Lamest Dark Lord, and Possible Fixes...

[Ail]

As for Drakov, I welcome the ideas above. I would just like to point a connection that may be a bit offensive, so I'll try to simply suggest it: surely the impaling of his victims can have a direct connection to rapist abuses done to him.

Alex[/b]

[WolfKook]

As for Drakov, I welcome the ideas above. I would just like to point a connection that may be a bit offensive, so I'll try to simply suggest it: surely the impaling [] of his victims can have a direct connection to rapist abuses [] done to him.

WOW! I don't know about offensive, but it is certainly brilliant!!!

On the cluster-and-island DLs:

Ankhtepot, Arijani, Elena, Anton Misroi: Great DLs who don't deserve their "away from the core" treatment. The first three surely need a little more development, but they are indeed very interesting.

Mircea, Morgoroth, Sodo: They seem Ok, but for some reason they don't seem as interesting to me as the above.

Draga, Tiyet, Yagno, Zolnik: Good ideas, poor execution... They may be fixed, though...

Diamabel, King Croc, Ebonbane: Lame. I would replace Pharazia for Al-Kathos, king croc for an over-protective fey-like creature that cannot prevent the destruction of the wildlands, and I don't really know what to do with ebonbane.

The Bid Bad Illithid Brain, The Spoiled Ugly Marikith Queen: Bad ideas gone worse. They are just too weird for classic gothic terror IMO. I like the treatment given to the Brain-God in the BoS and that given to the MQ in the FoS Survey, but it is still not enough for me to like them at all.

The others: I don't even remember their names (And in most cases, neither their domains)!

[Rotipher of the FoS]

As long as everyone's still talking about how to "fix" lame or neglected darklords, let me remind you all that Joel is still accepting submissions for the NS Survey rumors-and-sidebars contest. If you have an idea for how to liven up one of the Nocturnal Sea's resident darklords and/or their domain, write it up as a Dread Possibility or adventure-hook, and send it in!

[Isabella]

You can submit Dread possibilities? Shoot, I should have held onto mine.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

I'll ask the guys to add yours to the contest. Hopefully, they'll say "no problem!"

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Done! Your Easan DreadPoss is in the contest, Isabella ... not to suggest we wouldn't welcome other entries from you, too!

P.S. I still love that picture with the sheep.

[WolfKook]

My master was born in a faraway land, ruled by a figurehead king and a senate of powerful landowners of noble blood, constantly fighting each other for supremacy. I used to work for one of them. Kristoph Falkov, head of house Falkov, the house of the falcon.
Back then, House Falkov was one of the most powerful estates of that land, having grown big and powerful thanks to a growing herd of cattle and to master Kristoph's aggressive approach to bussiness. Even more, where no family had taken its time to raise troops, master Kristoph had one of the strongest armies in the kingdom, even bigger than that of the king. He was strict and enforced discipline harshly, and thanks to the harsh punishments he used to inflict on those who disobbeyed him, he comanded an almost blind obedience from his followers.
When I first met him, Vlad Drakov was a young squire who had been sent to our house by his father: Illian Drakov, of the house of the dragon. He had sent him as a symbol of good will between the two houses, and he wanted us to train him in the use of the sword. As was customary back then, he also wanted him to learn all the secrets he could about my master and his house, so he could use them against master Kristoph if the opportunity arose, but that was obviously not part of the deal.
Vlad, however, had little potential as a spy. A thin, weak, sickly boy, he was so manipulable that, after a few conversations and a few portrayals of the wealth and power he obviously desired, master Kristoph had won him over.
At first, he sent him to the more tedious tasks of the estate, especially to those related to the cattle. Vlad was happy with the assignment, and became even more enthusiastic with the marking. I've seen few people taking so much delight in torturing an animal. Perhaps he was aware of his poor physical condition, and felt stronger and powerful when forcing such a big animal into submission, but for him, seeing the mark of the falkon in the rear of the animal was glee.
He was not an expert, though, and his proverbial weakness worked against him. One of bulls had taken a thing with him, and tried to escape when he was in charge of closing the ledge. He was unable to keep it from escaping, and most of the herd followed it. Master Kristoph was furious. He didn't say anything, but it showed in his eyes. He took the child with him to the house, and punished him. We didn't know exactly what happened, for the boy didn't show any signs of violence, but he was never the same after, something in him -that spark in his eyes -died that night.
From then on, Vlad sworn he would never allow his weakness to become a burden again.

[Spiteful Crow]

We didn't know exactly what happened, for the boy didn't show any signs of violence, but he was never the same after, something in him -that spark in his eyes -died that night.

Eep!

[WolfKook]

Eep!

What's "Eep!"? what's "eep!"? Is "eep!" bad? (I guess it isn't the European Environmental Press, Executive Excellence Publishing or the Energy and Environment Partnership...)

I hope I hadn't pushed it too far... I just wanted to start Drakov's write-up, including everyone's ideas... Even Ail's, which is a little over the edge, but which gives enormous background to the character. I swear I tried to imply rather than say anything, and to keep the tale on the PG13 level, but if I failed to do so, please let me know and I'll edit (or delete) the post.

[Scarycount]

I liked it. If I had posted an "eep" I would have meant it as "my god that was good".

[Spiteful Crow]

It was a good eep. Really.

