The mission was supposed to be simple. A merchant of Tyr had begun acting strangely, and now his visage was changing. At first, he claimed to be ill, but when the changes could no longer be ignored by his friends, he disappeared. Rumors claimed that he had been sighted around a nearby cave, but only at night.
Etahn and I intended only to travel to Tyr and investigate the sightings to determine whether we were dealing with a Navirite or a man who had simply succumbed to mental illness.
During the day, we perched in a tree near the cave and watched in silence from above. As the sun fell and the hours passed, we were beginning to suspect our time had been wasted . . . and then we saw movement at the edge of the cave.
From the darkness, a man emerged. He did not appear to be mentally ill, but instead walking tall, with perfect grace and confidence. Perhaps, we thought, the merchant had simply needed to get away from the city for a time—haven’t we all wished for an occasional seclusion from the wearying world? But then we saw the live animal in his hand—a wild rabbit. We watched as his mouth opened wide, exposing needle-like teeth he used to bite deep into the screeching critter.
Etahn pulled his blade and moved to leap from the tree, but I stilled his hand. “Wait,” I said. “You ate a stewed rabbit two weeks ago, and although I called you a monster, I did not kill you for it. We’re here to learn.” He slid his blade reluctantly back into its sheath, muttering under his breath, and we watched for a time.
Besides the meal of raw meat, he did nothing out of the ordinary, so we slept through the day in Tyr and returned to our tree lair outside the cave before sundown.
That night, the man once again emerged from its lair. This time he began walking east. We descended from our perch, following quietly from a safe distance.
Several times he paused and turned as if preparing to give chase to some prey. Then, he seemed to change his mind and continue forward. But then he paused again and we knew something was different. He looked to his right as if listening, then sprinted into the dark woods. Just as it did, we heard the distinct scream of a human child.
With a curse, I dropped my supplies and sprinted in the direction of that scream with Etahn just behind me. “Be careful,” I heard him call to me. “You’re running into this blindly.” I ignored him. If a child died, I knew I would feel responsible, for I had insisted we let the creature live.
Suddenly I emerged into a small clearing to witness a horrifying scene. A small child lay on the ground, his face slack and his eyes glossy. Hovering over him was an upir, distracted from his meal, as it stared into the eyes of an interloper—the needle-toothed merchant.
They did not yet see me, and Etahn’s firm hand pulled me back into the shadows.
The upir stood and faced the nachzur, as we’ve since learned the creature is called. Their eyes met and I knew the nachzur was in trouble, for I had experienced the mind-controlling gaze of the upir myself. The upir smiled and motioned for the nachzur to sit, clearly wishing to return to his meal before the child’s life drained away entirely.
But the nachzur did not sit, and in fact, addressed the upir, in a unnaturally calm voice, using a very formal tone: “I wish only to claim a valuable item this child took from me. I will take what is mine—a trinket of no use to one of your kind—and then leave you to your meal. I see the child hasn’t much life left, so perhaps we should finish this business quickly.” The upir appeared troubled by his failure to control the nachzur, but seemed reassured by the merchant’s words and manner. Even I, despite the horrifying nature of the conversation, felt as if the creature was of my trust and respect.
The upir nodded. “Take what is yours.” The nachzur approached and leaned in toward the child, and I heard Etahn’s blade slide free. Suddenly, in a flurry of motion, the nachzur’s teeth tore the upir’s throat out.
Etahn and I sprung forward, but before we had closed the distance, the nachzur turned to us casually. “The child does not interest me,” he said. “By all means, tend to his wounds and take him to safety. I assume your study of me has proven fruitful.”
Our puzzled expressions must have been apparent.
“You’ve been watching me for two days but have not attacked me. You carry the weapons and supplies of adventurers, but also carry books and writing utensils. On another night, you might very well be my prey, but tonight we are friends, for I am quite full.”
I felt myself drawn to his eyes—not in the controlling way of the upir, but in the way someone of great charm and personal magnetism might make one wish to spend more time together . . . only much more intensely.
We saved the child, but he did not speak for many weeks. The encounter with the nachzur has haunted both Etahn and me ever since—not because he was frightening, but because we cannot shake the feeling that he was—and still is—our friend. And yet, under different circumstances, we might have been his dinner.
—Delgon
His appearance did not give me discomfort. His movements were graceful and fluid, but there was something strange and otherworldly about him. His blue eyes reassured me and I almost believed the sweet words coming from his mouth. That mouth, filled with thin translucent fangs, no longer seemed strange to me. I tried to look away, but I could not.
