Necian Arrzen
Necian ibn-Danak Arrzen
Necian ibn-Danak Arrzen is a half-efreeti fire genasi sorcerer, chef, and one of the Heroes of Saltmarsh.
In early 1475, the efreeti Tajir Danak Waseef al-Saleem disguised himself as a half-elf and slept with a elf named Reliquara in Focosgost. Reliquara became pregnant and gave birth to Necian on the 19th of Elient, 1475, and shortly after abandoned him at a city monastery. The young child was found by Joakim Ferox, the Lord of Focos, who gave him to the chef Nicolas Arrzen to raise, who named the child Necian.
As a child in the royal household, Necian grew adapt at speaking and talking with adults, but only had one strong childhood friend: Krisella Ferox, the daughter of Lord Ferox. The two of them played together often and kept in touch even as their respective career paths, baking and swordsmanship, kept them occupied as they matured.
In 1493, the Decker Coup resulted in Lord Ferox being deposed and sending the citzenry of Focos into chaos as some fled, others fought, and more still hid, hoping to wait out the chaos. Necian intended on fighting, but was convinced by his mother to flee. While fleeing the city, Necian ran into two other young cooks, Destin Hallows and Eluna Lindel, and the three of them ran away together, eventually ending up in the town of Saltmarsh, where the three rented an apartment and soon became friends.
While Eluna was able to find work at the Snapping Lure and Destin began working at the Wicker Goat, Necian found no such luck securing work for himself, and for the next several years Necian scrapped by doing what odd jobs he could and running a baking stall on market days.
In Flamerule of 1496, Necian was among those approached by Crab, the owner of the Empty Net and liason to the town's underworld, with a unusual job request to investigate the haunted mansion of Saltmarsh at the behest of Gellan Primewater. Needing the money, Necian agreed, unwittingly falling into a series of events that would unravel the Banesmark Crisis.
After investigating the mansion and gaining the cooperation of the lizardfolk Sunny Shore Tribe Sunny Shore Tribe, Necian joined the other Heroes in investigating the derelict Emperor of the Waves at the behest of Saltmarsh's town wizard Keledek. In exchange for his help, Keledek offered the Heroes either power or knowledge as a reward. Necian chose knowledge, and learned that Krisella was still alive, had been living in Waterdeep, and was traveling to Neverwinter to attend the Neverwinter Gala.
While at the Neverwinter Gala with the other Heroes, Necian and Krisella met up for the first time in years. Necian learned that Krisella had been unsuccessfully campaigning for the other members of the Lords' Alliance to rebuke Neverwinter for their support of the Decker Coup. Krisella attended the gala as a snub to Lord Hargrave Decker, but when the gala was attacked by monks of the Twilight Monastery posing as members of the Free Focos Movement, Krisella was captured and paraded about as if she was the orchestrator of it all. Necian and the Heroes rescued Krisella, smuggling her out of Neverwinter on their ship and back to Saltmarsh.
Krisella joined the other Heroes and Necian in investigating the Isle of the Abbey, intent on finding out who framed her for the gala's attack, and she began working closely with Keledek, though Necian refused to help her over protecting Saltmarsh in the short term. Eventually, Krisella left town shortly before the end of Elient, 1496, to pursue leads in the Whalebones.
Necian meanwhile stayed in Saltmarsh to help the town prepare for its attack on a nearby sahuagin stronghold, including meeting Tajir Samiya Ikraam Samina Karim at the Saltmarsh Mine, who informed Necian of his efreeti heritage. Then Heroes later infiltrated the sahuagin fortress during the Battle of the Spire. The Heroes' role in securing the Dunwater Alliance's overwhelming victory is what led to Necian and the others being proclaimed as the Heroes of Saltmarsh.
