Nesiven is a famous elven adventurer, who fought countless deadly threats to save the empire and Toriel. A legend among the adventurers guild, she now reside in Beauclair Keep.
Characteristics
Abilities
Nesiven is a powerful Horizon walker ranger. On top of her skills, Nesiven managed to get a hold of a sentient armor, snatched from the giant island. The armor now has a symbiotic relationship with Nesiven, protecting her from the perils she faces.
History
Backstory
Nesiven is the daughter of an aristocratic family within the Kingdom -o Qwir, a household with a grasp on politics and trade, yet she did not feel at home in this world of manipulation and appearance. Escaping town regularly, she joined a group of rangers, escaping the boring lesson of the Glirkeep College to the benefit of the Elven Forest.
For years, she dwelled in the forest among the rangers, yet her companion started to undergo a path which the elf disliked, getting closer to bandits and rebels, the less wealthy ranger asking for hefty prices as a reward for their protection, pillaging those who refused to pay.
With no bound to her family, nor to the ranger she now despised for their actions, she started a lone journey, still regularly practicing archery and swordplay to hone her skills. It is during one of these training that she met another so-called ranger, the man prefering to refer to himself as a horizon walker, someone protecting the veil between the planes, crossing from one world to another. Magic that surely interested the young Nesiven. The man took a liking for the lone elf and taught her his skills. The journey to master this kind of power would be long, yet Nesiven was naturally gifted in this kind of magic, a talent that served her well during her later adventure. After what has only seemed like weeks from the elf's perspective, but was months, if not years of practice, the man disappeared. Something that the elf was expecting due to the man's ability and goals.
Campaign
Team selection
Later, she found herself in Tana's Empire capital, Holypertuis, unsure what to do with her life, with those skills she possessed. Here, she became an adventurer.
Nesiven Rose, Flo Stormcry, Seraphine Cresilo, Sik, Ignis, and Sophia were all young adventurers, inexperienced, who naturally gathered as they embarked on similar quests. Their first mission was to deal with an ogre terrorizing a nearby settlement not far from Holypertuis.
Upon confronting the ogre, they discovered it was protected by a group of goblins and bugbears. Sophia, a bard, managed to charm one of the bugbears and convinced them that it would be best for the goblins and bugbears to leave as the adventurers would handle the ogres. Agreeing, the goblins and bugbears fled as the adventurers ventured into the depths of the cave to face the ogre.
They successfully defeated the ogres, but Sik the kobold was gravely injured. The party went to the adventurers guild to claim their reward.
When they reunited, Sik announced he wouldn't adventure again, having already tasted the harsh realities of this life. Vutha, who had been uncertain until now, found the courage to make the same decision, leaving the adventuring party to dedicate herself to the bugbear she had saved.
Nesiven used the money from this first quest to gift herself a night in the most expensive inn in Holypertuis, the golden lacet, in which she hooked up with Theyne, the local bard.
Heading North
The adventurers decided to unite to face the perils of future quests together. Three weeks later, the group was summoned directly by Booyahgs Nalyek, who had received numerous reports from the north about suspicious giant activities. Sharla, a warrior from the north, had traveled south as an emissary of the Duchy of Freed to request the Adventurers Guild's help, and Nalyek believed that the group of adventurers could undertake this mission. He tasked them with traveling north to investigate the movements of the giants on their island: the Giant Island.
The mission was supposed to be fairly simple, limited to reconnaissance, and paid handsomely. The adventurers all agreed to journey north, with Sharla now by their side as a representative of the Duchy of Freed. Flo Stormcry, a native of the north, and Sharla's affiliation with the duchy allowed the party to be easily accepted by the Northlanders, who assisted them in various towns they crossed, providing fur and hides to protect against the cold.
The group finally reached Raskam, the closest village to the Giant Island. Arriving during a blizzard in the evening, the adventurers sought refuge in the local tavern and stayed for the night. Most of them looked for a ship, hoping one could be prepared the following day to take them to the island.
The party negotiated for a suitable ship. Although most captains refused to sail that far north, they managed to negotiate with one who agreed to drop them off on the island and return to pick them up two weeks later. As they finalized the deal, they witnessed a fight between the rest of the party and a demon but were unable to reach their friends before Sharla defeated the demon.
