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Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Character Record Sheet
Character Name
Player
Class
Paragon Path
Epic Destiny
Race
Size
Age
Gender
Height
Weight
Align.
Deity
Adventure Company
XP
Next XP
Level
Ability
Score
Temp
Score
Mod
Mod+
1/2 Lv.
STR
CON
DEX
INT
WIS
CHA
Quick Look Up
Weapon / Power
Attack
Damage
Armor Bonus
Shield Bonus
Check Penalty
Speed Penalty
Armor is Heavy
INIT
Dex Mod
1/2 Lv.
Misc
Temp
=
+
+
+
Score
Base
Arm.
Item
Misc
Speed
P. Perception
P. Insight
Special Senses/Movement
Skills
Skill
Mod
Skill Name
Abil.
Train
(+5)
Mod+
.5Lv
Arm.
Misc
Temp
Total
10+
1/2Lv
Arm./
Abil.
Class
Feat
Enh.
Misc
Temp
AC
FORT
REF
WILL
Conditional Modifiers, Resistances & Action Points Note
+5 AC against opportunity attacks Resist 5 Poison and resist 5 Necrotic Roll twice for initiative, use higher result Combat Advantage against enemies who haven't acted yet Sneak attack: +3 attack, extra 3d8+3 damage with Subtle Dagger, 5 ongoing damage on hit with a daily power Critical hit: +3d6 damage
Statistic Block
[url=http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=64340][size=4][B]Jessamine Nightshade[/B][/size][/url], Doppelganger Rogue, Shadowborn Stalker [B]Init[/B] +14 [B]HP[/B] 81/81 [B]Bloodied[/B] 40 [B]Healing Surge[/B] 20 (0 used /8) [B]AC[/B] 25 [B]Fort[/B] 20 [B]Reflex[/B] 25 [B]Will[/B] 25 [B]Speed[/B] 6 [B]Str[/B] 12 (+7) [B]Con[/B] 14 (+8) [B]Dex[/B] 18 (+10) [B]Int[/B] 14 (+8) [B]Wis[/B] 12 (+7) [B]Cha[/B] 20 (+11) [OOC='Piercing Strike'][B]Piercing Strike[/B] At-Will - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Melee weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier damage.[/OOC], [OOC='Sly Flourish'][B]Sly Flourish[/B] At-Will - Martial,Weapon Standard Action Melee or Ranged weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a crossbow, a light blade, or a sling. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. AC Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier + Charisma modifier damage.[/OOC], [OOC='Change Shape'][B]Change Shape[/B] At-Will - Polymorph Minor Action Personal Effect: You can alter your physical form to take on the appearance of any Medium humanoid, including a unique individual. The creature retains its statistics in its new form, and its clothing, armor, and possessions do not change and are not absorbed into the new form. The new form lasts until the creature changes it or until it dies. If the creature is capable of assuming the form of a unique individual, other creatures can attempt an Insight check (opposed by the monster’s Bluff check) to pierce the disguise. The creature must have seen the individual it is imitating and gains a +20 bonus to its Bluff check.[/OOC], [OOC='Cloak of Shadows (E)'][B]Cloak of Shadows (E)[/B] (minor; encounter) The shadowborn stalker is invisible until the end of its next turn.[/OOC], [OOC='Cloud of Darkness (E)'][B]Cloud of Darkness (E)[/B] (minor; encounter) Close burst 1; this power creates a zone of darkness that remains in place until the end of the shadowborn stalker’s next turn. The zone blocks line of sight for all creatures except the shadowborn stalker. Any creature entirely within the area (except the shadowborn stalker) is blinded.[/OOC], [OOC='Double Take (E)'][B]Double Take (E)[/B] Encounter - Martial Minor Action Personal Prerequisite: You must be trained in Perception. Effect: Make a Perception check with a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier.[/OOC], [OOC='Spymaster's Quill'][B]Spymaster's Quill[/B] Power (At-Will): Standard Action. Pass the spymaster’s quill over an amount of text or an illustration equivalent to a single parchment page. The image or text is magically recorded for later reproduction. Recording another page with the quill erases the page already recorded. Power (At-Will): Standard Action. You point the spymaster’s quill at a sheet of parchment or paper and mentally command it to reproduce the illustration or text recorded within it. No matter what the medium of the original (charcoal on paper, runes scribed in stone, and so on), the reproduction is rendered in normal ink. Special: The reproduction created by the quill is of perfect quality, but the quill cannot record magical properties.[/OOC], [OOC='Positioning Strike (E)'][B]Positioning Strike (E)[/B] Encounter - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Melee weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. Will Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and you slide the target 5 squares.[/OOC], [OOC='Nasty Backswing (E)'][B]Nasty Backswing (E)[/B] Encounter - Martial, Weapon Free Action Melee weapon Trigger: You miss with a melee attack Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. AC. You have combat advantage for this attack. Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and you can shift 1 square.[/OOC], [OOC='Ferret Out Frailty (E)'][B]Ferret Out Frailty (E)[/B] Encounter - Martial Minor Action Personal Prerequisite: You must be trained in Insight. Effect: Until the beginning of your next turn, you gain combat advantage against one target within line of sight. If the target is taking the attack penalty from one of your rattling attacks, you instead gain combat advantage until the end of your next turn.[/OOC], [OOC='From the Shadows (E)'][B]From the Shadows (E)[/B] Encounter - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Melee or Ranged weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a crossbow, a light blade, or a sling. Target: One creature Effect: Before the attack, you can shift 6 squares. If the target could not see you before the shift, you gain combat advantage for this attack. Attack: Dexterity vs. AC Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and you can shift 6 squares. If you have any cover or concealment after this shift, you can make a Stealth check as a free action.[/OOC], [OOC='Blinding Barrage (D)'][B]Blinding Barrage (D)[/B] Daily - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Close blast 3 Requirement: You must be wielding a crossbow, a light thrown weapon, or a sling. Target: Each enemy in blast you can see Attack: Dexterity vs. AC Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and the target is blinded until the end of your next turn. Miss: Half damage, and the target is not blinded.[/OOC], [OOC='Walking Wounded (D)'][B]Walking Wounded (D)[/B] Daily - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Melee or Ranged weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a crossbow, a light blade, or a sling. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. Fortitude Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and the target is knocked prone. Until the end of the encounter, if the target moves more than half its speed in a single action, it falls prone at the end of its movement. Miss: Half damage, and the target is not knocked prone.[/OOC], [OOC='Knockout (D)'][B]Knockout (D)[/B] Daily - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Melee weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. Fortitude Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and the target is knocked unconscious (save ends). If the unconscious target takes any damage, it is no longer unconscious. Miss: Half damage, and the target is dazed until the end of your next turn[/OOC], [OOC='Shadow Stride'][B]Shadow Stride[/B] At-Will ✦ Martial Move Action Personal Prerequisite: You must be trained in Stealth. Effect: You must be hiding to use this power. You can move your speed. At the end of that movement, if you have cover, you can make a Stealth check with no penalty for moving. If you make the Stealth check, you stay hidden during your movement.[/OOC], [OOC='Deathcut Armor (D)'][B]Deathcut Armor (D)[/B] (Daily - Necrotic): Immediate Reaction. You can use this power when an enemy hits you with a melee attack. Deal 1d10 + 5 modifier necrotic damage to that enemy.[/OOC], [OOC='Gloves of Piercing (D)'][B]Gloves of Piercing (D)[/B] Power (Daily): Minor Action. Until the end of the encounter, your attacks ignore any resistance of 10 or lower.[/OOC], [OOC='Sapphire Scabbard (E)'][B]Sapphire Scabbard (E)[/B] Property: This scabbard resizes to fit any light blade or heavy blade. You can draw a weapon from this scabbard as part of the same action used to make an attack with that weapon. Power (Encounter): Free Action. Use this power when you attack with the weapon most recently sheathed in the scabbard. Gain a +3 power bonus to the next damage roll you make with that weapon before the end of your next turn. The weapon must have been sheathed in the scabbard within the past 24 hours to gain this power.[/OOC], [OOC='Darkskull (E)'][B]Darkskull (E)[/B] Wondrous Item 4,200 gp Power (Encounter ✦ Illusion): As a minor action, you cause all active light sources within 10 squares of you to be suppressed until the end of the encounter. Light sources activated after you use this power function normally.[/OOC] [B]Notes[/B] +5 AC against opportunity attacks Resist 5 Poison and resist 5 Necrotic Roll twice for initiative, use higher result Combat Advantage against enemies who haven't acted yet Sneak attack: +3 attack, extra 3d8+3 damage with Subtle Dagger, 5 ongoing damage on hit with a daily power Critical hit: +3d6 damage
Race Features
Class / Path / Destiny Features
Other Items
Current
Max HP
/
Bloodied
H. Surge
Surges Used
Surges / Day
/
Second Wind
Death ST Fail
Action Points
Attack Workspace
Ability 1:
Ability 2:
Bonus
1/2Lv
Abil.