Upon arriving back in Saltmarsh, the Heroes learned that Anders Solmor, one of the four members of the Saltmarsh Town Council, had been arrested for conspiracy to oust the Neverwinter Guard and attempting to incite violence. With his seat left open, Necian ran for the town council, and with his recent heroism at the Battle of the Spire behind him, won in a landslide. Necian first used his position to advocate for Anders to be placed under a rotating guardshift made up of Mariners, dwarves of the Mountain Gem Mining Company, and members of the Neverwinter Guard to try and depolitcize the issue, and Necian's general policy stances while on the council centered around making Saltmarsh a place everyone could feel welcome in, without committing too heavily to being either a Traditionalist or Emberist.
Necian's "take-no-sides" attitude continued when the renowned thief the Mask approached the Heroes and offered to aid them in infiltrating the Twilight Monastery. Micah Pierce and Lyra, both of whom had negative histories with the Mask, and while Mogran Oredelver tried to hold them back, Necian waited to see how things played out, eventually joining the Heroes in aiding the Mask with the aim of killing them once the infiltration was completed.
However, the plan went awry when Lyra was killed, and Necian escaped the monastery with Micah and Sizzabiz, all three of whom were teleported to Micah's parents' place in Waterdeep. The three of them made their way back to Saltmarsh by way of Neverwinter, meeting the Blackstaff of Waterdeep Vajra Safahr on the way, albeit as she was disguised.
The Heroes upon reuniting left for the Whalebones to find Krisella, with whom Keledek had lost contact. Necian and the Heroes rescued her on Firewatch Island, discovering a nest of kraken eggs in the process and meeting for the first time the orchestrator of the Banesmark Crisis, the aboleth S'gothgah, who threatened the Heroes into staying in Saltmarsh and making no further moves against him at risk of the town's destruction.
However, on the way back the Heroes were contacted by Tajir Danak Waseef al-Saleem, who revealed himself to be Necian's father. Danak had been watching Necian for a while now through the use of some fire sprite servants, which Necian had seen and noticed before this point, and Danak took the Heroes and Krisella with him to the City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire to propose that Necian become his heir and that Necian could have access to Danak's resources at the cost of spending three years studying under Danak once the Banesmark Crisis resolved. After a day of negotiation, Necian agreed, officially changing his name, and the Heroes were returned to their ship.
Back in Saltmarsh, the Heroes decided that their best hope in stopping S'gothgah was the God Trap, an item stolen from Mogran's clan decades ago by the black dragon Voaraghammanthar. While Mogran, Lyra, Micah, and ally of the Heroes Immortal Valentine left to fight the dragon, Necian remained behind to use his magic to make it appear as if the Heroes hadn't left town at all, disguising Seraphina Pierce as her brother Micah, Ardek Oredelver as his brother Mogran, and Raven Bloodash as Lyra. Necian and the members of the B-Team used their time in town to determine who in Saltmarsh had a Banesmark, but in doing so accidentally released the Vampire Xolec from his hidden prison. When the dragon-hunting party returned, the Heroes and B-Team worked together to kill Xolec by having Necian disguise himself as the object of his affection: Sindy Tidepusher.
By this time, the demands and stress of leadership had started getting to Necian, who used Xolec's underground prison as a hideaway from three days to paint his feelings on a canvas, depicting the burden he felt he was under as well as his perceived failures.
This burden would only grow as the Heroes confronted S'gothgah in his lair in the Styes. Unbeknownst to the party, the aboleth had filled his lair with Banesmarked and mind controlled innocents, including Micah's younger brother and Lyra's mentor Brenvark Coldscar. However, the Heroes mistook the hooded figures for true believers and Necian launched a fireball into the room, kill dozens of innocents, including Brenvark. However, the Heroes couldn't stay and mourn them as they pursued the aboleth to stop the attack on the Neveren Trade Fleet.
Necian returned to Saltmarsh with the other Heroes, basking in the New Years celebration now that the aboleth was gone and attending the award ceremony thrown by Lord Protector Dagult Neverember for their heroics in saving the fleet. However, he was unable to shake his burdens and failures from throughout the crisis, despite Krisella and the other Heroes attempting to console him, and early in 1497 Necian left without notice to wander Northwest Faerun to find his purpose, sending only the occasional letter to his friends.
