1. Characters

Quentin Togglepocket Whee Quickweasel Witt

Born with pallid skin, a sharp tongue, and a penchant for garish dress, Quentin was from a Gnome family who operated in Fort Creechling. Not finding joy in stonework or magical smithing, he traveled to the city of Cliffsunder as a young man, seeking fortune in the port city. In the city's lower, seedier areas, the gnome learned games of chance at extremely high-stakes tables, a thrill he never found in the foothills, and dreamed of one day operating his own casino.

Quentin developed a reputation as an extremely strong Three-Dragon Ante player, and made his way around the western Commona circuit, eventually playing in a high-stakes game in his local Cliffsunder. There, he met fellow gambler and stonemason Gildur Draak, but lost to a young player named Duplicity Kye after betting his entire front. Seething, Quentin vowed to get revenge on this upstart. After the tournament, he befriended Kye, and the two formed a plan to save enough winnings to open their own casino. But just as they seemed poised to put their plan in action, Quentin disappeared, taking all their money with him. He paid Gildur to help him design an establishment out of the foothills around the Helefir River, and built the Afterlife Casino using the stolen money.

Meeting regularly with criminals from the Siren's Isles, Quentin learned of the concept of the Nine Hells, and became fascinated by the Mythological Lower Realms. He employed the magic of cultists dedicated to various Archdevils, and incorporated them into the casino, paying thousands of gold pieces to install a Fiendish bas-relief in his office. This art could summon Spined Devils, who would attack intruders at his command, and he summoned two to guard the casino's entrance, hidden from eyesight. He also purchased a 12-inch-long rod made of bone with a stylized copper minotaur head mounted at each end of it, which allowed him to control the bones of a Minotaur Skeleton that he dubbed "Virgil" and stationed to guard the casino's vault.