[WolfKook]

Years passed, and the curious and clumsy boy grew into a stong and powerful man. He learned swordsmanship, and quickly became almost unbeatable. He learned falconry, and was fascinated with the power and majestousity of the bird that gave name to his host's house. He constantly trained with the other men who worked for house Falkov in the field, and his natural charisma quickly won them over, especially when master Kristoph's leadership was based on fear. In private, however, master Vlad was a cold, bitter man, always hiding something, always ashamed of his own weakness, and constantly planning on revenge.
Vengeance, however, would not come easily. Master Kristoph was a powerful man, he had enormous resources and an entire private army to back him up. In comparison, master Vlad was sixth in the line of a noble house, and unless his older siblings passed away without heirs, he would never be anywhere near Falkov's power.
But all changed one night, short after master Vlad's sixteenth birthday.
At the time, there was a group of clerics looking for followers in the kingdom. They hadn't made much progress, except for the fact that each time it seemed to be a growing number of them, and that some of them had achieved important positions as advisors to powerful nobles. They were not happy with that power, though. They wanted more. They wanted all for themselves.
So, in Dragon's Night that year, they cast an evil spell that made the dead rise from their graves, creating an army that they sent forward against the pathetic nobles, who were so lost in their schemes and manipulations that they hadn't even though on raising an army, and who were so distracted by the festivities that they could not manage to unite against the threat.
Just one of the of the noble houses had an army strong enough to stand against the undead, but in the end, the fear that the soldiers felt for the now aged master Kristoph was not as strong as the fear they felt for the walking dead. The troops routed, and only a handful stood by their leader. At the end of the day, we were forced to retreat from Falkov Estate and to hide within the woods north of the kingdom.

[vipera aspis]

Go Wolf go! This is really good. Maybe when done it could go in the Domain of Month- Falkovia slot.


It greatly enhances Vlad's motives.

[Archedius]

Yeah, almost makes me not want to kill him off soon in my campaign- give me a reason to keep him:)

[WolfKook]

Thanks for the support, guys! I hope i meet your expectations with this one:

Master Vlad was disappointed. For him, master Kristoph had always been the epitome of power and strength, and even though he despised him, his admiration for him had always been greater than his hate and his anger. Now, dispossessed as he was, forced to live in the woods among the wild beasts, and trying to mount a guerrilla war in a pointless effort to reclaim his estate, when the whole kingdom was in the hands of the clerics, he looked pathetic, old, and -more than anything -weak.
Our little strike force was very successful, though. Master Kristoph appointed master Vlad as second in command, seeing in him the leadership and support of the men that he lacked, now that the men were not as fearful of their master. The decision proved to be fruitful, for the men would follow master Vlad to the death, if necessary, and the strike force succeeded in destabilizing the clerics’ power base, to the point of becoming one of the main issues to deal with for the bishop-king and his followers, who started to know master Kristoph as the hawk, and who referred to us as the Talons. Our strikes were fast, effective and brutal: Few clerics, and few of their supporters, were left alive when we came, and the king’s forces were never able to locate, or to eradicate, us.
But master Kristoph was not happy with the results. He just wanted to take his estate back. And we all knew that would never be. He sent us over and over again to Falkov estate, and each time we encountered the bishop’s undead army to confront us. We always managed to survive, but the continuous incursions were slowly decimating our numbers, and draining our morale.
The men were discontent, and master Vlad saw it. He started talking to us about the situation, and convincing us that there was an alternative. He asked us if we were with him, and he received our full support. Then, one night, after a particularly crushing defeat at Falkov estate, he started the mutiny, asking a bunch of men to get master Kristoph and to bring him before him. One hour later, master Kristoph was being dragged and pushed to his feet. Without much ado, master Vlad informed him that his obsession with Falkov estate had been draining much of their resources, and that his men could not follow him in such a suicide campaign anymore. He told him that he would be dismissed of his position, and replaced by master Drakov himself.
Rage and hatred burned in master Kristoph’s eyes, but he kept his grip on himself. He stood arrogantly in front of his former squire. “You will have to kill me”, he said.
Master Vlad looked at him from head to toe and back again. Of all the admiration he once had so openly portrayed, there was nothing left but contempt.
“I will –he replied, unceremoniously –. Our resources are exhausted, and our men are tired of running and hiding. Some of the new nobles are interested in hiring us for their squabbles, but they asked for your head before they could make any deals with us”.
Master Kristoph clenched his lips. The idea of having his proud army sold to the highest bidder was against everything he stood for. He still kept his calm, though.
“At least you could give me the death of a hero –he said, proudly –. I think I deserve it”.
Master Vlad raised an eyebrow; his smile both ironic and triumphal.
“There won’t be such thing as an honorable death for you, milord –he replied –. You’ve been a coward for too long, and a coward’s death is all you deserve. There are still six years you owe me… Remember, master Kristoph?”
He ordered him deprived of all his noble bearings, disrobed, and his hands tied with a strong rope. Master Kristoph spent his last night suspended from one of the higher branches of the tallest tree we found. No one guessed what master Vlad’s plans for him were until, the next morning, we saw a stake standing just below him.
Master Kristoph’s body fell off at first thing in the morning. I didn’t dare to look. I just remember his scream, and the deaf noise that came later. I raised my eyes to look at master Vlad, and my heart froze in horror as I saw his face. His lips were twisted in a dark, unhealthy grin that sent shivers through my body, and I could swear that for an instant I could see the long lost spark tinkling in his eyes.