Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Althared May 05, 2015 19:03:55	So, I have random flashes of inspiration. Often times, these are for either scenes or evil dudes to throw at my party. Unfortunately, I never get to use most of them, so I figured I would throw this up here in order to share my ideas and hopefully get some from others.   For instance, there is a name I still use for quite a few things: Althared.   He was an actual character I played, funnily enough. Disclaimer would be that it was revised third edition, way back when. It was an old monstrous game, and here is his story: Althared was a prophet of the Illithid god (I forget the name, sadly) in the distant future, leading the race to their glory. When the unpsecified event occurred that saw the doom of their race coming, Althared led the Illithids in the ritual that flung them back through time. Unfortunately, this came with a high cost. His body was burned away, and he was left an Unbodied, not to regain his sanity for over a hundred years, by which time the Illithids had thrown themselves into chaos. Now, Althared schemes to control surfaceworld nations, backing mercenary guilds, cults, and the like. He would best be used as a background player, considering he is nothing but a floating incorporeal brain. However, he is also a Psion (telepath) of considerable strength, and keeps a Kobold sorceror as his lackey and a Druid as his mind-controlled minion. His primary motivation is to regain his position amongst the Illithids after stopping the attacks from surfaceworlders. Until the threat from the surface is over, he is more than content to sit back and manipulate events to his liking.   Another option is Tel'mar, the fallen paladin. I used him not to long ago, as part of an overarching plot of a hobgoblin threat to a village. The background for it was that the hobgoblins were being manipulated by a devil, who offered a player a deal, which the player took. The party's paladin had taken a shine to Tel'mar, and was taken under his wing to become a full paladin of Heironeus. Later on, the hobgoblins assaulted the village itself, and the devil had the party member cast an illusion scroll over where they hid the villagers. Tel'mar rushed over, killed the villagers thinking they were hobgoblins, and lost his powers. Just after, the devil gave him a deal to be a blackguard which was accepted.   Tel'mar himself was a former paladin of Heironeus, and as such was well known for his valor and strength at arms. After his fall, he held a deep grudge against the man who caused his fall (the party member) and was tortured and warped into a half fiend during his time becoming a Blackguard. Tel'mar has the resources of a minor Pit Fiend behind him, and is the hand of his master on the Material Plane, until the time where he can engineer his bosses death. Tel'mar will usually attempt to gather people to follow him in an effort to topple a kingdom, and generally be a mastermind much like Althared. However, he is more than happy to get close and personal to cut his enemies apart with his Unholy Greatsword. He particularly enjoys utilizing feral creatures and Kythons as minions, feral creatures for the deniability and Kythons for their deadly effectiveness. While he still has a toe in his old Paladin levels, he is primarily a blackguard and will not hesitate to utilize poison or underhanded tactics. He will also not shy away from doing a job himself, and may attempt to infiltrate a royal court in order to assassinate a king/queen himself. He is around 15th level, incidentally.   If this thread gets any sort of interest, I will probably follow up with any more ideas. Feel free to post anything you never get to use but wish would see the light of day here, I enjoy reading them. If you want to use them yourself, feel free. They were particularly enjoyable for me.
#2 Imaculata May 06, 2015 5:04:06	I recently came up with a lovely group of evil wizards, who call themselves The Circle of Azarah. They are all outcasts of their respective cultures, for various reasons.   The Circle of Azarah The wizards of Azarah are dangerous spell casters, who do not have any particular allegiance to any one pirate faction. They are a faction of their own, but one of bad repute. The word Azarah is an ancient Speaker of the Dead* word for freedom of movement and independence. It means a free sovereign, not bound by political or national regulations. To be exempt from things. It also was the word for a single Skua ruling over others, but it is no longer used. The symbol of The Circle of Azarah is a two-headed black cockatrice against a white shield, where the left side of the creature is skeletal. It symbolizes renewal and rebirth.   (* a group of witch pirates in my campaign)   Azarah Men The Men of Azarah are all trained wizard-guards. They are hooded, wearing black garments, and carry a quarterstaff. They visibly carry magic wands on their belts, along with various bottles. Some of these are healing potions, others are utility potions, or explosives. They have various leather bands across their chest, and their boots are also made of several straps of leather tightly wrapped around their lower legs, up to their knees.  They wear long gloves, and their faces look dried and vile.   