Bahar Dar NPC Summary

This post marks the conclusion of the Bahar Dar NPC creation. All of these NPCs were created very early on in the process. In fact, it's likely that this was all accomplished between the first and second game sessions.

If you look closely at the writing, you'll see that my goals were fully accomplished with regards to how these NPCs were utilized in the campaign. The check marks next to each story hook were made long after-the-fact, as I realized that each of these story threads had been brought to bear in-game. Another items of note include the notion that enemy NPCs outnumber the friendly or neutral NPCs. It's also interesting that both Kaleb Sedek and Bab el-Mandeb are listed as neutral NPCs. Whichever way they swung depended entirely on the actions of the PCs.

As with many of the scanned documents from the Big Red Book, readers will find the drawings on these two pages (which appear opposite each other in the book) among the more interesting features. Both of the main drawings are based on Tolkein's vision of the City of the Valar, which is known in various writings as Kor, Tirion, Tun, and Kortirion. (Most readers of the Silmarillion recognize it as Tirion.) I have switched the assignation of the drawings to represent the cities of Ras Dashen (Rastabadashen) and Bahar Dar (Bahardzarkandar) before the Rain of Fire, which is referred to in the caption as the "Second Tumult." The smaller drawing below the Bahar Dar picture is a representation of the "east" plateau of Grak looking south toward Hamsterfield. I love how Hamsterfield is all aglow on the horizon! It's my only drawing that includes Hamsterfield.

In each of the "city" drawings, the leftmost, tallest building would appear to depict the fabled "Lighthouse of Tirion," whose light could pierce even the densest fog of the Shadowy Seas. In the Bahar Dar drawing, the ziggurat structure is known to have survived the Rain of Fire. When the Wildlanders entered Bahar Dar, the Unbroken Chain Guild of Bertrand Scharfenberg had turned the holy ziggurat into a casino! Upon the Dwarves' liberation by the Uncanny Dodgers, Ungarmax and his people returned to Bahar Dar and destroyed the casino (but not the ziggurat), setting off the chain of events that led to Scharferberg's demise - which has been much discussed in this blog.

All of my politically conservative readers will find the following note fascinating: As I was posting these drawings, it occurred to me that Tolkien's descriptions of Tirion somehow dovetail with President Ronald Reagan's allegory of the United States of America as a "shining city on a hill." Was Reagan an avid Tolkien reader? Could the late former president have had a different city (such as Rome or Jerusalem) in mind? Methinks that "The Great Communicator" perhaps had vision of that great city where the dust in the streets was that of diamonds, and the shores were lined with sands of pearls...

The Eccentric Arcanist

Like Debra Nagast, Leila Bela's name is a permutation of a Hancockian term that originates from the book The Sign and the Seal. In Leila's case, the word from which I derived the name was "Lalibela," although I have no idea what it means today. Like most fantasy writers, I recognize the convention of using the name "Bela" (or, in another campaign, the name "Bel") when naming good guys. Leila Bela seemed like the right mix of Hancock, goodness, and late 1960s rock-'n'-roll mystery and, well...there you have it.

Originally, Leila Bela figured to play a much bigger role in the campaign. I conceived her as a big city mentor-contact for Dreyka, who was originally preparing to become a Candlecaster herself. When Dreyka switched career paths, Leila became more-or-less irrelevant to the story, except inasmuch as she was a harried good-guy NPC of Bahar Dar. Eventually, Leila allied herself with the Wildlanders and participated in encounters in the Battle of the Caverns of Azulerum and the battle atop the Five Fingers of Mengistu.

In the Big Red Book, no specific story page exists for Leila Bela. Instead, she receives co-mentions both on the "Evil Prospers While Good Suffers" page (posted in the Rainer Herzeloyde post) and here, on the "The Business with the Dragon" page. I have chosen to post "The Business with the Dragon" here, because at one point in the story the dragon, Scarlet, trashed Leila's candle shop. Also, Leila Bela is the final Bahar Dar NPC, and "The Business with the Dragon" is the final story page.

Thus, this phase of the blog is now concluded.

