Artus Cimber

Artus Cimber was the keeper of the Ring of Winter, and was the youngest son of the highwayman known as Shadowhawk. A former Harper, he left the organization to protect himself, his wife Alisanda, and the ring from falling into the wrong hands.

Description
As a young child, Artus was scrawny with dark brown eyes.

Due to the immortality granted by the Ring of Winter, Artus kept his looks and charm throughout his life. Artus was a tall and strikingly handsome man of lithe build. He often wore leathers, hoods, and cloaks to help him keep a low profile, as well as leather gloves to hide the Ring of Winter and the tattoos of the names of his dearly departed animal companions—a pair of talking wombats named Byrt and Lugg—on his fingers above his knuckles.

Personality
Unlike his brother Oric, Artus was intelligent and observant.

Artus was passionate about the preservation of knowledge and history, especially if it pertained to Chult, where he'd spent most of his life with Alisanda. Since the disappearance of Mezro and his wife, Artus longed to be reunited with her again. He sought the oracle of Orolunga, Saja N'baza, and scoured through ruins trying to finally find the answer on how to bring about their return.

Throughout his years of being hunted for the Ring of Winter, Artus learned to be slow to trust strangers, adventurers in particular. He tended to keep quiet, and disliked when his presence drew negative or unnecessary attention to him and his traveling companions.

Possessions
When Artus was a boy, he wore a threadbare tunic and breeches.

Artus was the keeper of the Ring of Winter, an ancient sentient artifact of Auril, the evil goddess of ice. The Ring craved destruction and tried to take control of anyone who wore it. The Ring granted its keeper immortality, protection from any kind of scrying or detection magic, cold immunity, and control over ice and snow, including dropping temperatures to around −30 degrees Fahrenheit, casting icy versions of powerful spells like a Bigby's hand, wall of ice, spike growth, ice storm, sleet storm, flesh to ice, cone of cold, Otiluke's freezing sphere, and even creating weapons and living creatures made from ice.

The Ring of Winter was highly sought after by many people and factions around Faerûn, including the church of Auril, the Harpers, the Zhentarim, the Arcane Brotherhood, frost giants, and the Red Wizards of Thay.

Artus also wielded his trusty +3 dagger, Bookmark. Artus could use Bookmark like a torch (by shedding bright light from the sapphire set into its pommel) or a compass (by floating the dagger in his palm with the tip always pointing north). Bookmark could also be used to cast dimension door and a compulsion spell to control spiders.

History
When Artus was five, his father Scoril Cimber the Shadowhawk tried to teach him the fine arts of banditry in 1333 DR. In Uktar, 1335 DR, while training his son, Scoril and Artus saved Prince Azoun from Zhent assassins on the road south of Waymoot toward the hamlet of Irath.

In 1362 DR, Artus discovered the Ring of Winter in ruins deep within the treacherous jungles of Chult, and used its powers to help Alisanda and the forces of Mezro repel the likes of the Eshowe, and later the undead hordes of Ras Nsi.

Sometime after the Spellplague of 1385 DR and the disappearance of Mezro, Artus was made a Chosen by Auril.

Much of Artus's later life was spent in just trying to prevent the Ring of Winter falling into the clutches of evil. However, he returned to Chult with the aim of reuniting with Alisanda, following her disappearance and that of the city of Mezro. Unwilling to wait, he looked for a way of restoring them. To that end, he searched for Saja N'baza, the ancient oracle of Orolunga. After meeting Dragonbait, a saurial warrior dedicated to good, in Port Nyanzaru, the pair made it their quest to travel to the ruins of Orolunga in hopes of finding a way to reunite Artus with Alisanda.

Relations
Artus sired a misbegotten son, Sirac, who later emigrated to Icewind Dale.

Appearances

 * Adventures:
 * Tomb of Annihilation • Storm King's Thunder
 * Board Games:
 * Tomb of Annihilation Board Game
 * Card Games
 * AD&D Trading Cards
 * Novels:
 * The Ring of Winter • Realms of Valor: "The Family Business" • Realms of Mystery: "The Club Rules"
 * Video Games:
 * Neverwinter • Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms • Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation

Discrepancies
In 1993, The Code of the Harpers sourcebook stated Artus as being neutral good and possibly a bard. In the 1996 Heroes' Lorebook sourcebook, Artus was chaotic good and given the class of fighter. His 5th Edition statistics restore his Neutral Good alignment as well as his bard class (he lacks bard spells but his saving throw proficiencies are the same as a bard).