Villains' Lorebook.pdf - Department of Political Science

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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. 17
18 Deirdre Kendrick Human female 18th level mage/9th level cleric ARMOR CLASS: 7 MOVE: 12 HIT POINTS: 38 THAC0: 15 NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil STR 8, DEX 15, CON 18, INT 18, WIS 11, CHA 15 Cleric Spells (4/4/3/2/1): As “the sword of the New Gods” on the Moonshae Isles, Deirdre represented the Faerûnian pantheon’s interest in displacing the Earthmother there. As a result, Deirdre was granted major access to all spheres of clerical spells, within the limits for a cleric of her level. Wizard Spells (5/5/5/5/5/3/3/2/1): 1st —armor, feather fall, magic missile, read magic, sleep; 2nd— blur, darkness 15’ radius, flaming sphere, knock, misdirection; 3rd— clairaudience , clairvoyance, fireball, lightning bolt, wraithform; 4th— confusion, dimension door, magic mirror, stoneskin, wizard eye; 5th— animate dead, chaos, contact other plane, stone shape, teleport; 6th— flesh to stone, move earth, part water; 7th— control undead, shadow walk, teleport without error; 8th— glassteel, mind blank; 9th— time stop. Weapons of Proficiency: Dagger, dart, staff. Nonweapon Proficiencies: As a tool of the gods, Deirdre learned much at an incredible pace. Below are the minimum number of proficiencies that she has: ancient history (Moonshae), charioteering, local history (Moonshaes), modern languages (Common, elven, firbolg), reading/writing (Common, Thayan), religion (Faerûnian and Moonshae), riding: landbased, spellcraft, and weather sense. Equipment: As a princess of the realm, Deirdre has access to almost any kind of mundane equipment. Also, she seems not to need any material components for her wizard spells, and possesses all the holy symbols of the “new gods,” at least for a time. Magical Items: Ring of protection +2, a magical mirror (a gift from Talos that shattered, infusing its shards within Deirdre’s body; see below for more details). Combat/Tactics: Deirdre is not accustomed to actual physical combat, and her ascent to wizardly and clerical power was so swift that she lacks the instincts of other spellcasters of her level. Only after she gave herself over to the will of the new gods could she act decisively in combat, using all of her newfound abilities to their maximum. Nevertheless, attacks from multiple foes or different directions still have a chance to distract her to the point of inaction. Allies/Companions: Coss-Axell-Sinioth, an avatar of Talos, who took the insecurity and envy buried in Deirdre’s heart and turned them to delusions of grandeur and dreams of power. He provided her with many tomes of evil magicks and seduced her to the cause of the new gods in mind, body, and soul. Foes/Enemies: Tristan, Robyn, and Alicia Kendrick, Keane the wizard, and the Earthmother, god- dess of the Moonshaes. Appearance: A cool, raven-haired beauty, Deirdre wears her hair long and has dark blue eyes. She dresses well, as a princess should, usually in tones that accent her dark hair and fair skin. Personality: Intelligent, cunning, cold, and distant best define Deirdre. Intensely focused on her own perceived inadequacies, she envies all those around her for their gifts while ignoring or dismissing her own. Intrigued by magic and the power that she thought would fill the void within her, her ambition and self-doubt are the doorway to her soul that Talos and other gods exploited, much to Deirdre’s cost. Locales Frequented: The Moonshae Isles; Caer Corwell, specifically the library or her rooms. History: Deirdre Kendrick was the first daughter of King Tristan and Queen Robyn Kendrick. Deirdre was joined one year later by her sister Alicia. As they grew up together, Deirdre was often openly hostile to her sister, apparently already suffering from doubt and inadequacy that she channeled into rage. As Deirdre matured, she seemed to grow out of her hostility toward Alicia. Instead, she became fascinated by magic and was a student of Keane for a time. That is, until Keane declared that he would teach her no more, a decision the mage had reached after discussion with the princess’s parents. Keane rightly feared that all Deirdre wanted from magic was power, a sort of balm for the emptiness she felt in her soul. The Faerûnian god Talos acted to fill this void in 1365 DR when he sent an avatar known as Sinioth
Page 2 and 3: Villains’ Lorebook by Dale Donova
Page 4 and 5: Table of Contents INTRODUCTION . .
