Steve

Stevius ex Aureus, known as Steve by his friends, is a changeling bard traveling with The Chaos Crew. A travelling bard and professed storyteller, he currently travels with The Chaos Crew to document their adventures and record their deeds as they travel throughout Alterra. Unbeknownst to the party, he was also employed as a spy by the Vulpesh. As an NPC, he is played by Joseph.

Appearance
Steve appears to be a pale human in his mid-twenties with stark white hair and violet eyes. He has a wiry, lanky build, and unlike most bards tends to dress modestly and unobtrusively. He carries a lute with him to sell the look of a travelling performer.

Personality
To the Chaos Crew, Steve has appeared as a trusting and amiable individual. Quick-witted and intelligent, he is quick to offer the party advice or reveal some local lore the party is unfamiliar with. Though he will answer almost any question posed to him directly, he is not particularly keen on discussing his own past, especially the circumstances which transformed him into a changeling, instead preferring to focus on the party themselves, claiming that "they are where the real plot is".

Background
Not much is known about Steve's history before joining with the Chaos Crew. He was born in Aureus and as a young man chose to pursue the bardic arts over a military career - to the chagrin of his father, with whom he is now estranged. At some point after attending the bardic college in Aureus, he set off on his own, occasionally finding work as a freelance adventurer unaffiliated with any known adventurers' guilds.

Becoming a changeling
Some time in the year 6E 531, Steve and a group of unnamed fellow adventurers descended into the collapsed mineshafts below the Dwarven mining town of Morgran at the southern tip of the Silios Mountains. The extensive mining network had partially collapsed and fallen into the Underdark, and it is there that Steve was transformed into the changeling form he assumes today. His recollections of these events are vague at best and conflicting at worst, but he claims that he was approached by a "powerful entity" under the Silios Mountains that offered him power. An earlier account of his conflicts with this: in Ephesa, Steve told the party that it was him who approached said entity, seeking power, not the other way around.

Regardless of the true nature of events, Steve's half-elven form became merely one of many the newly-minted shapechanger could assume. In contrast to Yakov's experience as a changeling and his relationship with Rath, whatever being, entity, or person that transformed Steve has seemingly had no machinations on the bard's existence. Steve claims to have never been press-ganged into service in the way that Yakov was for his transformation, and that he has had no contact with whatever entity caused his transformation beyond their initial meeting.

Meeting the Chaos Crew
Steve first met the Chaos Crew during a local tournament held in Aureus during the month of Mystrum in the year 6E 538. Impressed by the party's displays of martial and magical prowess, he began offering them advice on their upcoming bouts and relaying information about the opponents they would be facing, along with providing the party with direction in their investigation of the assassination attempt of Senator Callimus Argent.

Steve would go on to run into the Chaos Crew on multiple occasions after these initial meetings, usually in taverns or inns while the party travelled. When the party returned to Desdemona, they would find the bard had ingratiated himself with the Desdemonan Pathfinder Society enough to be allowed free access to the guild hall, where the party could occasionally find him. During these meetings, Steve would continue his tradition of offering the party his counsel, either solicited or otherwise.

When the party left Desdemona for Acinonyx in order to track down Mali's sister, Steve would join them on the voyage to Silurum.

Joining the party
After the party's return to Silurum upon Lowri's discovery and rescue, Steve seemed very relieved to have found the party again, having not seen them since their departure from Desdemona and fearing the worst. It was at this point that Steve proposed to accompany the party on their adventures, wishing to record their deeds and adventures.

After some discussion, he was brought onboard, and has journeyed with the party since.

Abilities
Steve has proven himself a capable bard and adventurer in his own right alongside the Chaos Crew. During the party's ascent of Mount Celest, he held his own against the battle with the bheur hags led by Auntie Shevara, and likewise proved a valuable asset during the fight against the demigod Lethiel. Though his spell choices are often unconventional for a bard, he utilizes his magic to great effect, preferring to act as support for the party's main damage dealers, though he has shown himself more than capable of dishing out damage should the need arise.

Aside from his skill in combat magic, Steve is a persuasive individual and a charismatic performer who can often skirt by unnoticed when doing so would prove beneficial. As a bard, he is also proficient musician, preferring the lute. Steve has demonstrated the ability to cast the psychic crush spell in the battle against Lethiel, making him, at least, an 11th-level spellcaster.