Ludinus Da'leth

Ludinus Da'leth
Official art of Ludinus Da'leth, by Hannah Friederichs.
Screenshot of Ludinus from "Mote of Possibility" (TMN1x01).
Type	NPC
Actor	Matthew Mercer
Character Information
Name	Ludinus Da'leth
Pronouns	he/him
Titles	Martinet
Also known as	The Mad Mage of Wildemount (by Orym) Luda (by Bells Hells)
Creature type	Humanoid
Race	Elf
Class	Wizard
Age	≥ 500 (biologically) Nearly 1000 (chronologically, as of 843 PD)
Alignment	Lawful Evil
Languages	Elvish, Common
Places	Rexxentrum Bysaes Tyl (formerly) Molaesmyr (formerly) Ivaadel (formerly) Ozana (originally)
Connections	Cerberus Assembly (former leader) Ruby Vanguard (leader) Zana Deelio (former annex, deceased) Vence Nuthaleus (former annex) Essek Thelyss (former collaborator)
Profession	Councilman of Molaesmyr (formerly) Archmage of Domestic Protections (in the Cerberus Assembly)
Status
Status	Alive
Cause of death	Slain by Orym using Seedling
Death episode(s)	"The Hallowed Cage" (3x118)
Stats
Level	≥17
HP	298–344
AC	19
DC	22
Int	22-23
Wis
Cha
Appearances
First seen	"Homeward Bound" (2x48) (stream) "Mote of Possibility" (TMN1x01) (animation)
Last seen	"Oaths & Ash – Indianapolis Live Show 2025" (Sx100) (stream)
Stream	Campaign Two (9 episodes) Campaign Three (13 episodes) Specials (1 episode)
Television	The Mighty Nein

Martinet Ludinus Da'leth is an elven mage and the former leader of the Cerberus Assembly, having been alive at the time of its founding. As an NPC, Ludinus Da'leth was played by Matthew Mercer.

Description

Appearance

Fan art of Ludinus Da'leth, by Niko Vanhala.

Ludinus Da'leth was an older elven man with pale skin and long white hair. The archmage wears deep blue robes with pointed shoulder pauldrons and carries a long staff with a forked point. He occasionally uses a cane. After the Apogee Solstice, his left hand was blackened and withered and he occasionally wore gold caps over the fingers as decoration.

After dying and reappearing months later, he looked like himself, although a bit older, with more wrinkled skin and a slightly hunched posture. His eyes had a slightly reflective quality, like those of a cat.

Personality

A reserved, wise, and calculating though charismatic individual, Da'leth maintained a generally stoic demeanor during the events of Campaign Two, though Jester Lavorre was able to pull genuine confusion from him during one of their exchanges. Astrid Becke described him as extremely difficult to read, and noted that he always maintained a gentle, amiable, and diplomatic mask, particularly in court; he, however, became incensed if someone noticed any sign of weakness in him, dropping his confident facade for a moment.

He was far less composed during his residence in Molaesmyr, if King Imathan Talviel is to be believed. He described Ludinus as an obsessive recluse whose research consumed him so totally he neglected the needs of others. He would loudly argue with priests in the middle of their sermons until the crown cut off his resources at the behest of temples. When Ludinus cut himself off from the city in response, King Talviel said most were fine never seeing Ludinus's face again.

Vess DeRogna believed his ultimate goal was to quietly maintain and grow his personal power above the reach of the Cerberus Assembly and King Dwendal himself. Delilah Briarwood, a former Assembly member, said that although everyone was aware of how dangerous and conniving Ludinus could be, no one wielded a smile like he did; despite this, she stated that he never had actual friends, but tools he used and disposed of as he saw fit.

Da'leth held a deep hatred for the Kryn Dynasty, though he hid the true depths of his animosity. He expressed his suspicion and mistrust of their worship of the Luxon beacon and their escape from the cycle of death through it along with citing a thirty-year period of violent skirmishes prior to 836 PD. As Archmage of Domestic Protections, Da'leth was charged with restructuring the Dwendalian military, as well as construction and maintenance of the garrisons along the Xhorhasian border, and spared no effort gathering intelligence on the neighboring enemy nation. He spent a majority of his time developing arcane weaponry, shoring up military might, and quietly undermining the leadership of his military counterpart in the King's retinue, Crown Marshal Damurag.

Biography

Fan art of Ludinus Da'leth, by Cyarna Trim.

Background

Ludinus was a child at the end of the Calamity, and experienced much trauma that marked him for the rest of his life. During his childhood saw the flaming city of Aeor falling across the sky. His family were devout followers of the Lawbearer, but they and their home city Ozana were destroyed during a battle between the Lawbearer and the Crawling King. That day forged his conviction that the gods must eventually be destroyed. He grew up in the city's smoking ruin, being told by people and priests that despite the destruction the gods had caused, they still loved mortals.

Following Ozana's destruction, Ludinus wandered. He immigrated to Molaesmyr from a small elven town in Issylra called Ivaadel when he was still young. He eventually became one of the city's lower council members, respected but becoming increasingly frustrating through his habit of interrupting sermons and challenging the priests of the city (who caused the funding dedicated to Da'leth's research to be cut, with the Emerald Cross priests being particularly interested in undermining his work), eventually alienating most of the populace. He spent most of his time alone in his Gildhollow Tower pursuing his own research into history and historical relics.

At some point Ludinus came into contact with the arcanist nobility of the young Dwendalian Empire, made up of local mages and surviving nobles of the Julous Dominion, and around 570 PD, during the Eve of Crimson Midnight, he played a key role in ending the warfare between the two factions and was considered one of the heroes who stopped the assault. Ludinus used that influence to persuade the king, leading to the creation of the Cerberus Assembly.

