Master of the Clones of Kulustan
Sworn Foe of Ghed
Tristan Dragonbane, on the Bridge of his Monarch-class Armada, the Kulustan
~Background~
~Background~
Tristan was born in Wildspace, and came to live in Ghed when he was in his adolescence. His father had been the emissary to Ghed from the Imperial Elven Navy, and when Tristan came of age he was placed in this post, as well. As emissary, he served as one of the helmsmen aboard the vessel Twin Scorpion, alongside Ghed's ambassador from the Pragmatic Order of Thought.
As seems common in the backstories of the members of the Dark Council, Tristan did not get on well with his crew members. Combative at worst, and uncooperative at best, Tristan time and time again proved himself a disruptive presence aboard the Scorpion. In particular, he found himself frequently opposed to the Scorpion's second officer, a knight from Esperia called Maduin Branford. Many of these disputes revolved around Tristan's feelings for Maduin's lover and fellow shipmate, Lessa Goliigo.
Things escalated to the point of confrontation, and Tristan chose to take legal action. He brought Maduin and other officers from the Twin Scorpion into court claiming that they had racially discriminated against him. He sought monetary damages, and claimed that he should be promoted to First Officer as compensation for being held back due to his race. But testimony quickly turned against Tristan, and witness after witness gave accounts of Tristan's frequent insubordination, violence toward other crew members, and frequently endangering the lives of the crew due to reckless behavior.
As punishment, the judges handed down their ruling that Tristan was to be removed from his post at once, and in addition exiled from the Kingdom of Ghed. In response to this, the IEN summarily dismissed Tristan from their rolls with a dishonorable discharge.
Infuriated and swearing revenge, Tristan began at once to build up his army. He knew that in order to win retribution, he would need a sizeable force, and so he developed (by way of divine inspiration, courtesy of a nameless Dark God) a special spell to clone another being. He also forged alliances with space-faring Drow and Insectare, who were all too eager to sieze an opportunity to strike at groundling allies of the Elven Navy. He also aligned himself with a local chapter of the Chainmen, and used his cloning magics to help them breed a special type of humanoid super-soldier.
It was only after his own army was nearly ready that Tristan came into contact with Taylor Liege, Ioronius Mierlen and Zaxi McRill. The four men found that they had much in common, and together they formed the Dark Council, governing body of what would be known as the Dark Wrath. While all members of the Council are nominally equal, Tristan holds the most sway, and is the closest that the Dark Wrath has to a single leader.
Tristan has several lieutenants, representing his large number of contacts throughout Kulmspace.
Phineas Phogg- While not truly his lieutenant, Tristan was the one who brought the Professor into the Dark Wrath and inducted him into the Dark Council. In his efforts to conquer Ghed, Tristan is closely aided by Phogg's forces.
Kain- A dragonslaying ranger, and one of the former members of the Twin Scorpion's crew. He was Tristan's only ally in the crew, and after Tristan's exile, Kain came to his side. Kain serves as Tristan's primary enforcer, and leads the charge of his fleet's aerial skirmishers astride his hippogriff steed, Highwind.
Ariela Marthis- Tristan's "daughter"; in actuality, one of the first clones created by Tristan's magics. Ariela is very near to a perfect copy of Tristan, only he wasn't able to correctly duplicate his gender (Tristan had wanted a son), and she came out female. Tristan has nevertheleess raised her as his own. She is fully aware of all of Tristan's plots and goals, and is one of her "father"'s most valued servants.
Clone Maduin- A clone of Maduin Branford, created from a strand of hair stolen by one of Tristan's spies. One of the more advanced clones, Tristan made his Clone Maduin a Ranger (whose "species enemies" are knights and paladins) and employs him as a spy and assassin. Clone Maduin will fight to the death to slay the true Maduin, and has been told from the day he was born that this is his one true purpose in life.
