Villains' Lorebook.pdf - Department of Political Science

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Leaders/Important NPCs: Undarl (NE hm W18) was known as “the Dragonrider,” and this was his preferred means of entering battle. A late arrival to the magelords, he made his mark by destroying the village of Heldon (and Elminster’s parents). He rose to become Mage Royal and the real ruler of the kingdom. None knew from where he hailed or that he was much more than he seemed. In his final battle with Elminster, he was revealed to be a yuan-ti (MONSTROUS MANUAL tome), but Elminster has since stated that this form too was a ruse. The Old Mage is now convinced that Undarl was in truth a malaugrym (see page 99 for a write-up of the shadowmasters). Undarl replaced the first Mage Royal, one Ubriien Orlyn (LE hm W15), a cruel and quick-witted man who dominated all the mages Prince Belaur initially recruited. While in the form of an elf, he was slain by a dwarf axelord during a feast. The other magelords never knew of his fate, and Undarl stepped in to fill the power vacancy quickly. Neldryn Hawklyn (NE hm W17) was among Belaur’s original recruits and, after Ulbriien’s disappearance, was the most potent magelord after Undarl. He was haughty and dared to use a Netherese magical item. He hoped to use the crystal chain of binding (an item of transparent metal that flies under the mental direction of a controlling being and that prevents all magic use by any being imprisoned within its links) to replace the Magister in 229. He failed and paid the ultimate price for his arrogance. Ithboltar (NE hm W20) was by far the oldest and most adept magically of all the magelords. In fact, he had been Neldryn’s mentor, and he served as a tutor to many of the Magelords. He lacked the reckless ambition of his young students, however, and even saw Elminster as a useful tool in eliminating the more headstrong members of his group. He met his end in 240 with all the surviving magelords and Belaur when the castle Athalgard was destroyed. Ildryn Thallin (NE hm W16) was an oily, sly magelord who was perpetually manipulating others, avoiding foes, and engaging in verbal diplomacy. He perished in 240 in the spell-battle in Athalgard. Multiple contingencies, triggered by his death, were responsible for much of the destruction. Sources: Elminster: The Making of a Mage, “The Athalantan Campaign” in DRAGON Magazine, #228. The Night Parade Enemies within Faerûn’s Cities Organization: The Night Parade is the self-chosen name of a group of strange, otherworldly (some might theorize otherplanar) creatures that make their home within an urban area. The only wellknown incidence of this type of “infestation” took place in Calimport and was uncovered in the year 1359 DR. This cabal of the Night Parade numbered more than 6,000 and was led by Lord Sixx, a large, trim, mysterious man with three pairs of eyes on his face, each arm, leg, and on either side of his chest and back. Lord Sixx ruled over the Night Parade. The large group lived in “nests” throughout the city, hiding during the day and roaming the streets at night. One member of the Night Parade had a hypnotic power that allowed such an enormous number of strange beings to go unnoticed within the rela- tively small urban area of Calimport. Many of the Night Parade’s activities are unknown even now, but it is known that the members cannot produce offspring of their own. They therefore must steal or kidnap human (and possibly demihuman) infants. The members gather these infants and, during a magical ceremony, transform the children into the next generation of the Night Parade. History: The Night Parade cell in Calimport was revealed through the actions of a Harper, one Myrmeen Lhal, Lord of Arabel, and a party of comrades from her adventuring days. Some 14 years before the Night Parade was discovered in Calimport, Lhal was a young married woman, and she and her husband, Dak, were about to have a baby. The birth was difficult, but Lhal’s strength enabled her to survive. Dak informed her that the child had perished. The couple ended their relationship not long thereafter. In 1359 DR, Lhal had become Lord of Arabel, having been appointed by King Azoun himself. One night, Dak reappeared and sought an audience with Lhal. Fearful for his life, he wished to trade information for the Lord’s protection. Dak told Lhal that her child had not died all those years ago, but that he’d sold the newborn girl to pay off debts. After learning the name of the man who’d bought her baby girl, Lhal killed Dak herself by cleaving his head from his shoulders. 115
116 Lhal sought out her old adventuring companions to aid her in finding her daughter. They journeyed to the city of Calimport and soon uncovered the presence of a large cell of the Night Parade. After several battles, the monster that had hypnotized the city’s residents was killed, and the people rioted, destroying the Night Parade members. Lhal and her comrades also prevented the completion of a magical ceremony that would have transformed a number of infants into Night Parade members. Also destroyed was the artifact that was to empower the transformation and which also acted as a gate to the home world (plane?) of the Night Parade. Of her original party, only Lhal survived. Lhal briefly met her own daughter later, but Lhal saw she was happy with her life, and so left without telling the girl she was her mother. Instead, Lhal adopted another teenage girl, Krystin, whom she had met while in Calimport. While no other cells of the Night Parade have ever been confirmed, legends of these beings are common across Faerûn. Many Harpers speculate that other, most likely smaller but still quite dangerous, groups of the Night Parade exist in other cities in the Realms-perhaps in one your campaign’s PCs have visited or even where make their home. Night Parade Generation Charts: As the essential allure of using the Night Parade in a Realms campaign is the mystery surrounding each member’s appearance, powers, and weaknesses, the following charts are presented for DMs to create their own unique members. This is done rather than simply listing a few sample creatures, ensuring that the Night Parade creatures you create will surprise both your PCs and their players. DMs also can browse the charts and custom design creatures for their own campaigns. Be aware that the power levels of creatures generated using these charts vary immensely. If you randomly create a Night Parade monster, compare the being’s abilities and vulnerabilities to those of your game’s PCs. While the Night Parade should pose a formidable challenge even to high-level characters, the PCs should, if they’re smart and maybe just a little bit lucky, be able to win the day. Of course, the price for that victory may be high. I. Size: roll 1d6 1-2S (HD 2-4) 3-5M (HD 5-7) 6L (HD 8-12) Dmg 1d6 Dmg 2d4 Dmg 2d6 II. Features: 1d10 1 Horns on head 2 Fangs/overlarge teeth 3 Forked tongue 4 Large, pointed ears 5 Black/red/white eyes 6 Cat’s eyes 7 Animal-like legs 8 Fur/Hairless body 9 Spiny ridge down back 10 Covered in feathers III. Locomotion: 1d8 1 Flies (MV 15, MC C) 2-6 Walks (MV 12) 7 Slithers like snake (MV 9) 8 Oozes like slime (MV 6) IV Skin: 1d8 1-4 Thick skin (AC 7) 5 Woody, fibrous (AC 5) 6 Waxy (AC9; edged weapons do half damage) 7 Stony (AC 2) 8 Metallic (AC -2) V. Number of Attacks: 1d8 1-2 1 3-5 2 6-7 3 8 4 VI. Attack Source: 1d12 1-3 Hands/claws 4-5 Mouth/teeth 6-7 Tentacles 8-9 Extra arms/legs 10-11 Extra mouth 12 Extra head VII. Primary Color: 1d10 1-4 Any human skin tone 5 Red 6 Black 7 Green 8 Gray 9 Orange 10 Brown (leather)
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Villains’ Lorebook by Dale Donova
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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION . .
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ter has been known to cast in the p
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Aballister Bonaduce Human male 12th
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ehind those openings.) If Alzegund
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mation of one so young by his foes.
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lose and will close with enemies if
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.dark leather armor, and a deep cri
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leader, a 15th-level mage named Cur
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to seduce Deirdre to the cause of s
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Morkai. Dendybar is next seen when
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Personality: Once spurned by all he
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childhood incorporated into her as
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the god Oghma to have Rinda the scr
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Halaster Blackcloak Human male 30th
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Sources: Ruins of Undermountain, St
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Personality: Hobarth is petty, crue
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Jander Sundstar Elf male 8th-level
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Rumors have reached certain Faerûn
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Kaverin Ebonhand Human male 11th-le
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Kierkan Rufo Vampire; formerly a hu
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History: Kymil was responsible for
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King Manferic III Lich; formerly a
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sistance (if any) and a -4 penalty
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Equipment: Both before and after he
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Personality: He seems to be a simpl
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Sememmon Human male 15th-level mage
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Magical Items: Szass Tam has access
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Appearance: Victor Dhostar is in hi
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hands-once the wand that controlled
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are controlled by the phaerimm that
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Chosen One Result of Thayan magic C
Page 66 and 67: trol (loses consciousness, etc.). T
Page 68 and 69: Errtu A Balor tanar’ri CLIMATE/TE
Page 70 and 71: Ice Spire ogres are very well adapt
Page 72 and 73: attack roll (for the creature’s m
Page 74 and 75: Kazgaroth can be struck in combat o
Page 76 and 77: The Blood Riders (Blood Warriors) C
Page 78 and 79: After leaving the Flight, Mist sett
Page 80 and 81: grasping solid objects within reach
Page 82 and 83: Deities of both good and evil play
Page 84 and 85: Minions of Bhall clashed with the p
Page 86 and 87: The Shadevari are beasts from the l
Page 88 and 89: The Xanthar's Thieves' Guild may be
Page 90 and 91: The human assassin Artemis Entreri
Page 92 and 93: What is it about the pursuit of mag
Page 94 and 95: An evil gnoll lies dead at the feet
Page 96 and 97: Kierkan Rufo, the former priest now
Page 98 and 99: Habitat/Society: Small groups of pt
Page 100 and 101: Shadowmasters, a.k.a. the Malaugrym
Page 102 and 103: Below are a few shadowmasters known
Page 104 and 105: while unlikely, the possibility tha
Page 106 and 107: “promoted” to become a pit fien
Page 108 and 109: ound. A yochlol must eat at least e
Page 110 and 111: might. Tremendous amounts of treasu
Page 112 and 113: Special Equipment: Jaylnfein’s co
Page 114 and 115: The Kraken Society Enemies of the N
Page 118 and 119: VIII. Shapechange?: 1d10 1-3 Shapec
Page 120 and 121: Thayan culture, such as it is, make
Page 122 and 123: quer Rashemen. Nevron’s legions a
Page 124 and 125: The Zhentarim The Black Network Org
Page 126 and 127: While Darkhold’s public purpose i
Page 128 and 129: Magical Items & Spells Many of the
Page 130 and 131: The trigger activating a given dagg
Page 132 and 133: centrating, the arachnids are free
Page 134 and 135: directly into Thay to gather intell
Page 136 and 137: Special Wizard spells Some of the w
Page 138 and 139: The spell can be cast only in darkn
Page 140 and 141: This spell creates a burning lance
Page 142 and 143: e used by the creature. A ghoul can
Page 144 and 145: Nybor’s Gentle Reminder (Enchantm
Page 146 and 147: Ray of Ondovir (Enchantment/Charm)
Page 148 and 149: Transport (Alteration) Level: 7 Ran
Page 150 and 151: at -4; others within the radius sav
Page 152 and 153: Decay (Alteration) Level: 3 Sphere:
Page 154 and 155: Rising Rot (Evocation Necromancy) L
Page 156 and 157: slip into a coma, lose 4d4 hit poin
Page 158 and 159: Zin-Carla (Necromancy) Level: 7 Sph
Page 160: Novels & Short Stories All Shadows
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