Nezznar Baenre

A talented dark elf wizard of immense ambition who sought power through the Forge of Spells and later became the Black Wyrmspeaker of Tiamat.

Origin Story

The young Drow wizard, a noble but limited in being male, sets off on a quest to show his worth by taking the Forge of Spells .

Menzoberranzan  noble,  of the first House Baenre , (youngest) son of Sos’Umptu Baenre

• Mother (a High Priestess of Lolth), characteristically ruthless and uncaring
• Father an Archwizard, consumed with his own pursuit of power
• Nezznar was ignored until proving himself in the world, able to get his own power without help

After modest training to an initiate wizard, leaves Menzoberranzan with one who endured similar difficulties, Priestess Azx’ka’tu

Lost Mines of Phandelver

• Hears of the Rockseekers possibly finding the Lost Mine of Phandelver, knows of the Forge of Spells and set a plan in motion
• Used money stolen from his father to hire a pair of doppelganger siblings from the Zhentarim of the Upper Underdark : Vyerith and Vhalek
• Has Zhentarim eyes on the town / assistance (hidden).
• King Grol and the Cragmaw Clan - bugbears, hobgoblins, goblins
• Azx’ka’tu settles in at Thundertree,
  • seeking connection with dark fey of Neverwinter Wood
  • gets eaten by Venomfang

Finds lost mine entry shadowing Rockseekers, but knows Gundren has map

• Has King Grol get Gundren, find out if there are other maps, wants The Forge of Spells only for self
• Kills Tharden, interrogates Nundro
• Begins exploration and excavation in mine, but continually confounded
• Mine has disorienting illusions protecting the forge
• The key pieces help ward away those protections, but he only had 2 parts of the key
• Could not find the upper passage, mushrooms could not be crossed
• Flameskull without key in proximity is far more powerful - so thwarted

Group of adventurers cause trouble, eventually leading to his demise

• ( Journal : The Adventure Begins )
  • rescuing Sildar Hallwinter
  • disturbing the Redbrands and exposing Glasstaff as Iarno Albrek
• ( Journal : Cragmaw Castle )
  • then somehow finding King Grol , freeing Gundren
  • Vyerith barely escapes, but steals the map
• ( Journal : Zombies, Orcs, and an Ogre )
  • somehow the adventurers still find the Wave Echo Caves entry
  • the adventurers' uncanny luck is able to find the other key parts
• ( Journal : Wave Echo Caves (Part 2) )
  • the adventurers confront and capture Nezznar, taking him as prisoner to Phandalin
  • with Nezznar's key parts, they are able to assemble the entire key
  • Vhalek escapes the caves, Nezznar escapes Phandalin
• ( Journal : Wave Echo Caves (Finale) )
  • the adventurers defeat the Flameskull
  • Vhalek is killed by the wraith Mormesk
  • Nezznar sneaks into the Forge - finally reaching the goal of his quest
  • but the adventurers have set a trap that seems to kill Nezznar in the collapse that destroys the Forge of Spells

Black Wyrmspeaker

As the story begins for the Yungbluds , word gets out that search parties are looking for a missing Drow noble's kid who goes by The Black Spider. (See Lost Below ). In the unfolding Out of the Abyss events, House Baenre does not fare well and the entire Underdark is rife with even more toxic politics, coaxing the wizard to again seek his fortune elsewhere.

At the urging of Rezmir, Severin Silrajin recruits Nezznar into the Cult of the Dragon, flattering the ambitious and opportunistic wizard. Rezmir once wore the Black Dragonmask as one of the Wyrmspeakers, but in death now serves Tiamat as a Black Abishai. Rezmir has employed spies to track his lost dragonmask, and finds the The Black Spider offers a unique opportunity for recovery. Pairing the devil with the drow, Severin places a tempting prize before the Baenre wizard.

Nezznar approaches the wizard he once employed called Glasstaff, Iarno Albrek, promising to support the revenge Albrek seeks against a rival house in Neverwinter. This allows the cult to retrieve the Black Dragonmask that Iarno's alter-identity, Alorrik , has hidden on another plane (see Skyreach Aftermath ).  Forming Team Black, the Drow wizard becomes the new Black Wyrmspeaker, assisted by Rezmir and Iarno.

Their first mission: striking back through the might of the Cult of the Dragon.

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Our story departs dramatically from the base story: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Nezznar