Clone Dar- A clone of another one of Tristan's former shipmates, one Dar Hammerhands. Clone Dar is a perfect replica of the original dwarven fighter, though by some quirk of the cloning magics he was born with no hair anywhere on his body. Tristan employs Clone Dar as his personal bodyguard.
Aatlaomeewh- A wizard, and the local chapter head of the Chainmen. A satisfied customer of the Clones of Kulustan.
V'rina Eilsrae- A Drider, and chief helmsman of the Kulustan.
Altark- Tristan's Insectare emissary.
Matron Tyllith Myett- Tristan's Drow emissary, representing an alliance of Wildspace Drow nations.
Prince Alexander Tallowby- The crown prince of Ghed, son of King Toric X, is a secret confederate of Tristan and the Chainmen. Arrangements have been made to install Alexander on the throne once his father has been... dealt with.
Tibbius Shadow- The crimelord who rules the city of Gauntlet. He is not so much a lieutenant of Tristan's, as an ally and perhaps like-mind.
There are a number of different possibilities for players who want to join Tristan's cause.
First there are the Drow and Insectare. These two races are allied with Tristan out of a mutual disdain for Elven superiority in Wildspace, and ships representing both races' space power are now in Kulmspace as part of Tristan's contingent.
Tristan also has a soft-spot for Driders (described below), as he sympathizes with the plight of the outcast.
Tristan also has the allegiance of the floating fortress of Morvan, and so the Fainil or any of their allied races might be found directly working for Tristan in his fleet or bases.
There are also members of the Chainmen, an organization of space slavers that have presences throughout the Known Spheres. A member of the Chainmen is usually human, almost always evil, and could be a member of any class. The Chainers make up a large portion of Tristan's fleet, larger than both the Drow and Insectare portions combined.
As part of the Chainman force, Tristan and Aatlaomeewh working together have engineered and bred a race of Thouls, crossing the most desirable traits of trolls, hobgoblins and ghouls into a single, utterly evil being. These creatures are free-willed, but understand that they are bred solely for the purpose of fighting for the Chainmen (and for Tristan).
Any outcast or traitor within Ghed might find working for Tristan to be fulfilling of some deep-seeded desire for revenge, or whathaveyou. Tristan is very accomodating to outcasts of all types, but especially those with an axe to grind with Ghed.
Finally, there are the Clones of Kulustan themselves. These
constructs of magic are usually the clones of existing persons, or
can be generated using existing racial data. A Clone of Kulustan
advances as a multi-classed character, with one of its classes always
being Zombie (since the Clone of Kulustan spell is a modification of
the existing Zombie Double spell) and the other being one of the
standard character classes (usually, but not always, the class of the
person being cloned; Tristan can program almost any class he wishes
into a Clone of Kulustan). The character gains full hit dice for its
Zombie class, and only 1 hit point per level from its character
class. Clones of Kulustan can be held at bay by Turn Undead attempts
(effective against a creature of the Clone's level), but cannot be
turned or destroyed by such attempts.
Players wishing to create Clone characters should work with the DM to
determine who they are a clone of, and what abilities the Clone
has.
Driders resemble a centaurian cross between a Drow elf and a giant
spider. They are cursed exiles of Drow communities, having failed a
test handed down from Lolth and condemned to live out the rest of
their lives as monsters.
Driders are also sometimes formed from the losers of inter-house
intrigues within Drow society, with Lolth always favoring the strong
and punishing the weak. Whatever the case, Tristan takes pity on
these outcasts and employs them in significant numbers, especially
aboard his fleet.
Drow dislike Driders, but those that are allied with Tristan are
willing to forgive the Clone Master his eccentricities. Many Driders,
however, are not so willing to forget, and may sieze any opportunity
they are presented with to do harm to any Drow they come across.
Ability Score Adjustments: +2 Dexterity, +1 Intelligence, -3 Charisma.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Fighter-Mage.
Kit Allowances: None. Upon creation, a Drider loses the benefits of whatever kit he/she belonged to.
Hit Dice: By class. At first level, a Drider takes +6 bonus hit points.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 3; Driders move on land at rate 12.