The members of this circle are:   Grümwick Bristlethorn Dresses in black with golden phases of the moon edged on his garments. His beard is black, like straw, and split into three long ends, which are tied three times. His carries a black cane with a golden ball at the top. Grümwick is a wizard with a limp, who works closely with Shamaneser Warpwood. He is mostly involved with augury and spying, and trying to get some magical eyes  beyond the protective charms of notable buildings. Grümwick tends to spit and drool a bit when he talks, especially when angry. He loathes anyone that doesn’t use magic. And he has one magical wooden fake eye.   Sharokina Pitchwater Also known as Sharokina the Merciless, and Sharokina the Cruel. An ex-Speaker of the Dead*, who was banished for practicing necromancy on members of her own faction.  Most notoriously was the crime of turning Skua Hazeela Banefultouch** into her undead servant. As punishment she was stripped of her Skua title, half of her hair was cut, and she was banished from Witchclaw***. Hazeela was of course laid to rest afterwards. Sharokina has a head that is permanently half bald (as punishment), and the other half has a long lock of black hair flowing down from it. One of her fingers is twisted, -the result of a magical duel with Hazeela. She wears black garments that resemble flowing seaweed, and she smells of a salty cold ocean breeze. It is said that she carries coldness with her when she enters a room. She enjoys making wands out of the fingers of her defeated foes, and one of her favorite wands was made from one of Hazeela’s fingers.   (* a group of witch pirates in my campaign) (** The mother of an npc in my campaign, who joined the crew of the players) (*** The capital of the Speakers of the Dead)   Her servants all wear black tattered garments, with many belts, along with belt buckles in the shape of the Azarah symbol. Their black hair is tied back in thin braids that start at the front, and then merge into one long black braid at the back, intertwined with golden threads. The tiny braids look like claws grasping their skull. The long braid is split evenly at the back, and the ends are draped across both shoulders. Their skin has a lot of scarification, and they all have one finger that is warped on purpose, to show unity with their mistress. They would gladly die to keep the secrets of their mistress.   Shalmaneser Warpwood The oldest wizard of the circle. Shalmaneser is a known devoted servant of Hydra*, and an ex member of the Stoneoar**. He was banished when his true allegiance became clear. This dwarven sorcerer was also a notable enemy of Beler the Builder***. And by special decree, the ancient Stoneoar imbued their buildings with special glyphs that specifically banish Shamaneser from ever entering them.   (* an evil water deity in my campaign) (** a culture of dwarven pirates in my campaign) (*** a notable and mysterious dwarven engineer of good repute)   Aram Seen, the Unseen Master of illusions and teleportation. He wears a purple robe covered in the patterns of playing cards. He is a Kooghan*  wizard, dark of skin, with pale white hair, and hazel-colored eyes. Among the Kooghans, pale hair is considered a bad omen for any Kooghan child. It is seen as unnatural. And because people refused to look at him, he decided to become a specialist in the art of being unseen. Aram Seen is a tall strong wizard, his robes are decorated with a lot of gold. He carries a golden staff with a lantern that emits black smoke. He has a vertical scar across his forehead, down to his nose. A cut that was made when he was just a child, to purge the evil from his blood.   (* a pirate culture that is dark of skin and very tribal)   Lady Kimura Yori An oriental witch, known for her skills of deception, and magic potions. Lady Yori has beautiful oriental looks, but with pale white long hair, and she always wears a pale white kimono. White is the color of death in her culture. Yori is also known for her love for poisonous snakes. Yori was supposed to be dead *, but she is very much alive, and doesn’t seem to have any scars from her last ordeal at sea.   (* The players killed her early on in the campaign)
#3 BRJN May 08, 2015 17:02:36	Cyanwrath (from Horde of the Dragon Queen) would make a good mini-BBEG, if you do some foreshadowing of his presence.  He's big and tough enouth to stomp the PCs on Day One, but they grow in power while he doesn't grow at all so they can win the rematch.
#4 Fimbrial May 09, 2015 10:43:04	St. Delas the Delusional "I cannot believe that the gods will allow evil consequences to come of good actions." - St. Delas, shortly before hobgoblins conqured the Alphesian continent   St. Delas is a kind and passionate priest with incredible powers of healing. Rumor has it that a single touch of his hand will ward off injury for a year. St. Delas is also a big believer in loving your enemies and dealing kindness until they change their ways. The problem is, converting people takes time, and meanwhile they're sticking knives in your friends. (Plus, as every character optimizer knows, great clerics don't push charisma.) St. Delas means well, but he refuses to acknowledge the consequences of his actions.   If left alone, St. Delas will head straight into the heart of most evil kingdom he can find. There, he will heal their wounded, cure their diseases, end their hunger, raise their dead, make every inhabitant nigh-unkillable, and bring about a golden age of health and prosperity that the gods could only dream of. Even if he's right, that evil kingdom will slaughter the world long before he converts them.