The Rock Star of Bahar Dar

The name Debra Nagast comes from a Hancockian reference to an obscure Ethiopia text called the "Kebra Nagast," which translates into the really cool title, "The Glory of Kings." Debra's Virtuoso prestige class comes from the splotbook Song and Silence. Since I love Bards, I had always hoped that Debra would play a more significant role in the Wildlanders' story. Unfortunately, she was quickly killed in the Battle of Zazamanc Courtyard, after having only appeared in two game sessions.

In her story page, you can read about her bizarre story hook. She was the target of Governor Czarno's obsession and infatuation. Had the story unfolded differently, the Wildlanders might have found themselves assisting Kaleb Sedek in the investigation of Debra's disappearance in Bahas Dar. As it turned out, she was one of many friends who perished in the Horrid Wilting wrought by Parzi Flegetanis.

Debra performed two songs for the Wildlanders (and others) at Zazamnac before the battle. One of these songs is the famous "Lay of Ras Dashen," which was written by me and can be found in full on another page of the Big Red Book. The other song she sung was entitled, "The Moon King," and none of the Wildlanders (or the players) paid much attention to it. The was an example of overlooked foreshadowing, as the Moon King was a well-developed personality in the mythology of the Big Red Book fairly early on in the construction of the Wildlanders' campaign environment.

Interested readers will take note of the fantastic sketch on Debra's story page, which is captioned, "Elven Archmage Evolo Avolar." About this person, I can only impart the following: Evolo Avolar was originally conceived as a major figure in the history of the South Central Confederacy. In fact, the mid/high level campaign of Bel St. Tiev and Owen Turwill (starting a 8th level) was entitled, "The Quest of Evolo Avolar." More about him cannot be written at this time, as there is a distict chance that this being will yet be encountered by one or more of the Wildlanders.

The True King of the Hills

Rainer Herzeloyde, a true arch-hero, ranks among the Wildlanders staunchest allies. He was the first Bahar Dar NPC encountered by the Wildlanders, shortly after the Battle of the Cleft Cave. Later, he fought alongside the Wildlanders in the epic battles at Zazamanc, Makdazadok, and the Caverns of Azulerum. In the end, he earned the ire of Sylthraxis before venturing into the creche of Yared Mengistu.

The initial conception of Rainer Herzeloyde was fairly simple: I wanted to create a good guy who was an outlaw of a malevolent regime. As it happened, this character also had an ethos that dovetailed with the Wildlanders' love of the natural world (and affinity for it). When he first encountered the Wildlanders, he was significantly more powerful than they were, so he was in a position to advise and aid the Wilanders without giving them direct armed assistance. Over time, the Wildlanders looked to Rainer as a both a leader of and a liason to the local human population that primarily resides in Bahar Dar.


As can be seen in his story page, Rainer had several allies among the good-aligned NPCs of Bahar Dar. However, the evil powers-that-be had a knack for preventing these allies from forming a unified front. Only the Wildlanders, by systematically destroying the regimes of Governor Czarno and Malkizedek, were able to pave the way for Rainer, Kaleb, Diantha, and other to live in peace, security, and freedom in Bahar Dar.

Needless to say, several factoids about Rainer Herzeloyde will prove interesting to readers of the blog. First, Rainer was hand-selected by the Wildlanders to wield the fabled blade Akhoring after it was wrested from Malkizedek's possession. Second, Rainer currently leads a cadre of human Rangers from his co-opted stronghold of the Huts of Narud (formerly the Huts of ther Hill Giants), which sits at the very center of the Corridor. Third, although was expediency's sake he is called Rainer, I always personally preferred to think of him as "Herzeloyde." This is probably because the evil smarmbags of Bahar Dar and Makdazadok would spend hours brooding over his fate, blurting the name out loud to themselves, "Herzeloydeeeee..."


Also of interest on the story page are the two drawings. One is clearly labeled as the glacial plateau home of Thrym in wintertime. The other drawing was never labeled. However, it closely resembles many of the "lunar landscape" and "lunar structure" drawings that are found throughout the Big Red Book. It was not until this morning that I determined the drawing to be a depiction of the humble lunar abode of Wildlander ally Laughing Moon Water.


