Horror upon horror! I fear I bring terrible tidings, my dear lords and ladies. For the second time, in as many months, we have had to cancel our monthly session due to a dearth of player availability and the upcoming holiday. Is this a premonition of the future? Yet another D&D campaign to fade into that good night with scarcely a whimper, let alone a bang??? I say thee no, and more, I say thee never!!! (Did people ever really talk like this?) We are mustering our forces for an end of year spectacular, no matter how few, or many, attend our December session.
That said, I feel it is still my non-contractual obligation to provide you, dear readers, with your monthly allotment of literary mirth and mayhem. Our subject today is not quite so jolly as last month's Saga of Socool. This month features my D&D PC: A human fighter by the name of Cornelius Gravestone, The Duke of Gravestone Manor.
Cornelius Gravestone is the eldest son of the Duke of Gravestone Manor. He is a Knight, fully trained and experienced in all weapons, skills, and battle tactics that a seasoned knight of the realm would excel in. He is a veteran of the crusades, fighting in bloody combat for 5 years. He returned, when his Father passed away, and became the new Duke of Gravestone Manor. He married his childhood sweetheart and ruled the lands. However, the bloodlust that had been his life during the Crusades soon became overpowering.
Meanwhile, Carter had fallen in love with Cornelius’ wife. He sold Cornelius to the fighting pits and married her. When Cornelius learned of this betrayal, he led a revolution and overturned the gladiatorial pits. He then set off to Castle Gravestone. Carter was aware of what had happened and ordered the castle barricaded so no one could enter. Cornelius entered through a secret passage and slayed everyone and burnt down the castle. The sealed fortress had become a tomb.
It was when he encountered Tiamat, the five headed Mother of all Dragons, that he was betrayed. Just as Cornelius was about to claim victory, his sidekick, the gnome Grick Gabbles, stabbed him in the back. Unable to fight, Tiamat burned his flesh and crushed him, breaking every bone in his body.
As he laid dying, a powerful healer restored him to the height of his health and youth. Now at the peak of his power, Cornelius seeks to regain his skills and prove himself the greatest warrior of all time once again.
Though many consider him a brutish thug, Cornelius is a highly educated and skilled warrior. He is fluent in Elven dialects. His weapons of choice are the long sword and heavy shield.
The following are answers to questions my old DM would ask monthly for a free re-roll (perhaps something I should institute, since nothing else seems to encourage character development amongst my cohorts).
Cornelius stands about 6' 6" with the hulking musculature of a body builder. His hair is a wavy dark brown. His nose is bent, as if it's been broken a dozen times. Every inch of exposed skin seems to be covered in scars, old and new. He appears youthful, 25 - 30, but his eyes seem older and wiser beyond his years. He wears a patchwork of chainmail and plate armor, scarred and dented from a thousand battles. If one were to look closely, the remaining plate armor is of the highest craftsmanship, such as a knight or nobel would wear. He carries a heavy shield, long sword, short sword, dagger, spear, and bow and arrows.
(To all PCs and NPCs: His name and appearance seem to evoke a forgotten legend of a warrior, but that was so many years ago, it can't have anything to do with him, can it?)
Favorite Scar:
Cornelius' favorite scar is on his left forearm. During the Crusades, an evil Imam hurled a magic dagger at one of Cornelius' knights. Cornelius raised his arm to protect him, the dagger impelled itself through his arm, he quickly ripped it out with his right hand and threw it into the back of the fleeing Imam. The remaining guards of the Imam quickly surrendered.
The First time you ever saw a dragon:
The first time I ever saw a dragon was when I was a boy of ten. A green dragon had attacked Castle Gravestone. My brother and I were instructed to hide in the dungeons, but I watched from a tower window. Until then, I had thought dragons a myth, fairy tails to frighten children. The castle had heard of the dragon's approach, and my Father had prepared for the beast. The dragon landed in the courtyard and began destroying everything and everyone. My Father rode his horse to lure the beast to follow him through the gates toward the drawbridge. Once the dragons neck was through the gate, father gave the signal to drop the portcullis, which he had reinforced with adamantium spikes. The dragon's neck was impelled. He was trapped, dying. Father stood upon the dragon's head and jabbed his sword between the skull and neck bone finishing it with one stroke. It was on that day that I no longer wanted to be like my father; I wanted to be even better.
So there you have it. The Warduke: A knight of the realm suffering from PTSD, with daddy and trust issues. Never a good combo, but makes for an interesting back story for everyone's favorite anti-hero. I would love to hear any comments from our readers.
PS. Searching the web for images of the Warduke, I stumbled upon this production drawing for the Dungeons & Dragons figures (which ended up as artwork on some of the packaging). Imagine my surprise when I discovered the artist was none other than Timothy Truman!!! A fantastic comic book artist (Yes I collect comics too!!! I am an Uber nerd!!!) known for western and fantasy; most notably: Grim Jack and Jonah Hex. A master of chiaroscuro, his art is heavily laden with ink and drama. To know that he had a hand in building the D&D figure line brings a smile to my face.