—Dazareum Colthax, Mage of Eredar
A nachzur is not one of the most powerful beings of the Navirim, but has great powers of persuasion. They prefer to lull their prey with charm rather than violence, and this can be very effective for them.
—Etahn
Nachzur
Nachzur are beings that can advance in any skills and archetypes that other beings can. They do have some specialA special success if the roll is equal to or less than 1/5 t... More abilities, which are listed below.
Magic Abilities
At Will – fear (mana 3) ; 2/day – language (mana 3)
Beguiling Presence
There is something supernaturally compelling about a Nachzur. Creatures speaking directly with one for more than a few moments must make an opposed Heroic Action using ACU against the Nachzur’s SOC. On a failure, the creature becomes Beguiled by the Nachzur. The victim instinctively regards the Nachzur as trustworthy and friendly and is reluctant to believe that it intends them harm.
This does not allow the Nachzur to issue commands or directly control the victim. Instead, while Beguiled, the Nachzur makes easyYour skill is doubled when a task is easier than normal. Eas... More Persuade checks against the victim.
An obviously hostile act by the Nachzur immediately ends the effect.
A Beguiled creature that witnesses suspicious or threatening behavior may attempt another opposed Heroic Action to overcome the effect.
Shapeshifter
A nachzur is a tall being with semi-transparent skin, enlarged cranium, bright blue eyes, and translucent fangs. They use the polymorph abilitySomething a character can do or feel, whether a skill, a pas... More to blend into population that surrounds them. This can be used once per day, but lasts indefinitely. Abilities or items that allow True Seeing see through the nachzur’s illusion.
Immortal
A nachzur can be killed only by decapitating it, and then hammering a silver spike into its head. Otherwise, the spirit of the nachzur will slowly repair the body until it is whole again. It can regrow small parts of its body (toes, chunks, fingers), but not whole limbs. If the limb or body part can not be reattached, it heals over. If the head or other large part is kept separated, it continues to live, but can not become whole.
Regeneration
Damage dealt to a nachzur is treated as nonlethal damage. Cold iron, Aradani steel, amarnium, silver, or sunlight deals lethal damage to nachzur, which doesn’t go away. Nachzur automatically heal 1 damage per round, with nonlethal healed first. Nachzur can reattach severed limbs or body parts, but can not regrow them. Severed parts that are not reattached witherWither bypasses AV, unless the armor is silvered. Silvered a... More and die normally.
Summon Ally
Once per day, a nachzur can summon a dretch from the Navirim for aid. It is pulled across the veil into Atheles and remains here once summoned. Some nachzur use this to create an army of small demons.
Shadowborn
A nachzur is a creature of the shadows. The Navirim does not have a strong sun. In Atheles, the nachzur must stay out of direct sunlight or suffer 1d6 damage per minute.
Example Nachzur –
Seliena
| Characteristics | CV | 4 | ||
| Stat | Score | % | Speed | 30’ |
| STR | 12 | 60 | HPA measure of the relative health of your character, represen... More | 30 |
| CON | 15 | 75 | Dmg Mod | +1d4 |
| SIZSize defines height, weight, and bulk. There is no SIZ-assoc... More | 15 | 75 | AVThe numeric value representing how much damage armor absorbs... More | 4 |
| INT | 18 | 90 | Class | Being |
| ACU | 16 | 80 | Type | Navirite |
| DEX | 15 | 75 | Horror An optional system where your character’s mental health is ... More | – |
| SOC | 18 | 90 | Treasure | Rich |
- Attack: Longknife 75% 1d6+4+dm; Bite 80% 1d6+4+dm
- Skills: Dodge 75%, Fast Talk 90%, Grapple 65%, Hide 65%, Insight 85%, Listen 75%, Persuade 90%, Spot 75%, Stealth 70%
- SpecialA special success if the roll is equal to or less than 1/5 t... More: Beguiling Presence, Shapeshifter, Regeneration 1, Immortal, Summon Ally, Shadowborn, Magic Abilities
- Weaknesses: *Cold Iron, Aradani Steel, Amarnium, Silver, Sunlight
- Habitat: Cities and settlements
- Encounter: Solitary or with servants/allies
Factor
The Nachzur has adopted the role of merchant. It uses wealth and influence to place itself near powerful people while carefully cultivating a reputation as someone useful and trustworthy.