Giant island
The group of adventurers finally reached the Giant Island, where the geography itself appeared enormous: trees grew to disproportionate sizes, grass reached above their heads... everything on this island was giant. As the party progressed further into the island, they came across an enormous but empty hut.
Inside the hut, they began to plan how they would investigate the giants' movements, but their discussions were quickly interrupted by the return of two hill giants to their hut. Hiding within the house as the giants brought back an enormous dead sealion to eat, they were soon discovered, leading to a fight against the giants. The adventurers learned of the giants' proficiency with rock throwing, as Ignis set ablaze the giants and trees alike.
Although the adventurers managed to kill the giants, the smoke from the quickly spreading fire drew too much attention, and they were forced to flee. In their escape, Seraphine and Ignis were captured.
The rest of the group, having managed to escape, attempted to track the giants who had captured their friends. However, they were halted in their tracks by a friendly stone giant. He warned the adventurers to leave, stating that it was no place for humans and the like to wander when the giants were preparing for war.
Regarding their friends, the giants explained that they were either taken to the Hammerfell Citadel or to the Ironslag mines of the fire giants to serve as slaves. After expressing their gratitude to the giant, the group falsely claimed they would retreat and then turned toward Ironslag, intending to rescue their friends.
It took the group days to reach Ironslag, where they began scouting. They discovered countless stone and fire giants working together, gathering dragonite from the mines and forging weapons. It was evident that the giants were preparing for war, but the target of their aggression remained unknown.
Even though their duty was only that of scouts, they refused to abandon their friends and devised a plan to attack the mines and rescue them. Launching their assault during the night, Nesiven ignited a pile of dragonite, causing it to explode and creating a diversion. While this nearly cost Nesiven her life and dealt with most of the giants nearby, it provided the perfect opportunity for the rest of the group to sneak inside the mines.
Ignis and Seraphine caught up with the group from behind as they sneaked inside Ironslag. With the information provided by Ignis and Seraphine, the group hastily fled from the mines. However, they were spotted by fire giants, who gave chase. Sharla and Flo rushed forward to dispatch their pursuers swiftly.
Eventually, the party managed to escape, and it was soon time for their boat to take them back to the mainland.
Confrontation
Back in Raskam, Sharla urged the party to take action, recognizing that news of a giant invasion would require a swift response. However, Seraphine emphasized the urgency of the situation, knowing that the army wouldn't arrive in time to halt the giants' advance across the sea.
Thinking quickly, Flo and Nesiven proposed rallying the warriors and soldiers from the Duchy of Freed. They believed that the Northlanders would readily answer Raskam's call for aid. Sending envoys to every village in the north, they amassed a small but determined army of men and women ready to defend their homeland.
Gathered on the snowy beach, facing the oncoming fleet of giant ships sailing through the snow and ice, fear threatened to overwhelm them. Yet, Nesiven, standing boldly at the forefront alongside the adventurers, delivered a stirring speech that ignited the courage within the hearts of the Northlanders.
As the Frost giants made landfall, the adventurers charged into battle, confronting the leaders of the invading force. Meanwhile, Cloud giants rained down dragonite from the sky, bombarding the battlefield. But amidst the chaos, a deafening roar pierced the air, and a shadow darkened the sky.
Doraka, a silver dragon, awakened by the march of giants, descended to aid the adventurers. While the party focused on defeating the Frost giant leader, Doraka engaged in a fierce battle against both the mighty Storm giant and Fire giant leaders. With the combined efforts of Doraka and the adventurers, victory was won, forcing the giants to retreat to their island stronghold.
Thief Scheme
The adventurers, now celebrated as Giant Slayers, had their fame spread throughout the duchy of Freed. However, their renown was soon overshadowed by a significant event: the closure of the portal linking Holypertuis to the Brass City in the Elemental Plane of Fire. This portal was a vital link in the empire's trade of magic items, and its shutdown was attributed to the theft of an artifact powering the portal. The adventurers were tasked with tracking down the culprit and retrieving the stolen artifact.
Equipped with a necklace allowing them to traverse to the Elemental Plane of Fire, the adventurers embarked on their journey through the hostile landscape of the plane until they reached the bustling City of Brass.