Class
Prof
Feat
Enh
Misc
=
=
Damage Workspace
Ability 1:
Ability 2:
Bonus
Abil.
Feat
Enh
Misc
Misc
=
=
Feats
Feat Name
Loc.
Powers
At-Will - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Melee weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier damage.
At-Will - Martial,Weapon Standard Action Melee or Ranged weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a crossbow, a light blade, or a sling. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. AC Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier + Charisma modifier damage.
At-Will - Polymorph Minor Action Personal Effect: You can alter your physical form to take on the appearance of any Medium humanoid, including a unique individual. The creature retains its statistics in its new form, and its clothing, armor, and possessions do not change and are not absorbed into the new form. The new form lasts until the creature changes it or until it dies. If the creature is capable of assuming the form of a unique individual, other creatures can attempt an Insight check (opposed by the monster’s Bluff check) to pierce the disguise. The creature must have seen the individual it is imitating and gains a +20 bonus to its Bluff check.
(minor; encounter) The shadowborn stalker is invisible until the end of its next turn.
(minor; encounter) Close burst 1; this power creates a zone of darkness that remains in place until the end of the shadowborn stalker’s next turn. The zone blocks line of sight for all creatures except the shadowborn stalker. Any creature entirely within the area (except the shadowborn stalker) is blinded.
Encounter - Martial Minor Action Personal Prerequisite: You must be trained in Perception. Effect: Make a Perception check with a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier.
Power (At-Will): Standard Action. Pass the spymaster’s quill over an amount of text or an illustration equivalent to a single parchment page. The image or text is magically recorded for later reproduction. Recording another page with the quill erases the page already recorded. Power (At-Will): Standard Action. You point the spymaster’s quill at a sheet of parchment or paper and mentally command it to reproduce the illustration or text recorded within it. No matter what the medium of the original (charcoal on paper, runes scribed in stone, and so on), the reproduction is rendered in normal ink. Special: The reproduction created by the quill is of perfect quality, but the quill cannot record magical properties.
Powers
Encounter - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Melee weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. Will Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and you slide the target 5 squares.
Encounter - Martial, Weapon Free Action Melee weapon Trigger: You miss with a melee attack Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. AC. You have combat advantage for this attack. Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and you can shift 1 square.
Encounter - Martial Minor Action Personal Prerequisite: You must be trained in Insight. Effect: Until the beginning of your next turn, you gain combat advantage against one target within line of sight. If the target is taking the attack penalty from one of your rattling attacks, you instead gain combat advantage until the end of your next turn.
Encounter - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Melee or Ranged weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a crossbow, a light blade, or a sling. Target: One creature Effect: Before the attack, you can shift 6 squares. If the target could not see you before the shift, you gain combat advantage for this attack. Attack: Dexterity vs. AC Hit: 1[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and you can shift 6 squares. If you have any cover or concealment after this shift, you can make a Stealth check as a free action.
Daily - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Close blast 3 Requirement: You must be wielding a crossbow, a light thrown weapon, or a sling. Target: Each enemy in blast you can see Attack: Dexterity vs. AC Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and the target is blinded until the end of your next turn. Miss: Half damage, and the target is not blinded.
Daily - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Melee or Ranged weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a crossbow, a light blade, or a sling. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. Fortitude Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and the target is knocked prone. Until the end of the encounter, if the target moves more than half its speed in a single action, it falls prone at the end of its movement. Miss: Half damage, and the target is not knocked prone.
