More dead heroes

[RangerWickett]

I need to add some variety to the history of my campaign, so I'm looking for some 'mythic heroes' from the past.

Please give me ideas for 10th-ish-level D&D-esque heroes. People who died long ago, but were bad-asses during their time and had a powerful effect on the world.

All ideas welcome.

 

[Paka]

A wizard with a passion for wandering who wanted to become a liche so he could see all of the planes. But upon studying death and undeath, realized that death was just another journey. So, he made sure that he died on his own terms. Cults to this wizard are known for making intense preperations for their own demise and leaving labyrinthine wills. Shrines to this wizard can be found all over the worlds, particularly on the edge of blasted lands inhabited by undead lords.

A thief who tried to steal from the gods before he was ready to do so and spent the rest of his short career running from their wrath, a cautionary tale.

A priest on the rise who found inconsistencies in her deity's dogma and sought out another faith. Which deity she worshipped and which deity she sought a dialog with in order to convert are facts debated by holy scholars the world over.

The paladin who disappeared into hell, sure that he would make the world a better place. Was he ready? Could his faith, holy avenger and holy symbol withstand what waited for him? Did he fall? No one knows.

 

[Paka]

Wow, nothing else, huh?

Did those help at all?

 

[Kimyou]

Well, if you have any legendary organizations in your campaign, make legends about their founders.

In my own Heroic Orchestra, High Lord of the Golden Brigade Gaius Brandt was rumored to be able to level buildings with a sword stroke.

It's fairly easy to follow the class stereotypes and push them further, and you'll get good results, most of the times.

I mean, the warrior who kept a fortress from falling for 2 weeks, single-handedly, against rampaging *generic evil creatures* until reenforcement arrived is fairly generic, but will mean something if the players are exploring the fort and someone goes : Hey, can I roll history?

I humbly suggest running around tvthropes.org, you might find some neat stuff.

 

[Quantum]

I thought it said more dead horses.

 

[Daern]

Zanzibar the Great, a Wizard of Great Power and Even Greater Potential, who died heroically battling the minions of the Ooze Lord in a submerged temple. While his deeds went unfinished and his remains were never found, his homunculus familiar, Argot, published the epic of his travails and it became a best-seller throughout the lands and so the legend of Zanzibar the Great has grown with the telling...

or did you not want to hear about my dead characters?

 

[Wik]

The Band of Five - A group of legendary martial warriors. They consisted of a set of triplet fighters (each who used a different weapon), a laconic elven scout, and a redeemed rogue who had discovered religion and was an honorary member of a paladin order. This group of heroes fought to defend the kingdom from the evil horde of (whatevers), while the kingdom sought outside allies.

While no one came to the defence of the kingdom, these heroes led a very small company (less than a hundred men) against a force numbering in the thousands. They engaged in hit and run raids, suffering serious losses - the scout was killed by a sniper's arrow, and one of the triplets was killed while defending a small hamlet.

The remaining three heroes (and the survivors of their company) wound up holding a small fortress for three weeks against invading forces - long enough to allow for the evacuation of an entire valley, and to buy time for troops to come to the rescue of the kingdom. The heroes and all of their companions were killed in this last stand.

(if you want to make it less "The Alamo", you can always change the fortress to a pass, and change it all to "300").

***

A brother and sister pair of heroes - the brother a noble paladin, the sister a brave cleric. They were involved in numerous battles against the undead, until an evil assassin being chased by an order of holy avengers used a magical item to bind his soul to that of the sister. To protect the life of his sister, the paladin had to protect the assassin long enough in order to find the cure.

The paladin committed many wrongs during this quest - slaying lawful avengers, evading the law, and indirectly assisting the assassin in his slayings. The avengers, meanwhile, found where the sleeping body of the cleric was being held and prevented the paladin from reaching the body. Eventually, the cleric was able to break free of the spell holding her hostage, and killed herself - thus killing the assassin. The Paladin, not knowing his sister was already dead, fought past the dozens of Avengers before coming to the body of his sister and the assassin... and then bled to death from his wounds.

