Vili Borisson

**Vili son of Bori**, better known as Vili Borisson to his friends and associates, is a dwarf swashbuckler and smuggler, formerly working aboard the **S.S. Minnow** under **Captain Charlie McCree**. He's a lying, cheating, low-life pirate with a knack for talking his way out of trouble.

* *For Vili's in-game statistics, **click here.***

## Personality

Vili is cocky, reckless, and charming (well, for a dwarf). A pirate and a smuggler, Vili is streetsmart and resourceful, and he's able to talk his way out of almost anything. He's good with people and knows what they want to hear, and he has no qualms about that exploiting that when he needs to.

Growing up a merchant, Vili has traveled extensively and even today he loves experiencing new cultures and meeting new people. He's extremely knowledgeable of the traditions and customs of other cultures, and he knows quite a few languages.

A surface dwarf, Vili lacks the discipline and stoic obsession with honor that drives most of dwarves. He finds traditional dwarven society to be excruciatingly dull, and he finds the idea of life in a thaig to be a nightmare. He knows he's a liar and a cheat, and he's fine with it; that works for him. He appreciates the simple things in life; a mug of stout, a good meal, a soft bed and some warm company are all he needs.

That's not to say that he isn't dwarfy at all, of course. He's still a little rough around the edges and seems to be a bit stand-offish around elves. He also has a keen love of precious stones and gold, and has a keen eye for value. Vili loves alcohol of any kind, but seems to prefer traditional dwarven stout and other hard, dark liquors to lighter fare, like wine.

He can be a bit of a cocky show-off at times, going farther or doing more than he needs to just to see if he can do it. He can't back down from a challenge or a dare, and he'll take on overwhelming odds for the sake of how awesome the story will be if he survives.

More than anything, despite his relative lack of honor or scruples, Vili is loyal to those he cares about and will go to great lengths for the people he considers his friends.

## History

Vili was born on the surface, the son of an incredibly charismatic merchant named Bori, a refugee from the destruction of Kal-Neithymar, and a dwarven songstress whose name Vili never learned. His mother left when he was only an infant and his father raised him by himself.

Vili grew up on the road with no proper, real home to speak of (as his father's home was under draconic occupation). Instead, his home was the family cart. Traveling became second-nature to him; they would stay in a city or on the edge of some village for a few days, maybe a week, then move on to the next destination.

During that time, he met people from all over Athas in the various caravans and bazaars his family attended, and as he grew older, he found he was actually quite skilled at talking people into buying crap they didn't need, and often at prices higher than whatever the junk was worth.

Despite his status as a casteless surface dwarf, Bori saw to it that Vili received "proper dwarven education". This included not only learning to read, but also in how to work with metal and stone.

At some point, for unknown reasons, Vili left his life as a merchant and eventually joined the crew of the smuggling vessel, the S.S. Minnow, under Captain Charlie McCree. They operated throughout Athas' west coast, mostly between the Nelanthyr Islands and Varisia. He became very familiar with Magnimar during his many stops there.

He served on the crew for at least a few years before they picked up a young Spiran girl named Ruby on the island of Pott's Point. He befriended the girl during the long journey to Varisia, and quickly found there was more to her than meets the eye...

## Notable Accomplishments

* Helped fight off the Suaghin attack in Magnimar's Dockway. (*Chapter 1*)
* Joined the Company in recovering the *Harp of Finwe.*
* Helped recover the Harp of Finwe in Minkai, and helped defeat the Blood Hawke slaver group.
* Defeated the Thieves' Guild champions in a Trial by Combat to save **Captain Charlie McCree**.
* Fought and defeated the **Order of the Conquering Flood**.
* Faced and helped defeat the **Vessel of the Wellspring Eternal**.

## Notable Relationships

### Ruby

Vili met the human wizard Ruby aboard the S.S. Minnow, where he worked as a deckhand and she was a passenger bound for Magnimar. Seeing the poor girl all by herself, Vili decided to be friendly and the two quickly hit off, becoming fast friends. He finds Ruby to be delightful, funny, intelligent and fun to drink with, and he genuinely enjoys her company. He's quite protective of her, always watching her back and making sure she stays out of trouble. When she's doing something stupid or heroic, Vili will try to talk her out it, but when she won't listen (which is most of the time), Vili will reluctantly tag along to ensure she doesn't get herself killed. Ruby has Vili's support and he's quickly come to appreciate her as a real friend.

