Neumara
Neumara (she/they/he) is a character played by Jules (they/them) in Oops! All Clerics. She is a level 4 beauty cleric of Sune and a reskinned variant tiefling.
Her hard, intimidating exterior is a result of decades of struggle against a prejudiced world. She is an expert at conflict mitigation, and she has dedicated her life to public works that focus on finding beauty in all things and beings, so that we may be accepting to all who live amongst us.
The most important thing to acknowledge is that if Neumara harbors any ill will or grudge against another religious organization in Acropolis, not a soul would know. As a Beauty Cleric, her talents often focus on conflict resolution, so she works to maintain equal allyship with all of the major religions of Kauvet. Where she cannot achieve the reality of this, she works to craft the illusion of it. As she figures, should she voice open contempt for the church of Myrkul then be tasked with resolving a dispute between a follower of Myrkul and a follower of Azuth, the Myrkulian will immediately assume bias on Neumara’s part, become increasingly defensive, and a resolution will be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain, whereas if all parties view her as an impartial ear and possible advocate, she can be more effective.
In the privacy of her mind, she disapproves of the church of Myrkul as well as the church of Hecate. Her disapproval of the Myrkulian doctrine centers on the fact that Myrkul seems to utilize stereotypical images of death, hell, and pain that not only are the motivation behind her practice as a cleric, but also the reason behind a lot of the prejudices that hounded her in her youth and continue to affect her life now that she’s returned to the city. She’s working to instill ideals of open-mindedness and acceptance across Kauvet, and not only does the church of Myrkul’s practices make her job harder, she has also personally suffered as a result of the fear they create.
Her disapproval of Hecate is that as the most powerful and influential religion in the pantheon, throwing their direct endorsement behind the church of Myrkul has significantly weakened the standing of the other churches in the eyes of the mass populous. The church of Hecate creating an obvious relationship with the church of Myrkul eliminates any image the people could have of a united front among the churches of Acropolis which is an essential part of maintaining peace among its followers, at least according to Neumara and other clerics of Sune. Additionally, despite her ability to influence undead, in Neumara’s mind, Hecate’s propensity toward beauty and flights of pleasure and magical spectacle would much better align with the personality of Sune than with Myrkul, so she is flabbergasted that she chose the latter. Or perhaps, her followers have misguidedly done so in her name. Furthermore, Kelemvor only becomes the god of death after usurping Cyric who usurped Myrkul. Not only did Sune have a hand in removing Cyric from his dominion over the dead and bringing Kelemvor in to take over, that means Myrkul is twice removed from his dominion over the dead. He should be old news, the people should have moved on. What can anyone think he may still have to offer us, she thinks. Lastly, Neumara does not fancy politics, but she cannot help but feel a twinge of anger at the Queen ever since the royally sponsored church of Hecate threw their weight behind Myrkul.
As far as the other churches go, she is respectful and relatively unconcerned when it comes to the churches of Azuth and Moradin. They seem fine, focused, and unproblematic, doing the jobs they were established to do. She has a special fondness for the church of Kelemvor, not only because her goddess had a hand in ushering Kelemvor into godhood, but because they need support as Myrkul rises in popularity in order to keep some semblance of balance between the different religious powers. Neumara feels the church with the greatest potential to be a powerful ally to the Church of Sune is that of Lathander. The Light’s ideals of creation, light, and hope best align with the ideals of the Kauvetian Church of Sune.
Description
Neumara is a monstrously tall, infernal insectoid. Her long, imposing humanoid torso extends its blood-crimson scales from the top of her horned head to the tip of their centipede body. The insect half of their body is bare to allow full use and admiration of her natural armored exoskeleton, which protects her more vulnerable, plum-colored underbelly. Her tiefling half is adorned in a subtle yet refined nobleman’s waistcoat, its color being identical to that of her scales to provide a sleek uniformity. This style has been modified so as to not inhibit Neumara’s access to his giant bat wings that extend from her shoulder blades, giving them access to flight. Neumara’s eyes present no pupil or iris. Instead, the entire eyeball emits a solid, piercing orange glow. Neumara’s wrinkled, velvety face rarely smiles. Thus, the sight of her fangs can send shockwaves through unprepared hostiles.Her hard, intimidating exterior is a result of decades of struggle against a prejudiced world. She is an expert at conflict mitigation, and she has dedicated her life to public works that focus on finding beauty in all things and beings, so that we may be accepting to all who live amongst us.
