![[Baldric.png]] # Baldric _High Elf Rogue (Retired) | [[Force Grey]] | [[Waterdeep]]_ ## Summary Con-man from [[Luskan]], reformed — mostly — into one of [[Waterdeep]]'s greatest heroes and co-captain of [[Force Grey]]. Baldric arrived in [[Waterdeep]] with a considerable number of enemies, a past in the [[Cult of the Crushing Wave]], and a reputation as someone every city from [[Luskan]] to the Sword Coast wanted dead. He came clean about his history, found the "white hat" role surprisingly profitable, and stayed. He ran the administrative side of [[Force Grey]] while [[Kurogash]] handled the fighting — though Baldric handled plenty of fighting too. He killed [[Gar Shatterkeel]], his former best friend, and was himself killed by [[Marlos Urnrayle]] and reincarnated as a high elf by [[Mya]]. When [[Graz'zt]] murdered Mya in front of him and her soul was trapped beyond resurrection, Baldric heard her voice for years — always the same two words: _"Find me."_ He followed that voice to the center of the [[Shard of Evil]] during the campaign's apocalyptic finale and freed her. He was present at the chaining of [[Tharizdun]] and continued to lead [[Force Grey]] after the war ended. He never settled down. Eventually retired. Now he is hunting [[Graz'zt]]. %% ## At a Glance High elf now — sharper-featured than the half-elf he was born as, which took some adjustment. The bearing of someone who spent years living by charm and exits rather than commitment, gradually overtaken by something more settled. Observant in the way con artists and spymasters share: always tracking the room, the angles, the people. In the field, Baldric operated with invisibility and misdirection — reconnaissance, picking locks, scouting ahead, improvising brilliantly under pressure. He once killed [[Shoalar Quanderil]] using a ship's sail as a chokehold, which was described as "incredibly cool." He was also the man the aboleth [[Yngukulub]] chose to possess and use against his own party, knowing exactly what leverage to apply. He ran [[Force Grey]]'s paperwork, managed its politics, and handled the negotiations no one else wanted to do. He was very good at it, which he found annoying. Now he is no longer doing paperwork. ## Personality Smooth, pragmatic, and genuinely dry in a way that made people underestimate his intelligence. Reformed criminal who maintained just enough edge that you believed the reform was real rather than performed. The one person he clearly, undeniably cared about was [[Mya]], which he resisted admitting at every available opportunity right up until the moment she was gone — and more plainly in the years he spent finding his way back to her. His stated policy — destroy enemy bodies to prevent resurrection — was personal long before it was strategic. ## Quote _"The new voices in his head were merely his conscience."_ ## Background **Luskan and the Cult:** Baldric ran the [[Cult of the Crushing Wave]] out of [[Luskan]] before coming to [[Waterdeep]] — less out of religious conviction than opportunity. [[Gar Shatterkeel]], the Water Prophet and future apocalyptic villain, was his best friend. [[Shoalar Quanderil]], a water genasi cult figure, was a rival he'd beaten at cards more than once. He came clean to the party about his history and was largely believed. **The Water Cult War:** [[Remi Haventree]] recruited [[Force Grey]] to stop the [[Cult of the Crushing Wave]]. For Baldric, this meant hunting his own past. He briefly convinced a hag priestess that he was Olhydra's "chosen one" — a pure grift that bought the party critical time. He killed [[Shoalar Quanderil]] using a ship's sail as a chokehold (widely regarded as his finest hour). He was later manipulated by the aboleth [[Yngukulub]] into seizing the blade [[Drown]] and attacking his companions; [[Mya]] risked her own life to heal him afterward. [[Gar Shatterkeel]] ultimately transformed into a massive kraken. Baldric killed him anyway. The man who had once been his closest friend died calling him a traitor. **Death and Reincarnation:** [[Marlos Urnrayle]], an undead medusa, turned Baldric to stone and smashed the pieces. [[Mya]] reincarnated him as a high elf. He woke up taller, longer-lived, and with a new face that took getting used to. **The Administrator:** He became the operational leader of [[Force Grey]] — not the sword-arm (that was [[Kurogash]]) but the one who kept the organization running, managed its politics with [[Vajra Safahr]], and made sure the right people knew what was happening. He was better at it than he wanted to admit. **Mya:** During a desperate battle against [[Graz'zt]], Baldric offered his soul to the Demon Prince in exchange for letting his friends live. [[Graz'zt]] rejected the bargain and drove his sword into [[Mya]] instead, killing her in front of him. Because her soul was trapped, she couldn't be resurrected. For years afterward Baldric heard her voice in his head — _"Find me"_ — and experienced vivid dreams of her history. That voice eventually guided him to the center of the [[Shard of Evil]] during the campaign's apocalyptic finale. He found her. She was freed. **The Chaining:** Baldric was present when [[Tharizdun]] was chained. He has not spoken about it much. **After the War:** He continued to lead [[Force Grey]] after the campaign ended. Never settled down. Eventually stepped back. Now he is hunting [[Graz'zt]], who escaped destruction and has not been found. Baldric has a particular interest in locating him. %%