However, Da'leth decided to stay in Molaesmyr for a time. In his research, he took an interest in the Matron of Ravens and her hidden name, as well as in the contradictions and inconsistencies of different religious cults, and prepared a speech on the subject. He listed the names of several historical specialists on the topic, including Vaatora, Vishtaraan and Laerryn. During this time, he also researched the prolongation of lifespan by archdruids' merging with nature and the natural spirits, and created an arcane leather harness that synthetically recreated those natural magics, with notes on dryads and fey entities in locations throughout Wildemount, eight of which were crossed off with notes about "feeding the root". The fey entities (which included an air nymph he killed in his own tower) were used to power the harness, funneling their energy to the wearer and prolonging his life. The final notes spoke of expanding his "restoration sources" into the Fey Realm.

He was also interested in Ruidus and the people marked by it, even wishing he had been Ruidusborn. He made a connection with Predathos during a flare, although it was too weak to understand the entity's nature. Ludinus's notes discussed the possibility of secretly focusing the power of Molaesmyr's arcane crystal well while Ruidus was above during the apogee solstice of 585 PD, hoping to open a channel of consciousness and communication with the entity. He apparently contacted the Weave Mind during this Solstice and established a continuing relationship. These activities, combined with an artifact of a failed Aeorian experiment to produce arcane plant life (which had made its way to Molaesmyr), led to a detonation that unleashed the power of this artifact, which transformed and corrupted the flora of the region.

Since the mage's involvement in the destruction of his city had stayed a secret, he was able to flee to Bysaes Tyl. It was then, after seeing the opportunity to achieve greatness within the empire, that he left his culture behind to continue his arcane pursuits, officially joining the Empire and the Assembly. He was heavily involved in the dissolution of the Julous Dominion and its complete absorption into the Empire. Da'leth eventually became publicly known as the eldest member of the Cerberus Assembly, as well as one of its founders. He acted as the organization's leader, assuming the title of Archmage of Domestic Protections. As part of this position, he helmed imperial tactics during all their large-scale conflicts.

Like a majority of the Cerberus Assembly, Da'leth has a vested interest in Aeor and artifacts of the Age of Arcanum. During his tenure as leader of the Assembly, excavations at Shattengrod began and the Balenpost outpost in Eiselcross was established to study the Aeor crash site. In 835 PD, he hired Dagen Underthorn as a guide to escort him on his trip through Eiselcross to oversee the initial discovery of one of the Aeorian crash sites, A2. The A2 site seemed largely to be a biological experimentation complex and notably contained an arboretum full of corrupted trees that mirrored the corruption of the Savalirwood surrounding Molaeysmr. In 836 PD, the Mighty Nein encountered the recent remains of his apprentice, Zana Deelio, within the ruins, suggesting Da'leth's continued interest in the site.

Sometime prior to 835 PD, Da'leth was Shadowhand Essek Thelyss's primary contact in the clandestine Luxon beacon exchange that ultimately kickstarted the War of Ash and Light. Thelyss stole two of the Dynasty's holy beacons and surrendered them to Da'leth for experimentation in exchange for a copy of their findings. Vess DeRogna's notes on her experiments revealed that, at minimum, DeRogna and Da'leth aimed to imbue a selection of the Empire's military with the extracted dunamis to heighten their combat capabilities. As the Mighty Nein learned the truth of the stolen beacons and presented it to King Dwendal, Da'leth orchestrated a thorough cover-up, claiming the Dynasty had mistaken the stolen beacon for the one the Empire recently unearthed from Shattengrod.

Campaign Two: The Mighty Nein

"Homeward Bound" (2x48)

The party saw Ludinus Da'leth teleport into Felderwin and meet Vess DeRogna there.

"A Tangled Web" (2x77)

In the Mighty Nein's new quest to find the second stolen beacon, the head of the Cerberus Assembly was one of many people they theorized would know more about its whereabouts. When Jester asked Dairon about the mysterious man they'd dubbed 'Blondie' that was involved with the fiendish portals, they recognized him as resembling Vence Nuthaleus, the Annex to Martinet Ludinus Da'leth. Dairon advised the Nein against a confrontation with Ludinus as he was "quite capable".

Fan art of the Candle of Ludinus, by Cyarna Trim.

"Punishment and Politics" (2x87)

Da'leth was in attendance in the throne room along with King Dwendal, Headmaster Oremid Hass, Archmage Trent Ikithon retainer to the crown Oliver Schreiber, Prime Arbiter Sydnock Truscan, High Curator Yudala Fon, and Arcanist Allura Vysoren when the Mighty Nein revealed the details of Vence Nuthaleus's treachery and collaboration with the Angel of Irons cult. King Dwendal proceeded to put the Mighty Nein in Da'leth's care while they were in Rexxentrum, and he, in turn, arranged their lodging.

"Unwanted Reunions" (2x88)

After breakfast, Da'leth brought the Mighty Nein to his tower in The Shimmer Ward to further discuss both the Angel of Irons cult and the upcoming Luxon beacon exchange. After the Mighty Nein wished to inspect the beacon, Da'leth escorted them to the Vergesson Sanatorium where they were joined by Trent Ikithon for the inspection. After teleporting the Nein back to the Shimmer Ward, Da'leth parted ways with them.