In Ches of 1500, Necian did return briefly to help Micah and the other Heroes find Biz, who was captured by the Mask as one last ploy to destroy Micah's stability. After freeing Biz, Necian returned to his wandering.
In the course of his travels, Necian met Tori Miursa, a former Hellrider of Elturel turned tavern owner, in Triel, who was able to get through to him that he needed to use his powers and abilities to help people. Necian, inspired, contacted Danak and ask to train under him, which he did for a few years. However, in 1507, Necian called the Heroes and Krisella together in Triel to help him in freeing a group of slaves from a minor Tajir under his father's nose, which the group successfully did, teleporting the slaves outside of Waterdeep's walls.
After studying under his father, Necian opted to return to Focosgost and work as a chef, his true calling, eventually rising through the Council of Guilds to lead part of the city's government, working with Krisella, who had also returned to the city, to try and ennact change gradually and lawfully.
In 1517, Necian joined the other Heroes again in a reunion to watch Lyra's Coldscar Monastery compete in the 97th Annual Tournament of Ki.
In 1547, a much older Necian reunited with his adventuring companions to help Mogran's clan retake their ancesteral home in the Liberation of Nettlemurk Hall, which led to the Heroes facing down the orc defenders' leader and slaying him in the throne room.
History
Early Life
In early 1475, the efreeti Tajir Danak Waseef al-Saleem disguised himself as a half-elf and slept with a elf named Reliquara in Focosgost. Reliquara became pregnant and gave birth to Necian on the 19th of Elient, 1475, and shortly after abandoned him at a city monastery. The young child was found by Joakim Ferox, the Lord of Focos, who gave him to the chef Nicolas Arrzen to raise, who named the child Necian.
As a child in the royal household, Necian grew adapt at speaking and talking with adults, but only had one strong childhood friend: Krisella Ferox, the daughter of Lord Ferox. The two of them played together often and kept in touch even as their respective career paths, baking and swordsmanship, kept them occupied as they matured.
In 1493, the Decker Coup resulted in Lord Ferox being deposed and sending the citzenry of Focos into chaos as some fled, others fought, and more still hid, hoping to wait out the chaos. Necian intended on fighting, but was convinced by his mother to flee. While fleeing the city, Necian ran into two other young cooks, Destin Hallows and Eluna Lindel, and the three of them ran away together, eventually ending up in the town of Saltmarsh, where the three rented an apartment and soon became friends.
While Eluna was able to find work at the Snapping Lure and Destin began working at the Wicker Goat, Necian found no such luck securing work for himself, and for the next several years Necian scrapped by doing what odd jobs he could and running a baking stall on market days.
The Banesmark Crisis
(See the Heroes of Saltmarsh)In Flamerule of 1496, Necian was among those approached by Crab, the owner of the Empty Net and liason to the town's underworld, with a unusual job request to investigate the haunted mansion of Saltmarsh at the behest of Gellan Primewater. Needing the money, Necian agreed, unwittingly falling into a series of events that would unravel the Banesmark Crisis.
After investigating the mansion and gaining the cooperation of the lizardfolk Sunny Shore Tribe Sunny Shore Tribe, Necian joined the other Heroes in investigating the derelict Emperor of the Waves at the behest of Saltmarsh's town wizard Keledek. In exchange for his help, Keledek offered the Heroes either power or knowledge as a reward. Necian chose knowledge, and learned that Krisella was still alive, had been living in Waterdeep, and was traveling to Neverwinter to attend the Neverwinter Gala.
While at the Neverwinter Gala with the other Heroes, Necian and Krisella met up for the first time in years. Necian learned that Krisella had been unsuccessfully campaigning for the other members of the Lords' Alliance to rebuke Neverwinter for their support of the Decker Coup. Krisella attended the gala as a snub to Lord Hargrave Decker, but when the gala was attacked by monks of the Twilight Monastery posing as members of the Free Focos Movement, Krisella was captured and paraded about as if she was the orchestrator of it all. Necian and the Heroes rescued Krisella, smuggling her out of Neverwinter on their ship and back to Saltmarsh.
