Creating Character: Numare, Primarch of Nova Killbarum
Once a month, I take a look at some of the legendary individuals in the Coldeforged setting, taking a look at their stat block, intended design and character history. This months character both unites and divides, an individual who seeks to return the past to its former glory, This month we have Numare, the Primarch of Nova Killbarum.
From Outcast to Primarch
Long prior to the fall of Killbarum, Numare was an elven student of the arcane, privileged and powerful, at the Tribunate Observatory. He came from wealth and status, and alongside arcane power, they were his due.
Then came the Mage blight, the purge, the razed colleges. It seemed to the elf that in the blink of an eye, everything he had known was torn asunder. The mage blight struck, killing friends, relatives, and colleagues. Worst than all of that, though, was the loss of his livelihood. Chased out of the senate by a mundane mob screaming for blood, along with all of his senator fellows, he was forced to live outside of his birthright, to forge his own path in the world that he’d shunned.
He’d made his way to Hilea, where he became a pivotal figure in starting the Thieves Revolution before mysteriously vanishing when things started to go south for his Killbaran brethren. He’d always harbored the desire to return to Killbarum, and he’d received his chance. Now, decades after his flight, he would return, gather allies, and reforge the disparate city-states into a single, unified whole.
It had taken time, dedication, wisdom, and deep personal growth, but when he arrived at the Imerian city of Urtria on a Brokensail pirate vessel, he knew he has come home. It was his time. He quickly figured out where the old mages had been hiding, where senators still lived, and where those who yearned for those old days had hidden. He quietly gathered their assistance and planned a coup against the cities Warlord, Karlum Augisinte. The coup was brutal, leaving dozens dead and more wounded, but the deed had begun.
Though the fighting lasted for days in the streets of the city, Numare knew that he would prevail, and he did, though at great cost to his followers. Those who survived were promoted, those who fell exalted. A month after the coup, with himself firmly in place, having fought off a number of other, smaller coups, he declared what many had thought Impossible, the Nova Killbarum, the restoration of the Mage Senate and a return to the old ways for all who would accept it. It would be forced on those who did not.
Now, years later, Numare adjudicates Nova Killbarum from Urtria, the forum bustles, and advocates of colleges, both old and new, convene at his declaration. The subjugation of the city-states has proven to be long and arduous, but no one believes more in their cause and righteousness than Numare.
Stats and Crunch
Wizards are powerful, they always have been, and being a wizard in this game is no different. Numare is a wizard (currently with no specialization, I’m still mulling that over) with a massive amount of knowledge and power in his grasp.
There are problems creating wizard NPC’s and adversaries, and one is there extremely low HP and AC. This tends to drive down the CR, though their output does push it up a bit. I wanted him to be CR16, so I added a few magic items, as is customary for high-level items. He has three.
Archmages Ring of Protection, a ring that gives +2 to AC and all Saving Throws, fairly simple. The Staff of Scipianus, an item that allows him to use the wasting, and does necrotic damage when a creature it hit and immune to fear. Lastly, he has the Avalanche Diadem, allowing him to use Arcane Avalanche.
I also allowed him to invent a spell, Improved Stone Skin, that allows him to have damage resistance to all bludgeoning, piercing and slashing. It’s not like he has a pitiful amount of HP anyway.
These, I believe, combined with his excellent selection of Spells, makes him an incredibly formidable opponent.
Numare casts three spells on himself every day, Mage Armor, pushing his AC to 18, Foresight to give him just a massive set of bonuses, and Improved Stoneskin to prevent himself from being harmed by most things.
His spellcasting is exceptional, with a combination of enchantment spells like Charm Person, Dominate Person, Feeblemind, and Dominate Monster to turn the tide of battle in his favor. Forcecage, Banishment, and Plane Shift call all reduce the number of opponents, while Whirlwind, Fireball, and Lightning eliminate any opponents still left. For especially tricky or persistent opponents, he has Wall of Stone, Mirror Image, True Seeing, and See Invisibility. Finally, he makes liberal use of Dispel Magic and Counterspell, keeping himself safe from opposing spellcasters and persistent, irritating effects like Haste, Slow, and Invisibility.
Arcane Avalanche is an interesting ability because it allows Numare to consume future spells for better spells now. Sometimes you want to eat a 2nd level slot to cast Whirlwind at 9th level. There will, eventually, be wording to let you know you can’t go above 9th level, of course.
His last ability, The Wasting, is a huge decimation when fighting an army, something he has had to do from time to time, and the entire reason he sought out and retrieved the Staff of Scipianus from its undead master. Legends told of the Magister being able to drain whole armies to death with a single utterance. Of course, the information was a bit overblown, but the power that it did grant was absolutely worth it. Most common armies will die in droves, granting him a shield of souls that is simply insurmountable. In most encounter instances, though, it’ll likely only give him a slight reprieve
I love Numare, and his goal of reconstructing the Killbarum Republic made me consider bringing at least part of it back so that it could still exist in that fragment, allowing both the old and the new to stand side by side.