Backstory
Alone in a world that viewed them as a monstrosity, Neumara lived a life of solitude until one day she was visited by the goddess Sune. Sune was a goddess of unmatched beauty, and Neumara expected her scorn or wrath like everyone else, yet she regarded Neumara with love, spoke to her in her infernal tongue, and helped her see the beauty in herself. The two interfaced frequently after that, exploring and philosophizing their ideas of beauty and its complexity. With the guidance and strength of Sune at her back, Neumara moved to the capital city of Acropolis to show how anyone and everyone can embody and spread her ideals of beauty, love, and acceptance.Relationship with Other Churches
In short, Neumara has a good relationship with the Churches of Kelemvor and Lathander; they are neither here nor there on the Churches of Moradin and Azuth; and she has a distaste for the Churches of Myrkul, Hecate, and the Queen who endorses them.The most important thing to acknowledge is that if Neumara harbors any ill will or grudge against another religious organization in Acropolis, not a soul would know. As a Beauty Cleric, her talents often focus on conflict resolution, so she works to maintain equal allyship with all of the major religions of Kauvet. Where she cannot achieve the reality of this, she works to craft the illusion of it. As she figures, should she voice open contempt for the church of Myrkul then be tasked with resolving a dispute between a follower of Myrkul and a follower of Azuth, the Myrkulian will immediately assume bias on Neumara’s part, become increasingly defensive, and a resolution will be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain, whereas if all parties view her as an impartial ear and possible advocate, she can be more effective.
In the privacy of her mind, she disapproves of the church of Myrkul as well as the church of Hecate. Her disapproval of the Myrkulian doctrine centers on the fact that Myrkul seems to utilize stereotypical images of death, hell, and pain that not only are the motivation behind her practice as a cleric, but also the reason behind a lot of the prejudices that hounded her in her youth and continue to affect her life now that she’s returned to the city. She’s working to instill ideals of open-mindedness and acceptance across Kauvet, and not only does the church of Myrkul’s practices make her job harder, she has also personally suffered as a result of the fear they create.
Her disapproval of Hecate is that as the most powerful and influential religion in the pantheon, throwing their direct endorsement behind the church of Myrkul has significantly weakened the standing of the other churches in the eyes of the mass populous. The church of Hecate creating an obvious relationship with the church of Myrkul eliminates any image the people could have of a united front among the churches of Acropolis which is an essential part of maintaining peace among its followers, at least according to Neumara and other clerics of Sune. Additionally, despite her ability to influence undead, in Neumara’s mind, Hecate’s propensity toward beauty and flights of pleasure and magical spectacle would much better align with the personality of Sune than with Myrkul, so she is flabbergasted that she chose the latter. Or perhaps, her followers have misguidedly done so in her name. Furthermore, Kelemvor only becomes the god of death after usurping Cyric who usurped Myrkul. Not only did Sune have a hand in removing Cyric from his dominion over the dead and bringing Kelemvor in to take over, that means Myrkul is twice removed from his dominion over the dead. He should be old news, the people should have moved on. What can anyone think he may still have to offer us, she thinks. Lastly, Neumara does not fancy politics, but she cannot help but feel a twinge of anger at the Queen ever since the royally sponsored church of Hecate threw their weight behind Myrkul.
As far as the other churches go, she is respectful and relatively unconcerned when it comes to the churches of Azuth and Moradin. They seem fine, focused, and unproblematic, doing the jobs they were established to do. She has a special fondness for the church of Kelemvor, not only because her goddess had a hand in ushering Kelemvor into godhood, but because they need support as Myrkul rises in popularity in order to keep some semblance of balance between the different religious powers. Neumara feels the church with the greatest potential to be a powerful ally to the Church of Sune is that of Lathander. The Light’s ideals of creation, light, and hope best align with the ideals of the Kauvetian Church of Sune.
Quotes
“Conflict is ignorance that has turned to fear and found a voice. We must turn this ignorance into knowledge and this fear into acceptance, for only when acceptance finds a voice can true beauty occur.”
“The antithesis of beauty is politics.”
Trivia
- Neumara's appearance is based on Dean Hardscrabble from Monsters University, seen here.
- Neumara raised herself, so he has no surname. However, she has acquired titles and nicknames over the years including Nightmare Neumara and The Infernal Centipede.
- Neumara is 8’11” tall, her insectoid frame is 5’7” long, and she is 44 years old. They are a variant tiefling and their class is a homebrew beauty domain cleric.
- Jules has made a heroforge of Neumara, seen here.
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