Noumena
by Marco Dalmonte(Cheimos, Kepher, Mimir, News, Nian-Mai Si-Xiang)
Patron of Investigation and Knowledge, Master of Enigmas and Arcane Mysteries
Level, Alignment, Sphere: 34th (Hierarch), N, Thought
Symbol: a chessboard or something else from a game of logic.
Portfolio: Knowledge, memory, magic, mysteries, enigmas, cunning, tactics, strategy and logic
Worshipped in: Savage Coast (Bellayne), Hollow World (Milenia, Nithia), Known World (Darokin, Glantri, Northern Reaches, Thyatis), Norwold, Ochalea
Appearance: A elderly, emaciated man, with incipient baldness, a long grey beard, wearing a long dark robe that leaves exposed only hands and head.
History: During the decline of the Empire of Nithia, Kepher (the mortal name of Noumena) was an endowed Pharaoh of great intelligence and tactical acumen, that it lived through the VII century BC and led his people to achieve great conquests. However, he became more and more detached from the political matters of his kingdom since he was much more interested in revealing the mysteries and the enigmas that encircled him. So tired and annoyed he became of his role, that one day he abdicated in favour of a grandson and travelled the world looking for new mysteries to unveil. Following a series of clues he was finally led back to Nithia, where he discovered that his people were slowly slipping towards decadence and corruption. Although he did not care about the fate of the Nithians (thinking that anyone who willingly embraces dissolution earns its demise), he nevertheless was interested in discovering the reason of this sudden decay of the Nithian customs and moral, since no internal event seemed to justify it. Through further research he discovered that a group of Entropic Immortals was conspiring in order to destroy Nithia. During his adventures he always prayed his patron Amon (Odin) to guide and enlighten him, and Odin grew so fond of his wits and resourcefulness that he eventually pushed Kepher on the road towards immortality. Kepher was therefore chosen by Pflarr and Rathanos on Odin's advice to guide the Nithians that were transferred in the Hollow World in order to save them from Nithia's downfall. Once in charge of the new Nithia, Kepher had to endure a civil war caused by the priests of Rathanos and Pflarr, who tried to affirm the superiority of one's deity over the other. Kepher was skilful and quick enough in discovering the Entropic artifact that had triggered the unexpected fight between the two factions and succeeded in destroying it at the cost of his own life, preserving the stability of the new Kingdom of Nithia. The heroic deed was rewarded by Odin with immortality in BC 460, since he considered Kepher's path of the Epic Hero concluded with that grand finale. From that moment Noumena concentrated his efforts to hide the secrets of the Nithians on the outer world so that they could not corrupt the future civilisations. He also wanted to guard all the dark lore that could put in danger the Multiverse. For this reason he promoted the creation of various secret sects all over the world, with the purpose of creating an elite of thinkers and sages that could unveil and guard the more powerful and esoteric secrets of the mortals. This is how the sect of the Illuminati was created, and still today it has numerous adepts all over the world who worship Noumena under various names (Cheimos, Kepher and News among them).
Personality: Noumena has risen through the Immortal ranks thanks to his passion for mysteries, which pushed him to undertake dangerous quests in all the Multiverse. He is a permanent member of the Council of Intrusion, and carefully watches all the strange events happening in the universe, often discovering important phenomena that other immortals had overseen. Noumena is cold and detached, and shows little interest in the fate of the mortals, unless they prove vital for the resolution of an enigma. He is often meditative and silent, maintaining a low profile that leads many Immortals to underestimate him. However, whenever he speaks publicly, everyone pays attention, since that means that some great mystery is about to be revealed. Noumena is the investigator of the mysteries of the universe, constantly looking for new food for his hungry brain, and thanks to this curiosity of him he was able to acquire so much power in such a short time since his ascension. Since he is mostly a loner in his quests, he does not have particular allies besides his patron Odin (which added him in the Norse pantheon under the identity of Mimir), although he likes the intelligence and love for details of Ssu-Ma. For the same reason he neither possesses sworn enemies, but he changes targets frequently depending on which plots he discovers during his investigations.
Patron: Odin
Allies: Odin, respect for Ssu-Ma
Enemies: no stable one (it depends on his plans)
Classic D&D Stats:
Followers' Alignment: any
Favoured weapons: none (allowed all bludgeoning weapons)
Clerics' skills and powers: +1 bonus to Intelligence; Detect secret doors and hidden passages (1-3 on d6); free general skills Hear Noise (as thief of same level) and Spot
D&D 3E Stats:
Domains: Thought, Knowledge, Magic, Will
Preferred weapon: light mace
Sources: WotI, Immortal set, HWR2