Greatest King Ever [Archive] - Wizards Community

Greatest King Ever [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Coneyman88
06-26-07, 10:45 PM I have an NPC in my campaign that the PC's are about to meet this Sunday 6-31 or 7-1 w.e. it is, who is supposedly this GREAT king of a city named Konden. His name is Lord Kevlamin Greatsoul and he is the leader of this great city. It is a metropolis in every way except it's size.

Lord Kevlamin Greatsoul is hailed as the greatest ruler of all time, he is seen as an equal to Pelor himself. He has a secret police that is identical to the royal guards in Star Wars, he has a massive army that could overthrow any opposing city he wished to attack. He has great amounts of money and even more renown (Fable term - great reputation for those who haven't played).

Help me flesh out this guy's back story please. The few points I can give you are:

He lived his entire life in politics and nobility
He killed his father - the former ruler of the city
He is a habitual lier (note: the theme of the quest is truth and how elusive it can be)
He is paranoid about everything outside his control
He only wants more power
He lives in a throne room surrounded by female half-elves that constently chant his name

You guys fill in the rest for me.
Fithero
06-27-07, 08:04 AM Lord Kevlamin Greatsoul is a half elf.

He is a NG rogue (or beguiler). At a young age, he noticed that the bad guys often won because they never played by the rules. He adopted this way of life and used (some of) the ways of evil do-ers against them (out right lied as often as possible.)

His human side comes from his father, a weak and harsh man who was more concerned with losing power than providing for his people. Kevlamin saw that this weakness was rotting the kingdom from its very core and tried to stop it. He tried other paths of action before hand ofcourse, but his father was too set in his ways. He was forced to kill his father and take his palce one night when his father openly attacked him in court, infront of numerous nobles.

Lord Kevlamin Greatsoul is smart enough to know that he is playing a very dangerous game, he is weaving an delicated web of lies upon lies. If one lie is revealed, the whole web will fall apart and the kingdom will fall into ruin. Its for this reason that Kevlamin tries to be 'in the know' in as many facets of his kingdom as possible. He constantly seeks more power to extrend his reach so that there is less chance of his web of lies being revealed.

As for the whole bit about the female half elves chanting his name constantly... heck... i dont know. Perhaps he needs the constant ego boost to help him concentrate. Otherwise it might be some ritual that (he thinks) will keep away enchantments.

Hope this is useful.

Peace
warwinner
06-27-07, 08:43 AM He doesn't seem good to me, more of a chaotic neutral guy [lying,paranoid,powerseeking,patricidal].Though he could present himself as some other alignment [lying and bluffing]
He killed his father while hunting as an "accident", because his father often restricted him, saw through his lies and didn't give him much power

In his youth he loved a half-elf woman, who rejected his affections because she knew that he was a liar and powermad.
Then he couldn't do anything about it, but now after he has become king, he has surrounded himself with the best looking half-elf women from his lands, maybe compensating for his failure while young which he still hasn't forgotten [he doesn't like to fail]
He likes bards and has them compose songs in his honour which he has sung by his half-elf women regularly
He is particularly adamant about the songs containing and repeating his name many times
He has any people who come to him, address him by his full name
Example: Oh great king, kevlamin greatsoul ........
PhaedrusXY
07-02-07, 06:52 AM The background that I wrote up for a PC I'm going to start playing soon sounds like it could easily be adapted to fit this guy. The character is a thoroughly vile Ur-Priest, but manipulative enough to pass himself off as a great and noble man.

Short version: Ever read Machiavelli's The Prince?

Long Version

Gabriel Lightbringer Jr. was the only son of a Palladin of Pelor, his father, and Anastasia Farseer, a cleric of Pelor. As their only child, he was quite spoiled by his parents. Although he's always been disposed to selfishness and cruelty, his parents had a hard time believing that their son could be "bad". So he found it quite easy to lie to them, trick them, etc, when he needed to cover up some "bad" thing he'd done.

He took his parents' excessive piety, obedience, and charity as weakness, foolishness, and naivety. However, he did learn the value of appearing good to the public eye from them. Their "irrational" faith and altruism was evidence to him that they were completely brain-washed by their church. He has never believed in the "goodness" of Pelor, or any other god. He was always sure that the gods had some selfish motives for wanting more followers, and as an adult he's convinced he's solved that mystery with his discovery of the power inherent in souls, and emotions.

Although his parents at times suspected his unsavory nature, as he got older he became more and more adept at hiding it. Ultimately, they were convinced that their moral guidance had ultimately prevailed over his inherent selfishness, moulding him into a decent and good man. His peers and teachers were not always as easily fooled, but over time any that he couldn't eventually win over have had unfortunate "accidents".

In reality, he is still selfish, cruel, greedy, petty, ruthless, and very distrustful of religion. However, he is a consummate liar, and knows well the value of a good "public face". He is a respected member of his community wherever he resides. He publicly gives to charities, beggars, and attends to his civic duties, making appropriate and often useful suggestions at town meetings and sometimes even holding minor public offices. Although he is almost completely amoral by most peoples' standards, he goes to great lengths to appear on the surface to be an upstanding citizen and genuinely "nice guy".

