Player character

Nemeia Thrice-Drowned

Female Undine Witch 1 · Sea Witch, Curse-Caller, and Survivor of the Razored Labyrinth

Nemeia Thrice-Drowned was born touched by water and remade by it. She has drowned three times: once as a child, once in a shipwreck near the Razored Labyrinth, and once in a dream beneath black water where something old spoke her name. She returned each time colder, quieter, and more difficult to read.

Nemeia fills the party’s arcane control role. She weakens enemies with hexes, protects the group with fog and water magic, handles eerie occult clues, and gives the campaign a strong connection to drowning omens, sea-stack legends, and the submerged mysteries of the Castrovin Sea. Unlike the locathah NPCs, she remains a full party member through the later dry Darklands acts, where curses, battlefield control, and utility magic remain essential.

Level 1 Character Sheet

Nemeia Thrice-Drowned — CR 1

Female undine witch 1
CN Medium outsider (native)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4

Defense

AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10
(+2 Dex)

hp 7 (1d6+1)

Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +4

Resist cold 5

Offense

Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.

Melee dagger +1 (1d4/19–20)

Ranged light crossbow +2 (1d8/19–20)

Special hexes, patron spells, familiar, water affinity

Statistics

Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 10

Base Atk +0; CMB -1; CMD 11

Feats Extra Hex

Traits Two-World Magic, Storm-Touched or River Rat

Skills Fly +6, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (planes) +8, Perception +4, Sense Motive +5, Spellcraft +8, Swim +10, Use Magic Device +4

Languages Common, Aquan, Kelish, Undercommon, Aklo

Witch Features

Patron: Water. This gives Nemeia a strong campaign identity tied to drowning dreams, tides, fog, currents, and underwater secrets.

Familiar: A pale gull, river otter, crab, or black reef octopus can serve as her familiar. For this build, the recommended familiar is Ink-Eye, a small black octopus spirit-familiar that can ride in a water-filled charm or glass vessel when away from the sea.

Hexes: Nemeia starts with one witch hex and gains an extra from Extra Hex. Recommended: Slumber and Evil Eye. Together they give her strong battlefield control from level 1.

Spellcasting: Nemeia prepares arcane spells from her familiar. Her Intelligence drives spell DCs, bonus spells, and skill power.

How to Play Nemeia at Level 1

Lead with hexes, not weapons. Slumber can remove dangerous enemies from the fight, while Evil Eye weakens attack rolls, saves, or AC.

Use fog and water as battlefield tools. Obscuring mist, chill touch, and later aquatic spells make Nemeia feel like the sea itself is intruding into combat.

Be the omen-reader. Nemeia should interpret strange storms, drowned voices, dead fish, sea-stack carvings, and dreams of black water.

Stay protected. Nemeia is fragile. Let the hobgoblin, warpriest, hunter companion, or rogue control the front while she dismantles enemies from behind them.

Familiar: Ink-Eye

Black Reef Octopus Familiar · Living Omen of the Drowned Labyrinth

Ink-Eye — Octopus Familiar

N Tiny animal/familiar
Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +5

AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 14
(+3 Dex, +2 size, +2 natural)

hp 3 or half Nemeia’s hp, whichever is higher

Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft.

Melee tentacles +5 (1d2-3 plus grab, if using octopus creature rules)

Special familiar abilities, empathic link, share spells, improved evasion

Familiar Role

Use	How Ink-Eye Helps
Atmosphere	Ink-Eye reacts to storms, dead water, occult pressure, and sea-stack magic before humanoids notice.
Scouting	In shallow water, flooded rooms, and ship bilges, it can investigate spaces humanoids cannot reach.
Spell Identity	As a witch familiar, Ink-Eye stores Nemeia’s spells and becomes central to her power.
Roleplay	It curls around her wrist, floats in a glass charm, or inks black water when danger approaches.

Important Familiar Note

Ink-Eye is flavorfully aquatic, but Nemeia should not be crippled on land. If needed, use a magical water charm, portable vessel, or GM-approved familiar adaptation so the familiar can safely remain with her during land and Darklands chapters. The campaign should make the familiar eerie and memorable, not logistically frustrating.

Witch Spells

Recommended Prepared Spells and Long-Term Spell Direction

Level 1 Spellcasting

Caster Type: prepared arcane caster

Concentration +5; Spell DC 14 + spell level

0-Level Spells Prepared: 3

1st-Level Spells Prepared: 2/day plus bonus spells from Intelligence if applicable

Recommended Cantrips: detect magic, guidance or daze, ray of frost

Recommended 1st-Level Loadout: sleep, obscuring mist, mage armor

Core 1st-Level Spell Notes

Spell	Use
Sleep	Devastating at low levels against groups of pirates, smugglers, and guards.
Obscuring Mist	Perfect maritime control spell for docks, bridges, ship decks, and sea caves.
Mage Armor	Essential personal defense if Nemeia expects combat.
Chill Touch	Strong creepy sea-witch flavor; useful against living foes and undead themes.
Ill Omen	Excellent setup spell before a key save-or-suck hex or ally attack.
Ray of Frost	Minor but flavorful; ties to cold currents and drowning omens.

Aquatic and Maritime Spell Direction

Spell Theme	Examples	Campaign Role
Fog and concealment	obscuring mist, fog cloud, stinking cloud	Control ship decks, docks, ruined bridges, and enemy archers.
Cold and drowning	ray of frost, chill touch, ice storm	Reinforces the “thrice-drowned” identity.
Water survival	water breathing, pressure adaptation, stabilize pressure, neutral buoyancy	Use if available from campaign spell access, scrolls, patron expansion, or GM permission.
Curses and fear	ill omen, bestow curse, fear	Useful throughout maritime and Darklands arcs.
Darklands control	web, glitterdust, black tentacles	Keeps her powerful after the campaign leaves the water.

Recommended Spells by Tier

Level	Spell Tier	Recommended Priorities	Reason
1–3	1st	sleep, mage armor, obscuring mist, ill omen	Low-level control and survival.
4–6	2nd	glitterdust, web, fog cloud, see invisibility	Major control upgrade and anti-stealth utility.
7–9	3rd	stinking cloud, water breathing, dispel magic	Expedition survival and strong battlefield denial.
10–12	4th	black tentacles, ice storm, bestow curse	Excellent against pirate crews, cultists, and Darklands soldiers.
13–14	5th–7th access depending rules	baleful polymorph, waves of fatigue, greater dispel magic	Late-game control and anti-monster tools.

Recommended Progression Through Level 14

Nemeia should remain a control caster first and a sea-themed specialist second. Her magic must work in Kridorfrost, Kridorn, Vladmirr, Ninshabur, underwater ruins, and the dry abyssal Darklands.

Level	Choice	Recommendation	Reason
1	Feat / Hexes	Extra Hex; Slumber + Evil Eye	Strongest low-level control package.
2	Hex	Cackle	Extends Evil Eye and later misfortune effects.
3	Feat	Accursed Hex	Improves reliability when a key target resists a hex.
4	Hex	Misfortune	Brutal against bosses and elite enemies when paired with Cackle.
5	Feat	Improved Initiative	Control casters want to act before enemies.
6	Hex	Flight or Ward	Flight for utility; Ward for protecting allies in long expeditions.
7	Feat	Spell Focus: Enchantment or Conjuration	Choose based on spell emphasis.
8	Hex	Ice Tomb or Water Lung if allowed	Strong theme; choose rules-legal option available at your table.
9	Feat	Greater Spell Focus or Extra Hex	More DC pressure or another thematic hex.
10	Major Hex	Major Healing, Agony, or Retribution	Choose support or offense.
11	Feat	Spell Penetration	Important against late-game magical horrors.
12	Major Hex	Weather Control or Hoarfrost if allowed	Fits campaign storms and cold black-water themes.
13	Feat	Greater Spell Penetration	More reliable magic in the final acts.
14	Major Hex	Vision or Beast Eye	Great for ancient mysteries, scouting, and occult interpretation.

Preferred Gear

Cloak of resistance: mandatory defense.
Headband of vast intelligence: highest priority caster item.
Wand of mage armor: saves spell slots.
Pearl or black coral focus: thematic spellcasting object.
Ring of swimming: useful without turning her into a purely aquatic build.
Scrolls of aquatic spells: pressure adaptation, neutral buoyancy, stabilize pressure, or water breathing if available.

Personal Sidequest — Voices Beneath the Tide

Nemeia hears drowned voices trapped beneath the sea stacks near the Pillars of Trajheir. Investigating reveals a submerged shrine where ancient sea magic and forgotten locathah warnings were sealed beneath layers of coral and volcanic glass.

Alternate Sidequest — The Salt Widow

A sea hag haunting abandoned fishing villages claims to know why Nemeia survived her drownings. To learn the truth, the party must enter a cursed fog bank where memory, water, and prophecy blur together.

Campaign Quote

“The sea does not forget the dead. It only waits to speak with their voices.”