Devo la Main

"Uh, I am going to do a flip. So, everybody hold on."

Devo la Main (formerly known as Devotion) is a player character in the Ethersea campaign. He is played by Travis McElroy.

Devo is twenty-three years old; given his age, it appears as though he was born and has lived entirely within the Ethersea. He was raised in a cloister of the Benevolent Parish to become an Orator, and at the beginning of the campaign had only recently left the church. He harbors an intense resentment towards the Parish and its leader, the Hand of Guidance, due to their emotional manipulation and abuse.

Devo speaks with a French-like accent. He is a Whispers bard.

History
As previously mentioned, Devo was born in the Ethersea to a Cern and raised in a closed cloister of the Benevolent Parish; by his mother for his first seven years of life and then, after she disappeared, by the Hand of Guidance, who Devo later states was a mother-figure to him.

He was taught magic by Guidance and occasionally Benefactor Orlean, and was in training to become an Orator. However, the lessons were often traumatic for young Devo; most notably, in Episode 25, Devo recalls that as a young child, the Hand of Guidance forced him to sit in a pitch black room until he could turn the lanterns back on with magic; it's implied that this experience caused him to become afraid of the dark. As a result of his upbringing, he has struggles with anger issues and anxiety, especially when he feels trapped.

Devo left the church approximately three months before Episode 1 of The Adventure Zone: Ethersea, after hearing Brother Seldom's broadcast lessons.

Amber Gris
Devo, Amber, and Zoox began their relationship as allies and coworkers, as they formed a group of independent contractors and sought employment with the Blue Span Brokerage. Since then they have become good friends. Perhaps due to his sheltered upbringing, Devo often looks to Amber for guidance and acts as though she has the final say on work-related matters.

Despite this, their relationship is often contentious; Devo has a short temper and seems to dislike when he believes he is being condescended or lied to; as such, he often comes to blows with potential allies, much to Amber's dismay. Likewise, Devo is unhappy with Amber's tendency to avoid emotional vulnerability; Devo was especially upset that Amber did not check in to see how he was doing nor empathize with him after they learned that the Hand of Guidance had been found dead. In Episode 38, they get into a loud argument over each other's behavior and nearly come to physical (and magical) blows. Amber tells Devo that he needs to grow up.

In the TTAZZ: Ethersea Wrap-Up episode, Travis states that Devo was looking for the validation of a mother-figure, and it frustrated him when Amber didn't or couldn't give that to him.

Devo and Zoox both intend on searching for a way to re-open the portal to the blink sharks' homeworld in order to find Amber. Travis has stated that Devo wants to get her back both because he cares about her, and also because he feels that they have unfinished business between them that he wants to hash out.

Zoox
Devo and Zoox started off as allies and coworkers seeking employment together at the Blue Span Brokerage. Over time, they have become good friends. Devo often acts as Zoox's impulse control, as Zoox has a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later, literally.

Brother Seldom
Brother Seldom and Devo have a positive relationship. Brother Seldom took Devo in after Devo left the Benevolent Parish; he seems to care and feel a bit responsible for Devo. In Episode 1, he is very pleased when Devo comes with friends, and promises to save him dinner.

Devo describes Seldom as "the smartest person he knows," and often goes to Brother Seldom for help. Brother Seldom offers to help Devo and his friends buy a ship by giving him a loan or collateral—a silver set of Benevolence scales. Later, when Hand of Guidance is found dead, Seldom's main concern is that Devo not lose himself "chasing ghosts" while trying to figure out what exactly happened.

Brother Seldom appears to have great patience for Devo's anger issues, and unlike others is not upset when Devo gets short with him.

The Hand of Guidance
Devo was raised primarily by the Hand of Guidance. In Episode 38, Devo describes her as a mother-like figure to him. That said, he holds an intense resentment towards her and the church for the way he was raised.

When Devo sees the Hand of Guidance for the first time after leaving the church, she is overjoyed to see him and his new friends; Devo is less so, especially when she calls him "Devotion." He blows up at her and "acts out" in front of several members of the Parish on more than one occasion, to Guidance's dismay.

In Episode 32, they come to blows after Devo asks her to tell him what she's hiding, believing that she might be working against Founder's Wake; Guidance is extremely angry at the accusation, and asks him to leave. This is the last time Devo sees her.

He is quietly distraught over her death—although he was deeply angry with her, he refuses to believe that she would take her own life, and believes that someone must have magically manipulated her into doing so.

Benefactor Orlean
While Devo was still with the church, Benefactor Orlean was occasionally brought in as a tutor to help teach him magic. It is implied that Orlean was very strict and not afraid to use magic to manipulate Devo's emotional state, thereby keeping him in line.

