CrimsonCarcharodon
Explorer
I'm definitely using this as a reference for my own Eberron ToA game.
D&D 5E A non-canon timeline of Chult for ToA DMs
Quickleaf
Legend
[MENTION=6808994]Teldarian[/MENTION] Great summary of Ras Nsi! It's one of the big failings of the adventure that this his story wasn't fully laid out somewhere. I also had to piece it together from Jungles of Chult, Ring of Winter, wikis, and other sources. And even then, I never realized that Nsi's undead army was created from the remains of the Eshowe! That's especially grisly when you imagine him sending out zombified uncles/aunts to hunt down their living nephews/nieces, and so forth.
I think of Ras Nsi's role in the narrative as something like a horrible warlord that no one wants to deal with & everyone would prefer would just go away, but that the narrative drives the PCs toward dealing with for their own quest. It's the "I feel icky after making that deal" moment in the movie, followed by just waiting for the other shoe to drop and Nsi to betray us.
To really drive this home, I think Nsi's atrocities need to be revealed at a couple points prior to meeting Ras Nsi in the Fane. At Mezro, maybe in the Nsi Wastes, maybe in a book in a Merchant Prince's library, maybe talking to tribes, maybe mass graves along the River Olung, certainly in the Valley of Lost Honor, maybe even meeting the last survivor(s) of the Eshowe. Then in his lair, Ras Nsi should have macabre trophies celebrating his genocide of the Eshowe, and he should be quick to suggest genocidal strategies for the PCs dealing with other enemies like grung or pterafolk.
Finally, while Acererak is presented as teleporting in as soon as the Soulmonger is destroyed and the Death Curse ended...if the PCs ally with Ras Nsi, I can imagine an alternative/additional scene where Ras Nsi's forces lurk in the shadows to backstab the PCs. Thus fulfilling on that tension waiting for his betrayal.
I think of Ras Nsi's role in the narrative as something like a horrible warlord that no one wants to deal with & everyone would prefer would just go away, but that the narrative drives the PCs toward dealing with for their own quest. It's the "I feel icky after making that deal" moment in the movie, followed by just waiting for the other shoe to drop and Nsi to betray us.
To really drive this home, I think Nsi's atrocities need to be revealed at a couple points prior to meeting Ras Nsi in the Fane. At Mezro, maybe in the Nsi Wastes, maybe in a book in a Merchant Prince's library, maybe talking to tribes, maybe mass graves along the River Olung, certainly in the Valley of Lost Honor, maybe even meeting the last survivor(s) of the Eshowe. Then in his lair, Ras Nsi should have macabre trophies celebrating his genocide of the Eshowe, and he should be quick to suggest genocidal strategies for the PCs dealing with other enemies like grung or pterafolk.
Finally, while Acererak is presented as teleporting in as soon as the Soulmonger is destroyed and the Death Curse ended...if the PCs ally with Ras Nsi, I can imagine an alternative/additional scene where Ras Nsi's forces lurk in the shadows to backstab the PCs. Thus fulfilling on that tension waiting for his betrayal.
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