- “Relax. Sooner or later, everything burns.”
- — Nails
Nails was a human sorcerer and the Staff Sorcerer of the Chain of Acheron. He was played by Tom Schmuck.
Description[]
Nails smoked cigarettes, which was presumably the source of his nickname.
Omega Nails[]
From a combination of his innate sorcerous powers, being exposed to Orion's destruction, and traveling across the Timescape, his powers began to grow exponentially. When he was in this state, he was dubbed Omega Nails.
In this state, Nails is much more arrogant and thinks of himself as a god. He also cares little for others, considering their lives as insufficient, such as his experience with Buts and the Githyanki captain. However, he still remained loyal to the Chain of Acheron.
Abilities[]
Nails' ability scores are as followed:
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 (+1) | 13 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 13 (+1) | 13 (+1) | 18 (+4) |
Nails was a fifth-level Sorcerer, with the Wild Magic as his Sorcerer Origin. Nails is also able to sense the presence of magic and/or undead within 30 feet, as he is a human.
As the Staff Sorcerer of the Chain, he can study the Chronicle during a long rest and choose a spell he knows that can be cast at higher levels. He can cast that spell at one higher level without using a higher level spell slot.
During his Omega Nails state, his Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma increased drastically. He was also able to get away with most mechanical rules, such as being able to succeed at all saves, understand every form of communication, or taking no damage.
Biography[]
Born Durand Erenheart, little was known about Nails' life, other than he was from Vasloria[1]. The circumstances under which Nails joined the Chain of Acheron are unknown.
In Service to Lady Sariel[]
“Red Sky at Morning” (Episode 1)[]
- “Listen, guys. This day's not going to get any better.”
- — Nails
During the destruction of Blackbottom, Nails was present for the appearance of St. Ajax the Invincible, and he witnessed the destruction of Orion as well as The Commander's death at the hands of Relg. He negotiated the group's passage through a guard checkpoint that enabled them to escape Blackbottom.
“Soldier Take Warning” (Episode 2)[]
While fighting Ground Commander Vordokov and his war breed, Nails experienced a wild magic surge, causing strange light effects to appear each time he used his magic in the fight.
“Sailors on the Sea of Stars” (Episode 3)[]
When the Rosso Cielo left the Mundane World for the Astral Sea, Nails fainted unexpectedly. When he was revived by Judge, his eyes had turned strangely silver. Unbeknownst to himself and the rest of the Chain, he had absorbed some of the power released by Orion when Ajax shattered it, and the manifestation of that power was triggered by the journey into the Astral Sea.
Becoming a God[]
“A Dark Dream” (Episode 4)[]
When the Illithid vessel Somnium Tenebris attacked the Rosso Cielo, Nails fought off the Duergar boarding party and boarded the raiding vessel alongside the senior officers of the Chain. He was able to perceive the battle between the ranks of the Chain and the crew of the Somnium Tenebris despite being able a deck above them, as well as communicate with the Gith crew members and the Mindwitness navigator.
While the senior officers investigated the Mindwitness, Buts arrived in the room to report that the Chain had taken the lower decks. She also reported that Nails was present in the lower decks and was seen casting spells more powerful than he was known to use normally with little regard to the lives of the rank-and-file Chain members. Despite speaking privately with Judge, Nails was able to hear their conversation and, calling himself the captain of the Somnium Tenebris, vaporized Buts for "insubordination." Commander Sweet attempted to assault Nails to no avail but apparently convinced him that he had acted out of turn. Nails then reconstituted Buts, who seemed to have no knowledge of what had happened.
His power and ego only intensified as the Chain continued to explore the Somnium Tenebris, clashing with Commander Sweet, duplicating himself to battle in multiple rooms at once, and soon attempting to reconstitute the fallen Commander Red. This failed, however, and he was only able to summon a twisted undead version of the Commander, as his soul now belonged to the demon Relg.
“The God Factor” (Episode 5)[]
- “I dreamed I was a god...”
- — Nails
During the ensuing battle, Commander Sweet used Nails' true name to stun his powers, and this allowed him to stab the Sorcerer with a Red Arrow. This halted Nails' apotheosis and killed both him and Commander Sweet.
Behind the Scenes[]
Although the character Tom Schmuck intended to play is Boots, he created Nails for the prologue of The Chain. Conspiring with Matt Colville, they created a subplot in which Nails will become too powerful for the Chain of Acheron to handle and will be forced to kill him. This is heavily inspired by the popular Star Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before", and Nails will be filling the role as Gary Mitchell.
Initially, there was no way to save Nails, but Matt later realized that would be bad design, and later came up with a way to save Nails. If Sweet says his true name, gets killed by a Red Arrow, and then King casts revivify on Nails, he will return to how he was. However, because Phil didn't want to play as Sweet anymore, and Töm doesn't mind if Nails survives or not, the Red Arrow would instead destroy both bodies.
Even if Nails was to survive, he will later not turn up for a meeting, and the senior officers will find a note saying he left the Chain of Acheron, allowing Töm to play as Boots.