Page 6 and 7: ter has been known to cast in the p
Page 8 and 9: Aballister Bonaduce Human male 12th
Page 10 and 11: ehind those openings.) If Alzegund
Page 12 and 13: mation of one so young by his foes.
Page 14 and 15: lose and will close with enemies if
Page 16 and 17: .dark leather armor, and a deep cri
Page 20 and 21: to seduce Deirdre to the cause of s
Page 22 and 23: Morkai. Dendybar is next seen when
Page 24 and 25: Personality: Once spurned by all he
Page 26 and 27: childhood incorporated into her as
Page 28 and 29: the god Oghma to have Rinda the scr
Page 30 and 31: Halaster Blackcloak Human male 30th
Page 32 and 33: Sources: Ruins of Undermountain, St
Page 34 and 35: Personality: Hobarth is petty, crue
Page 36 and 37: Jander Sundstar Elf male 8th-level
Page 38 and 39: Rumors have reached certain Faerûn
Page 40 and 41: Kaverin Ebonhand Human male 11th-le
Page 42 and 43: Kierkan Rufo Vampire; formerly a hu
Page 44 and 45: History: Kymil was responsible for
Page 46 and 47: King Manferic III Lich; formerly a
Page 48 and 49: sistance (if any) and a -4 penalty
Page 50 and 51: Equipment: Both before and after he
Page 52 and 53: Personality: He seems to be a simpl
Page 54 and 55: Sememmon Human male 15th-level mage
Page 56 and 57: Magical Items: Szass Tam has access
Page 58 and 59: Appearance: Victor Dhostar is in hi
Page 60 and 61: hands-once the wand that controlled
Page 62 and 63: are controlled by the phaerimm that
Page 64 and 65: 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
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Ice Spire ogres are very well adapt
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attack roll (for the creature’s m
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Kazgaroth can be struck in combat o
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The Blood Riders (Blood Warriors) C
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After leaving the Flight, Mist sett
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grasping solid objects within reach
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Deities of both good and evil play
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Minions of Bhall clashed with the p
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The Shadevari are beasts from the l
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The Xanthar's Thieves' Guild may be
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The human assassin Artemis Entreri
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What is it about the pursuit of mag
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An evil gnoll lies dead at the feet
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Kierkan Rufo, the former priest now
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Habitat/Society: Small groups of pt
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Shadowmasters, a.k.a. the Malaugrym
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Below are a few shadowmasters known
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while unlikely, the possibility tha
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“promoted” to become a pit fien
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ound. A yochlol must eat at least e
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might. Tremendous amounts of treasu
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Special Equipment: Jaylnfein’s co
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The Kraken Society Enemies of the N
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Leaders/Important NPCs: Undarl (NE
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VIII. Shapechange?: 1d10 1-3 Shapec
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Thayan culture, such as it is, make
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quer Rashemen. Nevron’s legions a
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The Zhentarim The Black Network Org
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While Darkhold’s public purpose i
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Magical Items & Spells Many of the
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The trigger activating a given dagg
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centrating, the arachnids are free
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directly into Thay to gather intell
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Special Wizard spells Some of the w
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The spell can be cast only in darkn
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This spell creates a burning lance
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e used by the creature. A ghoul can
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Nybor’s Gentle Reminder (Enchantm
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Ray of Ondovir (Enchantment/Charm)
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Transport (Alteration) Level: 7 Ran
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at -4; others within the radius sav
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Decay (Alteration) Level: 3 Sphere:
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Rising Rot (Evocation Necromancy) L
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slip into a coma, lose 4d4 hit poin
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Zin-Carla (Necromancy) Level: 7 Sph
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Novels & Short Stories All Shadows
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