### Harvey & Montgomery

While Vili was initially a little skeptical about the halfling and his macaque companion, he's quickly warmed up to the strange duo. Harvey and Montgomery are good for a laugh, and they tend to be more level-headed than the rest of their motley band, which Vili appreciates. The dwarf sees Harvey as something like a little brother and has started to be a little protective of him.

### Captain Charlie McCree

Captain McCree, or "Chuck" as Vili refers to him, is the person Vili respects more than anyone and the one person he wouldn't double-cross. When McCree was in danger by the Court of Ashes, Vili went to great lengths to ensure McCree's safety and seemed incredibly angry and despaired when he thought the Captain might be killed. While it's unclear exactly what he's done to earn the dwarf's respect and trust, it's clear than the captain is very important to Vili.

### Pierre

Alright, the gnome is weird. Vili can't figure him out, and he's legitimately a bit unsettled by this strange, enigmatic figure and the more unexplainable bullshit he pulls, the less Vili trusts him. The dwarf has nothing against magic, but there's something about Pierre that Vili doesn't like.

### Sparrow

While Vili dislikes most elves he's met, he can honestly say he likes the cut of Sparrow's jib. The two are both scoundrels with a healthy disregard for authority and tradition, and the two are thick as thieves (literally and figuratively). That doesn't mean that Vili trusts Sparrow, no sir, and he knows that the elf isn't stupid enough to trust *him*, either. Probably why they get along so well.

### Leucin

Vili and Leucin have a cold relationship; they don't know each other, they don't talk and they have wildly differing views about...well, everything. Their relationship is purely professional, really; the dwarf has nothing against the tiefling. The one thing they have in common is that they're both protective of Ruby. They may not be protective of her for the same reason, but that seems to be the one thing they can agree on.

### Oromo Talandren

To put it mildly, Vili is not fond of Oromo. He doesn't trust him and farther than he can throw him, and the elf's demeanor and villa just rub Vili the wrong way. He thinks Oromo is kind of a prick, and he's only working with him for Ruby's sake.

## Skills & Abilities

Vili has a number of skills and abilities derived from a combination of talent and training.

* **Deception:** Vili is a skilled gambler, thief, cheater and liar.
* **Diplomacy:** The dwarf is very skilled at telling people what they want or need to hear, and he's become adept at negotiations, haggling and talking his way out of trouble.
* **Lucky:** He's exceptionally lucky, able to throw himself into dangerous situations and walk away with nary a scratch.
* **Merchant:** The son of a merchant, Vili has an eye for value and is quite good at selling people junk they don't need.
* **Multilingual:** Vili speaks Common, Khazad, Varisian, Sindari, Kuduk and Nelantic.
* **Nimble:** Natural skill with acrobatics, combined with life aboard a ship and on the road, have enabled Vili to be a bit more aware of danger, and he's become quite good at avoiding sudden danger.
* **Sailor:** Vili has worked on a ship the last few years, so he knows how to work a ship and all of the vocabulary associated with doing so.
* **Sleight of Hand:** Vili is a skilled pickpocket and cheat. He's also decent at picking locks, and palming and hiding things on his person without anybody seeing.
* **Stonecunning:** As a dwarf, Vili has an eye for detail when it comes to stone.
* **Storyteller:** Vili's natural charisma and charm allow him to tell a good story.
* **Streetwise:** He's been around Athas and has lived on its seedy side for most of his life. He's thick with criminals and is knowledgeable about the customs and traditions of other cultures. He knows who's who and where to go--and, more importantly, where to avoid--in any given town, city or port.
* **Swashbuckler:** Vili is a swashbuckler--a tenacious rogue and fighter with a knack for defying the odds and for reckless, but impressive, stunts.
* **Swordplay:** Vili is extremely skilled with various blades, but he excels with the scimitar.

## Paraphernalia

* **Cutlass:** Vili calls his sword, which he has affectionately named "Sally", with him almost everywhere.
* **Playing Cards:** An avid gambler, Vili usually has a deck of cards on him at any time.
* **Spyglass:** Vili carries a spyglass with him most of the time. He considers it lucky.

## Trivia

* Vili is a casteless dwarf, born on the surface and living apart from "proper" dwarf culture and society. He's fine with that.

* He has never set foot in a thaig or a sept. He is very non-religious. That's not to say he doesn't believe in the gods; whether the gods are out there isn't for him to say. He just stays out of their business and hopes they'll return the favor.
* Vili is 42 years old, which makes him the equivalent of a human around 19-20 years old.
* He has a love of dwarven stout and fireplum brandy.