Nympha

It's told that once every wood, every mountain and every lake had its own nympha. In some regions populace still sacrifice to them milk, flowers and honey, or honor them into small temples called nymphaeums, believing they live and protect the surroundings; yet it is unlikely that these fragile spirits could survive human presence.

Nymphae love singing and dancing. They are very shy and avoid men; yet at times they can be touched or even fascinated by a man -overall if he is really beautiful- and help him out of sight. Some cases of kidnapped men are also known. They were seduced and held back by a nympha for several years of love, happiness and oblivion. Once released yet, they discovered that time had passed on for all but for them; nobody had still remembrance of them, they were young whilst all had became old, and the true world had nothing to do with the fantastic one they had forever left. So all of them were condemned to long unhappy lives.

Nymphae are often quarrelling with sylvans, who use to attempt capturing them in order of abusing their sensual bodies. Sometimes though they can be seen dancing and marooning together.

All nymphae can cast once a day the following spells at 7th ability level: fascinate, dimension door, invisibility, animal friendship, entangle, speak with animals, augury, commune, cure light wounds, cure disease, paralyzation, charm; the latter has -2 to saving throw and usually is cast to provoke temporary insanity into enemies, or ecstatic excitation into friends.

Nympha's kiss affects memory unless a successful saving throw vs. breath weapon is made. She uses this power to make her beloved forgetting any other existing love or duty bindings.

A nympha can instantly disappear and turn part of her home, if she touches it, e.g. become part of a tree (Plant Nymphae), or of the rocks (Mountain Nymphae), or of water mass (Water Nymphae). When so turned she cannot be harmed, unless her home itself is damaged.

PLANT NYMPHAE: These live into the most large and beautiful of the trees and spent their time into hunting, fishing and breeding. They can cast once a day the following spells: pass without trace, goodberry, locate plants, trip, warp wood, plant growth, snare, spike growth, tree, hallucinatory forest, speak with plants. They are the less shy ones and those more likely to be fascinated by man.

Meliades are an exception, as they are the most mysterious of all of nymphae; tales say them to have born from the blood of God Uranus, and it is possible they have unknown abilities.

MOUNTAIN NYMPHAE: These are the most rough and shy ones and live into splendid caverns that have no open access. They can cast once a day the following spells: pass without trace, locate animals, goodberry, heat metal, warp wood, call lightning, stone shape, tree, spike stones.

WATER NYMPHAE: These live into beautiful grottos inside sources, lakes, rivers or sea, with no open access. They are the sweetest and the less rough ones. Once a day they can affect waters within 30" of their homes, up to calming them or raising high and dangerous waves. They can also cast the following spells: create water, precipitation, obscurement, reflecting pool, trip, snare, spike growth, water breathing, control temperature. They move 24" into water.

Oceaninae, differently from all other nymphae, are immortal.

DEATH NYMPHAE: These are somewhat apart from the above, as they live in the Outer Planes. It's said they are the form that nymphae who die are turned in. They appear very rarely on Prime Material Plane, and only when dies someone who exceptionally loved nature, to be guide and shield for that soul or spirit in his last journey. Hardly they reveal themselves and in no case they interfere with real world. Probably they are of the various described Nympha categories, possibly with similar abilities. They can disappear suddenly to reach their plane.

By Gianluca Meluzzi, 1992, 1999.

glmeluzzi@libero.it

For AD&D 1st Edition, TSR Games.