eberron

Kessler is a gnome bard and famed actor and playwright based in Sharn, Breland.[1][2][3]

Description

He is of slim build for a gnome and has fair skin. His features are sharp but handsome, with deep blue eyes, short dark hair, and mustache and beard that he keeps well trimmed and waxed. He is typically seen wearing a lovely glamerweave of red and black hues with a sporty black cap. He has a cheerful laugh and is always observant.[1]

Personality

The gnome bard is highly charismatic, independently minded, and an artistic genius, not to mention quick witted and insightful. He is also utterly unafraid to make criticisms of any person or group, no matter how important.[1]

However, he has his vices: he enjoys good food, good wine, and good women, whatever their face. Recently, he has even become hooked on dreamlily.[1]

Activities

Kessler performs both solo acts and leading roles in plays produced by both theater groups and playhouses. He also writes his own successful satirical plays; The Battle of the Five Ducks is a best-selling satire of the rulers of the Five Nations and he can easily turn any notable figure or band of adventurers into a public laughingstock and a scandal. His talent with lyrics and his sharp wit and bold critique have made him famous all around Breland and Zilargo, and also made him a number of powerful enemies. He is also frequently invited to high-class functions and parties attended by such powerful and influential people.[1]

Relationships

Preferring his independence, Kessler refuses to be tied down to any group or high-minded goal. The Trust has tried making contact with him countless times, but he has declined.[1]

History

Kessler has recently begun performing with the Zilargo Repertoire Group at the Khavish Theater. This has drawn audiences of a wider assortment of races and sizes to the theater that caters primarily to gnomes and smaller races.[4]

One of his current plays is The Late Count, a comic opera about a count of Karrnath raised as a zombie.[5]

Bibliography

Quotes

Some say that if you seek proof of the existence of the gods, you need look no farther than a dragon. What natural design could produce such a glorious being? And if the dragons are the testimony of the divine... what secrets must lie hidden in Argonnessen?
— Kessler on dragons[2]
Proud folk, the Lyrandar. Those airships let 'em look down on us little folks. It's a fine thing to be so high, but it hurts all the worse when you finally fall.
— Kessler on House Lyrandar[3]
The Phiarlan hydra might have five heads, but it's the shadow you need to watch out for.
— Kessler[3]
Kalaash? He's like a Valenar warhound: once he has the scent, he never gives up. Well, that and they both have fangs.
— Kessler on House Tharashk[3]
A black dog? An ill omen, if ever there was one. Why, if you'd heard half the stories I had, you'd swear off food and drink forever.
— Kessler on House Ghallanda[3]
Dwarves are stoic. Elves are wise. Gnomes are cunning. And humans? They can't make up their mind, so they try to be all of these things at once.
— Kessler on the races[7]

Kessler dubbed the lightning rail the "the spirit of the age"[8] and Zarash'ak "the city of a thousand stinks."[9]

A writer for the Korranberg Chronicle described King Kaius ir'Wynarn III as having "emerged from the shadows like a villain in one of Kessler's plays."[10]

Appendix

Appearances

Novels & Short Stories

Referenced only
The Fading Dream

References