Daily - Martial, Weapon Standard Action Melee weapon Requirement: You must be wielding a light blade. Target: One creature Attack: Dexterity vs. Fortitude Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and the target is knocked unconscious (save ends). If the unconscious target takes any damage, it is no longer unconscious. Miss: Half damage, and the target is dazed until the end of your next turn
At-Will ✦ Martial Move Action Personal Prerequisite: You must be trained in Stealth. Effect: You must be hiding to use this power. You can move your speed. At the end of that movement, if you have cover, you can make a Stealth check with no penalty for moving. If you make the Stealth check, you stay hidden during your movement.
(Daily - Necrotic): Immediate Reaction. You can use this power when an enemy hits you with a melee attack. Deal 1d10 + 5 modifier necrotic damage to that enemy.
Power (Daily): Minor Action. Until the end of the encounter, your attacks ignore any resistance of 10 or lower.
Property: This scabbard resizes to fit any light blade or heavy blade. You can draw a weapon from this scabbard as part of the same action used to make an attack with that weapon. Power (Encounter): Free Action. Use this power when you attack with the weapon most recently sheathed in the scabbard. Gain a +3 power bonus to the next damage roll you make with that weapon before the end of your next turn. The weapon must have been sheathed in the scabbard within the past 24 hours to gain this power.
Wondrous Item 4,200 gp Power (Encounter ✦ Illusion): As a minor action, you cause all active light sources within 10 squares of you to be suppressed until the end of the encounter. Light sources activated after you use this power function normally.
Magic Items & Equipment
Item Name
Use
Daily Item Powers Per Day
Heroic(1-10)
Milestone
Paragon(11-20)
Milestone
Epic(21-30)
Milestone
Rituals
Languages Known
Coins and Other Wealth
3798 gold coins (including some in silver and stolen jewelery) 20 counterfeit ritual scrolls
Personality Traits
Conniving and duplicitous, Jessamine has no concept of morality and will do whatever she deems most prudent to serve the greater good: her own. However she is aware of her limitations: she's not very strong and tends to avoid any kind of open confrontation, especially combat, preferring to use lies, seduction, or blackmail to get her way around people more powerful than her. When forced into battle, she'll often prefer to flee unless she's absolutely certain of victory. Since rediscovering her evil roots, Jessamine won't balk from killing but prefers to do so on her own underhanded terms, with everything carefully arranged so her targets do not even have a chance to react. She bears a healthy respect tinged with fear for liches and other powerful undead, as well as any powerful magic-users.
Mannerisms and Appearance
Since her Shadowborn transformation Jessamine prefers to wear the form of an athletic female human, with lustrous black hair and skin pale as milk. Her flushed red lips provide the main slash of color to her face, but even they can dull to the color of dried blood with her moods. Her eyes are often deep pools of black, but sometimes she has them go to an enchanting violet, as if she can't decide which way she likes better. Jessamine is vain and likes to examine herself in mirrors, even though she always knows exactly what she looks like. She has the untouchable beauty of a marble sculpture, and unnerving shadows seem to play about her.
