Neeshka

Neeshka was a devil-descended tiefling rogue who journeyed with the Kalach-Cha during the hero's quest to defeat the King of Shadows. "I'm good at slipping into places... but not all the time. Coaxing locks to open, dodging traps, you know, subtle stuff. And I may have accidentally back-stabbed some people in the past, but if they couldn't see me coming, well, that's their loss."

- Neeshka

Description
Neeshka, like many tieflings, was vaguely human in appearance, though her fiendish ancestry was also immediately obvious. Reddish-brown speckles marked the sides of her head near her ears and two small horns brushed aside her coppery hair. A long, spiked tail also marked her fiendish heritage, which she often waved about. Like many tieflings, Neeshka was also impulsive, yet another mark of her otherwordly ancestors.

Personality
Neeshka had a relatively timid and defensive demeanor, often wary because of the stigma associated with tieflings. She particularly responded favorably to any kindness or support given to her, and often only showed courage if backed by friends such as the Kalach-Cha. Towards males she was interested in, she was particularly territorial at times, and she would have likely shown great animosity and jealousy towards Elanee and Shandra Jerro were the Kalach-Cha male, particularly when they first joined the party. True to her tiefling nature, she was often impulsively stealing, almost to the point of kleptomania. She frequently swiped goods from others, checking companions' pockets, and often would admit to it casually in conversation. She distrusted the Neverwinter city watch, though would still be supportive if the Kalach-Cha joined them, while still encouraging the hero to bend the rules (such as with smuggled weapons).

History
Neeshka's parents are unknown, though at least one of them must have had some degree of fiendish background. When she was an infant, Neeshka was abandoned to and raised by priests of Helm. The priests took care of her but spent much of their time trying to convert her, which irritated Neeshka. Their efforts were in vain and Neeshka always managed to get herself into trouble. She decided to leave the priests after a "particularly moving" sermon, but not before stealing a full collection plate.

Life in Neverwinter
Neeshka eventually made her way to Neverwinter and set herself up as a professional thief, taking on Leldon as a partner. During a particularly lucrative heist, Neeshka singlehandedly got past patrolling guards and defeated the trap on the vault they were robbing. Afterwards, however, when they were dividing up the loot, Leldon demanded a larger share. Since Leldon had failed to properly plan the heist, Neeshka naturally refused. In response, Leldon called in his hired thugs to threaten the money out of her. With no other choice, Neeshka gave up everything she had, but shortly after stole it all back from him before leaving the gang entirely.

Furious, Leldon put a bounty on Neeshka's head, and the rogue escaped Neverwinter before the thugs could catch up with her. What happened to the money from the heist is unknown. Neeshka later explained it as "expenses... and stuff". By the time she met the Kalach-Cha, however, most if not all of the funds had appeared to run dry.

The Shadow War
The Kalach-Cha first encountered Neeshka on their way to Fort Locke, where she was being harassed by soldiers for her heritage. One way or another, the Kalach-Cha became involved and rescued Neeshka from the guards, who decided thereafter it would be safer with the hero given the prejudices many locals had towards tieflings. The Kalach-Cha accepted Neeshka as a companion despite Khelgar's protests about letting a "no-good backstabbing tiefling" travel with them. Neeshka was similarly distrusting towards the dwarf, at least at first, though gradually both characters became close, often bickering like brother and sister.

Eventually Neeshka followed the Kalach-Cha all the way back to Neverwinter, where she was greeted by Bennon and then later Tremmel, the thugs working for Leldon who threatened her before she left the city. It became quickly apparent that Leldon still held a grudge towards Neeshka for robbing him blind and had not canceled the bounty. The threat posed by the thugs would continue and Neeshka might have convinced the Kalach-Cha to help her defeat Leldon, first by stealing his lucky coin, which was, in fact, Neeshka's lucky coin stolen from her when Leldon first betrayed her and which she never won back. If this happened, Neeshka would have likely been forced into a direct confrontation with Leldon and possibly a competition for the title of "greatest thief in Neverwinter" by seeing who could rob a famous art collector, called simply "the Collector", first. A continued competition between the two thieves could have led to Leldon's death.

Neeshka followed the Kalach-Cha through the rest of the hero's quest, but as they approached the King of Shadows Neeshka was forcibly taken by Black Garius and tortured. He tried to turn her against the Kalach-Cha by using some sort of binding ritual that was effective because of her devil blood. Depending on how close the Kalach-Cha and Neeshka were, the ploy might have worked, or it might have failed. Regardless, Garius and the King of Shadows were defeated and if Neeshka survived she would have likely joined Khelgar in searching for the Kalach-Cha, who disappeared shortly after the battle. When the Kalach-Cha returned from Rashemen, they would have reunited with their old friends, which might have included Neeshka.

Behind the Scenes
In Neverwinter Nights 2, Neeshka was originally slated to be voiced by Naomi Peters, and a few examples of her dialogue can still be found in gameplay videos from pre-release media coverage. However, sometime during development, Obsidian Entertainment chose to change Neeshka's voice actor, deciding it wasn't what they were looking for, and hired Robyn Kramer to revoice all of the character's dialogue. This caused some confusion and led to Peters being erroneously credited on several websites, such as IMDb.

It is also widely believed, and partially confirmed by developer comments, that Neeshka was originally intended as a romance option for male PCs (the Kalach-Cha). The evidence for this is Neeshka's extremely jealous attitudes towards Shandra and Elanee if the PC is male as well as her constant pseudo-flirtations and appeals for approval. However, this was cut due to time constraints, as was a great deal more, though many of Neeshka's quests remained implemented.

Other examples of cut content include a few cut quests. Besides Bennon and Tremmel, Neeshka was intended to encounter a third member of her old gang, Raines. Allegedly psychopathic, Raines threatened in the cut dialogue to cut Neeshka's tail off and strangle her with it.

Neeshka also appears in Storm of Zehir as a summonable creature for the summon baatezu spell. However, the canonicity of this is in dispute since no other tieflings are summoned by the spell nor is character interaction possible with her. It is considered by several fans to therefore be a non-canon easter egg.

Lineage
There is much debate and speculation when it comes to Neeshka's heritage. It is known that Neeshka is only one-quarter fiend, and that it was her grandfather that was the pure-blooded fiend that started her family. A lot of subtle hints are dropped that indicate she may be descended from a very powerful lineage. One of the reasons why Garius's binding was effective on her, even if her blood was diluted, was because of the strong lineage she descended from.

Upon entering Ammon Jerro's haven, many of the demons and devils bound there remark on her unique heritage. One of them points out that she has baatezu scent about her. One of them also points out that a relative of hers may also be trapped within the haven, "perhaps a long-lost father'. Of all the fiends the PC encounters throughout the quest, only Mephasm, a pit fiend in disguise as an eladrin, seems to show any special interest in her and refers to her as "little Neeshka". For some reason Neeshka seems to get an allergic reaction whenever Mephasm is near, much like the reaction she got when she stood too close to Casavir. It has been confirmed by the developers (and the dialogue files) that Mephasm did have a role in Neeshka's creation, but what that role was has not yet been revealed and it was another element ultimately cut from production.

Appearances

 * Video games
 * Neverwinter Nights 2 • Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer (mentioned only) • Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir