Realms Personalities: Nashyim of the Desolated Wood

Realms Personalities

11/05/2003

Nashyim of the Desolated Wood
By Robert Wiese

When the Rotting Man came to Rawlinswood and created the blightlords, the first victims of his plagues were the volodni, or pine folk. The Rotting Man infected them with Talona's blight by the thousands and turned into them blightspawned creatures. To a few angry youths, however, the way of destruction was a little tempting. Most resisted the temptation, but a few did not. One of these was young Nashyim of the Glimmering Brook.

Nashyim had grown up a typical volodni youth. He was taught the usual amount of contempt for warm-blooded creatures (except for some fey) and expected to become a warrior who would fight to enlarge the volodni holdings in the Rawlinswood. But a deep-seated anger burned in Nashyim. He was angry with the warm-bloods, with his parents, with authority, with life in general. He lashed out repeatedly, and he was repeatedly disciplined for his behavior. Discipline made him worse. Then the Rotting Man's blightlords came, and life changed. In the blightlords Nashyim saw the power to get back at those whose existence bothered him. He saw his fellow volodni infected with Talona's blight and yearned for that kind of power. Talona spared his life and the blightlords brought him to the Rotting Man, where he dedicated his life to the goddess of disease.

Nashyim spent years in the service of Talona, and during this time he learned discipline. He never liked being held back, and he would always retaliate in some way, but the Rotting Man directed these retaliations toward his enemies, and thus the ability to lash out in a focused manner became second nature to Nashyim. Patience came in time, but slowly, and Nashyim has to force himself to be patient sometimes. He prefers acting to waiting, though he does not always prefer direct action. He knows the limits of flesh and would rather win than take some foolish direct action.

As he learned the ways of the blightlords, Nashyim began to command his kin. This stroke of irony gave him a kind of joy he had not known before; he was finally getting back at those who had frustrated him in his youth. This lesson in "what goes around comes around" acted powerfully on Nashyim, and he has never forgotten that the things he does can come back to haunt him later. Thus, without sacrificing any of his eagerness to act, he plans carefully so that the future consequences of his actions are minimized. Thus, he is more likely to slay a whole group of people than to let some live, because the ones he let go could develop a grudge and come after him.

Command over the blightspawn is the power he enjoys the most, and the one he uses the most. He gets real joy from turning someone into a blightspawn and then using that creature to cause destruction. It tortures the victim and sends a message to others that no one is safe from the blightlords.

Always somewhat restless, Nashyim has recently left the Rawlinswood with a small force of blightspawned animals and he seeks new forests to which to spread the blight of Talona. He has been interested in the Forest of Lethyr, but he is wary of the powerful forces at work there. He has also heard of the forest called Cormanthor, and its elves, and would like to infect . . . meet some elves.

Nashyim of the Desolated Wood: Male volodni Cleric 7 of Talona/Talontar Blightlord 6; CR 13; Medium plant; HD 7d8 plus 6d8; hp 58; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 19, touch 11, flat-footed 18; Base Atk +9; Grp +11; Atk +13 melee (1d10+4 plus 1d6 cold/x3 plus 2d10 points, +1 glaive) or +11 ranged (1d8/19-20, masterwork light crossbow); Full Atk +13/+8 melee (1d10+4/x3, +1 glaive) or +11 ranged (1d8/19-20, masterwork light crossbow); SA rebuke undead 4/day; SQ black glaive, blight touch 2/day, blightblood, blightmind, cold resistance 5, half damage from piercing, illmaster, low-light vision, plant traits, sustenance; AL CE; SV Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +14; Str 14, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 13. Height 6 ft. 3 in, weight 170 lbs, age 79.

Skills and Feats: Concentration +10, Diplomacy +4, Handle Animal +3, Heal +7, Knowledge (nature) +2, Knowledge (religion) +5, Spellcraft +5, Survival +6; Great Fortitude, Martial Weapon Proficiency (glaive), Power Attack, Reach Spell, Weapon Focus (glaive).

Black Glaive (Su): Any glaive that Nashyim wields gains the icy burst ability, dealing +1d6 points of bonus cold damage on a successful hit (or +2d10 points on a successful critical hit). He can also make normal melee attacks with his glaive to deliver blight touch attacks.

Blight Touch (Su): With a successful melee touch attack, Nashyim delivers Talona's blight. He can do this twice per day. Talona's blight is a supernatural disease delivered by spell (Fort save DC 20, incubation 1d6 days; damage 1d4 Con and 1d4 Cha). Unlike normal diseases, Talona's blight continues until the victim reaches 0 Con (and dies), or 0 Cha (and becomes a blightspawned creature if the template can be applied), or receives a remove disease or similar magic.

Blightblood (Ex): Nashyim is immune to all diseases, even magical ones. Blightspawned creatures won't attack him.

Blightmind (Su): Once per day as a standard action, Nashyim can establish a mental link with a blightspawned creature within 60 feet and dominate it (as dominate monster). Will save DC 20 to negate. The link lasts 6 minutes and has a range of up to one mile. During the link, Nashyim can concentrate and receive sensory input from the creature or issue it instructions.

Illmaster: Any animal companions gain the blightspawn template.

Plant Traits: Nashyim is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, polymorphing, and mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects). He is not subject to critical hits. Low-light vision.

Sustenance (Ex): Nashyim requires only 2 hours of sleep per day to gain the benefits of 8 hours of sleep. Nashyim requires only one-quarter the food and water a human requires since he absorbs nutrients from his environment.

Cleric Spells Prepared (6/7/6/6/5/4/3; save DC 14 + spell level): 0 -- detect magic, detect poison, guidance, light, read magic, resistance; 1st -- bane*, command (2), doom, entropic shield, hide from undead, shield of faith; 2nd -- align weapon, bear's endurance*, bull's strength, cure moderate wounds, hold person, silence; 3rd -- bestow curse*, bladebane (UE), blindness/deafness, magic vestment, protection from energy, reach inflict light wounds; 4th -- divine power, enervation*, freedom of movement, poison, reach inflict moderate wounds; 5th -- cone of cold*, greater command, reach inflict serious wounds, soul scour (UE); 6th -- antilife shell, blade barrier, harm*.

*Domain spell. Deity: Talona. Domains: Destruction (smite 1/day, melee attack with +4 to hit and +7 damage), Suffering (pain touch 1/day, melee touch attack delivers -2 penalty to Str and Dex for 1 minute), Blightbringer prestige domain (rebuke blightspawned creatures and evilly aligned plants and animals as an evil cleric rebukes undead, 4/day).

The Talontar blightlord prestige class, the blightbringer prestige domain, and spells marked with (UE) are described in the Unapproachable East Forgotten Realms accessory.

Languages: Common, Sylvan.

Possessions: +3 bluewood chainmail, +1 glaive, masterwork light crossbow, 20 bolts, amulet of health +4, cloak of resistance +1, wand of cure light wounds, wand of cure moderate wounds.

Reach Spell (from Defenders of the Faith): You can cast a spell that normally has a range of "touch" at any distance up to 30 feet. The spell effectively becomes a ray, so you must succeed at a ranged touch attack to bestow the spell upon the recipient. A reach spell uses up a slot two levels higher than the spell's actual level.