![[Phase.png]] # Phase _Mousefolk Artificer | [[Heroes of Waterdeep]] | [[Waterdeep]]_ ## Summary Two-foot-tall mousefolk artificer accompanied by a hulking iron golem guardian. Son of [[Avery Lasling]], a secretive [[Harpers|Harper]] tinkerer. Found the party when [[Baldric]] and [[Kurogash]] visited his father's shop in the Trades Ward to learn about pistols — [[Mirt]] expressed genuine concern they'd "get the little mouse guy killed." Defined by insatiable scientific curiosity, brilliant inventions, and teenage rebellion that occasionally endangered the entire party. Built an interdimensional airship from [[Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut]] with the help of [[Elena]] the Mad, based on blueprints received from [[Owynn Firesong]]. Piloted this Hut — complete with robot chicken legs and wings — directly into the [[Abyss]], where it crashed into [[Graz'zt]]'s palace and served as the party's improvised base during the final assault on the Demon Prince. %% ## At a Glance Tiny, brilliant, and radiating the particular intensity of someone whose brain runs three steps ahead of everyone else in the room. The contrast between the two-foot mousefolk and his massive iron golem guardian never stopped being funny. Read everyone's private mail from [[Marlos Urnrayle]] before handing it over. Suggested to [[Halaster Blackcloak]] that kidnapping his own father would make good television. Used magical bagpipes to frighten a dwarven barbarian out of a pit fight. Phase operated on a frequency that made perfect sense to Phase and left everyone else scrambling to keep up. Despite the chaos, he was consistently one of the party's most clutch members. When charmed by [[Katriane Evendrew]] and commanded to secretly drop the party's bag of holding, he bypassed the charm by conspicuously asking [[Kurogash]] for the bag — instantly alerting the party that something was wrong. That kind of lateral thinking saved lives repeatedly. ## Personality Brilliant, stubborn, curious to the point of recklessness, and possessed of a teenager's conviction that he was smarter than every adult in the room — which, to be fair, he often was. His relationship with his father [[Avery Lasling|Avery]] swung between genuine affection and volcanic frustration: Phase once challenged [[Trobriand]] the Metal Mage to a debate and nearly left to study under the evil artificer, only to be won back when [[Avery Lasling|Avery]] solved an equation that had eluded Phase. The resulting hug resolved everything. His deeply logical mind could undermine a paladin's faith at dinner or save a companion from permanent death with equal facility. Pragmatic above all — if a problem existed, Phase assumed it had an engineering solution. ## Quote _"That's a terrible plan. Let me fix it."_ ## Background **The Tinkerer's Son:** Son of [[Avery Lasling]], a mousefolk [[Harpers|Harper]] who ran a tinkering shop in [[Waterdeep]]'s Trades Ward. Phase joined the party seeking adventure beyond his father's workshop. His iron golem guardian accompanied him everywhere, providing a visual contrast that never got old. **The Curious Reader:** When the party discovered three personal letters from [[Marlos Urnrayle]] — addressed to the party, [[Xyrbwynn]], and [[Kurogash]] — Phase read all three before returning them. [[Xyrbwynn]] threatened him with destruction if he revealed her letter's contents. Phase was unbothered. **Clutch Saves:** Phase repeatedly proved his worth in critical moments. He bypassed a charm spell by deliberately acting out of character to alert the party. He used magical bagpipes to frighten [[McMickey]] out of a pit fight ring. He saved [[Adram Firesong]] from permanent death after [[Vanifer]]'s devastating meteor swarm. At a dinner in [[03 Worldbuilding/03 Locations/Savage Frontier/Summit Hall|Summit Hall]], he delivered a philosophical argument that thoroughly undermined a paladin's faith in whether mousefolk have souls. **The Undermountain and Teenage Rebellion:** Phase's adolescent frustrations peaked during the [[Undermountain]] expedition. He summoned [[Halaster Blackcloak]] and suggested that kidnapping [[Avery Lasling|Avery]] would add drama to the Mad Mage's show. At [[Dweomercore]], he lied about being a wizard to gain entry, defeated a twelve-year-old prodigy in a debate over artificer magic, and then nearly defected to study under [[Trobriand]] the Metal Mage — his father's bitter rival. The crisis ended when [[Avery Lasling|Avery]] solved a complex equation Phase couldn't crack, prompting an immediate hug and reconciliation. He also helped rescue [[Avery Lasling|Avery]] and [[Kasdeya Firesong|Kasdeya]] from sahuagin who planned to sacrifice them to their god "Sharkaloth." **The Airship:** Phase's crowning achievement. He received blueprints for an extradimensional airship from [[Owynn Firesong]], who encouraged him to continue the work and seek out the gnome inventor [[Cockaby]] in [[Neverwinter]]. Phase relocated to [[Aralu]] to focus on construction, and working alongside [[Elena]] the Mad, built the vessel from [[Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut]] — a Hut with robot chicken legs and wings. This impossible machine became the party's method of reaching the [[Abyss]]. **The Abyss:** Phase piloted his airship over [[Zeltar]], [[Graz'zt]]'s capital city, where his sharp eyes spotted a trap and a massive [[Demon Gate]]. In a characteristically Phase move, he attempted diplomacy with the invading Demon Lord [[Orcus]], trying to warn him about the trap. This parley was interrupted when [[Tharizdun]]'s Song of Chaos charmed [[Orcus]]. In the ensuing chaos, Phase's airship crashed into [[Graz'zt]]'s palace, where it became the party's base of operations during the final assault. [[Reg]] cast Hollow to protect the crashed Hut from the palace's demonic defenders, preserving Phase's precious creation. %%