Shimoa Hallwinter

Shimoa Hallwinter is a half-elf Grave Cleric from Waterdeep. He is a player character played by ChoroiBelmont. His alignment is Lawful Neutral and is currently level 5. He speaks Common, Elvish, Dwarvish, Sylvan, Celestial and Undercommon.

### Appearance

Shimoa is fair-skinned with long blue hair. He dresses as befits a noble of his stature.

### Personality

On the surface, Shimoa seems kind and pleasant with an aloof manner. However, he is in fact cold and calculating, analyzing every person he encounters with an idea of how they should die. When away from crowds and nobles, Shimoa displays a macabre sense of humor, delighting in chaos and death.

Secretly, Shimoa has a fondness for cats that he cannot resist. When he saw a little kitty stuck in a tree, he struggled with himself over how it was beneath him and not worth his time only to save it anyway.

His biggest dislike is sewage, having traveled through many of them while adventuring. His dislike is so strong that a rough adventure through the sewer caused him to leave.

His Character Sheets Personality is built as:

Personality Traits: No one could doubt by looking at me that I am above the masses.

Ideals: If I gain more power, no one shall tell me what to do

Bonds: I am obsessively in love with an heiress to a family that I cannot have.

Flaws: I hide scandalous secrets that could ruin my status forever.

### Background

Shimoa's official listed background is "Noble"

Shimoa was born of the political and loveless union between a human and elf. He was truly accepted by neither race, finding support and love only with his mother. To help him make friends, she enrolled him in the study of Sehanine Moonbow, hoping the goddess would support and aid him.

His mother was murdered in her room one night, an event which traumatized the 10-year old Shimoa as he could not save her despite his healing abilities. This event caused him to suspect and despise his father, who was married shortly after to gain even more political power while still retaining the holdings of Shimoa's mother. After this, Shimoa swore to bring an end to his father's games and bring the political landscape crumbling down.

Shimoa met a young woman at a fete and was instantly enamored. The two danced and he expressed a desire for marriage. However, the young woman denied him. Upon investigation, Shimoa discovered the young lady was having a scandalous affair with her bodyguard. Instead of humiliating the girl by outing her secret, Shimoa tried to arrange the bodyguard's death. Multiple attempts have failed, yet Shimoa holds out hopes that he will die and that the woman will be his.

Shimoa has many plans to bring about his father's demise but has yet to act upon them, waiting until his father is most vulnerable.

### Special Equipment

Shimoa carries a spear that is not magical but rather engraved with the symbols of Sehanine Moonbow, which he uses to Channel Divinity.

Occasionally Shimoa summons a Spiritual Weapon, which takes the form of his mother wielding chains against his foes. When he casts Spirit Guardians, the little shapes take the form of tiny grim reapers with little scythes.

### Adventuring

Shimoa attended a gala in Waterdeep to celebrate the winter. He showed very little interest in the proceedings, treating it as his duty to attend and be seen attending rather than for amusement. His interest was piqued, however, when a strange Jester called The Lampoon began to perform macabre takes on popular nursery rhymes and he promptly tossed the performer a gold coin. He made a joke that Tamburo, his musician servant, could easily be replaced.

While at the gala, Shimoa saw The Lampoon, Vitesch Razorfang and Balfir Baenre. Finding them all fascinating diversions, Shimoa made sure he was always in earshot of their conversations.

When an Aasimar singer named Aria took the stage, Shimoa made sure to give her his full attention. Upon her being attacked by an imp, Shimoa used his cleric power to help her, even offering to cast Cure Wounds if she had been hurt badly.

Finding a page about a child's story, Shimoa did not bother to read it himseof, leaving that task to his servants. He even had Giera write down all words that were in bold, making sure to note their possible importance. He then sent all three of his servants to investigate rather than bothering to do it himself.

He was approached by another noble who started talking about Asmodeus, discussing the children's story. Shimoa remarked how it was rather forward to posit such notions out of the blue, noting that one imp does not signify the presence of Asmodeus himself. The woman laughed it off and left him.