In the Brass City, the party took respite in a tavern, indulging in the local spicy cuisine while strategizing their investigation into the missing artifact. Their conversation caught the attention of Hardah, a solitary half-orc adventurer, and also caught the attention of a spy of the thief. The spy later ambushed the group before fleeing.
Tracking the spy led the adventurers to an auction, where Ignis caught sight of a pseudo-dragon that she stole. This impulsive action put her in jeopardy, prompting Nesiven to teleport them both away from danger. However, this sparked an argument between Ignis and Nesiven, with Ignis feeling resentful about being rescued as she could have handled the situation herself.
When Ignis and Nesiven united with the rest of the party, they captured a woman and learned that Flo had been charmed by her, and fought against his companions.
Ignis was particularly offended by how easily Flo had been manipulated. The shop owner now captured, the group interrogated her, learning that she was a vampire, and a spy of Silver Remington, a higher vampire and the thief of the artifact. He resides in the shadowfel, prompting the party to seek ways to reach the shadowfell.
The group paid for passage on a brass ship to navigate the Sea of Fire, encountering and battling a lava monster along the way. Their goal was to reach the Elemental Plane of Air, where they hoped to acquire an airship that would enable them to journey into the Shadowfell. Upon reaching the Elemental Plane of Air, they traded their collars for passage on an airship.
Ignis refused to proceed with the group she referred to as "buffoons" and left the party.
However, their journey took a disastrous turn as the airship crashed upon crossing into the Shadowfell. Outside the confines of the plane of air, the ship couldn't remain airborne.
Once inside the shadowfel, the party tracked silver remington. During their track, the adventurers met a group of elves, the shadar-kai, rare survivors of experimentation of the vampires. Thanks to the shadar-kai they had learned that the magical items was part of Silver's scheme to facilitate his movement across the material plane in preparation for a ritual.
After tracking the vampire to his mansion in the Shadowfell, the adventurers confronted him.
To their surprise, the vampire greeted them politely and invited them to discuss the matter over a tasteful dinner. Introducing himself as Silver Remington, he explained his plan: to create a Philosopher Stone through the sacrifice of many souls. While acknowledging the adventurers as obstacles, he preferred negotiation over conflict, offering them wealth and protection if they allied with him.
Despite the tempting offer, the adventurers ultimately refused, leading to a confrontation with the higher vampire. The party emerged victorious.
The group then returned to Tana's Empire capital, Holypertuis.
Mighty diplomate
The emperor himself heard about the group of adventurers who had saved the material realm from destruction and caught the thief of Holypertuis' artifact. Summoning them to Castle Goldleaf, he rewarded the adventurers for their deeds, granting each of them a noble title and lands in the Roaring Plains within the Duchy of Buchais.
Additionally, the emperor bestowed upon them a new mission, one under the empire's order rather than the adventuring guild's. In an attempt to showcase the empire's might and to negotiate pacts with the Lightfoot Kingdom, the adventurers were tasked with escorting a group of diplomats to the Lightfoot Land.
Although the adventurers accepted, feeling obligated to do so in the presence of the emperor and the party then went to the Three Brewers to celebrate.
The following day, the party commenced their journey with the diplomats, including Joy Sunbringer and Anastashia Skyrun. A group of goblins attacked the caravan but were swiftly defeated by the adventurers, with a small goblin girl barely managing to steal a bag of fruits before escaping.
A long journey
The caravan reached the river north of Crystal Lake, where a group of Yuan-ti had erected a dam to prevent the passage of ships and halted the diplomats' boat.
The adventurers followed the Yuan-ti into the jungle to negotiate passage with their high priestess, Sistine. After a week-long journey, they reached Orrinshire, where Sharla refused to enter, staying at the city entrance while the rest of the adventurers discussed matters with the high priestess of the Chezucore.
They demonstrated their valor in the dungeon beneath the main pyramid, proving their worth to Sistine, who invited them to a feast before they rejoined the diplomatic mission.
Nesiven, on the other hand, met with Tanith Helicos, a friend of the Chezucore and a vampire. Ready to fight as she learned the truth about the woman origin, Nesiven decided to discuss instead. She had witnessed the power vampires could harness and asked Tanith how she could become one, believing the tales of curses spread among mortals.