"The Fancy and the Fooled" (2x97)

The Martinet was meeting with Lord Dezran Thain and Lord Athesias Uludan aboard the Cerberus Assembly ship Wind of Aeons when the Mighty Nein arrived in Nicodranas prior to the peace negotiations with the Kryn Dynasty. Frumpkin later eavesdropped on him having a secret conversation with Lord Thain, who was revealed to be Essek Thelyss. When confronted by the Mighty Nein, Essek confessed to stealing the Luxon beacons and handing them over to Ludinus and Trent Ikithon for research, with Vess DeRogna helming a period of this research.

"High Seas, High Stakes" (2x99)

Caleb and Beau encountered Da'leth aboard the Wind of Aeons during the voyage to the peace negotiations when they flew there to inspect the Luxon beacon. Da'leth seemed surprised that Vess DeRogna had been to their ship and that she had offered them work in the north once the negotiations were completed.

"Fond Farewells" (2x141)

Knowing Caleb Widogast participated in nullifying and imprisoning Trent Ikithon, Da'leth offered him the vacant seat of Archmage of Civil Influence. Caleb promptly rejected him with a veiled threat, and Da'leth left to later appoint former-Volstrucker Astrid Becke to the seat.

Between Campaign Two and Campaign Three

According to Astrid Becke, around 838 PD Ludinus started a project connected to the Occultus Thalamus in the Aeorian ruins.

In Fessuran 843 PD, Beau told Bells Hells that Ludinus had spent time in prison and still belonged there with "the rest of his friends."

In 842 PD, along with Ira Wendagoth and Otohan Thull, with the apparent collusion of the Unseelie Court, Ludinus had involved in the construction in the Feywild of a Malleus Key utilizing the Moontide Crown as a key component. It was similar to the Veilscatter Scope built by Ira Wendagoth and Oleander Calloway in the Hellcatch Valley, which allowed an unobstructed view of the red moon Ruidus, the leylines crisscrossing Exandria, and the latticed cage of energy resembling the Divine Gate which surrounded Ruidus.

Ludinus was the founder and leader of the Ruby Vanguard, a group with the stated purpose of releasing Predathos from its prison within Ruidus in order to ensure the destruction of the deities of Exandria. Ludinus taught that since the beginning of mortals' existence on Exandria, they had been under the thumbs of the deities. They believed that since the ascension of the mortal Raven Queen to godhood, the other gods had feared mortals, regarding them not as their beautiful children, but as their food and the source of their power. The group dreamed of a future of freedom for all mortals, by restoring the natural balance and unleashing the natural predator of those beings who call themselves gods. The members of the group believed that Da'leth could speak directly with Predathos.

Campaign Three: Bells Hells

Ludinus was instrumental in creating the plans projected to come to fruition at the apogee solstice of 843 PD, which had been in preparation even during the War of Ash and Light, eight years before. To that end, the group created three "Malleus Keys", large mechanisms similar to the Veilscatter Scope, located in the Feywild, the Shadowfell, and the Hellcatch Valley, at the spot where the three planes intersect and at what was projected to be the nexus of the upcoming solstice. The Hellcatch Valley key was still under construction less than two weeks from the date of the solstice.

Fan art of Ludinus and Fearne, by Lap Pun Cheung.

While Imogen Temult and Fearne Calloway were in the office of Kadija Sumal, Ludinus arrived, seeking the portions of the records of the Omen Archive that Kadija had removed before they were taken by the Cerberus Assembly. Through his use of a spell permanently robbing Kadija of her will, she turned over the papers. Ludinus told Imogen she looked just like her mother Liliana Temult, who was instrumental in his plans and had aided them for years. He dodged the question of whether himself was Ruidusborn, saying that he has his connections with the moon and has had conversations with it. He also expressed his contempt for the gods, saying he had watched the world burn at their behest, the ruin their games left, and the destruction they caused to stunt the growth of mortals. "The Divergence, it wasn't to protect us. It was to protect them from us."

When Bells Hells encountered Caleb Widogast and Beauregard Lionett at the Tishtan excavation site where the primary Malleus Key was being built, the two shared that Ludinus's contempt for the gods had become an obsession, and that his actions in the past months with the Ruby Vanguard had been so intentionally obvious that it appeared he had been counting on opposition. Beau observed that he wasn't normally that sloppy, and they agreed that he wouldn't be the first magic practitioner to succumb to the chaotic influence of dark magics. They noted he seemed to be operating outside the Assembly on this project.

The night the Apogee Solstice was projected to begin, Ludinus arrived magically at the Tishtan excavation site along with a mage hunter golem. Almost immediately thereafter, Liliana Temult captured Beauregard and Caleb, who had successfully sabotaged the antimagic generators at the site. Ludinus assumed a position halfway up the spire of the Malleus Key and addressed the assembled crowd in a long monologue about the evils of the gods and mentioning that he had worked for a thousand years to bring them down.

“

The greatest lie ever told is that we need them. We are their gardens, their cattle. They created us to feed them with our faith, our hopes, our souls, lapping up their fables, give them form, purpose, control. They did not give us this world. They took it from the titans, slew them in their home, and tilled its soil to harvest us for all eternity. But we, their special children, surpassed our masters. We questioned their games, we found our own will, our own power, our own drive to create that eclipsed their own. We unraveled their weave and killed one of them, became one of them. Then, then they feared us. The Calamity was not a tragedy. It was a punishment. Their war amounted to them little more than a contest and we all suffered for our excellence, a genocidal admonishment for following our own will. They still fear us, hiding behind their gate, reaping our dreams as they deceive us into ceding our agency to their whims and squabbles. They should be afraid. (to FCG) You. You are not given life by any god, but by the hands of mortal creators like us. We are the new source of life, of creation! Stain my legacy all you wish! I have worked selflessly for a thousand years to find the means of shattering these chains of fate and oppression! Let me be your villain if it means liberation for all and forever. Born in you chosen Ruidusborn, seeds of Predathos' power, the burgeoning scions to now break these bonds. You have all gathered here for your true purpose. Everything scales in the universe, even ecosystems. Tonight, we unleash the natural predator of the gods. Tonight, the children inherit the world.