Glastum, Giera and Tamburo then rejoined him, sharing what they'd learned. However, Giera was the only one to learn anything of note, that the Cassalanter children's nurse spoke of devil worship. Weighing that with the other noble's mention of Asmodeus, Shimoa began to see a pattern. He congratulated Giera on being the only one of the three that wasn't worthless. He also told all three to stay at the party to ensure that the party did not miss his presence, essentially ensuring an alibi should trouble arise.

Shimoa followed the group to the children's rooms, noting how everyone seemed to be focusing on it. He offered assistance on the interesting puzzles that presented themselves and showed amusement at the Lampoon's macabre jokes and activities. As the group summoned more and more imps, Shimoa made no attempt to stop them, offering some advice here and there as needed. He grinned widely as the imps descended on the party, accidentally letting slip some of his distaste for the nobility. He did refuse to touch or be directly involved with the imp's disgusting activities and would have cast prestidigitation to clean any part of himself or his clothes that had been affected.

The group then followed the story, leading them to an altar unmarked and unnamed. With his religious training and arcane knowledge, Shimoa was immediately able to lead the ground to it. When the group was asked by a spiny devil if they had brought the child, Shimoa let the others answer it until their answers prompted it to attack and summon a vargouille. He cast Bane on both beings, with the Spiny Devil resisting. The Lampoon cast Sleep on the vargouille and the party was able to focus attacks on the Spiny Devil. Shimoa decided the Bane was worthless on a sleeping enemy and instead cast Resistance on himself.

When it decided it had taken enough damage, the Spiny Devil attempted to fly away. Shimoa was the one to kill the Spiny Devil by casting Sacred Flame on it. When the vargouille awakened, it screeched and tried to kiss Razorfang. Shimoa made no attempt to save him, finding it interesting to watch what would happen, letting Razorfang deal with the creature himself.

The ritual involved at the altar still active, Shimoa was able to bless a supply of water and pour it on the symbol, ending the entire affair. He noted that it had been tan interesting evening unlike his expectations of attending he event. They party returned to see the area devastated by the imps' assault and Shimoa reunited with his servants, who filled him in on the gala's events.

The group then aided Aria in finishing a holy song passed down through her family. They were able to restore its magic, allowing it to be used to summon a Celestial Golden Pseudodragon to aid her. Aria made copies for each of them, asking them to share with their loved ones. Shimoa extended his gratitude to her and the evening was over.

After joining his companions in revelry, they came in possession of a treasure map. As a local lord, Shimoa was able to pinpoint the precise place in Waterdeep the map detailed. He easily led the group to the locations, but was audibly annoyed at the low-income state of environment he was in.

The group found their way to a house where a man wanted nothing to do with visitors. Their temporary companion Tobin tried to convince the tenant that he was a student of architecture but the man was insistent. It wasn't until Shimoa's family name was invoked that the man showed interest, saying to have only the noble enter. Instead, Shimoa insisted that he had plenty of his family's money, but only if his comp could enter as well.

Once inside, the man kept insisting that Shimoa come with him alone. After many failed attempts, his boss Rick came down and threatened the group. After a bloody intimidation tactic, the bandits dispersed, leaving one fellow who begged for their help in locating his wedding ring.

Despite his wish for people to die, Shimoa was insistent that they didn't need to kill this man who had asked for help, even stabilizing his wounds after the man was stabbed multiple times by Balfir. He showed no patience with his companions and kept acting hurriedly, insisting they get out of he peasant house fast.

Inside the house, they encountered a mimic that looked like a rug, but Shimoa did little to affect it, often casting Toll The Dead in an attempt to hurt it. They also looked through and found the wedding ring, with Shimoa finding a spellbook and tossing it at the wizard like it was junk. They quickly found their clue and proceeded to the next area, Shimoa leading the way.

In the next place, they traveled to a restaurant in trouble. As Tobin cooked to make up for the current absence of their chef, Shimoa decided to Purify the Food just in case. The restaurant was delighted, apparently the food was the best they had ever consumed and everyone was given the offer of free food anytime at this place. The owner was astounded that someone of Lord Hallwinter's stature had helped their restaurant, to which he responded simply that it was good to help the common folk. As Vitesch consumed leftover food, Shimoa stated that he was a charity case.

