The Simbul is often misunderstood because people take her madness at face value. They see chaos, volatility, and emotional extremity and assume a lack of control. That is a mistake. The Simbul is not mad because she is weak. She is mad because she is too strong for the structures that attempt to contain her.
Unlike Iggwilv, who burns down identities and walks away, Alassra remains. She stays. She binds herself to place, to people, to purpose. Aglarond is not merely her realm; it is her anchor, her sanctuary. Her madness is the pressure of power that refuses to dissipate. Where other archmages retreat into towers, demiplanes, or abstraction, The Simbul holds the line in the world itself.
This is the essential difference between High Witchcraft and the more solitary or liminal traditions. High Witchcraft is not about secrecy or withdrawal. It is about standing openly in the storm of magic and daring the world to endure you. The Simbul does not hide her power, nor does she soften it for the comfort of others. She bleeds magic. She leaks prophecy. She burns bridges even as she protects them.
"Do NOT presume to lecture me, Larina Nix, envoy of Baba Yaga or not."- Alassra Silverhand, The Simbul
Her relationship to the Seven Sisters is equally telling. They are reflections of Mystra’s will, but Alassra is the one who most visibly suffers for it. She is not the most restrained, nor the most diplomatic, nor the most serene. She is the one who feels everything. That emotional intensity is not incidental. It is the price she pays for channeling magic on a scale that would unmake lesser beings.
If Iggwilv represents the witch who refuses all masters, then The Simbul represents the witch who accepts a burden no one else can carry and survives it anyway.
31st level Human Arch Witch/Witch Queen (21/10), Neutral
Tradition: High Witchcraft
Secondary Skill: Initiate
S: 14
I: 18
W: 15
D: 18
C: 16
Ch: 19
Paralysis/Poison: 2
Petrify/Polymorph: 2
Rod, Staff, or Wand: 2
Breath Weapon: 4
Spells: 3
AC: -2 (Bracers of Protection +3, Cord of Protection +2, Ring of Protection +3, Dex 18 -4)
HP: 78
THAC0: 8
Weapon
Dagger +1 1d4/1d3
Familiar: Familiar Spirit
Occult Powers
1st level: Familiar
7th level: Witch Vision (see magic, invisible)
Archwitch Powers: Mastery of the Veil (gained at level 7), Arcane Communion (gained at level 9), Unbound by Circles (gained at level 11).
Witch Queen Powers: Awesome Presence, Occult Eminece (Witch's Blessing), A Thousand Faces, Timeless Body, Ninth Level Spells (5)
Spells
Cantrips: Arcane Mark, Daze, Mote of Light, Object Reading, Open,
First level: Analgesia, Bar the Way, Burning Hands, Charm Person, Comprehend Languages, Eldritch Fire (Silverfire), Glamour, Mend Minor Wounds
Second level: Arcane Disruption, Agony, Alter Self, Continual Flame, Dweomerfire, ESP, Evil Eye, Web
Third level: Bestow Curse, Clairsentience, Control Winds, Danger Sense, Dispel Magic, Fly, Lightning Bolt
Fourth level: Analyze Magic, Ball Lightning, Divination, Polymorph Others, Polymorph Self, Remove Curse
Fifth level: Break Enchantment, Maelstrom, Sending, Ward of Magic
Sixth level: Analyze Dweomer, Greater Scry, Mislead, Rain of Fire
Seventh level: Astral Spell, Chain Lightning, Greater Teleport
Eighth level: Eye of the Storm, I Am The Fire, Storm of Vengeance,
Ninth level: Foresight, Imprisonment, Seal the Gate, Power Word Kill, Shapechange
Theme Song: Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
The Simbul occupies a rare and precarious position. She is both an Arch Witch and a Witch Queen, but she is not defined by conquest, hierarchy, or cult. Her authority is not derived from dominion over other witches, but from presence. When The Simbul acts, reality pays attention. When she speaks, even the gods listen carefully.
She is best used in a campaign not as a quest-giver or antagonist, but as a force of nature given human form. The Simbul does not maneuver behind the scenes. She erupts. She intervenes. She is not a gentle breeze; she is a storm, she is a hurricane.
She makes decisions that reshape the magical landscape, then lives with the consequences, in full view of the world. Player characters who encounter her should feel small, not because she belittles them, but because she reminds them of the scale at which magic can truly operate.
Yet, for all her terrifying capability, there is a deep sadness at the heart of Alassra Shentrantra Silverhand. She has given up the possibility of an ordinary life, not for ambition, but for necessity. She endures so that others may not have to. That sacrifice is what elevates her from a powerful spellcaster to a Witch Queen in the truest sense.
I am not sure what I feel about her canonical death. While I do not pretend for a moment that any Witch Queen should live forever, her end feels strangely hollow to me. Yes, she died doing something entirely in character, but the framing feels uncomfortably refrigeratory, reducing a complex, volatile, deeply loved figure to a moment of narrative utility rather than culmination.
In my games, she sacrifices herself, yes, but not in that way. It is her magic and her sanity that are consumed, burned away to seal what could not otherwise be contained. Alassra lives, but she is vastly diminished. The storm has passed, and what remains is the woman who stood at its center.
I like to think that in this state, Elminster keeps her hidden and protected, not as a guardian of the realm, but as a dear and close friend who refuses to let her story end in silence. He works without rest to restore what was lost, knowing full well that success is uncertain. Whether she will ever return as the Simbul the world knew is unclear. But she is alive.
And for a Witch Queen, that matters.
Where Iggwilv survives by changing, and others by ruling, The Simbul survives by being remembered, even when she can no longer remember herself.
And that's another 31 Day Character Challenge!
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