Nicodemus Nightspitch's page

About Nicodemus Nightspitch

Nicodemus Nightspitch

Appearance

Nicodemus is small for a half orc, with a pronounced club foot, pale grey skin and lanky grey hair. His hands are long and thin and his teeth rather pronounced. However, few ever see him as he truly is as he routinely disguises himself while travelling, appearing in whatever form best suits his travelling companions or destination.

Background

Nicodemus was born to the Darkstar orc clan in the Vast Swamp of Cormyr. Born part human and with a club foot he was rejected by his people. In accordance with their ways he was taken into the swamp and left to die. However, he did not die, instead he was found by a swamp hag witch, Ganema, who saw the potential in him. She took him deep into the swamps and raised him as her own.

Ganema nurtured his power and in time she sold him as a slave to the duregr lord Malus Blackiron, leader of a small duregar settlement beneath Mulmaster. In this way he was traded many more times, from duregar to giant to drow to illithid. Each made use of his prognosticative powers for their own ends until he finally escaped while his then master, the drow mage Milaster, was ambushed by a party of adventurers from the surface.

Nicodemus fled into the tunnels of the Underdark and wandered for years, learning its many different ways, the secrets of the dark and of the people who lived beneath the earth. He was wary, but curious, always worried his old master might find him. He taught himself the arts of deception and disguise, created numerous different guises for himself in the settlements he visited and travelled freely betwen them. With his life now his own he dedicated himself to learning all he could about the underdark and its peoples, looking for ways to help those who were also enslaved.

Now he poses as a simple guide to the underdark, moving freely between the depths and the surface and between settlements of drow, dwarves, duregar, giants and even stranger beings. In each settlement he maintains a diffeent identity allowing him to study the people, their cultures, magic, knowledge and behaviours. Few people ever acually meet the real Nicodemus. Having recently become aware of drow raids on the surface he has come to Daggerdale to offer his help in protecting them.

Goals

Goal 1: Many of the Darkstar orc clan are held as slave warriors by the drow of Szith Morcane. He wishes to see his people freed, even if they dont recognise him.

Goal 2: Nicodemus is aware of the existence of strange magical properties in the Underdark and its efect on different types of spells and enchantments. He wants to learn as much about this as he can, to understand, control and shape it.

Secrets

A secret I keep: In his early wanderings Nicodemus stumbled on the svirfneblin settlement of Heartstone. He managed to convince the secrtive gnomes that he was not their enemy and swore a Geas never to reveal the location of their settlement to anyone.

A secret kept from me: Nicodemus believes that his divine powers were granted by Mystra, as the Goddess of Magic. He is quite wrong. Shar imbued him with power and set him out as an agent of war and chaos amongst the races of the Underdark by exposing the secrets of diffeent groups to their enemies. His escape from slavery put an end to that but she is patient and his work is likely to see him enslaved once again eventually.

Key NPCs

Ganema: Nicodemus has a very conflicted relationship with Ganema. She did sell him into slavery and treated him little better as a child growing up but she also saved his life, taught him how to control his powers and acted as the only parent figure he has ever known. He has visited Ganema since he escaped slavery but could not bring himself to harm her. Now he visits occasionally and the two share knowledge of the goings on in the world.

Rumbold Rockfather: Rumbold is a cleric of Segojan Earthcaller. It was he who first found Nicodemus in his early years after his escape and he brought him to Heartstone. The svirfneblin helped him survive in the early years of his escape and he has always been enormously grateful to them. It was Nicodemus who insisted that Rumbold place the Geas on him.

Milaster: A drow Wizard of great skill, Milaster purchased Nicodemus to use him for his divinatory abilities. He was, for a drow, unusually patient, even sometimes kind. Milaster survived the adventurers attack on him by fleeing deeper into the underdark. He still considers Nicodemus to be his property and is likely to be looking for him. For his part Nicodemus feels little animosity towards the wizard but will resist being enslaved again with all of his power.

Kazan the Bloated: The Underdark is home to many strange and unusual deniizens and few are as unusual as Kazan. Kazan is a massive, bloated spider, infused with abyssal power and possessing powerful sorcerous magic. Its lair is in a great underdark chimney several miles deep with hundreds of passageways running off it. The area is filled with its webs and it is said that Kazan can sense any creature passing by them and hear anything said. Kazan is ancient and occasionally inclined to answer questions from those bold enough and strong enough to take the risk. Nicodemus has passed by its domain several times and exchanged information about the doings of Underdark races for knowledge of their history but he is always careful to avoid getting too close.

Malice: Malice is a secret Priest of Bane and member of the Zhentarim active in the Dalelands. He is active in the slave trade, arranging kidnappings and transportation of surface dwellers to the flesh pits of the drow. Nicodemus is aware of his existence but not of who he is. Malice appears to be able to take on different forms and is careful to hide his or her movements and activites. Nicodemus does what he can to blunt the activities and free those who are sent into the Underdark but should they ever meet he knows that only one of them will survive.