”

– 

Ludinus's monologue.

[!h]

Fan art of Ludinus and the Malleus Key, by Wesley Griffith.

Ludinus thrust his hand into the Key, providing his own arcane energy to power its movement of time ahead to evening and the rise of Ruidus above the construction site. When he withdrew his hand, it was withered and blackened. He was able to protect the Key from the attack of the crashing Silver Sun with a Wall of Force. When Keyleth arrived in the form of an earth elemental, he smiled down at her, saying, "Right on time" as he successfully cast Power Word Stun on her. Otohan attacked, bringing her close to death, but as she prepared the final blow the form of Vax'ildan, Champion of the Matron of Ravens, appeared and interposed himself. Above them, Ludinus stated: "And now the final piece. The sliver of divinity, the lens." He reached back into the device as Liliana cast a spell toward Vax'ildan. All the mirrors lining the pit lit up, shooting hundreds of beams of energy into Vax's body, causing him to scream in pain as he was compressed down into a sphere of dark shadow. Liliana used Telekinesis to move the black sphere into the empty spot in the machine and Ludinus attempted to power it up, but there had clearly been a substantial loss of power to the machine. Muttering, "It'll have to do," he threw the final switch and a red beam of light fed by the Ruidusborn present shot upward and connected with Ruidus, causing a silent explosion of arcane energy fading into white. He left at some point during the ensuing battle.

At some point after the beginning of the apogee solstice spies working for the Voice of the Tempest informed her that Ludinus had been seen in the Dwendalian Empire, secretly meeting with the bedridden King Dwendal. According to Keyleth, despite having more political power than ever before, not all members of the Cerberus Assembly were agreeing with Da'leth lately, causing internal conflicts within the Empire.

It was later revealed that part of Ludinus's speech was heard in different points of the planet, wherever there was a nexus of leylines, and the same flash of white energy at the end teleported several people to different locations in different continents. As part of the archmage's plan, several tiny arcane spheres were placed in specific locations of the city of Jrusar, which when activated summoned an illusion of Ludinus that delivered his speech to whomever was around until the sphere was destroyed.

Fan art of Ludinus Da'leth, by MateuszWilma.

When Bells Hells returned to Jrusar, FCG cast Scrying to locate Liliana Temult and found her walking next to Ludinus in the middle of a red storm, apparently on the surface of Ruidus itself.

When Bells Hells were visiting the Great Tree of Atrophy, it was revealed that someone was spying on them, until the former Gau Drashari dispelled the effect. After the adventurers retrieved the spark of Rau'shan from the Chynes Maw, Ludinus appeared in the chamber, accompanied by two members of the Ruby Vanguard and two Reilora. While the archmage said he only wanted to talk, when he held Fearne hostage with Telekinesis a battle ensued. The adventuring party defeated Ludinus's companions, forcing him to end his concentration on his spell, and Laudna successfully Counterspelled his subsequent 9th-level spell. After that, Ludinus was relatively satisfied, having acquired useful information from them, and he jumped into the magma pool, revealing he was in fact a Simulacrum and leaving behind only a robe and a cracked opal he was wearing on his forehead. When Bells Hells showed the gem to Allura Vysoren in Whitestone Castle, she explained that, due to the Simulacrum's inability to learn new things, the opal allowed it to transmit knowledge to its creator. She also theorized, after hearing of Ludinus being in multiple places in a short amount of time, that the archmage might have managed to have multiple Simulacra of himself active at once.

According to Evoroa, Ludinus had spent some time on Ruidus working with her team in Kreviris trying to use Aeorian technology related to the Factorum Malleus to free Predathos. However, he had recently returned to Exandria to deal with the Dominox which was preventing artifact recovery efforts in the ruins of Aeor. Astrid Becke told the party that Ludinus's efforts in Aeor often seemed to focus on the Occultus Thalamus in the Genesis Ward. She also noted he had a quirk of frequently scratching the back of his neck. During his time in Aeor Ludinus had witnessed how Dominox (a grand demon) had driven his own forces insane, although he hadn't been able to do the same with the archmage. Ludinus briefly tried to interact with the fiend in the engine room where he was sealed, but since it didn't work, he continued his exploration deeper within the ruins.

Fan art of Ludinus casting Gate, by Melissa Hahn.

Two days after losing his own bodyguards to the demon, Ludinus heard the commotion of the battle between Bells Hells and Dominox, and approached the engine room again, alarmed, declaring that they needed to deal with the demon and that he would help them; despite this statement, most of the group was alarmed by his presence, and Laudna even shouted that they should set Dominox free. The archmage (after casting Shield to avoid getting hit by Chetney) entered the chamber and cast Gate, opening a portal to the Abyss, where they could kill the powerful fiend permanently. While he was concentrating on that spell, he was attacked several times: Braius Doomseed (who had been part of his escort as part of his mission to murder him) cast Moonbeam, Laudna used Spirit of Death in the form of Vess DeRogna to haunt him (Counterspelling his Counterspell), Fearne tried to Polymorph him, and Imogen, after failing to push him with Telekinesis, attacked him with Lightning Bolt. Although he complained, the archmage maintained concentration, and Teven Klask successfully killed the Grand Demon of Loathing at the other side of the portal. Orym then tried to push Ludinus inside too, but he, realizing what the Ashari was trying to do, put an end to his spell, closing the portal.

