Vex Maravo

Everything has a price. The trick is figuring out what’s worth the cost.

— Vex

OVERVIEW

Vex Maravo is a self-made merchant and part-time adventurer whose charm and cunning have carried him farther than luck ever did. Born to a poor family in Neverwinter’s Dock Ward, he learned early that words could open more doors than money—and that survival meant knowing the value of everything, even people.

He arrived in Leilon under the banner of opportunity, answering a letter from his eccentric gnomish mentor Fizzwidget “Fizz” Bramblebark , who promised “a discovery that’ll make the coast itself sparkle.”
Vex came expecting profit. What he found was purpose—though he’d never admit it out loud.

He now operates from a rented room behind The Tinkered Tonic, helping Fizz procure reagents and occasionally sell “reclaimed goods” that might not bear official seals.

EARLY LIFE

Vex was born to Belad and Kori Maravo, laborers who scraped by on odd jobs and good intentions. Though they had little, they gave him curiosity—a hunger to understand how and why things worked.

As a boy, he pestered every artisan in the market for apprenticeships, cycling through smiths, weavers, glassblowers, and carpenters. What he lacked in skill, he made up for in tenacity and an easy grin.
One day, while running an errand for the blacksmith, he heard an explosion from the nearby alchemy lab. Inside, amid the smoke and ruin, lay a soot-covered gnome laughing hysterically beneath collapsed timbers. Vex pulled him free.

That gnome was Fizzwidget Bramblebark—and the two have been inseparable since.

Fizz saw in Vex not just courage, but curiosity. He took him on as an apprentice, teaching him the volatile beauty of alchemy (and how not to die from it). Vex spent years under Fizz’s tutelage, learning to mix reagents, mend glass, and manage chaos with both hands steady.

When he finally left Neverwinter , it wasn’t to escape poverty—it was to chase wonder.

THE MERCHANT YEARS

Vex joined the Sword Coast Merchant League, running caravans between Waterdeep, Baldur’s Gate, and Luskan.
He sold potions, trinkets, and curiosities—but his true trade was knowledge.
He learned swordplay from caravan guards, bargaining from smugglers, and a few sleight-of-hand tricks from thieves who underestimated his eyes.

Over time, his success bought his parents comfort, and his reputation bought him entry into circles that would have once had him tossed into the gutter. But he never lost the thrill of discovery.

“Every city has a secret it’s willing to sell. You just have to know how to ask.”

His obsession with rare and magical items grew into a quiet passion: identifying, studying, and collecting enchanted artifacts. One of these acquisitions, the Sword of Vigilance, has followed him ever since—its true provenance still a subject of whispered speculation.

ARRIVAL IN LEILON

When Fizz’s letter arrived, hinting at strange energies beneath Leilon and a “boon waiting to be bottled,” Vex couldn’t resist.
He packed his best wares, joined a merchant caravan, and rode south—half for business, half for nostalgia.

In Leilon, he found more than trade. He found mystery, danger, and a growing sense that his knack for surviving chaos might finally serve something greater than profit.

He’s since become a fixture among the adventuring company exploring Leilon’s secrets—equal parts financier, negotiator, and reluctant hero.

PERSONALITY

Cheerful and disarming, Vex hides calculation beneath charm. He speaks quickly, smiles easily, and always seems to know what someone wants before they do. Though profit drives him, loyalty keeps him anchored—especially to those who remind him of who he used to be.

He’s not heartless; he’s just learned how to price his kindness.

“I don’t mind being underestimated. It keeps the markup higher.”

CONNECTIONS

Fizzwidget “Fizz” Bramblebark – Mentor, partner, and chaos incarnate. Fizz’s experiments nearly killed him once; saving the gnome’s life was Vex’s first heroic act (and possibly his last purely selfless one).

Belad and Kori Maravo – His parents, still in Neverwinter, now modestly comfortable thanks to his trade profits. He writes often, though he never tells them about the dangerous parts.

House Vexmoor – He’s skeptical of their nobility but fascinated by their wealth. If he can trade with them—or uncover what they’re hiding—he’ll find a way to profit either way.

Lady Cassandra Vexmoor – He likes her sharpness, respects her restraint, and can’t decide if helping her makes him brave or stupid.

CURRENT STATUS & GOALS

• Establish a permanent shop in Leilon (preferably one not attached to an explosion-prone lab).
• Expand trade routes to Waterdeep and Neverwinter.
• Broker a deal with Nyelath’s Grace, leveraging sea elf goods for surface trade.
• Continue researching the The Sword of Vigilance and the faint telepathic bond he feels when he dreams.
• Keep Fizz alive. (Or at least, in one piece.)