Cree Deeproots

Cree Deeproots was a tabaxi cleric (Blood Domain) and a member of the Tombtakers. She previously worked for The Gentleman, a crime boss in Zadash. As an NPC, Cree was played by Matthew Mercer.

Appearance
Cree's body was covered with dark black fur. When the Mighty Nein first met her, she was dressed in maroon and dull grey robes.

Much later during the Mighty Nein's encounter with the Tombtakers in Eiselcross, Cree wore heavy leathers and furs, and a necklace around her neck with a red circular polished orb in the center of it. On closer inspection, Beau noticed it contained a red liquid.

After her death at the hands of the Mighty Nein, Cree was transformed into a monstrosity of mangled flesh and bones. Her face could still be seen within the pile of flesh.

Personality
When the party originally met Cree in the company of Mollymauk Tealeaf, she seemed very friendly and outgoing. Later, even after they told her of his death, she remained cordial.

However, when the Mighty Nein encountered the Tombtakers while in Eiselcross, Cree was far more stand-offish and quiet around the party. While in Widogast's Nascent Nein-Sided Tower she muttered under her breath, "Fucking rich kids," in apparent disgust at its opulence. She evaded questions about where she was from.

Background
At some point in or before 833 P.D., Cree and Lucien had been part of some some sort of order. Lucien believed that the order was clouded in their thinking and wanted to seek a different path. Breaking off, he took a splinter group north to Shadycreek Run and started the Tombtakers.

In 833 P.D. Lucien had acquired a tome with the ritual spell required to reach a mysterious city. A female spellcaster "from the capital" (presumably Rexxentrum) came to oversee and perform the ritual for him. Gathering in the forest, the Tombtakers had a feast at which Lucien gave a speech. The spellcaster told the Tombtakers that it would be hard to tell immediately whether or not the ritual had succeeded.

The ritual was performed, and when the Tombtakers checked, Lucien was not breathing. They waited until dawn, and believed the ritual had failed and Lucien was dead. Lucien had told them that if anything were to go wrong, they had to get rid of any sign, any trace. So, not far from their hideout, they buried him and went their separate ways. The mage woman took the tome as part of the arrangement Lucien had with her.

Greeting Mollymauk in a strong embrace, Cree revealed that it had been two years since they had last seen each other and that she had known him under the name Lucien and before that under the name "the Nonagon." Lucien, unlike Molly, had short hair and did not have as many tattoos.

When the Mighty Nein returned to the Evening Nip, Cree was called upon again to take the blood sample of Caduceus Clay. She noticed that Lucien was not with them and asked about him, expressing how fervently she desired to speak to him again. The party, not wanting to break the news to her that her friend who mysteriously and miraculously returned from the dead had died once again, chose to tell her that they had a falling out with "Lucien" and he left the party. Cree expressed sadness at this news and requested that they tell Lucien to come see her if they ever saw him again.

Upon his return to Zadash, Fjord told Cree the truth about Mollymauk's death, while still referring to him as Lucien. Cree blamed Fjord's "carelessness" for Mollymauk's death.

After discussing their options in figuring out the mystery of the floating city in the Astral Sea, Jester decided to send a message to the Gentleman, asking if they could have a conversation with Cree, but Cree was no longer at the Evening Nip. Jester then sent Cree a message directly, asking if the Mighty Nein could have a conversation with her. Cree responded saying that she didn't remember Jester, and failed to respond at all to a follow-up message.

With the help of blood samples left behind at the Evening Nip, Jester used Scrying to see what Cree was up to, and saw her trudging through blizzard conditions with a leather sack. When Jester used Scrying later that day on Mollymauk, she found him doing exactly the same thing.

The Mighty Nein encountered Cree with the rest of the living Tombtakers at site A5 on the island of Foren on Eiselcross. Lucien was able to turn all of the Tombtakers' eyes red and speak through all of their mouths at once. It turned out Cree had told Lucien a little about the Nein. Beauregard noticed Cree wearing a necklace with a red fluid.

The party pursued Cree into the ruins of Cognouza, meeting her in the tunnels under the city leading to the threshold vault, where she had placed one of the two threshold crests required to return the city to the Prime Material Plane. In the subsequent battle, Cree was killed, revealing that she had five red eyes on her body. In her death throes, she telepathically reached out to Lucien, asking for help. He told her that he needed more time and for her to "become part of the pattern". Her body convulsed and transformed into a horrific flesh creature that also fought the party, but was eventually killed.

The Gentleman
After the uncertainty surrounding Lucien's death, Cree was in need of work and in time she found herself in service to the Gentleman as part of The Gentleman's Troupe.

Lucien
Lucien, along with Cree and a few others, left the order and made a faction called the Tombtakers. Cree described Lucien as a strong and charismatic leader to whom she looked for guidance.

Abilities
Cree specialized in controlling the flow of blood, and could pull it out of a person's body and manipulate it around the air. She claimed to have learned this ability in the same place Lucien learned his skills. Working for the Gentleman, she used this power to draw blood from the members of the Mighty Nein into vials she kept in a small leather satchel. This blood could then be used to track down anyone who betrayed the Gentleman.

Tabaxi Abilities

 * Darkvision
 * Feline Agility
 * Cat's Claws
 * 20 ft. Climbing speed
 * Cat's Talent
 * Proficient in Perception and Stealth

Miscellaneous Abilities

 * Resistant to psychic damage.

Cleric Abilities

 * Channel Divinity (2 uses per short rest)
 * Turn Undead
 * Destroy Undead (CR 2)
 * Divine Domain: Blood Domain
 * Bloodletting Focus
 * Channel Divinity: Blood Puppet
 * Channel Divinity: Crimson Bond
 * Sanguine Recall
 * Domain Spells
 * Divine Intervention
 * Ritual Casting
 * Spellcasting (Wisdom-based ability)

Domain Spells
Cree always had access to these spells:

1st-level

 * Sleep
 * Ray of Sickness

2nd-level

 * Ray of Enfeeblement
 * Crown of Madness

3rd-level

 * Haste
 * Slow

4th-level

 * Blight
 * Stoneskin

5th-level

 * Dominate Person
 * Hold Monster

Cleric Spells
In addition to her domain spells, Cree had access to at least five cleric cantrips and 1st- through 8th-level cleric spells. As a 15th-level cleric, she could prepare at least 15 of these spells per day.

1st-level

 * Cure Wounds

6th-level

 * Harm

7th-level

 * Fire Storm

8th-level

 * Earthquake

Notable Items

 * Red Necklace - a small red globe with a red liquid slightly moving around inside, glowed when she cast spells. It was later identified as containing the blood of the Nonagon.
 * Cape of the Mountebank
 * Scroll of Control Weather (Used to create snow to cross the River Inferno.)
 * War pick