Ludinus declared that he didn't see the adventurers as enemies and understood why they were hesitant to help him. He told them he wanted to speak with them and guided them to the Occultus Thalamus. There, he explained to the group that he was trying to help, talking them about his experience witnessing the brutality of the gods during his childhood at the end of the Calamity. He then used the device he had been working on to extract a green orb that contained the memories of the city of Aeor and its destruction (having watched fragments of it that justified his cause, although not the entire recording), telling them that he would show the history to them and the rest of the world. He made the orb spin and shine, activating its properties. Through it, they all learned the story of the fall of Aeor and the gods' part in it.

Fan art of Martinet Ludinus Da'leth, by ravenIocke.

After watching the recording, the archmage used it as an argument in favor of his cause and tried to persuade Bells Hells to join him, even though their conclusions were very different and some of them were still firmly against his plans and his methods. As part of the conversation, Ludinus vaguely answered some questions about his childhood, his traumas with divinity, his plans through the centuries, and his failure in Molaesmyr, although without going into much detail, and always trying to use it to persuade the adventuring party. At one point, Teven attacked him, but Ludinus Banished him. Finally, Ludinus focused mostly on Imogen, Fearne, and Laudna, and when talking to the latter he noticed Delilah Briarwood's influence and addressed her directly, praising her past potential and making an offer to her. He then threw her an amulet made of Ruidian glass, triggering her patron's hunger and causing chaos, using that distraction to leave the chamber and Teleport out of the ruins.

A couple of days later Liliana sent a vision to Imogen in which she informed her that Ludinus was impatient and keeping her with him at all times. Although they hadn't reached the Hallowed Cage yet, the archmage was making a lot of plans, sending a Simulacrum to meet with Zathuda and the Unseelie in the Amethyst Gulch Sierras and asking Liliana to use her powers in a ley nexus to project the memories inside the orb for all Exandria to watch very soon. At that meeting, the Unseelie insisted that they still believed in Ludinus's cause, but they intended to wait for the right moment to strike against their enemies. Although he was disappointed (and snapped at Zathuda for not being useful enough), the wizard agreed and asked the fey to prepare to intervene in the next attack against the Malleus Key. Shortly afterwards, Bells Hells interrupted the meeting by attacking. Ludinus was attacked by Chetney, Braius, and Ashton, who hit him so hard that he lost concentration of the Dimension Door he was preparing. Noticing his Simulacrum form was already near destruction, the archmage leaned into Ashton's second attack, disappearing with a detonation that damaged the people there.

In the following days the archmage urged Liliana to project the images of the last hours of Aeor across Exandria, and she kept putting it off, making excuses that she still did not have the proper way to do it. This made Ludinus more and more impatient until he discovered that the Exaltant was no longer loyal to him; he then had his allies immobilize her while using his own Quintessence Array to absorb her powers. He told the other Exaltants that she was being "judged" and that her powers would free them from divinity, and stayed with her inside a psychic barrier while the process continued. However, when Bells Hells arrived and started fighting his people, the archmage focused on them, and used two of his new powers torn from Liliana (Crush Will and Mind Sliver) against Imogen, stunning her.

Fan art of Dorian casting Forcecage, by @zhellers.

When she was able to move again she promised him he would die there and he agreed, although adding that he would fulfill his mission first. When the psychic barrier fell, Ludinus made Braius miss both his attacks and used Silvery Barbs as a defense against Ashton. When Dorian Storm successfully cast a Forcecage around him and cut the tether connecting Liliana and Ludinus, he was somewhat disappointed but declared that since he was currently trapped they could use that chance to have a conversation. The wizard tried to learn about the purpose and goals of each member of Bells Hells and revealed some of his own backstory, including the origin of his resentment towards the gods. Although some of the adventurers showed some sympathy they still believed that his methods since then had become cruel and wrong. When Imogen finally Misty Stepped towards the tunnel leading to the Hallowed Cage, Ludinus used his own powers to remove himself from the Forcecage and meet the party there. He cast Ravenous Void to slow his enemies as he focused on opening the divine boundaries with his Exaltant powers. Despite this, when Bells Hells began attacking the back of his neck, he became furious and defended himself with magic. However, he was outnumbered and the situation became worse when Ira Wendagoth arrived to contribute to his downfall. Eventually Imogen cast Power Word Stun, leaving him vulnerable for Orym to slay him with Seedling. As Ludinus Da'leth was dying, he asked them to finish his task but Orym watched silently, and when Ludinus was dead Ira approached to laugh at him. Some minutes later, however, some magical measure caused the archmage's corpse to be destroyed; that, combined with the soul-manipulating properties of his staff (revealed by Fearne) made Bells Hells believe he might be alive somewhere with a new body.

