Welcome back Greyhawk faithful! Today is the start of another new blog column. This one is dedicated to the late Jason Zavoda, who would post NPCs and monsters on his blog Hall of the Mountain King. Jason is why I'm naming this series, Ull: Land of a Thousand Villains. My first post is on the alluringly deadly Nura bint Ramil. Originally an NPC from my own 2E home campaign, this villain first appeared in 2010 as my entry in Postfest XIV on Canonfire. Twelve years later it is time to re-examine this shady lady from Ull so she can be used in your own Greyhawk campaign. Enjoy!"There are few sights in Ull rarer than a woman who wields power and wealth. In the seedy heights of Kester is one
such woman, and though she is not a native of Ull, none dare contest her right
to live and prosper in that harsh frontier land.”
Nura bint Ramil the Pit Mistress (human
female, rogue 12)
Nura bint Ramil arrived in the far-flung trade-town of
Kester during the reign of Draske the Short in 581 CY, and she brought enough
wealth and attitude to effectively buy her way into the upper echelon of
Kester’s popular gladiatorial market. Her sudden fame, and influence was
considered remarkable by locals, because in Ull a woman of any lineage has to
be twice as ambitious and aggressive as her rivals. Nura bint Ramil operates
from a walled compound on the edge of Kester, that includes holding pits and a
training yard for her hand-picked stable of gladiators. Known across the region
as the “Pit Mistress”, she is frequently found at Kester’s markets appraising
new talent or at the Grand Pavilion by the fighting pits. placing bets with her
fellow Pit Masters on their upcoming fights. Nura is always accompanied by a
retinue of loyal eunuch bodyguards and other sycophant servants. Whispers tell
that she also has a very powerful, but secret benefactor watching over her in
return for some unknowable bargain. Indeed, no one in Ull seems to know Nura’s
history, and the Pit Mistress does not tolerate personal questions about her
past.
DM’s Background: Nura bint
Ramil was born in 564 CY in the city of Sefmur in Tusmit. She is the daughter
of a small-time guild thief named Nadira and the notorious assassin, Ramil the
Serpent of Ceshra. Nura never knew her father, she was only a year-old when he
was apprehended on a mission in Ket, never to be seen again. Nura grew up on
the streets of Sefmur, running with a youth gang after she was abandoned by her
mother at age eight. She faced the judgment of the qadi magistrates several
times for pick pocketing and cut-pursing, spending her formative years in more
than one detention house and finally as an indentured servant to a clothier. At
the age of sixteen Nura caught the eye of a lieutenant in the Sefmur thieves guild named Mirak al-Massari, who often came to the clothier to have custom
garments made. By chance one day, he saw young Nura casually concealing sewing
needles, strong thread and even a pair of shears on her as she worked. Mirak
watched her pocket these items from afar and was impressed with what he saw so
he took her aside during a break. Nura was told she had special talents and
that she was wasting her time here, so Mirak managed to get her released from
the sweatshop after bribing the head seamstress with promises and fake jewelry.
Sponsored by Mirak, Nura became a valued
guild-thief in only a few years, concentrating on house burglaries at night, or
bait and switch jobs during the day. One fateful night at the guild-house, she
overheard talk about how she was the spitting image of her mother Nadira, who
once spurned the Guildmaster’s advances and fell for a Ceshran assassin. Nura became
obsessed with learning more about Ramil the Serpent, what happened to him, and
even what kind of debts the guild may have owed him. A couple years later, her
curiosity led to trouble when one day she broke into the Guildmaster’s chambers
and found a journal. To her dismay, Nura discovered that the mission Ramil was
sent to Ket on was in fact a set-up with the Ketite authorities by the jealous
Guildmaster. Nura had just finished reading the account when Mirak, and the
other senior lieutenants caught her in the act. Rather than kill Nura, the
Guildmaster punished the daughter of Ramil by turning her over to Sefmur’s corrupt
qadis, who were handsomely paid to convict her on false charges.
Nura was
sentenced and sold to an unscrupulous caravan master whose last recorded
expedition was south through Ull toward the Dry Steppes. Istus intervened
however, and the caravan was scattered by a freak dust storm that took the life
of the caravan master and left everyone to survive on their own. Nura
surprisingly turned up in Kester a week later, a free Baklunish woman again
with new-found wealth to start her life over. While she now enjoys an
extravagant career beyond her wildest dreams, Nura bint Ramil privately plots
revenge for her father on the Sefmur thieves’ guild in the near future.
Description: By all standards in
the West, Nura is a comely individual, fit and youthful in appearance with
lustrous black hair down to her waist. However, her severe hazel-colored eyes
and harsh demeanor show what a rough life she has in fact lived. Nura is
normally dressed in the finest robes and dresses that can be found in Kester,
along with an endless assortment of veils and jeweled accessories won from bets
with other Pit Masters or gifted from visiting merchants. When travelling
outside the comforts of Kester through the rugged land of Ull, she dresses in
leathers, a light cloak and often a heavy turban to disguise her appearance. Nura
is highly proficient in many light weapons and will always have at least one
blade hid on her during any given encounter. Since moving to Kester, Nura bint
Ramil is not above the use of poisons. Her eclectic collection includes exotic
poisons that can be delivered with a kiss or from her painted fingernails.
Given her resources and contacts, any of the above items in her possession
could be magical with an emphasis on worn protective devices. In certain
dangerous situations, Nura may also have access to magical dusts, sands and
possibly even a one-use item with the ability to summon an earth elemental.
DM’s Campaign Notes: Nura bint
Ramil was in fact rescued from the dust storm by the enigmatic necromancer Abi
Dalzim, recently returned to the outskirts of Kester after his long banishment
at the hands of his nemesis Alhamazad the Wise. Nura is completely in his
thrall, secretly doing his bidding without fail, and fearing his omnipresent
attention from the crumbled ruins of his tower in the Ulsprue foothills. When
not tasked with some fell quest by her shrouded master, Nura is independent to
pursue her own goals. This is an arrangement she freely chose, thus making her
even more cunning than most would-be villains. Her position as a Pit Master in
the lawless trade town of Kester makes her an excellent source for information
or minor missions for Player Characters who don’t mind her shady nature. In the
most extreme situation, she can even buy captured PCs and put them to work in
Kester’s deadly fighting pits until they can win their freedom back.
