Villains' Lorebook.pdf - Department of Political Science

leader, a 15th-level mage named Curmanvyss, welcomed
Cyndre, who was already almost as powerful
as Curmanvyss himself. Cyndre also brought his own
disciple Alexei onto the Council. While suspicious
of Cyndre, Curmanvyss thought it best to keep such
a powerful mage close to him, where Curmanvyss
could observe him.
Within three years, Curmanvyss and five of his
sorcerers were dead. Cyndre and Alexei brought
mages of their own onto the Council and subverted
those who remained from Curmanvyss’s days. During
this time, Cyndre also cultivated a relationship with
the cleric of Bhaal, Hobarth. Together they formed a
plan to conquer the Isles from within.
In 1346 DR, they put their plan into action. Cyndre
enthralled High King Carrathal, and through
the king, enrolled mercenaries, outlaws, and even a
troop of ogres as the king’s Scarlet Guard. Cyndre
knew, of course, that these men and monsters truly
belonged to him, not the king. With this array of
physical force to back him, Cyndre began working to
eliminate the druids of the Isles as they represented
his most potent magical opposition. Cyndre also had
the half-orc assassin Razfallow (ho/m/f8-t9/NE),
who had been schooled at the Academy of Stealth
in Calimshan for removing particularly powerful individuals.
The half-orc also had a band of followers
that helped him in his assassinations.
Cyndre sent this band of murderers to kill the King
of Corwell and his son, Prince Tristan Kendrick.
While the assassins succeeded in murdering Tristan’s
father, the prince himself survived the attack and
drove off the assassins with help from his friends.
Cyndre also had other allies to call upon. He
helped a band of duergar, also known as dark dwarves,
eliminate a settlement of their traditional enemies,
the svirfneblin. In doing so, he ensured the dwarves’
aid in the days to come.
When he was challenged by Alexei over cooperating
with Hobarth and the progress of his overall
plan, Cyndre used the transport spell to imprison and
later torture and maim his former comrade.
Back in the High King’s court, Cyndre had learned
via his magical mirror that Prince Tristan Kendrick
was coming to Caer Callidyr, the high king’s traditional
castle, so the High King Carrathal could decide
who should succeed Tristan’s late father as King
of Corwell. Cyndre convinced the magic-addled
high king that Kendrick was really coming to kill
him, and the high king declared the prince an out-
law. Cyndre also sent Kryphon and Doric to kill Tristan,
an act Razfallow had failed to achieve once too
often-a failure which cost him his life.
The heroes had managed to gather allies of their
own, including Alexei, and they survived the evil
wizard’s plan for their elimination. As the forces of
good and evil converged for final battle, Cyndre fi-
nally took direct action against his foes.
In the midst of a fierce battle, the druidess Robin
and Alexei sought out Cyndre. The evil mage incapacitated
his former fellow, but Robyn imprisoned
Cyndre in a magical tangle of bushes and branches.
An Earthmother-induced earthquake then struck
the area, opening a fissure in the ground that swal-
lowed Cyndre before closing in on itself.
Motivations/Goals: Cyndre wished to rule a vast
empire, in order to show the wizards of Thay that
they were wrong to disdain him. The Moonshaes are
a rich land and had a weak ruler at the time. Cyndre
sought to exploit that weakness for his own gain.
If he’d have survived his failure in the Isles, he
doubtless would have moved on and begun again
somewhere new, blaming Alexei and his other sub-
ordinates for his past failure.
Campaign Uses: If the bound wizard somehow
managed to escape being buried alive, it’s likely he’d
flee the Isles, his power there broken. He could set
up some new scheme or other in your campaign. In
doing so, he’d first round up a group of supporters
(likely to be mages) to carry out his plans. These
supporters could include any pre-existing evil NPC
mages from your game world. Cyndre’s plan would
most likely involve some way to come to power in
the land of your campaign-probably wielding said
power from the background.
Cyndre is a very powerful wizard, and unless your
campaign (and your PCs) can handle such, Cyndre
may not be right for your campaign. If he’s kept in
the background as a mysterious plotter that the PCs
can never quite catch, though, his impact is lessened.
Sources: Black Wizards.
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