Session and Campaign Notes
Companions and Allies
Background & Other Notes
Youth The shapeshifter who called herself Luciana was once among the most promising agents of the powerful lich Mael-Ghatti. She took to the work of intelligence gathering naturally, ever since her curious youth. Her mother was the one who had taught her how to move confidently about other humanoids and study their speech and mannerisms without letting on that she was watching, and to wear clothing tailored to exactly match that of the mark she meant to imitate. Her mother also taught her the Elven and a smattering of the Dwarven language. [b]"Looking the part is only a fifth of the part."[/b] Her mother lectured. [b]"When you become someone, you must BE that someone. You must think like them, feel like them, speak with their tongue... you must BELIEVE yourself that you are that person, if you want their closest friends to believe it."[/b] As a child, she soon became a talented actress. Luciana left home in her late teens, and found a nearby elven town in which to integrate. That was when she settled on her then-favored form: a beautiful young Elf maiden with striking honey-colored hair. She supported herself for some years as an independent information broker, but had no loyalty to her passing employers, who she viewed as gullible and uninformed. In her off time she especially enjoyed planting rumors and framing petty crimes, sowing chaos for its own sake. Her travels for information brought her to many tribes and races, and she gained fluency in several dialects, from lilting Elven to the guttural barks of the Orcs. Recruitment When she was twenty, Luciana was asked by a group of adventurers for information regarding a hidden barrow, rumored to be a source of dread necromantic evil. This normally would not be the kind of job for Luciana to take, but adventurers had always intrigued her, so she found out what little she could learn from the rumors and went to scout it personally. This was how the doppelganger caught the attention of Mael-Ghatti. The lich easily trapped the young spy in his lair, and would have slain her had he not realized the amazing potential she presented to his plans. He offered her a choice: serve him willingly in subterfuge and be rewarded with riches and power beyond her imagination, or die and be reanimated as a mindless guardian of the barrow. It was not a difficult decision for the doppelganger, and she never once regretted it. Her first mission was to reveal all she knew about those heroes who had hired her, and then lure the adventurers into Mael-Ghatti's ambush, where they met a quick and grisly demise. The local towns soon followed and became a portion of the ambitious lich's growing domain. Over the next three years Luciana performed many spying missions for her evil master, growing in cunning and expertise with each task. She was even one of the elements instrumental in the socio-political disintegration of the city of Cabal, the loftiest goal on which Mael-Ghatti had set his sights. Working diligently, Luciana became well-accepted in the palaces of Cabal and used her position and the wealth of information she had acquired to sow rumors, blackmail rulers, stage plots, and even frame assassinations to pit faction against faction. Within sixteen months the political system of Cabal came tumbling to ruins, and much of the city with it. Assassin The young Luciana would not have envisioned herself growing to be an assassin. However, there was one man she could not access. The haughty paladin Rolban had no servants, few confidants, and was impervious to blackmail and seduction. This set him apart from most in Cabal's higher echelons. In order to gain reliable access to his military plans, Luciana needed to reach someone close to him. Mael-Ghatti reviewed her information and ordered her to kill the new beloved of one of Rolban's youngest captains and take her place. It was the doppelganger's first kill, and luck more than skill allowed her to perform it without detection. The body of the innocent serving girl was ripped apart by wild beasts, but no one knew. It took several frustrating weeks, but the spy eventually gained enough insight and influence with the young officer that she could use his guise to enter Rolban's office, and keep her master consistently up-to-date on the paladin's plans. In the months that followed, Mael-Ghatti increasingly ordered his infiltrated agent to perform assassinations. Luciana began to pray to Lolth and Sehanine for cover and aid in eliminating her targets, and she perfected her use of poisons and drugs. The ground Thassil Root that she had so often slipped into food to drug the nobles she'd temporarily replaced now served well to render them susceptible to a safe and efficient kill. On a few harrowing occasions the murders were discovered too early, but the spy turned killer managed to evade capture. The lich was furious whenever plans went awry, but too canny to throw away his gifted agent. Exposed! The failure that changed the doppelganger's life came when Mael-Ghatti ordered her to eliminate one of his most competent and dangerous foes, one who threatened to upset all his plans: the wizard Nicodemus. This wizard was a key member of the Enclave, the largest faction and the closest thing Cabal still had to a firm government. Nicodemus was a frighteningly intelligent and insightful man to begin with, and the recent upheaval had made him suspicious to the point of paranoia. When Luciana slipped into his chambers in the night, not even intending to make the kill yet but just gather information, the wizard's wardings detected her immediately. It took him only moments to reason out what she was, and he