 

[Quantarum]

Erdus the Oathkeeper: A warrior of a great and ancient order, Erdus fell in battle and was captured by the cruel Baenations and taken in chains to their city on the high plains to fight in the arena for their amusement. To earn the freedom of a few of his countrymen, Erdus swore an oath to obey his captors and fight with all his skill as a gladiator as long as he lived, but his also swore one day to put Baenai to the torch, end slavery on the great plain and destroy the high born bloodlines of the city for all time. The Baenations did not believe he could keep both oaths at once and were amused by his defiance and let his countrymen go.

Years later Erdus had become a legend of the arena, undefeated and beloved by the high and low born alike. He learned to inflame the crowd to spare those opponents he found worthy and mock his masters as much as one could dare. The day came when Baenai was besieged by the hobgoblin armies of the Blood Moon kingdom, all seemed lost as the city was surrounded and the powerful siege engines began dismantling the ancient walls. So many defenders perished that the Baenations made their slaves man the walls and defend the city. When the guard captain was slain Erdus took command and managed through a series of almost miraculous raids to temporarily break the siege by damaging the catapults. The slaves encouraged Erdus to lead them in revolt, but he said the freedom to die on hobgoblin pikes was no better than slavery. He swore to them that by the setting of the next sun they would be free or dead.

Erdus went before the nobles and told them the city would not endure another day, the walls were too badly damaged and too few remained to defend it. They despaired and offered him any reward if he could spare them the coming fall. Erdus told them to gather all their kin and most precious wealth, they would set the city ablaze and use the smoke as cover to escape. He told them the slaves would flee the city and distract the hobgoblins long enough to ensure their safety. The nobles gladly agreed to the plan. Erdus ordered the slaves to burn one building in five, making sure the smoke was as thick as possible by pouring thick oils into it and making sure the flames did not spread. He then lead the high born and their kin out of the city under cover of the smoke, laden down with their ancestral fortunes. They did not make it far, the hobgoblins spotted the unwieldy caravan and set upon it like wolves. All were slain or carried off and Erdus died fighting atop a pile of goblin corpses. The hobgoblins assumed the city was lost to fire and that the fleeing nobles carried all the best loot, they left the smoking ruin and moved on to new conquests.

Erdus was lost, but by his actions he had fulfilled every oath he had sworn. Among the modern Baenations he is a patron saint and his story is so well known the term "as Erdus kept his word" is used throughout the region to express certainty or determination.

Just a bit from my homebrew, feel free to change the names to suit your own needs. -Q.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I'm pretty sure this guy is more accomplished than just about any D&D character short of Elminster.

(Warning: Link has grandma-unfriendly language)

 

[RangerWickett]

Wow, nothing else, huh?

Did those help at all?

Well, you sparked more replies. Thanks for the ideas. I'm basically looking for inspiration outside my own head, to make the setting more diverse and eclectic. I notice patterns in my own ideas, so I figure if I get some other folks' ideas, it will make the place more dynamic.

For instance, I wouldn't ever have done the paladin in hell thing (though I did do a shopkeeper in Pandemonium).

I humbly suggest running around tvthropes.org, you might find some neat stuff.

Good point about stereotype pushing, but tsk tsk, tvtropes is dangerous. I want to get something done today.

Zanzibar the Great . . .

or did you not want to hear about my dead characters?

Actually, exceptional embellishment about dead PCs is pretty much perfect.

(if you want to make it less "The Alamo", you can always change the fortress to a pass, and change it all to "300").

I grew up in Texas, sir. Alamo is just fine.

The Paladin, not knowing his sister was already dead, fought past the dozens of Avengers before coming to the body of his sister and the assassin... and then bled to death from his wounds.

Hm. Good tragedy. I think I'll reskin a bit, and tie it into a Vietnamese-esque demon-infested region the PCs may get to. Maybe switch the assassin to a demon summoner, who set off the whole invasion.

Erdus the Oathkeeper

Just a bit from my homebrew, feel free to change the names to suit your own needs. -Q.

Nice! I almost want to put that into the campaign in present tense, and have the PCs come upon the guy when he's still a gladiator. Thanks.