Base Requirements

• Races: Human
• Classes: Illusionist, Any Non-wizard
• Ability Requirements: Balance 16, Reason 16
• Alignments: Any
• Starting Cash: By class
• Bonus Languages: Rauthlek
• Recommended Languages: Cosh, Halruaan, Lantanna, Netherese, Thorass, Waelan
• Local Religions: Leira

Proficiencies

• Weapon Slots: -1 slots
• Non-weapon Slots: By class
• Available Categories: By class, plus Wizard
• Bonus Proficiencies: Literacy, Navigation, Spellcraft
• Required Proficiencies: none
• Recommended Proficiencies: none

Overview: This legendary nation is shrouded in mystery, and it is the supposed homeland of mighty wizards and flying ships. The wizards of Nimbral are an incredibly gifted school of spell weavers. Stories of their great powers have spread throughout Faerûn and formed the basis for countless tales of mystery and magic. Of course, not all of these are true, but if even a few of them are grounded in fact, the implications are staggering.

Description: Adventurers from Nimbral have a proud bearing that speaks of hidden secrets, an almost undefinable, unapproachable demeanor that is nearly as much of a defense as their armor. Their weapons, shields, armor, and helms all shine with dazzling brightness, and great care is taken to keep them in that condition. One is hard pressed to picture a hero from Nimbral getting mired in grit and muck.

Nimbralese armor is always metal, at the very least. There are rumors that some powerful warriors possess magical glass armor, but these stories have never been substantiated. Their armor is usually covered with hooded robes woven of some unusual silver thread. These robes gleam and shimmer like moonlight.

The faces of these fantastic people are seldom seen, for they keep their cowls drawn forward and their countenances hidden. Those who have looked upon the face of one of a character from Nimbral report that they have no eyes, or, rather, that their eyes are orbs of a bright metal that glisten like quicksilver.

Role-Playing: The people of Nimbral are very close-mouthed about their homeland. They seem to almost enjoy perpetuating the aura of mystery that surrounds them. However, there can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that they are reliable, brave, and resourceful heroes despite their secrets.

In some ways, adventurers from Nimbral seem too good to be true to many folk. They are polite, articulate, proud of bearing, and level-headed, and the only complaint about them is their secrecy. Some cynics wonder just what it is that they are hiding.

Special Abilities:

• The quicksilver eyes that every such character hides beneath his hood are themselves magical. They grant the character infravision with a range of 120 feet and allow the Nimbralese character to see magical auras (eliminating the need for a detect magic spell) and invisible things.
• Each Nimbralese character starts with a quicksilver robe, in addition to their normal starting cash. These robes grant the wearer a +1 bonus to Armor Class (or +3 if no other armor is worn).
• Nimbral is a land of such exotic magics that every Nimbralese is capable of learning spells. Thus, non-wizards from Nimbral (fighters, clerics, thieves, or spies) gain the spellcasting abilities of a Bard that is three levels lower than their current experience level. This character’s spellcasting is unaffected by the wearing of metal armor, unlike most other spellcasters.
• Wizards of Nimbral have mastered magical skills the likes of which no other culture has even contemplated. These skills involve illusions and spells of that type. All wizards of Nimbral are specialist illusionists. They have the normal advantages of specialization. Because of the great knowledge of these people, however, their powers go far beyond those of normal illusionists. These characters have full access to the spells of Necromancy, Evocation, and Abjuration, schools normally closed to illusionists. In addition, the illusionists of Nimbral receive bonus spells, just as priests do, for high ability scores. The number and level of bonus spells they receive are determined by the character’s Reason score (using the table for Intuition).

Special Disadvantages:

• Although the quicksilver eyes of these unusual characters do provide them with excellent eyesight, they have their weaknesses as well. The most important of these is because of their magical nature. If such a character is hit with a dispel magic, he must make a successful saving throw vs. spell or be blinded for a number of rounds equal to the level of the caster. If the character enters a magical dead zone, his eyesight instantly fails. A secondary disadvantage associated with the unusual eyes of Nimbralese characters involves attacks by creatures employing gaze weapons. Whenever a character makes a saving throw to avoid or lessen the effects of meeting another creature’s gaze, he suffers a -4 penalty. Attacks of this type include the petrifying visage of a medusa or the charm ability of a vampire. Gaze attacks that do not require the victim to look into the eyes of the caster gain no advantage from these unusual eyes.
• Whether they look impressive or they are from legendary Nimbral, these characters always attract attention. Whenever a character from Nimbral enters a village or town, he attracts 4d6 observers within 10+1d10 minutes. This crowd makes it easier for others to pick the pockets of the Nimbralese character and his cohorts (+2 bonus). In addition, the crowd makes it difficult for anything to be done quietly.
• Unscrupulous and power-hungry wizards may also meet and become personal enemies of the character, seeking to steal secrets and magic from them. There is a 10% likelihood of this each month with a 5% cumulative chance for each of the character’s levels. This wizard is always at least twice the level of the character when the hostile relationship begins.
• The intensive mental training that characters from Nimbral receive leaves them physically atrophied. As a result, they use the next lower sized die when rolling for hit points (i.e. d4 becomes d3). They never receive bonus hit points for high Fitness scores.
• Nimbralese Illusionists gain no additional weapon proficiencies after 1st level.
• Clerics from Nimbral must have Leira as their patron deity.

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