He always tries to make sure there is someone he can easily blame for his crimes: a "second in command" who is actually a "scape goat", whom he himself will implicate when necessary, if the authorities get too close to his "business operations". His "operations" are conducted in secret, and he is always disguised when interacting with any of his associates in "unseemly business transactions". These "transactions" can and do include every kind of horror imaginable, as long as some profit or personal power can be gained from it. He uses bribe, blackmail, kidnapping, and murder to keep authorities away from his operations, and increase his own wealth and political power.

He ritually tortures and kills people and monsters (he is an equal opportunity mass murderer) in order to extract liquid pain and souls from them. He sometimes makes deals with evil outsiders, mainly devils since they are more "trustworthy", and has recently begun to offer sacrifices to powerful evil outsiders for the boons they can grant him (Dark craft XP, etc). He doesn't truly "worship" any of these beings, but he is willing to bargain with them, and is careful to try to make sure any such deals are "win-win" situations for both him and the fiends. He is in fact quite scrupulous when dealing with fiends. He feels he can "be himself" more with them, as he knows what to expect from them, and they are not appalled by his own "lack of humanity".

He has learned to "steal" spells from the gods, which he sees as a source of ironic amusement as well as great power. He sometimes passes himself off as a cleric of an obscure god (or cause), but is careful to never speak the name of a real deity, or use a real holy symbol, as that might draw unwanted divine attention. He doesn't really trust anyone, and will always look for ways he could blackmail everyone he deals with, or get some "insurance" on them, or advantage over them, if they were to ever betray him.

He has recently grown a Mother Cyst, and begun to experiment with the Necrotic Cyst line of spells. They seem quite promising.