Bonus Languages: Drow, Undercommon.
Special Advantages:
•Infravision: 90' range.
•Magic Resistance: Driders retain only a scant portion of
the formidable magic resistance they once had as Drow. They are
limited to a flat magic resistance of 15%.
•Door Detection: Elven senses allow them to locate secret
or concealed doors. Passing within 10 feet of a secret door, Elves
will detect the opening on a roll of 1 on 1d6. If a Elf is actively
searching for secret doors, this chance increases to 1 or 2 on 1d6.
Concealed doors can be detected by Elves on a roll of 1, 2 or 3 on
1d6.
•Drow Stealth: Drow impose a -4 penalty to an enemy
surprise check, but only if the Elf is wearing non-metal armor and
the rest of his party is either similarly stealthy (that is,
possessing a similar Stealth racial ability) or else 90' away.
•Spell-like Powers: 1/day, Driders can cast Dancing
Lights, Faerie Fire and Darkness. At 4th level, Drow gain the ability
to additionally use Levitate, Know Alignment and Detect Magic, also
1/day each. In addition, Drow priests can cast Clarivoyance, Detect
Lie, Suggestion and Dispel Magic 1/day.
•Natural Attack: Driders gain the use of a bite attack,
dealing 1d4 damage and injecting a powerful venom. Bite victims must
save vs. poison at -2 or else be paralyzed for 1d2 turns. This bite
attack takes the place of a weapon attack, unless the character has
multiple attacks in one round.
Special Disadvantages:
•Light Sensitivity: Drow lose their Stealth abilities
when exposed to sunlight or the light from a Continual Light spell.
Their Dexterity is also reduced by -2 in such light, and to-hit rolls
are made with a -2 penalty. Opponents save vs. Drow spells with a +2
bonus when the caster is suffering from his light sensitivity. When
the Drow is in darkness but his opponents are in light, he retains
his Dexterity and stealth but still suffers an attack penalty.
•Power Loss: When Driders are created, they lose any
abilities gained as part of a specialty priesthood (becoming normal
Clerics) or as part of the Thief (becoming Fighters) or Elf classes
(becoming Fighter-Mages).
•Reputation: Other Elves hate the Drow. Drow suffer at
least a -4 reaction penalty when dealing with other Elves. In
addition, Drow hate the Driders, and so Driders suffer similar
penalties when interacting with Drow.
•Experience Penalty: In order to advance, Driders require
an additional 20% of the experience points required at each new
level.
The Thoul are magically engineered creatures, being a cross
between ghouls, hobgoblins and trolls. Despite their ghoulish
parentage, Thouls are living creatures and not undead.
The Thoul were created by the Chainmen with the aid of Tristan
Dragonbane's cloning magic, and are being mass-produced as shock
troops to aid the Chainmen in participating in the conquest of Kulm.
The Thoulish stock of the Chainmen are of Hobgoblin height, with
Trollish faces and vine-like Trollish hair, a greenish cast to their
skin, and empty, hauntingly vacant eyes.
Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Constitution, -1 Charisma.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Fighter-Shaman, Fighter-Witch Doctor, Fighter-Thief.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are drawn from the Complete Book of Humanoids.
Hit Dice: By class. At first level a Thoul takes +2 bonus hit points.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 6; Thouls move on land at a rate of 12.
Bonus Languages: Trollspeak, Hobgoblin, Common.
Special Advantages:
•Infravision: 60' range.
•Mining Detection: Thouls can spot new or unusual
construction, sloping passages or shifting walls 40% of the time.
•Regeneration: Thouls constantly regenerate 1 hit
point/round. They have no special weakness to fire or acid.
•Ghoulish Claws: In lieu of weapons, a Thoul can attack
with its claws (1d3 damage, 2 attacks). Victims struck by a Thoul's
claws must save vs. paralyzation or be stunned for 1d6+2 rounds.
Elves are immune to this effect.
Special Disadvantages:
None.