Krisella joined the other Heroes and Necian in investigating the Isle of the Abbey, intent on finding out who framed her for the gala's attack, and she began working closely with Keledek, though Necian refused to help her over protecting Saltmarsh in the short term. Eventually, Krisella left town shortly before the end of Elient, 1496, to pursue leads in the Whalebones.
Necian meanwhile stayed in Saltmarsh to help the town prepare for its attack on a nearby sahuagin stronghold, including meeting Tajir Samiya Ikraam Samina Karim at the Saltmarsh Mine, who informed Necian of his efreeti heritage. Then Heroes later infiltrated the sahuagin fortress during the Battle of the Spire. The Heroes' role in securing the Dunwater Alliance's overwhelming victory is what led to Necian and the others being proclaimed as the Heroes of Saltmarsh.
Upon arriving back in Saltmarsh, the Heroes learned that Anders Solmor, one of the four members of the Saltmarsh Town Council, had been arrested for conspiracy to oust the Neverwinter Guard and attempting to incite violence. With his seat left open, Necian ran for the town council, and with his recent heroism at the Battle of the Spire behind him, won in a landslide. Necian first used his position to advocate for Anders to be placed under a rotating guardshift made up of Mariners, dwarves of the Mountain Gem Mining Company, and members of the Neverwinter Guard to try and depolitcize the issue, and Necian's general policy stances while on the council centered around making Saltmarsh a place everyone could feel welcome in, without committing too heavily to being either a Traditionalist or Emberist.
Necian's "take-no-sides" attitude continued when the renowned thief the Mask approached the Heroes and offered to aid them in infiltrating the Twilight Monastery. Micah Pierce and Lyra, both of whom had negative histories with the Mask, and while Mogran Oredelver tried to hold them back, Necian waited to see how things played out, eventually joining the Heroes in aiding the Mask with the aim of killing them once the infiltration was completed.
However, the plan went awry when Lyra was killed, and Necian escaped the monastery with Micah and Sizzabiz, all three of whom were teleported to Micah's parents' place in Waterdeep. The three of them made their way back to Saltmarsh by way of Neverwinter, meeting the Blackstaff of Waterdeep Vajra Safahr on the way, albeit as she was disguised.
The Heroes upon reuniting left for the Whalebones to find Krisella, with whom Keledek had lost contact. Necian and the Heroes rescued her on Firewatch Island, discovering a nest of kraken eggs in the process and meeting for the first time the orchestrator of the Banesmark Crisis, the aboleth S'gothgah, who threatened the Heroes into staying in Saltmarsh and making no further moves against him at risk of the town's destruction.
However, on the way back the Heroes were contacted by Tajir Danak Waseef al-Saleem, who revealed himself to be Necian's father. Danak had been watching Necian for a while now through the use of some fire sprite servants, which Necian had seen and noticed before this point, and Danak took the Heroes and Krisella with him to the City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire to propose that Necian become his heir and that Necian could have access to Danak's resources at the cost of spending three years studying under Danak once the Banesmark Crisis resolved. After a day of negotiation, Necian agreed, officially changing his name, and the Heroes were returned to their ship.
Back in Saltmarsh, the Heroes decided that their best hope in stopping S'gothgah was the God Trap, an item stolen from Mogran's clan decades ago by the black dragon Voaraghammanthar. While Mogran, Lyra, Micah, and ally of the Heroes Immortal Valentine left to fight the dragon, Necian remained behind to use his magic to make it appear as if the Heroes hadn't left town at all, disguising Seraphina Pierce as her brother Micah, Ardek Oredelver as his brother Mogran, and Raven Bloodash as Lyra. Necian and the members of the B-Team used their time in town to determine who in Saltmarsh had a Banesmark, but in doing so accidentally released the Vampire Xolec from his hidden prison. When the dragon-hunting party returned, the Heroes and B-Team worked together to kill Xolec by having Necian disguise himself as the object of his affection: Sindy Tidepusher.