They later tracked their second-to-last clue in the sewer. Shimoa refused to enter until they discovered a door with a glyph indicating that it was their target. He reluctantly followed them down, complaining that it was filthy and not hesitating to kill the bandits, so inconvienced was he by the need to enter the sewers. When they got what they needed, Shimoa was the first to leave, immediately trying to clean his coat, sending Glastum to fetch him clean clothes. At the gathering of the clues, Shimoa insisted Giera solve the puzzle, which she did, leading them to an art gallery called The Crimson Brush.

At the Crimson Brush, they saw a wide variety of grotesque paintings, of which the entire group enjoyed. As Shimoa browsed, he saw a painting of a graveyard that piqued his interest, but he curator insisted on other pieces. Tobin quickly set to distracting the curator as Shimoa looked at the painting, which he recognized as a local Grave cleric. However, he was soon discovered and incurred some wrath, but talked about the possible future purchase of one painting, calming the curator down.

Heading into Ths City of the Dead, the Lampoon and Shimoa seperately convonced the guards of their intentions, Shimoa insisting that as a cleric of a goddess of death and the moon, he must pray in the cemetary at night. This seemed to convince the guards to let them in. Once inside, the groundskeeper asked their help in locating the source of animal killings. Shimoa searched with his Eyes of the Grave and found nothing immediate.

The group found a feral dog running in fear and decided to investigate. They encountered several ghouls, all of which attacked the party. When Razorfang was injured, Shimoa rushed forward to heal him, casting Cure Wounds despite the danger of getting up close.

Shimoa was then injured and cast Cure Wounds on himself, restoring himself to full health. The group wandered further in.

Once inside, the group encountered multiple skeletons, one on a skeletal warhorse. On his turn, Shimoa Channeled Divinity to Turn Undead, causing many of the skeletons to run off.

Upon facing the mist up close, Shimoa had a moment of cowardice and ran, out of spell slots and his repeated casting Toll The Dead failing. However, at the exit, Shimoa reconsidered, deciding not to run. Instead he threw his spear at the mist, which actually defeated it.

Arriving at the treasure point in the map, they group encountered a Vampire Lord. Upon meeting the him, Shimoa was polite and respectful. He was the only one of the grouo to display manners, treating the vampire as an equal noble rather than a monster or murderer.

Traveling in search of the map's distributor, Shimoa sent Giera, Tamburo and Glastum to investigate for him. This left him with time to spare so he decided to be seen helping the common folk to ensure people thought well of him. He stopped to help save a kitty, which he hadn't intended on but couldn't resist. He also aided a small little lady helping carry groceries, which earned him some of the people's goodwill.

The group's investigation led them to a bar full of Drow where Shimoa was quickly overwhelmed by the leader's usage of a handgun, which injured the party. Hiding in front of the bar, Shimoa tried to Inflict Wounds on the leader's face only to trip and hit his ally, another cleric. Shimoa was then trapped in Darkness and tried to escape, making his way to the kitchen where he sighed about his circumstances.

At a nearby bar, recovering from early events, the group was approached by Volo, who asked them to find a friend of his, a "pretty boy" type. Shimoa said nothing though the group noted that he was also fitting of that description, having been confused for a woman many times.

In searching for Flume, Shimoa decided to accompany the others into the sewers. This decision proved poor, as he fell face first into the sewage, covering his clothes and person in the disgusting stuff. He vomited and it floated back jnto his face.

They journeyed through the sewers, dispatching enemies as needed, with Shimoa whining and complaining about the filth the entire way as he was comedically covered in the bodily fluids of multiple monsters. Upon seeing a Mind Flayer in the sewers, Shimoa was remarkably calm, having been so disgusted and unhappy that he was unsurprised by everything. The group then wandered back to the surface after killing the Mind Flayer's minions.

Shimoa was absent for a good period of time, having been so disgusted by the misadventures of his previous times that he took his leave. He reluctantly returned, having decided that the group was still his best chance of gaining power or making contacts with potential assassins.

They discovered that the way to the Vault of the Dragon, a place of great fortune, was located through a secret door in a repurposed windmill habitated by a crazed artist. He announced himself right away and was insulted when the woman did not immediately invite him in.