Tanith revealed it was impossible for Nesiven to become a true vampire; however, certain forms of lycanthropy have similar capabilities and are often referred to as vampires by common folks. Tanith, taking a liking to Nesiven, decided to bestow upon her this curse.
With the diplomatic mission complete, the party was free to sail south and joined the boat. The night following their reunion, they drank with the diplomates, enjoying the night sky on the boat deck while discussing the various visions of the world.
Arriving in the Savage Savannah, there, they faced the Horsekull Clan, with whom they traded food and water before proceeding to the Tree Above the Clan, the village of the Oreskos Pride. Upon arrival, they witnessed a group of Red Orcs from the Redfang Clan fighting against warriors of the Oreskos Pride, including
Cloudfur. They aided the warriors and were offered a place to rest.
During their time in the Tree Above the Clan, a young tabaxi wizard approached them, seeking advice about a levitation spell he was struggling to learn from an old book left behind by a previous traveler.
The party attempted to help him, but Cloudfur intervened, explaining that he was the son of Sun Star, the leader of the Oreskos Pride, and it was best for strangers not to meddle in their affairs. Cloudfur then expressed his frustration with Sun Star's lack of decisiveness, as he refused to take strong action against the Red Orcs.
Cloudfur then spoke privately with Nesiven, outlining his plan to overthrow Sun Star. He asked for her assistance, promising a hefty sum of gold in exchange. Nesiven agreed to help him.
Family first
The adventurers offered to negotiate with the red orcs, despite Hardah's advice against it, given her origins from the Redfang clan. Nevertheless, the group ventured into the territory of the Redfang orcs and challenged the clan's chieftain, Rhorog Oknar Redfang, to a duel.
Sharla initially fought him alone in the arena in the middle of the village, but she was quickly overpowered. Flo had to intervene, allowing sharla to disarm Rhorog and turning his own weapon against the orcs. Recognizing their prowess, the orcs acknowledged the adventurers as warriors and allowed them to depart in peace.
Lion's king
The party returned to the tree above the clan, where Cloudfur challenged Sun Star. The fight quickly turned in Cloudfur's favor as Nesiven sneakily cast haste on the tabaxi. Sun Star's son intervened, attempting to prevent his father's demise.
In a fit of rage, Cloudfur pushed the young tabaxi off the edge of the branches. Sun Star leaped to save his son, barely managing to grab hold of him. Cloudfur attempted to seize the opportunity to attack Sun Star, but the adventurers intervened, preventing Sun Star's death. However, he couldn't maintain his grip on his son, who fell below, to the terrified gaze of his father. Miraculously, the young tabaxi managed to cast a levitation spell and survived the fall unscathed.
Cloudfur was promptly arrested, along with the adventurers. Nesiven and Hardah were suspected of conspiring against Sun Star alongside Cloudfur and were thrown into prison. A trial ensued, with the party arguing that they had saved the king and should be thanked rather than punished. The judgment was delivered, and the adventurers were merely banned from the pride's territory, especially considering their failed diplomatic attempt with the red orcs.
The destination
They continued their journey south through the savannah, encountering and battling the perils it brought with it, until they were on the home stretch to Oakhearth, their final destination. Upon their arrival, their task was supposed to be completed. It was now up to the politicians and traders to negotiate an agreement with Tulia Greyhard and the great council.
During their time off visiting the city, the party encountered Emilis Emka, a scientist attempting to find non-magical ways to heal and animate the dead. They attempted to assist her.
While in the city, they also came across many clues hinting at something strange happening within the city and began investigating. All the clues pointed toward the royal castle. Rumors circulated about Alton Goodbarrel, supposedly linked to all the odd occurrences. They attempted to sneak into his laboratory but almost got caught, narrowly escaping while concealing their identities.
The adventurers decided to infiltrate the dungeon under the castle's keep during the night. They managed to bypass the traps and confront a beholder manipulating events from the shadows. The beholder had collaborated with Alton Goodbarrel to seize power within the kingdom.
After defeating the beholder, they discovered Nessarya Jenssen, head of justice, dead in her office. Her blood still warm, and documents in her office indicating she was also investigating Alton, it was clear she had been murdered.
Sharla, Nesiven and Flo went to the local adventurers' guild outpost to warn them of the danger, where they luckily apprehended the assassin.
The adventurers managed to resurrect Nessarya, but this inadvertently led to the destruction of Emilis's lab and a large fire that started to spread in town. The adventurers were subsequently captured.
During a lengthy trial in front of the queen herself, they detailed everything they had discovered. The adventurers were charged with a heavy fine and banned from the Lightfoot Kingdom for their intrusion on private properties, disregard of guard orders, and starting the fire in town. As most evidence had been suppressed, Alton was also only sentenced to a heavy fine and banned from the Lightfoot Kingdom.
The diplomats secured a trading agreement with the kingdom in the afternoon following the trial, and the group journeyed back to Holypertuis with the diplomats.
The undercity
Returning from their journey, the party took a few weeks off to rest after their adventures. Nesiven started to hoard a fortune, hoping to build a keep on her domain, and even plotted to potentially steal from Holypertuis' bank.
The whole party gathered on a small mission to fight nekkers ambushing the trading road between the Kingdom -o Qwir and the Kingdom of Vale. During this mission, sharla weapon took over her, and the barbarian turned against her allies, fighting against them in a reckless fury. The other adventurers managed to stop sharla, and decided it was best for this weapon to be cast aside, where no one would access it.
Hearing the news of Hardah's abduction attempt, the adventurers gathered and learned of a new cult kidnapping spellcasters and non-humans.
Their investigation quickly led them to the Undercity. Once in the Undercity, they were welcomed by Irina Stormcry, a young woman and apprentice of the ruler under the city: Akhator Baltazar.
Irina escorted the party to Akhator, who wanted to welcome the famous heroes of the realm and offered to help them in their investigation. Escorted by soldiers under Akhator's order, the party was free to investigate in the Undercity. Their investigation led them to the black market and to an underground fighting pit.
The party finally found the cultists' headquarters, and after fighting a few of them, reached the upper level of the building, in which countless jars with souls trapped inside were stored. Seraphine explained that this was probably the work of a lich, and the group broke the jars. However, this prompted the soldiers of Baltazar escorting them to attack, trying to prevent the adventurers from breaking the jars.
The soldiers were defeated and revealed to be skeletons under the command of Baltazar. The group rushed back to Baltazar's mansion, where they fought against the lich with all his might. Irina joined the fight, initially siding with Baltazar, before switching sides as she realized he was a lich.
The group managed to defeat the lich, but Sharla died as she protected the party from Baltazar's final spell.
After the campaign
A castle for the adventurer
Following the taxing quest, many in the party, like Nesiven, opted to retire from the adventurer's life. Nesiven journeyed to the lands bestowed by Emperor Charle III Tana in the Roaring Plains. Utilizing the fortune accumulated during her adventures, she initiated the construction of Beauclair Keep.
The construction attracted numerous common folk who established a camp around it to aid in its construction. Soon, their families joined, and a small village named Rose's Cross emerged around the partially built keep.
With the keep construction nearing completion, Nesiven began to expand the village, establishing a large orchard and vineyards. These resources served as the foundation for the local brewery, renowned for producing the now-famous Nesilien Rouge—a crimson wine of striking appearance.
However, Nesiven also grappled with the challenges posed by the vampiric curse bestowed upon her, particularly the need for a fresh blood supply. Previously, this was readily available through adversaries encountered during her adventures. To address this, Nesiven began to compensate women from across the empire to keep her company, indulging in both physical pleasure and the sustenance of blood.
Yet, this practice proved costly, and the arrival of Ezria Eto, a member of the Order of the Flower, complicated matters if Nesiven wished to evade detection. Resorting to deception, Nesiven began to poison her own wine. Those ensnared by the vampire's charm willingly provided her with what she required.
Rats infestation
Overseeing the city now mostly under her charm, Nesiven could enjoy all kind of pleasure as the owner of this land, until Ezria started to invetigate the strange behaviors of some townfolks. Her investigation led her to discover Nesiven's true nature.
Hoping to report Nesiven, she tried to escape the keep but was caught by Nesiven who knew of her love for Sinclair Fleet-foot. Using this to her advantage, she blackmailed Ezria, who now had to hide Nesiven's secret to protect Sinclair.
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