revealed her doppelganger form with a magical powder he kept near him. With the castle quickly raised to full alert, Luciana barely managed to escape with her life, and she left her dignity and hope in the first hallway. Having known the streets of Cabal for so long was all that saved her, and she went to ground for days to hide from the search parties and bounty hunters on her trail. Nicodemus set wardings all throughout the castle specifically tailored to find her, and Luciana knew she could never set foot anywhere near the castle again. Nicodemus remained a thorn in her master's side for a long time, and he even tracked the lich to his lair to exact retribution. Others of Mael-Ghatti's agents were able to warn him, and Nicodemus and his allies were routed after an epic battle. Fortunately, it all happened far away from where our protagonist was at the time. Gone Rogue The doppelganger knew that her career working for the lich was over. She had failed before, and nearly been exposed several times, but those setbacks could be overcome with patience, care, and a new identity. This one could not. He may have accepted her occasional slip-ups in the past but Mael-Ghatti must understand now that her usefulness was at an end in Cabal. [i]Why send a spy to kill a wizard in the first place?[/i] Luciana inwardly cursed him, imagining how the lich would react. [i]Isn't that a job for a Duskblade or a Spellsword?[/i] By now she knew too much of her master's plans and secrets. After failing to communicate for so many days, he must have begun to suspect her loyalty. Luciana was convinced that the only way to avoid her certain doom was to evade Mael-Ghatti until she was strong enough to defend herself from him. Stealthily oving out from the center of the city, she passed progressively more downtrodden districts until she settled in a ruined slum, the easiest place to hide. Ninian In the slums of District 8, Luciana met Ninian. If he had been born anywhere else, this handsome young half-elf would have become a great general or statesman. But he was born in the slums, never knew his father, and his mother was killed in a mugging one day when he was a young teen. Raising himself from such harsh conditions made him a hard and determined individual. All the secrets of his life Ninian related to Luciana in time, as the doppelganger (in her beautiful elven form) became his lover and confidant. He shared with her too all his hopes and goals. By his 20s this young hero had already rallied the downtrodden of his district, claimed some territory as his own and assembled, practically from nothing, a respectable faction within the city. They proudly identified themselves as "Ninian's Nightravens." The doppelganger was power-hungry, and not sentimental. She believed that she would be best protected from her former master by surrounding herself with a strong faction, stronger than even Ninian could build on his own. One evening she served him wine poisoned with deathrattle venom. By the time Ninian realized what had made him so sick, it was too late: her dagger was already embedded in his throat. As he died, the shocked agony of betrayal burning in his eyes, Luciana's form changed to Ninian's before his very eyes, and she leaned close to whisper a promise in his ear: "Don't worry my love. Your life will not go unlived." Nightravens She had been with him for so long and so intimately that even his closest friends could not recognize any difference in Ninian's habits, or at worst credited it to a change in their temperamental liege's mood. Under the new Ninian's command, the Nightravens grew to a force to be reckoned with, focusing on deception and stealth attacks: somehow they always knew what was going on in any of the factions around them, and when and where to strike. During this time, the new Ninian was surprised to find another doppelganger in the city. All doppelgangers recognize others of their kind with ease, though they couldn't tell others how. Ninian hastened to recruit the new doppelganger, a vicious, cynical soul named Robin, into her faction. She was pleased to have someone with whom to share her confidence, though Robin's brutality was somewhat offputting. For years the doppelganger lived the borrowed life of Ninian, her longest imitated role, until she hardly remembered the many people she had been before.She continued to lead the Nightravens to greatness in his name and guise, but in so doing, a change came upon her. She began to genuinely care for "her" people. Gradually her accomplishments for the good of her faction, and their devoted loyalty towards their leader, showed in sharp contrast to the single-minded violence of her sole confidant. The cooperative power that her faction presented turned her away from her chaotic evil nature, and towards an understanding of all the merits Ninian had seen in the side of good and order. She thought she might be content remaining in this new role for life, honestly serving as a good hero and leader. Return The years passed, and Ninian began to grow hope that the lich might never find her. But within the decade, Mael-Ghatti finally felt ready to attack what remained of Cabal. He descended on the fractured city with a giant undead army... and might have conquered it if not for the timely intervention of a group of world-renowned heroes. They discovered the army in time to warn the city, and the factions united against this common threat. The battles raged for many days, and the Nightravens too were caught up in them: Ninian did not have the heart to attempt a desperate escape. The wizard Nicodemus was killed in the struggle, but with his sacrifices and those of the heroes, the undead army was broken and