Elenphias 'Vio' Vane, a Loxodon Blood Hunter — D&D 5e NPC portrait
#0158

Elenphias 'Vio' Vane

"The Distiller of Truths"

Male (He/Him) · Middle-aged (145 years)

Ability Scores

STR
12
+1
DEX
14
+2
CON
16
+3
INT
16
+3
WIS
12
+1
CHA
8
-1

Combat

Armor Class
15
Loxodon Natural Armor (12 + Con)
Hit Points
69
Hit Dice: 7d10
Initiative
+2
Speed
30 ft.
Proficiency
+3
Passive Perception
14

Attacks

Refined Rapier+51d8 + 2 piercing
Unarmed Strike (Trunk/Tusk)+41d4 + 1 bludgeoning

Personality

Personality

He moves with a rhythmic, swaying grace that belies his massive frame, his trunk constantly weaving through the air like a cobra to sample the chemical state of his surroundings. He speaks with a velvety, baritone resonance and has a habit of adjusting his gold monocle whenever he detects a scent of 'burnt sugar'—his term for a lie.

Ideal

Truth. 'Lies are a pollutant; they cloud the air and rot the soul. I will filter the world until only the crystalline truth remains.'

Bond

The Vane Conservatory—the ancestral garden where his family’s history is kept. He seeks a permanent cure for the Mute-Sense to save his younger nieces from the silence.

Flaw

He is a sensory addict. He finds normal, 'clean' environments boring to the point of agitation and will often trigger a minor mutation just to feel the world more intensely.

Backstory

The Vane lineage was once the pride of the Loxodon high-veldt, a dynasty of master perfumers and musicians whose sensory acuity was legendary. But a shadow haunts their blood—the 'Mute-Sense,' a progressive, generational decay that eventually robs every Vane of their hearing and smell, leaving them trapped in a silent, odorless tomb of their own skin. Elenphias watched his father, a man who once composed symphonies for the wind, wither into a confused recluse who could no longer smell the rain or hear his own children’s laughter. Elenphias refused to fade. While his cousins accepted their dimming world with stoic grace, he turned to the forbidden manuscripts of hemocraft, seeking a way to sharpen the senses through chemical violence.

He did not join the Order of the Mutant to become a monster, but to become a god of perception. By bathing his nerves in mutagenic toxins, he has not only halted the Mute-Sense but overclocked his biology to an impossible degree. He can now smell the salt in a tear before it falls and hear the frantic heartbeat of a liar. This sensory gluttony has its price—violet veins spiderweb across his hide, and he must constantly ingest acrid stabilizers to keep his heart from exploding. To the high-society circles he still frequents, he is an eccentric dandy in sapphire silk; to the criminals he hunts, he is an unstoppable bloodhound who can track a whisper through a hurricane.

Abilities & Actions

Receptor Mutagen (2/Short Rest)

As a bonus action, Vio consumes a mutagen. For 1 hour, he gains advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Wisdom (Insight) checks, and his Passive Perception increases by 5. However, he gains disadvantage on Charisma saving throws as the chemicals make his skin twitch and his eyes glow an unsettling violet.

The Scent of Burnt Sugar

Vio can literally smell deception. He has proficiency in Insight. When a creature within 30 feet of him tells a lie, Vio can use his reaction to identify the lie. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Charisma (Deception) check against Vio's Wisdom (Insight). On a failure, Vio knows they are lying and perceives the smell of burnt sugar and stale copper.

Trunk-Hand Dexterity

Vio’s trunk is as precise as a surgeon's hand. He can use his trunk to drink a potion, unstop a vial, or use a tool as a bonus action on his turn. Additionally, he can grapple creatures with his trunk, leaving his hands free to use his weapons or his journal.

Rite of the Oracle (Hemocraft)

Vio imbues his weapon with the essence of his heightened nerves. When he activates this rite (taking 1d6 necrotic damage), his attacks deal an extra 1d6 psychic damage. While this rite is active, he cannot be surprised as long as he is conscious.

DM Notes

Vio is best used as a high-society investigator or a 'truth-broker.' Sample dialogue: 'Pray, continue your tale, Baron—though you might wish to explain why you suddenly smell of scorched caramel and copper filings.' He reacts to lies with a subtle, disgusted curl of his trunk. He will never work for someone he smells a lie on, regardless of the gold offered.