By this time, the demands and stress of leadership had started getting to Necian, who used Xolec's underground prison as a hideaway from three days to paint his feelings on a canvas, depicting the burden he felt he was under as well as his perceived failures.
This burden would only grow as the Heroes confronted S'gothgah in his lair in the Styes. Unbeknownst to the party, the aboleth had filled his lair with Banesmarked and mind controlled innocents, including Micah's younger brother and Lyra's mentor Brenvark Coldscar. However, the Heroes mistook the hooded figures for true believers and Necian launched a fireball into the room, kill dozens of innocents, including Brenvark. However, the Heroes couldn't stay and mourn them as they pursued the aboleth to stop the attack on the Neveren Trade Fleet.
Life After the Banesmark Crisis
Necian returned to Saltmarsh with the other Heroes, basking in the New Years celebration now that the aboleth was gone and attending the award ceremony thrown by Lord Protector Dagult Neverember for their heroics in saving the fleet. However, he was unable to shake his burdens and failures from throughout the crisis, despite Krisella and the other Heroes attempting to console him, and early in 1497 Necian left without notice to wander Northwest Faerun to find his purpose, sending only the occasional letter to his friends.
In Ches of 1500, Necian did return briefly to help Micah and the other Heroes find Biz, who was captured by the Mask as one last ploy to destroy Micah's stability. After freeing Biz, Necian returned to his wandering.
In the course of his travels, Necian met Tori Miursa, a former Hellrider of Elturel turned tavern owner, in Triel, who was able to get through to him that he needed to use his powers and abilities to help people. Necian, inspired, contacted Danak and ask to train under him, which he did for a few years. However, in 1507, Necian called the Heroes and Krisella together in Triel to help him in freeing a group of slaves from a minor Tajir under his father's nose, which the group successfully did, teleporting the slaves outside of Waterdeep's walls.
After studying under his father, Necian opted to return to Focosgost and work as a chef, his true calling, eventually rising through the Council of Guilds to lead part of the city's government, working with Krisella, who had also returned to the city, to try and ennact change gradually and lawfully.
In 1517, Necian joined the other Heroes again in a reunion to watch Lyra's Coldscar Monastery compete in the 97th Annual Tournament of Ki.
In 1547, a much older Necian reunited with his adventuring companions to help Mogran's clan retake their ancesteral home in the Liberation of Nettlemurk Hall, which led to the Heroes facing down the orc defenders' leader and slaying him in the throne room.
Physical Description
Special abilities
by Ashley
Mental characteristics
Mental Trauma
Following the Banesmark Crisis, Necian became traumatized by what he saw as a too-quick rise to power and influence, which resulted in needless deaths and suffering. This trauma resulted in his near decade-long exile from his friends and he sought to find meaning in his life.
Morality & Philosophy
Necian generally takes a centrist approach to issues, trying not to advocate too strongly for radical action. This belief reflected in his time on the Saltmarsh Town Council, and though his later studies in politics with his father would make Necian more savvy, this basic belief remained unchanged.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Necian remains friends with each of the members of the Heroes of Saltmarsh, though he sees them rarely, first due to his travels and later due to the demands of his position in the Focos Council of Guilds. This does not prevent him, however, from making visits for important occasions.
Necian's closest ally and friend is Krisella Ferox. Though the two of them started chaffing against one other during their reunion in 1496, as Krisella wanted more direct action at any cost while Necian seemed too overly cautious, time has only drawn them back together. Krisella's mellowing and engagement in legitamate politics in the years following the crisis, alongside Necian's eventual ascension to the Focos Council of Guilds, has made them a serious political force in the city, unlikely to be broken due to their bonds of friendship.
Current Status
Wandering Northwest Faerun to find purpose
Species
Date of Birth
19th of Elient
Year of Birth
1475 CR
23 Years old
Circumstances of Birth
Abadoned at a monastery shortly after birth
Birthplace
Children
Sex
Male
Eyes
Amber
Hair
Short, ash black
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Deep red
Height
6'0"
Weight
135 lbs.
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments