M'doli Nuwamanya
by Patrick SullivanThese are the future statistics for M'doli Nuwamanya, a PC in my Yavdlom campaign who, IMC, is currently on his way to the ruins of Gwondoya to receive his assignment as M'doli of the State of Gwondoya. I've decided that IMC at least that Yavdlom States are ruled by a member of the nobility of M'doli (marquis, must affect at least 100,000 people in his or her life) or higher. Within States, there may be one or more yobar (baron), kwa'a (count), or uvundi (viscount) ruling smaller areas. Thus, my reference to Kwa'a Chiku should actually call her Kwa'a of the District of Angorit, rather than the State of Angorit. Sorry about that, the terms were switched around in my head. Anyway, here's the description of M'doli Nuwamanya, the narrator (in OD&D terms--but I'm sure it's easy to convert them mentally to AD&D):
M'doli Nuwamanya
Magic-User
Lawful (LN, probably, for AD&D)
Str8, Int16, Wis13, Dex9, Con15, Cha 15
Languages: Yavdlom, Slag, Thyatian, Mugumban, currently studying
Sheyallia Elven
General Skills include healing, story of the region, physics,
anatomy, and persuasion.
Items of interest: red steel staff (carefully crafted to look like a metallic dogwood staff), a collection of spells written on scrolls (his spellbook), a plain silver ring of protection (it makes a small green ring around his finger because of his slight allergy to silver); he never wears anything but loose-fitting silk clothing, because he hates anything uncomfortable (or cold or wet or dirty); he always carries a well-stocked toiletry kit; he always as at least one journal nearby--often more than one; and all the medical supplies and delicacies he can carry (floating disk is among his favourite spells). Unfortunately, despite his enjoyment of carrying as much equipment as possible, he hates the physical exertion necessary to carry it--especially through swampy and jungle terrain.
M'doli Nuwamanya is a fairly tall, heavy-set, man. His skin is not quite as dark as is usual in Yavdlom, and he generally keeps his head completely bald, lending him a deceptively sickly appearance. His voice is deep and booming when he tries to make it so, but more frequently he is soft-spoken with a surprisingly high-pitched voice. Nuwamanya is an avowed non-combatant--he has no weapon proficiencies, and he refuses to fight at all unless he feels he has no choice whatsoever, and in such cases he is completely useless anyway. His staff serves more as a walking and poking stick than a weapon. Nonetheless, Nuwamanya is among the most skilled healers in northern Yavdlom, making him very desirable as a companion on adventures. Healing is the one "dirty" activity that he will participate in, as he gets completely absorbed into his work.
Nuwamanya can be a very difficult man to work with. He makes endlessly critical comments of the fools and "dirty people" with whom he must work, but he is entirely reliant on them. He takes copious notes in his many journals, and sorts and resorts them, trying to compile massive amounts of knowledge. In his journal's, his heroism is always overemphasised, while the role of his companions are always ridiculed. However, despite his unpleasantness, he is a just and capable ruler, remarkably perceptive and quick to correct anything he sees as undesirable. Nuwamanya is quick to root out corruption, and he has no tolerance for it. Under his guidance, the state of Gwondoya has grown more prosperous than ever. He is currently trying to forge a permanent trail between Angorit and the mouth of the River Tockumsa (see below) in order to compete with the Slagovich and Sindhi ports at Tyjaret and Kladanovic. Nuwamanya does not feel particularly reverential toward the seers or the Precepts of Yav, but he recognises their validity and importance, and so he supports the clergy.
One of Nuwamanya's greatest influences was very early in his adventuring career. He was with a small group of adventurers from his hometown of Ujanja heading north through the Nakakande when two of his companions took very ill with swamp fever. At camp one night, his three healthy companions left to investigate what sounded like a very large frog coming toward them... and he didn't find the first body for two days. In all, he spent two weeks with a corpse and two very ill people, one delirious, one which slipped mercifully into a coma. When the other two characters finally returned, they found Nuwamanya remarkably paranoid and dirty, something they had never before encountered. Since that time, he has done everything possible to avoid being alone in the wilderness.
Nuwamanya is M'doli of the State of
Gwondoya, a state historically cantered in Gwondoya, but now with
it's capital in a newer village named Jabagwa, located at the mouth
of the River Tockumsa (a corrupted form of Tokomeza, the Karimari
village upstream from that point) northeast of Gwondoya. It
encompasses within its borders the districts of Angorit, Ujanja,
and Kabonero--the State's borders roughly correspond to the border
between the Rain Forest and the swamp on the south, and the borders
of Yavdlom as shown in CoM to the north (the Outer Reaches, though
nominally controlled by Yavdlom, are not part of any particular
state). The district of Gwondoya is ruled directly by the M'doli,
and it includes within its borders the Ulimwengu reserve--although
the M'doli does not actually rule this area, he (or, in the case of
Nuwamanya's predecessor, she) is one of the few people of the area
who actually know of the existence of Ulimwengu.