Villains' Lorebook.pdf - Department of Political Science

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Meanwhile, Hobarth told his dread god of the
Earthmother’s Children and how they’d fought for
her in the past. Bhaal then created three Children of
his own. Unnatural, foul corruptions of true animals,
these beings came to be known as Thorax the owlbear,
Bhaal’s Flock of perytons, and the king of
Bhaal’s Children, Shantu the displacer beast. (See
the MONSTROUS MANUAL tome.) These abominations
were then loosed upon the Isles to do Bhaal’s
evil bidding. Indeed, Shantu eventually came upon
the heroes of the Isles and killed Daryth of Calim-
shan.
Hobarth then journeyed to the coast where he
summoned the high priestess of the sahuagin. Following
her was an unstoppable army of the dead, the
bodies of many who’d lost their lives to the ocean’s
waters. This massive army moved slowly but inex-
orably toward land.
Meanwhile, the owlbear found and attacked the
heroes, but was tricked into entering a tar pit, in
which it quickly became trapped and sank from
view. The perytons soon found the heroes though,
and they began a running battle with Tristan and
company for some time. The heroes finally drove
them off.
Shantu soon came to battle Kamerynn the unicorn,
the last of the Earthmother’s Children. Their
fierce conflict could end only in the death of one of
the combatants. Though he managed to plant his
horn deep into Shantu’s side, Kamerynn was the one
to fall, slain by the might of Hobarth’s god, Bhaal.
Finally, the forces of good and evil were brought
to one decisive battle. The corrupted Genna
brought the heroes to Myrloch Vale’s Darkwell,
where she briefly resumed the form of Kazgaroth before
being destroyed. Shantu was destroyed there as
well.
While their deaths enraged Bhaal, these events
also allowed him the chance to enter the Realms in
his avatar form known as the Ravager (see Faiths &
Avatars). The heroes battled bravely, but were hopelessly
overpowered. Finally, they hurled the sword of
Cymrych Hugh into the Darkwell from which Bhaal’s
avatar had emerged. This act severed the link that
allowed Bhaal to exist in the Realms, and without it,
he was banished back to the Outer Planes. This banishment
felled the undead armies, for without the
god’s power to animate them, they were only
corpses.
Hobarth felt the banishment as well. About to kill
Grunnarch, king of the Northmen, Hobarth felt his
dread lord’s exit from the Realms as a deep betrayal.
Freeing himself, Grunnarch throttled and killed the
fat cleric, his desperate pleas to Bhaal going unheard.
Motivations/Goals: As a devoted priest of Bhaal,
Hobarth sought to propitiate his deity and advance
his lord’s schemes at every opportunity. During the
events recounted above, Hobarth sought the destruction
of the Moonshaes’ Earthmother, and the
“birth” of Bhaal’s avatar (known as the Ravager) in
the Realms. With Bhaal’s death during the Time of
Troubles, it’s likely that Hobarth would now serve
another deity if he had lived.
Campaign Uses: If Hobarth had not succumbed
to the strong hands of Grunnarch, King of the
Northmen, it’s likely he’d have fled the Isles. With
Bhaal’s power there broken, Hobarth would have
been without much of his power. He felt deeply betrayed
when he called on Bhaal to save him from
Grunnarch and received no answer. That and
Bhaal’s banishment from the Moonshae Isles would
likely lead to Hobarth entering the service of another
deity. This most probably would be Cyric; as
Bhaal’s killer, Hobarth might consider it only appropriate
to follow the Dark Son. Some former followers
of Bhaal have joined the church of Iyachtu
Xvim, however, so this too remains a possibility.
Another option is that Hobarth could learn of the
fragment of Bhaal’s essence that’s fouled the Winding
Water near Boareskyr Bridge in the Dalelands
and try to revive the dead god from the poisonous
river.
In any case, Hobarth demonstrates how dangerous
a high-level cleric can truly be, even when acting
primarily in the background.
Sources: Black Wizards, Darkwell.
The Children of Bhaal
As mentioned above, full statistics for these creatures
can be found in the MONSTROUS MANUAL
tome. As divine creations, these particular beings
represent the epitome of their vile races. Consider
each to have maximum possible hit points, maximum
possible intelligence, each successful hit does
maximum possible damage, and so on. Also, Bhaal’s
Flock of perytons numbers 2d20, not 2d4.