Some months after the events that led to the Rites of Catatheosis, Caleb Scried upon Ludinus Da'leth and found him in a little abode making tea, seemingly somewhere in the Shattered Teeth. Seeing him inactive, Beauregard and Caleb decided to postpone hunting him down for the moment. They ended up doing it after Bells Hells joined them while they were hiding from fanatics that resented them after the end of the Era of Reclamation. However, by the time they arrived there they ended up focusing on other problems in the island of Evaterena, and when they asked the local spirits they told them that the mage had been there but then had flown away. After their mission the adventurers located Da'leth's hiding place: a small island right above Evaterena, in which he had built a cottage with a garden for himself. When they arrived there, with Imogen's help, Ludinus was waiting for them, although it soon became clear he was speaking to them through an illusion of himself: he congratulated Bells Hells for helping with the beginning of a new age (even if they hadn't removed the gods entirely), and declared that he had changed his mind about accepting his end, wanting to keep living instead, learning more about magic and shepherding "his own new faithful". He congratulated Jester and Fjord for their upcoming wedding, and then warned Bells Hells about something happening with the Fatestitcher, telling them to go to her and bring Dorian with them. After that, his illusion ended.

Relationships

Essek Thelyss

Da'leth was Essek Thelyss’s primary contact in the illicit Luxon beacon exchange and met to share research and insider information regarding the conflict, though Essek also interacted with Trent Ikithon when Ludinus was not available. While the two were able to work together, they were mutually happy to sever all ties upon the beacon’s return to the Dynasty. Da'leth found Thelyss to be a cold individual, but noticed a gradual thaw as he began to interact with the Mighty Nein. Thelyss, for his part, thought Da'leth lacked friends.

Liliana Temult

Screenshot of Ludinus and Liliana on Ruidus.

According to Liliana, she had enough influence over the archmage to have pulled him from the edge more than once, even encouraging him do some good on occasion. She realized she was surrounded by dangerous people, but believed that they listened to her, and by staying she could protect other Ruidusborn. She accepted that Ludinus might be evil, but combated him by working from the inside.

From Ludinus's perspective, he planned from the beginning that Liliana would become Predathos' vessel. He trusted her enough to leave her in charge of vital parts of his plans, but when he learned she was no longer loyal to him and was working with her daughter Imogen, his plans changed and he used the Quintessence Array to attempt to drain her power and her life. Bells Hells interrupted this process in time to save Liliana from death, although she was weakened enough that she did not participate in the subsequent battle against him.

Otohan Thull

Ludinus was seen with General Otohan Thull at a meeting in the Feywild with members of the Unseelie Court discussing the design of a machine focused on Ruidus for an unknown purpose.

Trent Ikithon

Though Da'leth found Trent Ikithon useful, as evidenced with their collaboration with the stolen Luxon beacon, Da'leth found him challenging, off-putting, and, ultimately, a disappointment. He had some awareness of Ikithon's abusive methods for training Volstrucker, though he claimed never to have witnessed it personally, and claimed he was not aware of the extent of the training.

Vence Nuthaleus

Nuthaleus was Da'leth's annex and assistant until he was revealed as a collaborator with the Angel of Irons cult, sowing discord among both the Dwendalian Empire and Kryn Dynasty. Da'leth expressed surprise and embarrassment when the Mighty Nein revealed Nuthaleus as a traitor and a cultist before the King’s Council and his fellow Assembly members. Da'leth moved quickly to have the fleeing Nuthaleus intercepted, and was willing to surrender him to the Dynasty as part of the peace negotiations, though he intended to interrogate him before the exchange.

Vess DeRogna

Despite a mutual interest in Aeor, Da'leth deeply disliked Vess DeRogna, and the two shared a mutual distrust. He put a notable amount of pressure on her and her work with Yeza Brenatto during the experiments with the stolen Luxon beacon, and they were witnessed arguing in Felderwin.

Their tension persisted regarding the research and excavation of Aeor. DeRogna strove to keep the details of her last expedition secret from him, and he was displeased when he learned of her planned trip.

Yussa Errenis

“

Ludinus is very intelligent. I do not know what his main intent is, but he's been around since the beginning. But he's also the one that keeps the balance with the king. He is the one that keeps the peace, from an archmage's standpoint, but I'm wary of anyone that powerful, both from an arcane and political standpoint.

”

– 

Yussa's impression of Da'leth

[edit]

Character information

Notable items

• Staff of Soul Bind Relay: An extended brass and gold staff, wrapped at the grip, which separates into two hooked, fork-like points at the end connected by elvish latticework. Used to extend the reach of a magical effect involving the soul, it also has a rechargeable defense system that prevents people from revealing information about it with magic.
• Quintessence Array
• A ring which may have increased his AC by 3 and/or may have reduced damage taken during the fight. When Ludinus activated it at the beginning of the fight, it gave him a sort of lesser version of Invulnerability.
• Another magical ring
• Healing potion

Former items

• Staff of Dark Odyssey - found by Team Wildemount in a Bag of Holding in Da'leth's former study in Gildhollow Tower in Molaesmyr.
• Quintessence Array prototype, currently repaired and functional, owned by Bells Hells.

Abilities

• Advantage on saving throws against spells and resistance to damage from them.
• Intelligence saving throw is +14.

Using the Quintessence Array on Liliana Temult granted him (for the next twenty-four hours) at least some of her abilities, including Crush Will and Still Spell. Also, he could use Telekinetic Shove.

When the area on the back of his neck to which the Quintessence Array connected was hit with an attack, it caused an additional 8d6 necrotic damage and the loss of 1d6+1 levels worth of unused spell slots. Its AC, however, was considerably higher than Ludinus's own, at 26.

During their battle in "The Hallowed Cage" (3x118), Bells Hells inflicted 641 points of damage on Ludinus before Orym's killing blow.

Feats

• Metamagic Adept
  • Quickened Spell
• War Caster^[presumed]
• Spell Sniper

Legendary actions and resistances

Ludinus has three legendary resistances per day and three legendary actions per round.