Here's Rainer Herzeloyde as the Wildlanders first encountered him:

Yekuno Grazal: The Ultimate Smarmlord

Of all the NPCs encountered by the Wildlanders, the one for whom the most detailed notes exist is the Dragon Disciple, Yekuno Grazal. Players remember him most for his incredibly smarmy statements, the multiple encounters that led to his extendd stay on the mythical "list" of the Wildlanders, and for the session where he was introduced into the campaign (where he was expertly played by special guest David McEwan). Yet to be revealed are the pages of copious notes, phrases, motivations, and tactics that made Yekuno Grazal such a compelling villain.

Like almost all of the Bahar Dar NPCs, Yekuno Grazal was generated from a 3.0 "splatbook" prestige class, the Dragon Disciple. Combat was decidedly not his specialty. His connection to the Blue Dragons of the Wasteland made him a favorite of the local villains, all of whom lined up to grant him special favors when he came to Bahar Dar.

The "story" page reveals his diplomatic relations with the various key NPCs of the city. As he was originally conceived, Yekuno Grazal was supposed to provide the players with a lead, and with key information, regarding the regional situation that would ultimately lead the Wildlanders to their confrontation with Yared Mengistu. Close examination of the Big Red Book reveals that the name "Yared Mengistu"" first appears on Yekuno Grazal's story page, albeit in the creative conception as a "True Necromancer" (3.0 splatbook prestige class) and not yet as a Lich.

Needless to say, a great deal more posts and information regarding Yekuno Grazal is coming soon in this blog.

Rufinius Frumentius

Rufinius Frumentius was Governor Czarno's "Chief of Staff." The Herald served as the primary diplomat of the Czarno regime, and as the principal intermediary between Malkizedek and the powers that be in Bahar Dar. His prestige class comes from an obscure 3.0 Dragon Magazine article. In all of his dealing with the Wildlanders, Rufinius was a total smarmbag. Unfortunately, his character sheet does not detail in what manner he perished during the battle of Zazamanc. Does anyone remember?

On his story page, we can see a general outline the total smarm-le-douchery of Rufinius. He was basically the charming, sophisticated toady of everyone in Bahar Dar who was more powerful than him. Also, he was smitten with Candlecaster Leila Bela, and he was always scheming to woo her. His efforts always came to naught.

The true smarm of Rufinius is chronicled in-depth in the Little Red Book. This will be given proper attention in a future post. Indeed, given the level of douchebaggery, it's amazing that this guy even survived as long as he managed to do. One last note: Rufinius had a really cool magic item: a bronze griffin figurine. I'll have to double-check, but I believe that the figurine is now in the possession of Rainer Herzeloyde (who seems to acquire awesome treasure consistently).

The Loremaster of Bahar Dar

Here's the original character sheet for Loremaster Diantha Noldo. Like many of the Bahar Dar spellcasters, she's not a heavily combat-oriented character. Instead, she focuses primarily on divination and abjuration. (Unlike a certain Elvish spellcaster of recent comic literature, Diantha did NOT prepare explosive runes today, although she does know the spell.) In a rarity, the character sheet names her familiar, who is a cat named Mynx.

Without a doubt, the Loremaster is a fantastic DMG prestige class. This sheet was generated very early in her career as a Loremaster. These days, after aiding in the battles against the blue dragons and venturing into the lair of Sylthraxis, Dinatha is likely the most important Loremaster in the northern world!

Diantha's "story" page focuses on her pursuit of knowledge surrounding the local history of the Dwarves. Intrepid readers who examine this page may obtain tantalizing clues into the history of the line of Narud in the Corridor. It's possible that there are adventures yet-to-be-had in the Corridor that revolve around the history of the Dwarves in the local area.

According to the story page, Diantha enjoyed the favor of Governor Czarnor and the priests of Wee Jas. This was because of her power as a spellcaster and purveyor of lore. However, in later writing it was revealed that she had something of a professional rivalry going with primary Wildlander ally Albrecht Entoto. It seems that Albrecht is a little bit jealous and insecure. It was his goal to supplant Diantha as curator of the Bahar Dar library and museum. Has Albrecht at last set aside this ambition?

There a really cool drawing on the story page, which will be covered in a later blog post. It is appropriately placed on a page related to Diantha, as the drawing and captions reference the ancient history of the world.