After Razorfang opened the lock, the group entered and were attacked by the woman's paintings, which popped out of their frames and attacked the group. Shimoa was able to hold his own, casting Spirit Guardians to hurt the enemies without getting directly involved and casting Spiritual Weapon to help defend himself. Nonetheless, he was at one point knocked down and was saved by The Lampoon, much to Shimoa's surprise. He then recast his Spirit Guardians, which managed to take out the paintings.

The group ventured into the secret basement where they learned they needed a specific song played by someone who could play it, a severed drow's hand and a shapeshifter. Shimoa offered to get the hand, assuaging Balfir's fears by saying he could easily aquire one without resorting to harming his companion.

He traveled to the city mortuary, where there were several Drow bodies recently killed by Shimoa and his allies. He was unsuccessful in quietly cutting off the hand but insisted that the hand had to be removed because it was "spiritually unwell" and the spirit wouldn't rest while it was attached. As Shimoa is a Grave Cleric, the people who had noticed took his word at value.

Upon entering the Vault, The Lampoon disguised himself as Ranier Neverember and Shimoa introduced him as such. The old man who guarded the vault believed this lie and kept asking questions about the family. Shimoa kept quickly explaining the situation, aimed at the old man for The Lampoon's benefit. They quickly tried to clean out the Vault, but were stopped by Jarlaxle Baenre.

Jarlaxle was polite to the party, offering to let them leave with their lives if they gave him all of their gold. Shimoa had no objections to this and the deal was actually sweetened to them also receiving a shipment of fine wine at the bar. The party then all agreed to leave the gold for them. He asked Balfir about the other Drow, having noticed that the two shared a last name and were in the same guild. He asked if those men might be proficient in murder, to which Balfir agreed they would be exceptional at.

### Relationships

Giera: As his personal attendant, Giera rarely leaves her master's side except at his bidding. She often dictates important notes and follows his orders well. He tends to favor her, possibly because she is an elven servant from his mother's side of the family. It may be that Shimoa believes Giera to be his intellectual superior, as he gave her the go-ahead to solve the puzzle for him, which she did fast. This could, however, have simply been a delegation of a task he found beneath him.

Glastum: Shimoa barely acknowledges Glastum's presence, as Glastum is usually there only to help ensure Shimoa remain on his best behavior and represent their house as best as possible. Often, Shimoa strains under the necessity to listen to Glastum.

Tamburo: Shimoa brings Tamburo along in the case of needing entertainment or a message carried. Of the three, Tamburo is treated the least courteously, acting as the butt of many of Shimoa's jokes. He has accepted this role with no complaint.

The Lampoon: Shimoa finds the jester incredibly entertaining, often stopping to laugh at the grotesque and random nature of the Lampoon's humor. He has come to rely on The Lampoon as a diversionary tactic.

Vitesch Razorfang: Shimoa seems to find Razorfang amusing, often deciding not to aid the Tabaxi in an effort to see what the barbarian will do about his circumstances. As the Tabaxi is not a noble, the two do not interact much at the gala, but later Shimoa repeated showed interest in hiring the Tabaxi as a bodyguard. He seemed very entertained by how Razorfang tore a limb off a victim as an intimidation tactic. His fondness for Razorfang may stem from his secret fondness for cats, or could be because Shimoa intends to hire Razorfang to assassinate his father.

Balfir Baenre: Shimoa shows little interest in the Drow in public. In fact, it is likely that Shimoa is very interested in the Drow's presence in Waterdeep but was unable to express such interest within the social norms of the gala. He did send a servant to aquire Balfir a hat that he requested, if only to make the drow indebted to him in a way. He was annoyed with how senselessly Balfir attempted to murder a commoner, insisting that having someone alive and in your debt is often more useful. However, he also said it wasn't the worst thing to have someone know you're willing to kill them.

### Trivia

Shimoa is based on Seymour Guado from Final Fantasy X. The two share their interracial status, hair color and style, as well as a similar backstory. However, Shimoa does not yet wish everyone to die, rather wishing the fall of the nobility, a goal not shared by Seymour.

Shimoa's miniature is Dark Sword DSM-7624 Male Mage with Staff

Shimoa was a cosplay for the VerminCon event in Vermillion Iowa in 2019.