• Cast a spell: Uses two legendary actions
• Cast a cantrip
• Psychic Blast: All creatures within 5 feet make a DC 22 strength save or are pushed 30 feet back.

Wizard spells

As an ancient wizard, Ludinus has had time to fill his spellbook with a probably very lengthy list of spells. The following are those he has demonstrated knowledge of:

Spell level	Spell	Notes
0 (cantrip)	Mind Sliver	Either his own cantrip or a power stolen from Liliana.
1st	Shield
1st	Silvery Barbs
2nd	Misty Step[presumed]
3rd	Counterspell
3rd	Fly
3rd	Lightning Bolt	Either his own spell or a power stolen from Liliana.
3rd	Sending
4th	Banishment
4th	Dimension Door
5th	Geas[presumed]
5th	Telekinesis
5th	Wall of Force
6th	Chain Lightning	Either his own spell or a power stolen from Liliana.
7th	Simulacrum
7th	Teleport
8th	Antimagic Field[presumed]
8th	Feeblemind[presumed]
8th	Power Word Stun
9th	Gate
9th	Ravenous Void
9th	Weird

Appearances and mentions

• Campaign Two
  • "Whispers of War" (2x18), mentioned only (first mentioned)
  • "Homeward Bound" (2x48) (first appearance)
  • "A Game of Names" (2x49)
  • "Well Beneath" (2x54), mentioned only
  • "A Tangled Web" (2x77), mentioned only
  • "Titles and Tattoos" (2x84), mentioned only
  • "Punishment and Politics" (2x87)
  • "Unwanted Reunions" (2x88)
  • "Bathhouses and Bastions" (2x90), via Sending
  • "Stone to Clay" (2x91), via Sending
  • "The Fancy and the Fooled" (2x97)
  • "High Seas, High Stakes" (2x99)
  • "Frigid Propositions" (2x109), mentioned only
  • "The Chase Begins" (2x112), mentioned only
  • "An Open Window" (2x114), mentioned only
  • "Fetching Fables & Frosty Friends" (2x115), mentioned only
  • "The Tortoise and The Dare" (2x117), mentioned only
  • "Solace Between the Secrets" (2x118), mentioned only
  • "A Walk to Warmer Welcomes" (2x124), mentioned only
  • "The Neverending Day" (2x125), mentioned only
  • "Worth Fighting For" (2x126), mentioned only
  • "Fond Farewells" (2x141)
• Campaign Three
  • "Breaking Point" (3x31), mentioned only
  • "A Stage Set" (3x32), mentioned only
  • "Pyrrhic Return" (3x35), mentioned only
  • "Bawdy Basement Belligerence" (3x44), mentioned only
  • "Ominous Lectures" (3x45)
  • "Night at the Ligament Manor" (3x46), mentioned only
  • "The Fey Key" (3x47), mentioned only
  • "The Aurora Grows" (3x49), mentioned only
  • "Red Moon Rising" (3x50), mentioned only
  • "The Apogee Solstice" (3x51)
  • "Ripples" (3x53), mentioned only
  • "Hope Within History" (3x55), mentioned only
  • "The Sorrow of Molaesmyr" (3x57), mentioned only
  • "Escape From The Past" (3x58), mentioned only
  • "Somewhere Out There" (3x59), mentioned only
  • "Faith or Famine" (3x60), mentioned only
  • "Crisis of Faith" (3x61), mentioned only
  • "A Long Walk of Reflection" (3x62), mentioned only
  • "A Haunted Past" (3x63), mentioned only
  • "Reunited" (3x64), mentioned only
  • "A Path of Vengeance" (3x65), via Scry and Illusory Image
  • "Aid of the Tempest" (3x66), mentioned only
  • "Bloody Flowers" (3x67), mentioned only
  • "For The Tempest" (3x68), mentioned only
  • "Nice" (3x69), mentioned only
  • "Embattled in Bassuras" (3x70), mentioned only
  • "Phantasmal Parley" (3x72), mentioned only
  • "Roots Between Worlds" (3x74), mentioned only
  • "An Ancient Flame" (3x75) (via modified Simulacrum)
  • "A Gathering of Heroes" (3x76), mentioned only
  • "The Promise and the Price" (3x77), mentioned only
  • "To Hurt Is to Heal" (3x79), mentioned only
  • "The Eve of the Red Moon" (3x81), mentioned only
  • "Ruidus" (3x83), mentioned only
  • "Red Rural Revelations" (3x84), mentioned only
  • "Intense Interrogations" (3x85), in a vision
  • "Doorways to Darker Depths" (3x86), mentioned only
  • "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87), mentioned only
  • "Seeking Sedition" (3x88), mentioned only
  • "Divisive Portents" (3x89), mentioned only
  • "True Heroism" (3x91), mentioned only
  • "Broken Roads" (3x92), mentioned only
  • "Bittersweet Reunions" (3x93), mentioned only
  • "Where The Red Fearne Glows" (3x94), mentioned only
  • "Gathering of Needs" (3x95), mentioned only
  • "Shadows New and Old" (3x96), mentioned only
  • "Ancient Sins" (3x97), mentioned only
  • "The Nox Engine" (3x98)
  • "Reconciliation" (3x102)
  • "Cages" (3x103), mentioned only
  • "The Cradle's Convocation" (3x104), mentioned only
  • "Collecting Legends" (3x105), mentioned only
  • "Unseelie Interrupted" (3x106) (via Simulacrum)
  • "Under the Arch Heart's Eye" (3x107) (via Simulacrum)
  • "Looming" (3x108), mentioned only
  • "A Test of Fate" (3x109), mentioned only
  • "The Nein Hells" (3x111), mentioned only
  • "The Assembling of Legends" (3x112), mentioned only
  • "To the Arx Creonum" (3x115), in a vision
  • "The Weave Mind" (3x116), mentioned only
  • "Race to the Ruidian Core" (3x117)
  • "The Hallowed Cage" (3x118)
  • "The Red End" (3x120), mentioned only
  • "A New Age Begins" (3x121), via Scrying
• Specials
  • "The Mighty Nein Reunion: Echoes of the Solstice" (Sx79), mentioned only
  • "Tag Team at the Teeth – The Misty Ascent" (Sx97), mentioned only
  • "Tag Team at the Teeth – Beyond the Shroud" (Sx98), mentioned only
  • "Oaths & Ash – Indianapolis Live Show 2025" (Sx100), via illusion
• The Mighty Nein
  • "Mote of Possibility" (TMN1x01), non-speaking

