Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Yruc 02-26-04, 06:01 AM	I got the idea for this character in from this thread. Falling Paladin (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=166159) I decided to use this character for my campaign or one trying to free him as the BBEG. I just started but wondering though, if it sounds too cliche. Any opinions to improve it, I would be grateful for them. The Paladin was proud and noble, the greatest Elven warrior the world had ever known. The Elves were in a war against a great and ancient and vile foe. The paladin fought gallantly in the war, winning many battles and saving many lives. In the biggest battle ever known, the paladin, fight hard and long and finally won to the foe. He battled the foe, in a long and fierce battle and began to get the upper hand. The foe was loosing to the might of the paladin. The foe recognizing he was about to be destroyed threw down his weapon and magic and surrendered. The paladin, was fraught with anger over the loss of so many elves, he did not believe that the foe would or could be redeemed. The Paladin already believed the foe was planning his escape and revenge, even though he had just surrendered. The Paladin, raising his mighty sword and said, I am willing to sacrifice myself for my people so that your evil can never again be spread and then let his mighty sword cleave the life of the foe. As soon as the foe’s body hit the ground, his god for killing an unarmed foe in cold blood stripped the paladin of his powers. The paladin accepted his loss believing he had done the right thing, he returned to the Elven court for a couple of centuries. As time went on though, the Paladin began to question his decision to strike down his foe. Did he do the right thing? Did the foe deserve death? These and other questions plagued him for a century. Finally believing he had done right, he began to question why he lost his powers. Growing ever more angry the Elven court began to take notice and sent him away on a quest to atone and find his answers. His quest was to defeat a demon lord that had been unleashed on the world. The demon lord heard of the great Elven hero who had defeated his master in the above battle was now coming after him. Knowing that he could not win in direct combat went he went looking for the ex-paladin to find a weakness. The demon lord found the ex-paladin and watched him from the shadows. He heard the ex-paladin, lamenting the loss of his powers and status at court. The demon lord was filled with glee as he fostered a plan to extort this weakness. Posing as a traveling priest, he met and befriended the ex-paladin and offered to join him in his quest to find this demon lord. After a century of wondering the demon lord had fed the hate and anger building in the ex-paladin, to the point that the ex-paladin was now brooding with vengeance over the loss of his powers. The “traveler” convinced the ex-paladin that his god could grant him the power to seek out his vengeance and the ex-paladin, now mad with anger agreed to do what ever necessary to destroy the ones responsible for his loss. The “traveler” and ex-paladin were not seen again for almost two centuries. They spent that time planning and plotting revenge and gaining allies for his fight. After two centuries the ex-paladin now a blackguard was seen leading an army of dark elves and Duergar and all creatures dark and foul, some not of this plane, from some unknown deep dark place. The army had one thing on its agenda, the destruction of the elves and anything that stood in their way. The army did destroy anything in their path, feeding the blackguard’s thirst for vengeance. The elves heard of the ex-paladin’s return and transformation to evil and were sad for the loss and corruption of one so good. Their most beloved and honored warrior now had become their most hated foe. Many Elven cities fell to his might. The elves could not stop the onslaught. The elves down to only two major cities, the rest destroyed and in ruins or abandoned to the hoard, made a valiant stand against the Blackguard and were able to hold the army at bay. The fighting was fierce. But the elves won to the Blackguard. The elves were able to strike down the Blackguard delivering a fatal blow. The Blackguard lying on the ground, his life’s blood draining from his body called out to his new God saying, “I am so close to finishing my revenge Lord, don’t let it end like this. Give me the power to continue on in my quest for vengeance. His God heard his prayer and as the elves turned to battle the remains of the army, the Blackguard's skin turned the color of death and began drying out, becoming taunt against his bones. The Blackguard's armor became as black as night, his eyes, once the deepest of forest green, became pin pricks of red, glowing with malice and vileness. His god filled his limbs with a new strength and he stood back up. A nightmare sprang from the ground, the ex-paladin climb onto his new mount. A Death Knight had been born. With his new powers he was able to command the dead to rise and fight again. The great Elven City fell to the new Death Knight. The Death Knight then turned his army now reinforced with undead towards the last Elven City. As his army approached the great forest in which the city lie, the greatest battle ever known was begun. The Death Knight pressed the battle forward almost to the center of the city. The elves were loosing. A great Elven cleric prayed to her God for the power to stop the army from annihilating the elves once and for all. Her prayer was heard. The cleric was filled with a power from her God or an item given to her by her God, and rushed to the highest point in the city and prayed. She began glowing with a light a 1000 times greater than the sun, the battle ground to a halt as all eyes turned toward the cleric. As the cleric finished her prayer the light that was growing flashed out in all directions, any undead it touched turned to ash, demons were sent back to the 9 hells, the dark elves and Duergar were struck dead and removed from the world. The other creatures were scattered. The Death Knight was protected by his God and instead of turning to ash like the other undead, was instead sent back to his God’s home plane. The battle was over. The elves had won but the cost was high. Now centuries have past. The story all but lost except for the elves who still remember. If you made it this far thank you ) any comments or suggestions or opinions are welcome. Yruc edit: I r a gud spelr
pddisc 02-26-04, 08:03 AM	Yeah, ok, it may be cliche, but so what? It's cliche because it works. The only thing that might strike me as needing a bit of rewriting is the fact that only centuries have past - definately not long enough for the elves, who were almost wiped out, to recover. Oh, and if this cleric was 1000 times as bright as the sun, why did everyone turn to look at her? And I think you could make the death knight much more real by making him maybe a little saddened by his fall from grace - if he realises what's wrong now, but still unable to control his appetite for vengeance, you give him that little extra twist that makes it that much harder for the players to kill him. It would also mean that the players could conceivably defeat him without having to reach epic levels - by finding him that one moment of peace he needs to be laid to rest at last. Hope that helps.
Morka 02-26-04, 11:19 AM	Ok, perhaps it's just me who didn't understood what is a Death Knight. I tought it was a paladin, not a blackguard, who once dead (or while dying), is overwhelmed by a negative feeling. As long as he is living, the paladin hold his faith, but the germs of darkness finally bloom once the holy knight is dead. This is what is so tragic with a Death Knight. An example of Death Knight as I understand them could be a prince who renounce to his crown in order to become an holy warrior, and fight evil. At the end of his life, he begins to regret his life: would it has been better for him to become the king, and let his army fight evil? Those regrets slowly become evil feelings, and once dead, the paladin raise as a Death Knight with one goal: becoming the king of his lost kingdom. OTOH, the history is really good for a blackguard. But I only don't see him returning as a Death Knight.
Yruc 02-26-04, 04:20 PM	Good catch about the people looking at the light, I'll change it to shielding their eyes from the light. Also what do you mean by being sad? Sad that he is destroying what he believes cause him to loose his paladin powers? The information I have read says that rarely a paladin is made a Death Knight but honored blackguards are made them more. Thank you both for your opinions. Yruc