When they meet again during Arc 2: The Infinite Clam, Devo is disgusted that Orlean has apparently continued to magically manipulated the people around him (this time, the pirates, and later Devo and his friends.) Devo harbors an intense hatred for him; he promises that if he ever sees Orlean again, he will kill him.

In Arc 6: Benefactor's Folly, Orlean tells Devo that he doesn't want to hurt him; Devo says that unfortunately, he very much wants to hurt Orlean. Similarly, Devo expresses his frustration with Orlean's unwillingness to explain his plans multiple times.

Despite his feelings, Devo helps him changes his fate by sending a message to Orlean's past self, encouraging to bring his family with him into the Ethersea. Doing so rewrites and splits the timeline in two; in the Timeline B, because Orlean brought his family with him, he did not feel the need to join the Parish. Because he did not join the Parish, he never tutored Devo, nor made him feel small.

Ol' Joshy
Much to Amber's dismay, Devo and Ol' Joshy have a contentious relationship. Devo has a short temper and a tendency to talk down to Joshy, especially when he believes he is not being respected, which Joshy is displeased with for obvious reasons. He has been kicked out of the Cloaca more than once because of this behavior. As of Episode 37, Devo is permanently banned from the establishment.

Physical Appearance
Devo is described as being "a waif of a lad" and "very pretty." He is 6'2, clean-shaven, and has cheekbones you could cut a steak with. He wears a thigh-length, vampire-like blue leather coat and a shirt with "Nermal's Pile" printed across the front in a 70's style font.

After being affected by The Sallow, Devo now has a pair of small fins running from under his jawbone to his collar. They glow slightly when he is using magic.

Powers and Abilities
Devo was raised to be an Orator within the Church of Benevolence. He is a Whispers Bard, and uses prestige salt from the Ethersea to fuel and enhance his magic. He is also proficient with a boomerang.

Class Abilities

 * General Bardic Abilities
 * Bardic Inspiration
 * Jack of All Trades: Starting at 2nd level, Devo can add half his proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check he makes that doesn’t already include his proficiency bonus.
 * Song of Rest: Beginning at 2nd level, Devo can use soothing music or oration to help revitalize his wounded allies during a short rest. If he or any friendly creatures who can hear his performance regain hit points at the end of the short rest by spending one or more Hit Dice, each of those creatures regains an extra 1d6 hit points.
 * Font of Inspiration: Beginning when you reach 5th level, Devo regains all of your expended uses of Bardic Inspiration when you finish a short or long rest.
 * Counter Charm: At 6th level, Devo gains the ability to use words of power to disrupt mind-influencing effects. As an action, he can start a							performance that lasts until the end of his next turn. During that time, he and any friendly creatures within 30 feet of him have advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed. A creature must be able to hear him to gain this benefit.
 * College of Whispers
 * Psychic Blades: Devo has the ability to his your weapon attacks magically toxic to a creature's mind. When he hits a creature with a weapon attack, he can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to deal an additional 2d6 psychic damage to that target. He can do so only once per round on your turn. The psychic damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 3d6 at 5th level.
 * Words of Terror: At 3rd level, Devo learns to infuse innocent-seeming words with an insidious magic that can inspire terror. If he speaks to a humanoid alone for at least 1 minute, he can attempt to seed paranoia and fear into its mind. At the end of the conversation, the target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against his spell save DC or be frightened of Devo or another creature of his choice. The target is frightened in this way for 1 hour, until it is attacked or damaged, or until it witnesses its allies being attacked or damaged. If the target succeeds on its saving throw, the target has no hint that Devo tried to frighten it.
 * Mantle of Whispers: At 6th level, Devo gains the ability to adopt a humanoid's persona. When a humanoid dies within 30 feet of him, Devo can magically capture its shadow using your reaction. You retain this shadow until you use it or you finish a long rest.

Spells
The following are the spells known by Devo. (Note: Most low-level spells can be cast at an additionally higher level for a stronger effect.)

Trivia

 * "Le Main" means "the hand" in French.
 * He harbors a particular hatred for Urchin and will kill him one day.
 * As of Episode 6, it would also appear that Devo has some close relation to the family of Declan Cern, a pre-submersion figure. When purchasing improvements to the Coriolis from Felix, Devo made note that should he die before his debts were repaid, the Cern family would resolve any lingering lux owed, no questions asked.
 * At the Abyssal Auction, his avatar was an aquamarine scales of Benevolence.
 * Until Beck taught him after the second arc, Devo did not know how to swim. He now knows how to doggy paddle.
 * As of Episode 21, he’s a brand ambassador for Nermal’s Pile, and has so far convinced the Ballaster Hermine to shop there. He forgot to promote the brand to Cambria in Episode 30.
 * He has a phobia of the dark.