(I'm not sure how he can meet and fit in with the rest of the party, but it shouldn't be particularly difficult. If he became aware of their prowess and less than scrupulous natures, he might approach them with a "business proposal". He would of course be disguised somehow initially. He keeps a few "hosts" around in his (base/lair/etc) which are comatose from wisdom or intelligence drain, or enslaved permanently via a Necrotic Tumor, and uses their bodies as disguises. He also uses his Hat of Disguise, when he thinks it is sufficient. After he "gets to know someone" (i.e. feels he could safely kill/discredit/blackmail them if they betray him) he sometimes deals with them without a disguise. He doesn't worry as much about publicly known "villains" knowing his identity, as his word would be taken over theirs most of the time, if it came down to it.)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Coneyman88 06-26-07, 10:45 PM	I have an NPC in my campaign that the PC's are about to meet this Sunday 6-31 or 7-1 w.e. it is, who is supposedly this GREAT king of a city named Konden. His name is Lord Kevlamin Greatsoul and he is the leader of this great city. It is a metropolis in every way except it's size. Lord Kevlamin Greatsoul is hailed as the greatest ruler of all time, he is seen as an equal to Pelor himself. He has a secret police that is identical to the royal guards in Star Wars, he has a massive army that could overthrow any opposing city he wished to attack. He has great amounts of money and even more renown (Fable term - great reputation for those who haven't played). Help me flesh out this guy's back story please. The few points I can give you are: He lived his entire life in politics and nobility He killed his father - the former ruler of the city He is a habitual lier (note: the theme of the quest is truth and how elusive it can be) He is paranoid about everything outside his control He only wants more power He lives in a throne room surrounded by female half-elves that constently chant his name You guys fill in the rest for me.
Fithero 06-27-07, 08:04 AM	Lord Kevlamin Greatsoul is a half elf. He is a NG rogue (or beguiler). At a young age, he noticed that the bad guys often won because they never played by the rules. He adopted this way of life and used (some of) the ways of evil do-ers against them (out right lied as often as possible.) His human side comes from his father, a weak and harsh man who was more concerned with losing power than providing for his people. Kevlamin saw that this weakness was rotting the kingdom from its very core and tried to stop it. He tried other paths of action before hand ofcourse, but his father was too set in his ways. He was forced to kill his father and take his palce one night when his father openly attacked him in court, infront of numerous nobles. Lord Kevlamin Greatsoul is smart enough to know that he is playing a very dangerous game, he is weaving an delicated web of lies upon lies. If one lie is revealed, the whole web will fall apart and the kingdom will fall into ruin. Its for this reason that Kevlamin tries to be 'in the know' in as many facets of his kingdom as possible. He constantly seeks more power to extrend his reach so that there is less chance of his web of lies being revealed. As for the whole bit about the female half elves chanting his name constantly... heck... i dont know. Perhaps he needs the constant ego boost to help him concentrate. Otherwise it might be some ritual that (he thinks) will keep away enchantments. Hope this is useful. Peace
warwinner 06-27-07, 08:43 AM	He doesn't seem good to me, more of a chaotic neutral guy [lying,paranoid,powerseeking,patricidal].Though he could present himself as some other alignment [lying and bluffing] He killed his father while hunting as an "accident", because his father often restricted him, saw through his lies and didn't give him much power In his youth he loved a half-elf woman, who rejected his affections because she knew that he was a liar and powermad. Then he couldn't do anything about it, but now after he has become king, he has surrounded himself with the best looking half-elf women from his lands, maybe compensating for his failure while young which he still hasn't forgotten [he doesn't like to fail] He likes bards and has them compose songs in his honour which he has sung by his half-elf women regularly He is particularly adamant about the songs containing and repeating his name many times He has any people who come to him, address him by his full name Example: Oh great king, kevlamin greatsoul ........
PhaedrusXY 07-02-07, 06:52 AM	The background that I wrote up for a PC I'm going to start playing soon sounds like it could easily be adapted to fit this guy. The character is a thoroughly vile Ur-Priest, but manipulative enough to pass himself off as a great and noble man. Short version: Ever read Machiavelli's The Prince? Long Version Gabriel Lightbringer Jr. was the only son of a Palladin of Pelor, his father, and Anastasia Farseer, a cleric of Pelor. As their only child, he was quite spoiled by his parents. Although he's always been disposed to selfishness and cruelty, his parents had a hard time believing that their son could be "bad". So he found it quite easy to lie to them, trick them, etc, when he needed to cover up some "bad" thing he'd done. He took his parents' excessive piety, obedience, and charity as weakness, foolishness, and naivety. However, he did learn the value of appearing good to the public eye from them. Their "irrational" faith and altruism was evidence to him that they were completely brain-washed by their church. He has never believed in the "goodness" of Pelor, or any other god. He was always sure that the gods had some selfish motives for wanting more followers, and as an adult he's convinced he's solved that mystery with his discovery of the power inherent in souls, and emotions. Although his parents at times suspected his unsavory nature, as he got older he became more and more adept at hiding it. Ultimately, they were convinced that their moral guidance had ultimately prevailed over his inherent selfishness, moulding him into a decent and good man. His peers and teachers were not always as easily fooled, but over time any that he couldn't eventually win over have had unfortunate "accidents". In reality, he is still selfish, cruel, greedy, petty, ruthless, and very distrustful of religion. However, he is a consummate liar, and knows well the value of a good "public face". He is a respected member of his community wherever he resides. He publicly gives to charities, beggars, and attends to his civic duties, making appropriate and often useful suggestions at town meetings and sometimes even holding minor public offices. Although he is almost completely amoral by most peoples' standards, he goes to great lengths to appear on the surface to be an upstanding citizen and genuinely "nice guy". He always tries to make sure there is someone he can easily blame for his crimes: a "second in command" who is actually a "scape goat", whom he himself will implicate when necessary, if the authorities get too close to his "business operations". His "operations" are conducted in secret, and he is always disguised when interacting with any of his associates in "unseemly business transactions". These "transactions" can and do include every kind of horror imaginable, as long as some profit or personal power can be gained from it. He uses bribe, blackmail, kidnapping, and murder to keep authorities away from his operations, and increase his own wealth and political power. He ritually tortures and kills people and monsters (he is an equal opportunity mass murderer) in order to extract liquid pain and souls from them. He sometimes makes deals with evil outsiders, mainly devils since they are more "trustworthy", and has recently begun to offer sacrifices to powerful evil outsiders for the boons they can grant him (Dark craft XP, etc). He doesn't truly "worship" any of these beings, but he is willing to bargain with them, and is careful to try to make sure any such deals are "win-win" situations for both him and the fiends. He is in fact quite scrupulous when dealing with fiends. He feels he can "be himself" more with them, as he knows what to expect from them, and they are not appalled by his own "lack of humanity". He has learned to "steal" spells from the gods, which he sees as a source of ironic amusement as well as great power. He sometimes passes himself off as a cleric of an obscure god (or cause), but is careful to never speak the name of a real deity, or use a real holy symbol, as that might draw unwanted divine attention. He doesn't really trust anyone, and will always look for ways he could blackmail everyone he deals with, or get some "insurance" on them, or advantage over them, if they were to ever betray him. He has recently grown a Mother Cyst, and begun to experiment with the Necrotic Cyst line of spells. They seem quite promising. (I'm not sure how he can meet and fit in with the rest of the party, but it shouldn't be particularly difficult. If he became aware of their prowess and less than scrupulous natures, he might approach them with a "business proposal". He would of course be disguised somehow initially. He keeps a few "hosts" around in his (base/lair/etc) which are comatose from wisdom or intelligence drain, or enslaved permanently via a Necrotic Tumor, and uses their bodies as disguises. He also uses his Hat of Disguise, when he thinks it is sufficient. After he "gets to know someone" (i.e. feels he could safely kill/discredit/blackmail them if they betray him) he sometimes deals with them without a disguise. He doesn't worry as much about publicly known "villains" knowing his identity, as his word would be taken over theirs most of the time, if it came down to it.)