dispersed, and Mael-Ghatti's campaign was foiled. For Cabal, this was a bittersweet victory, considering the losses every faction had suffered. For Ninian, it was catastrophe: during the lich's time in the city, Mael-Ghatti had finally located her. With the remains of his troops and his own considerable magic, he descended on the weakened Nightravens and mercilessly hunted down his rogue spy. Ninian was left no choice but to flee, leaving Robin to act as Ninian in her place. The decoy was slaughtered in short order, but she did not know whether the lich would be fooled. Shadowfall The panicked doppelganger had to find some place, some way to go where he could not follow. Clearly, mortals were not enough: she needed more power, a power beyond this world. As fate would have it, the graveyard into which she fled was one of those haunted places in the world that lies particularly close to the Shadowfell. In it, Ninian encountered a band of Dark Ones, emissaries from that dread plane. No matter how she lied, threatened, or cajoled, they refused to let her flee there, but offered to put her into contact with those who could grant her the power to evade her foes. She offered all her fortune, servitude, and other wild promises for this chance. The horrid little creatures cackled. [b]"All we ask for is your soul."[/b] They bowed and vanished, and Ninian was left alone in the graveyard with her thoughts. She felt all the while as if the lich were right on her trail, and closing in any minute to damn her to a twisted unlife. [i]Whatever it takes...[/i] It was not long before five Shadar Kai witches appeared, escorted by the Dark Ones who darted around underfoot. They offered to cast a ritual for her, that would help her take the essence of the Shadowfell into her own body. They warned however that the ritual might change some things within her, change the way she saw the world. All they wanted for it was a small fortune in gems, and an explanation of her motivations, and so Ninian readily acquiesced. The witches formed the circle around her, laid down their components and drew their symbols. It seemed to last for days, but must have been only a hour or two. As the ritual went on the doppelganger felt herself filled with an oppressive shadow, overwhelming, choking, and filling her... And finally she was one with the darkness. And the darkness was one with her. She felt... different somehow. Not terrible, certainly not good, but not like anything she'd ever felt before. As if nothing in this world mattered at all, except for her. [b]"Take some time to learn your new powers."[/b] The witches advised as they withdrew. [b]"They will keep you hidden, as you wished."[/b] At the end of the ritual she rushed out of the graveyard and through the ruined city to find a clear puddle of water, and was shocked at what she saw murkily reflected within it. Ninian was long gone. The doppelganger's form hearkened back to the humanoid one she had not used since she was a child. The maiden's skin had turned a pale gray and her eyes were now a blank pupilless white. Her jet-black hair was the only part dark enough that it didn't show shadows, echos of the Shadowfell, shimmering along it without a source of light. She concentrated, and was relieved to see she could still control her appearance as easily as before. Her eyes she changed to look like a human's eyes, but adjusted little else. [i]I shall need a new name.[/i] She thought. [i]A new me.[/i] [b]"Nightshade."[/b] The doppelganger declared quietly. [b]"I am Jessamine Nightshade."[/b] The change within her brought all her memories of her heartless and mischievous past crashing back, before she had anyone to care for, and it was almost refreshing to reconnect with her evil roots. The Shadowfell is not an intrinsically evil place, any more than the Feywild is intrinsically good. But given the excuse of acting freely without responsibility, most creatures will reveal the darkest side of their true nature. So it was with Jessamine. She mastered enough of the Shadowborn powers to conceal her presence and flee Cabal that very night, and she travelled without stopping until she was too exhausted to budge another step. When she regained her strength, she was determined to serve herself and no others: neither master, nor followers... and she was further convinced that she was evil to the core. Fallen Heroes Jessamine meandered in roughly the same direction for a few weeks, trying to distance herself from her past lives. She tried to return to her old trade of acquiring and selling information, but never settled in one place for long enough, and no qualms about killing for it either. Soon in her travels, she encountered someone both strange and familiar, with power at least the equal of her own: This one called himself Hortis, and not only was he easily recognizable (to Jessamine) as a doppelganger, but she soon found that he was a lich! Perhaps he or others of his kind held the secrets she needed to protect herself against Mael-Ghatti permanently. She resolved to learn what she could. She bears a healthy respect tinged with fear for liches and other powerful undead. Being near so many of them makes her uncomfortable, but she would manipulate them into destroying her old employer if she could. Barring that, she hopes that she can learn enough from them and her new nature to defeat him, and finally bring her the peace of mind she has long been lacking. Fugitive from a Vengeful Rival Benefit: You add Bluff and Stealth to your class skill list, and you gain a +1 bonus to Bluff and Stealth checks. (From Dragon Magazine 366)
Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Character Sheet, Copyright 2008
Myth-Weavers Games
