Villains' Lorebook.pdf - Department of Political Science

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History: Kaverin Ebonhand of Tantras (also
known as the Butcher of Tantras) is notorious across
the Dragon Reach area. For years he and his thugs
and killers reigned terror down on the city; most of
his crimes are far too egregious to recount. But then,
in 1357 DR, he was finally brought to trial by Artus
Cimber and Sir Hydel Pontifax for ordering the murder
of Harper Rallo Scarson.
He was found guilty and was punished by having
his hands chopped off. Since the man who’d actually
committed the murder had already been put to
death, the Lord’s court in Ravens Bluff declared that
Kaverin couldn’t be ordered to the same fate. Just as
his bleeding wrists were about to be tended to, the
mage who’d acted as his attorney grafted two pieces
of obviously magical stone to the stumps; the stones
took the shape of human hands. As his punishment
was completed, he then walked off the platform a
free man. He pointed directly at Cimber and Pontifax
as he left, and his intent was clear. The next
three years were filled with Kaverin’s attempts to
gain revenge on Cimber and Pontifax.
In 1360, Cimber and Pontifax caught Kaverin in
the open in Tantras (one of Ebonhand’s few mistakes)
and killed the man who’d been trying so diligently
to do the same to them. Kaverin didn’t perish,
however. He managed to make a deal with the god
Cyric, then Lord of the Dead. In exchange for the
rest of his normal life sowing chaos and strife
(Cyric’s specialty), Kaverin agreed to eternal torture
after his death.
Of course, Cyric didn’t tell Kaverin of the other
condition: every night when he fell asleep, Ebonhand
would be visited by two of Cyric’s denizens who
would caper about and whisper to Kaverin of all the
exquisite tortures that awaited him in Cyric’s realm.
In the year 1363, Kaverin again confronted Cimber
and Pontifax over the ring of winter. Kaverin had
murdered his way to the top of the Cult of Frost, a
little-known group of villains that sought the item
for their own evil ends. The trail took them to the
jungles of Chult and the lost city of Mezro. Sir Hydel
Pontifax was killed during the adventure, but returned
to Cimber’s side as an incorporeal spirit who
offered advice and comfort to Cimber.
Kaverin recruited many of the monsters of Chult
to attack Mezro. These creatures included the cannibalistic
goblin-kind, the race known as pteramen,
and the hordes of undead that roamed the jungles
every night.
In order to gain the ring of winter, Artus Cimber
submitted himself to the test of fate of the Chultish
god, Ubtao, and passed it. He was granted the ring,
and with it, confronted Kaverin and his forces.
Artus Cimber defeated Kaverin’s magical silver
guardian, Skuld, using the powers of the ring, and
then conjured a rapier of ice with which he ended
the life of the Butcher of Tantras. Ebonhand’s
scream had not yet fallen to silence when Cyric’s
denizens appeared to take him to the Lord of the
Dead. Details on the powers of the ring of winter can
be found in the Heroes’ Lorebook.
Motivations/Goals: During the time recounted
above, Kaverin’s primary goal was to obtain the ring
of winter. This item would have provided him with
an incredible amount of power as well as the immortality
he sought in order to avoid an eternity of the
foulest tortures in Cyric’s City of the Dead. If he’d
escaped with his life after Artus Cimber claimed the
ring, he’d have sought another means of extending
his life.
Before Artus Cimber claimed the ring, Kaverin
also tried to have Cimber and Pontifax killed for
having brought him to trial and convicted in Ravens
Bluff.
Campaign Uses: If Kaverin is alive in the time
you’ve set your campaign, he’d be questing for the
ring of winter and/or trying to kill any who also pur-
sued it or just got in his way.
If you wish to re-introduce Kaverin to the Realms,
it’s possible that he may have slipped away in the
chaos of the events depicted in Prince of Lies. When
the residents of the City of the Dead rebelled against
Cyric’s cruel treatment, and with Kelemvor’s later
assumption of the role of Lord of the Dead, Ebonhand
may have cut a deal to get back to the Realms,
where he’d try to rebuild an evil power base.
Sources: Ring of Winter, The Jungles of Chult.
Frost minions: AC 3; MV 6; HD 8; THAC0 13;
#AT 1; Dmg 3d8; MR Nil; SZ L; ML 20; AL Neutral;
XP 2,000.
Description: These creatures are immune to cold
attacks and take double damage from all fire attacks.