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Jessamine (pronounced: /ˈɛsɑːminJESS-ah-meen[2]) was one of the merchant prince of Port Nyanzaru in Chult during the late 15th century DR. She dealt in herbology goods and even poisons, along with sanctioned assassinations that were approved by her and fellow merchant princes.[1]

A good murder comes from the head, not from the heart.
— Jessamine[3]

Description[]

Although one of the wealthiest and most powerful merchants in Port Nyanzaru,[4] she was a dangerous assassin by training. Her specialty was the use of poison,[1] particularly torpor.[3]

She dressed in billowing robes and black wrappings.[1]

Personality[]

Jessamine was one of the more reserved merchant princes. She rarely spoke,[1] and always carefully considered her words and actions.[3]

She was not above scheming against other powerful figures in Port Nyanzaru, but always denied knowledge of any actions taken by her hirelings or spies.[3][5]

Relationships[]

Jessamine had a daughter, Yemzra, who came as a result of a dalliance she had with a sea captain from Amn. She ensured that her daughter received a strong education, in order that she could continue her mother's business interests.[1]

She was skeptical of Sibonseni, the wealthy high priestess at the Hall of Gold, whom she suspected of aspiring to become a merchant prince.[3]

Possessions[]

She lived in a clifftop villa in the Merchants' Ward with a balcony that overlooked Port Nyanzaru. The mansion was often dimly lit by oil lamps and the walls were adorned with carvings of snakes. This home was protected by hooded warriors who stood like statues in the shadows.[3]

She had a vast personal collection of poisons.[1]

Activities[]

Our apothecaries have generations of experience preparing antidotes and poisons.
— Tearah Initoo, Master of the Market in Port Nyanzaru[6]

Jessamine held a monopoly over the sale of herbs, plants, and poisons within the city of Port Nyanzaru.[note 1] This included a prized local poison known as venomtail poison, however some hunters like Doriak of the Shells were known to trade for it amongst each other.[6]

In addition, she controlled the sale of "sanctions", i.e., writs of assassination that licensed the holder to commit a murder via an approved method (usually poisoning or stabbing). She charged an extra fee to provide an assassin to carry out the killing, with satisfaction guaranteed.[1] Her assassins made use of high quality, extremely sharp obsidian daggers.[6]

In her capacity as a merchant princes, she met in council with the other six princes at their palace of Goldenthrone to make governance decisions.[4] She often served as the deciding vote for issues on which they were split.[1]

In the late 15th century DR, Jessamine often sent brave adventurers into the jungles of Chult to gather zabou mushroom samples for her. A dangerous but lucrative task.[7]

History[]

Those who enter the jungle without a guide are like a raft of fools who set sail on the ocean—within hours they are lost and within days they die. In this great, green tangle of life, every plant is an enigma to those not initiated into the jungle’s mystery school—a translucent berry could regenerate a lost arm, a twisted vine could hold visions of another world, a handful seeds could be a cure for lycanthropy, a drop of toxin from a tiny frog could kill a hill giant.
— Jessamine[8]

In her youth, Jessamine worked as an assassin for one of the pashas of Calimshan. She died during one of her assignments, and was resurrected at great cost to her patron.[1]

When the death curse was released upon Toril,[note 2] Jessamine began to wither away as her prior resurrection began to unravel. To hide her affliction, Jessamine wrapped her body in black bandages and wore heavy scarves.[1] At this time, she was targeted by a cult of yuan-ti, who hoped to convert her into an asset by planting the Dreamer's Amulet in her possession.[9]

During the death curse investigation, Jessamine helmed the effort to make routes of Chult safe from recent increase of vegepygmy attacks. She instructed Eku and a group of adventurers to track down and slay one of the vegepygmy chieftains. Following its death, the plant creatures dispersed, fleeing into the jungle, making the paths relatively safe for travel once again.[7] Shortly after, Jessamine asked the adventurers for one more favor, slaying the massive girallon known as the Great Ape, who was ravaging the routes outside of Port Nyanzaru. In exchange, she offered leads on the death curse investigation.[7]

Appendix[]

Notes[]

  1. While Jessamine controlled the sale of plants, she notably did not control the sale of fruit, which fell under the purview of the merchant prince Kwayothé.
  2. Canon material does not provide a year for the events described in Tomb of Annihilation (or its tie-in media), however it is understood to take place sometime between 1488 DR and 1492 DR. The earlier date is based on the fact that Port Nyanzaru is stated to have gained independence from Amn nine years prior to the start of the adventure (p 15), which would be 1488 DR at the earliest given the city was firmly under Amnian control as of 1479 DR (as described in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, p 102). The later date is based on the presence of Volothamp Geddarm, who is promoting the in-universe Volo's Guide to Monsters during the adventure (p 24) but is stated to have concluded his promotional tour and begun a new book as of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (see pp 5, 24), which is understood to be set in 1492 DR. Unless a canon source states otherwise, this wiki will use this range for events related to this sourcebook. The adventure is also assumed to take place concurrently with or slightly after the events of Storm King's Thunder based on the subplot involving frost giants in the service of Jarl Storvald (p 13).

Appearances[]

Adventures

Novels & Short Stories

Video Games

Board Games

Organized Play & Licensed Adventures

Referenced only
A City on the Edge

References[]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter (September 19, 2017). Tomb of Annihilation. Edited by Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 26. ISBN 978-0-7869-6610-3.
  2. Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter (September 19, 2017). Tomb of Annihilation. Edited by Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7869-6610-3.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Will Doyle (2016). Peril at the Port (DDEP07-01) (PDF). D&D Adventurers League: Tomb of Annihilation (Wizards of the Coast), p. 12.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter (September 19, 2017). Tomb of Annihilation. Edited by Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7869-6610-3.
  5. Will Doyle (2016). Peril at the Port (DDEP07-01) (PDF). D&D Adventurers League: Tomb of Annihilation (Wizards of the Coast), p. 13.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Cryptic Studios (July 2017). Neverwinter: Tomb of Annihilation. Perfect World Entertainment.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 BKOM Studios (2017). Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation.
  8. Adam Lee (2017-08-31). Fiction: Qawasha & Kupalué (Web). In Matt Chapman, Bart Carroll eds. Dragon+ #15. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2022-08-20. Retrieved on 2024-06-04.
  9. Rich Lescouflair (2017). A City on the Edge (DDAL07-01) (PDF). D&D Adventurers League: Tomb of Annihilation (Wizards of the Coast), p. 45.
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