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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Teldarian" data-source="post: 7521630" data-attributes="member: 6808994">Hi Ben, I just wanted to reply to your timeline with some clarifications. While I appreciate that you have established your own timeline of Chult's past, I thought I'd offer up a more canonical version for people wishing to stick with the established history of Chult. Firstly, we need to clarify something about Ras Nsi's class. He's not a blackguard; he's not even a paladin. He's a wizard. This is pretty important. Well, actually, not really that important, since if your party is fighting Ras Nsi your campaign has probably gone a bit sideways, so his class isn't likely to come into play. Second (and more importantly), let's talk about Ras Nsi's age and his history. The Tomb of Annihilation book really does not offer enough on him for readers who have not read The Ring of Winter to really appreciate how significant his character is, and I really think that's a shame. Ras Nsi (“Nsi” being his name, “ras” is a noble rank, like “duke”) is over 4,000 years old. He was, for centuries, a Chosen of Ubtao, one of the seven original barae (immortal defenders) of Mezro.  About 1,600 years ago, Mezro was at war with another tribe of Chultans called the Eshowe. The war had lasted three hundred years before the Eshowe made a desperate gamble. They struck at Mezro with a creature they found in the deepest, darkest caves of Chult, a place that had not seen light since the gods themselves were young. This entity, a shadow giant, was repulsed by the Mezroans in a great battle, and then turned on the Eshowe, decimating their ranks. It was at this point that Nsi decided to launch a punitive expedition to destroy the remainder of the Eshowe army. It was brutal. Far more than it needed to be. And yet, it was not enough for Ras Nsi. It is important to note at this point that all of Ubtao's Chosen were granted a special, unique power. Nsi's was the ability to create undead at will. When Nsi sallied forth from Mezro, he did so at the head of an undead army created from the fallen Eshowe. It was this army that he then turned into the jungle, seeking out any and all who remained of the Eshowe tribe. Elders, women, children, all were hunted down. All were slain. All became a part of Nsi's ever-growing horde. When at last Nsi was satisfied that he had destroyed the Eshowe, he returned to Mezro. He did not get the hero's welcome he anticipated. The Mezroans were repulsed by him and his actions and banished him from the city. Furious, but still wholly devoted to Ubtao and Mezro, he retreated and established himself as the city's protector at large. For centuries, he built up his undead army, eventually controlling most of the jungle. He used the undead as slaves to industry, building up a trading company that made him obscenely wealthy from trade with the rest of Faerûn. When Artus Cimber met him in the 14th century DR, Nsi's court (borne on the backs of two giant, undead turtles) was filled with all manner of imported treasures from as far away as Cormyr. Nsi finally returned to Mezro some 1,500 years after his exile after the city came under attack by Batiri goblins. Once again, he was repulsed from entering the city. This time, he was also stripped of his mantle as a Chosen of Ubtao... (I think? It's been a while since I read the book) When next we hear about Ras Nsi, it's in the adventure. According to page 92, he arrived in Omu about fifty years ago (about 80 years since he was driven from Mezro). He becomes a yuan-ti (presumably to extend his lifespan if he was mortal again) dedicated to releasing Dendar the Night Serpent from her prison beneath the Peaks of Flame. Dendar, it should be noted, is the reason that Ubtao was given all of Chult as his domain. He was entrusted by the gods to protect the Peaks of Flame, Dendar's prison. Betrayed by Ubao, Nsi has thrown in with his former patron's sworn enemy. It's personal. It's poetic. It's also going to <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />. Nsi is dying. He is afflicted by the Death Curse, and the value of his vengeance is now being measured against the value of his life. This makes him the perfect ally of convenience against Acererak: he literally has every reason to help the players. He will get to live and he will get to continue his vengeance. That's a bit of a word explosion, but hopefully it will help inform people who are interested in the canonical history of Nsi. I think it is an exceptional narrative that is worth using, especially if you know it in full.</blockquote>

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