Quotations

• Ludinus: (to Jester) It's entirely off-putting how disarmingly charming you are. I genuinely do not know how to react. Take that as a compliment.
• Caleb: Well, I am a disappointment to my teacher, I am sure. As well as many of my peers.
  Ludinus: Your teacher's a disappointment to many others. He has his uses, but... Ah. People are complicated, are they not?
• Ludinus: I'm surprised to see such affection from such a previously cold individual.
  Essek: "Well, I am surprised myself. Maybe you should try friends sometime."
• (about the gods) "We've never needed them. They've always needed us.[...] I watched the world burn at their behest. I saw the ruin their games left of our people, the destruction they brought down to stunt the potential of mortal minds and hearts. They act only to preserve themselves. [...] We may be their creations, but all children outgrow their parents. And they came to fear our development, our potential. The Matron, the Age of Arcanum, the growing will of the mortal mind. The Divergence, it wasn't to protect us, it was to protect them from us."
• Morrigan: (when Ludinus was mentioned) Hungry goes the bastard of time.
• Lolth: (about Predathos) Ludinus doesn't know. He is a petulant child.
• Ludinus: When the divine threatens your families, your children, the very future of life as you know it, they reveal themselves as the enemy.
• Ludinus: My family was collateral damage in the battle between the Lawbearer and the Crawling King that destroyed our home city of Ozana. Words of remembrance on the lips of a foreign priest was all I was given in recompense, the fallen forgotten and abandoned when their god stepped away from the smoldering ruin they wrought. My conviction was forged that day and has remained unwavering since, here, on the precipice of truth and triumph. No, I do not care for their words, their platitudes. They only care about them. [...] I wandered. I met many survivors, others who were seeking a meaning to all of it, looking to their great and wondrous glorious golden gods for direction, for an apology, for comfort, for direction, and in that silence, one by one, they all walked away. So yes. Sometimes sacrifices must be made. But the good remember those who made that sacrifice. I remember them, when others do not.
• (last words to Orym and the rest of Bells Hells) "Finish what must be done. Please."

Trivia

• At the beginning of Campaign Two his name was sometimes misspelled as Lunidus. The prefix luni- means "moon" in Latin.
• The term martinet both refers to a multi-tail whip used as a punitive device, and a person who is a strict disciplinarian.
• According to the notes found in his Gildhollow Tower, Ludinus knew who Laerryn Coramar-Seelie was, but regardless of whether he was alive at the same time as the abjurer, she must have already been dead when Ludinus moved to Molaesmyr (where he made the notes listing her name as a historical specialist on the Raven Queen). The cast themselves theorized that the names in Ludinus's notes could be of people the archmage had read about, although Laura Bailey mentioned he might have known them personally.
• According to Matthew Mercer, in his youth Ludinus, with his attractiveness, could have been successful in the romantic sphere, but he considered such matters "beneath him", since he had other priorities.
• Da'leth looks like a man of northern elven descent, and much of that bloodline is from elves who once inhabited Molaesmyr. However, he wasn't a native of that city, being originally from Ozana and coming from Ivaadel in Issylra (both of those places might have been in the north as well).
• His physical appearance (and goals to a lesser extent) bear similarities to Mannimarco from the Elder Scrolls series.
• Utkarsh Ambudkar briefly mixed the archmage's name with that of Ruidus, which led to a new nickname for him, "Rudinus", since, according to the cast, he's quite rude.
• Ashley Johnson confessed that she wished Fearne Calloway had set on fire the papers Ludinus was stealing from Kadija Sumal. Matthew Mercer admitted he had a battle map prepared for that encounter just in case Fearne and/or Imogen Temult decided to act against the archmage.
• Matt revealed that the way Dominox intended to torture Ludinus was by showing him the souls of those people the archmage ever cared about but sacrificed because of his mission, asking him if such sacrifices had been worth it.
• According to the Great Tree of Atrophy, Ludinus Da'leth could potentially be stopped by the combination of Bells Hells and their chaos, and the use of the shard of the Empress of Earth and the spark of the Emperor of Fire. When the adventurers were in Kalutha speaking to Evontra'vir, the tree revealed a Scrying orb nearby. Since they were talking about how to defeat the archmage and the magical effect was blue, Ludinus himself could have been the one casting the spell.
• The Matron of Ravens admitted that Ludinus is almost as smart as she is, and that he has managed to hide his own thread of fate even from her.
• After the absence of the archmage in "Tag Team at the Teeth – Beyond the Shroud" (Sx98) Matt explained that he was interested in exploring further the chase of Ludinus in future games.

References

Art: