everyone comfortable instead of fight.
Having grown up as a Ghallanda scion, Vinster is fiercely loyal to the House. One day, Vinster hopes to climb the ladder and oversee operations for a whole nation. He believes in some aspects of the Korth Edicts, particularly limiting the scarier houses like Denieth and Cannith, but wishes Ghallanda could own the land for their establishments.
He is well-known throughout Sharn, having spent time working in most of the Gold Dragon Inns and other bonded hosteler businesses in town. If you need to find a drink or a game, Vinster can direct you to just the right establishment.
- Try to get people calmed down instead of launching into a fight
- I’m representing my house and take great pride in my personal appearance.
- I never forget an insult made against myself or my house.
- Ideal: Comfort. I want to ensure that me and mine enjoy the best things in life. (Any)
- Bond: I am determined to impress the leaders of my house, and to become a leader myself.
- Flaw: I serve my House, even when that means crushing our competition.
Biography
Early Life
Vinster was born to an unimportant House Ghallanda branch family in 968 YK. Vinster knew his birth parents only briefly; they were detached to a group of mercenaries from House Deneith, and the whole unit was lost. He has no memory of them.
Vinster was instead raised by the House. He was shuffled between the Gold Dragon Inns of Sharn. He was put to work bussing tables, tapping ale barrels, cleaning rooms, and preparing ingredients for meals. All the while, a sense of duty to the House was instilled in him.
At age twelve, Vincent undertook his Test of Siberys: one hundred goblins turned up at a quiet Gold Dragon Inn and Vincent was the only staff member around. He manifested the Mark of Hospitality on his left bicep, and was able to churn out over a hundred plates of roast beast.
Later that day, Viceroy Keslo d'Ghallanda decided that Vinster should be trained by a Deneith blademark, so that he may successfully follow in his parent's footsteps. Neltyuun d'Deneith was contracted and they spent every afternoon together for the next eight years. Vinster became skilled with the bow, but with the end of the Last War, interest in contracting members of the house to Deneith units waned.
Vinster took an interest in cooking when he was fourteen. With a pinch of salt and a nudge with prestidigitation, he found that he could turn the humblest of potatoes into an hors d'oeuvre fit for King Galifar's table. He has participated in a number of Hostelers Guild shokugeki, although he has not been able to beat the more seasoned dragonmarked chefs.
Junior Health Inspector
On the Day of Mourning, the Dragonmarked houses saw that the end of the Last War was fast approaching. Vinster, originally slated for field work with Denieth blademarks, was given a different job for his first assignment: Junior Health Inspector for the hostelers guild. The Viceroy himself explained that, as a trained fighter, he would be able to deal with the more troublesome standards. With refugees pouring in from Cyre, standards needed to be upheld.
Vinster took on his new assignment with pride. After a year shadowing other inspectors, he began attending to the higher-risk areas of Sharn. He visited inns and taverns operated by destitute refugees in High Wall who would lose it all from a failed inspection, and the strange establishments in the goblin slums of Malleon's Gate, where even the Sharn watch fear to tread.
For the most part, Vinster's inspections went well. On occasions where a kitchen failed to meet the Guild's standards, Vinster would often offer his help, either by training or helping with necessary repairs. This gained him a fantastic reputation among the independent ale house operators of High Wall; as he moved between businesses, aspiring hostelers would chase after him and request he taste-test their latest concoction. House leadership did not mind, as it was a very small investment of resources to keep revenue flowing.
Not all was good cheer and a few hours of work on a faulty Cone of Cold spell, however. The White Wolfwood Group, headquartered out of Malleon's Gate, operated a dozen ale houses and hostels in Sharn. Vinster's visits to their establishments was met with veiled hostility, but he conducted himself with professionalism. On three occasions, Vinster ordered one of their ale houses shut down. None of their staff ever came to blows, but there were a few times when Vinster wanted to reach for his bow, even after trying Friends.
In early 997 YK, the Viceroy discovered that the White Wolfwood Group was being bankrolled by the Boromar clan. Vinster and two senior inspectors, Fenula and Jayni, were summoned to Ghallanda Hall. There, they were told that they would need to visit each of the White Wolfwood establishments, remove the Blink Dog insignia from their signs, and instruct them to immediately cease operation. Scrolls of fire bolt and enchanted arrows were issues to the inspection team as a last resort.
Shutting down the first two ale houses was tense, but the disgruntled employees were clearly not happy about losing their jobs. The inspection team removed their Blink Dogs and moved on once the handful of patrons had dispersed and the door was barred.
In the third ale house, the Wolfwood Retreat, the inspectors walked in to an ambush: a dozen goblins & Boromar halflings were waiting for them. The goblins were easily scared off when Jayni launched a firebolt into the kegs, but the Boromar were dedicated to the assault. Vinster put two of them down in quick succession while Fenula set the building ablaze. The inspectors retreated outside and barred the door after them. The screams of the trapped halflings drew the city watch. Vinster flashes his Ghallanda signet ring and told them not to interfere. Begrudgingly, the watchmen stood idly by.
The next two ale houses had similar ambushes, but without any halflings present. The goblins were unskilled labourers and were easily dealt with. However, the final establishment was operating normally. Vinster delivered the news to its operator, who merely nodded and handed over a letter before closing up.
Vinster d'Ghallanda,
My brother burned in the Wolfwood Retreat today.
That isn't how the game is played.
Think you're a bigshot all you want with that ring -- I'll show you otherwise real soon.
Sincerely,
Yenlos Boromar
After reading the letter, the words disappeared. Vinster let the other inspectors know, but they only shrugged.
Health Inspector
For his role in the White Wolfwood Group affair, Vinster was promoted to Health Inspector.
He continued on much as before, but from time to time, the House would give him delicate assignments...
Notes for the DM
- Angry people who have been given a failing health inspection mark want to get even
- Yenlos Boromar (or other Boromars) want to kill me
- WILL ACCEPT COOKING CHALLENGES FROM ALL COMERS
- Other Tasks As Assigned By [House] Management
- Planning to take Greater Dragonmark feat at L8, which the House would probably be interested in (once they find out about it)
- This gives us Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion :-)
