(Dark Sun) Sorcerer Kings - who rocks the most?

[Wik]

So, my group is getting heavily into savage worlds, and we're thinking of starting up a dark sun campaign. We've never really been able to find a conversion of dark sun into 3.5E that worked for us, but i really think Savage Worlds would handle the conversion fairly well.

Anyways, I'm looking at starting up a campaign, and I wanted to know what everyone's opinions on the sorcerer kings (and queens) are. What are their strengths, and their weaknesses?

This poll, by the way, is independant of the cities the SK's rule; I love Nibenay, for example, but his city-state has always seemed weak to me. And I love Raam, but Abalach-Re bores me. So, really, I'm more interested in the sorcerer king (and his templars, defielrs, etc...) over the state he rules over. Mostly because I plan on using the SK as something of a villain.

All these SKs refer to BEFORE they may have been killed off/replaced/what have you in the Prism Pentad novels.

For those who forget their Athasian Sorcerer Kings, here's a quick recap:

Andropinis: Ruler of the city-state of Balic. Deigns to call himself "Dictator" of a "Democratic" city-state. Cruel, but behind the scenes cruel. His templars have to deal with the merchants that wield extraordinary power in the state.

Abalach-Re Sorcerer Queen of the chaotic city-state of Raam. Insecure in her power, she has invented a fictional diety named Badnu that she claims to serve. Her templars are equally paranoid, walking the streets only with a squad of bodyguards, for fear of being murdered by the populace.

Kalak King of Tyr. Power mad and delusional, and also perhaps a bit crazy, Kalak seeks to destroy much of his own populace in a scheme to advance his own personal magical power. His templars are decadent in many ways, but are also unusually canny and deceitful.

Nibenay King of the state of Nibenay. The "Shadow King" is a very mysterious ruler who has been locked in a centuries-long war with Lalali-Puy of Gulg. Nibenay's templars are almost entirely women; supposedly, they are the "many wives of Nibenay". The sorcerer king is obsessed with magical research, and lives in the largest library of the tablelands.

Hamanu king of Urik. A war leader who strictly enforces his state's laws. Hamanu, the "lion of Urik", has never lost a battle, and trains almost daily with his soldiers. His templars are equally militant and lawful in personality, and are often accompanined by halfling scouts or elite half-giant guards.

Tecktucktitlay cruel and bloodthirsty king of Draj. Teck has a taste for blood, and watches the gladiatorial games with morbid fascination. While he is not the strongest of the sorcerer kings, he is one of the better-liked, as his war-like citizens see him as a living god in many respects. The "moon priests" of Draj are just as bloodthirsty as their king.

Lalali-Puy the "oba" of gulg. While just as evil as her counterparts, Lalali is honestly concerned with the plight of athas, and seeks to conserve what is left of the countryside (as a defiler, this is probably only so she has more plant life to fuel her own magical transformation). She is loved by her people, as well as feared. HEr templars, "hunters", oversee much of the communistic government, and perhaps pay more attention to the rejuvenation of the natural world.

 

[Alzrius]

Nibenay! All the way! Everyday! Yay!

 

[Wik]

See, I never got what was interesting about Nibenay. He's shadowy and mysterious... ooooo.... I always though Lalali-puy was the cooler of the two "Ivory Triangle" sorcerers. After all, she had the general love of her populace, and could actually be a patron (an evil, self-serving one) for PCs. I always thought it'd be cool to have preservers and Lalali-Puy work together for some environmental goal. Could be really interesting - the preservers and druids want to save what's left of the world, while the defiler only wants to save it so she can use the plant life to cast some really bad spell.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Kalak of course!

 

[Dragonblade]

Borys of Ebe, The Dragon of Tyr was also technically a sorcerer-king. And easily the most powerful not counting Dregoth of Giustenal (the only undead sorcerer-king).

And then there is Oronis of Kurn, the only truly good sorcerer king who forsook Dragon transformation to become an Avangion. Oronis is my fave because I like stories of redemption.

But for sheer badassness, NOTHING touches Borys. In fact, I would say that of ALL the NPCs in ALL of TSR's 2e settings, Borys is the single toughest non-deity there is. Raistlin, Elminster, Drizzt, Strahd, all insects compared to Borys.

30th level wizard, 30th level psionicist (complete with broken Will and the Way awesomeness) AND as tough as a great wyrm dragon (tougher really) all rolled into one.

 

[Hunter In Darkness]

dragonblade u forgot 30 level of wizard on there too pure awesome.
my fave is Hamanu, King of Urik however hes just to bad .we had lots of fun in urik and hes a very active king indeed.

 

[Mark Hope]

Cool thread!

I voted for Nibenay, because of his super-coolness, unashamed draconic appearance, magical might, shadowy puppetmastery and the fact that he gets to do the dirty with his vast harems of templar-wives.

But really, where are the options for Borys and Dregoth? Yeah, Borys has a silly name, but he was the numero uno! And Dregoth is not far behind!

 

[Shadeydm]

I voted for Nibenay, from the options available he was facinating. He was the most advanced of the SKs that weren't full dragons. I was also intrigued by the female templer who he kept close because of her ability to soothe his draconic rage.

 

[rossik]

i would say borys, but i dont know about the timeline, as the OP asked as "limitation"

(oh, dragonblade, be carefull about "they are insects!", could start a little flame )

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I voted Hamanu (most badass of the currently existing living sorcerer kigns).

Borys and Nibenay could eat him for breakfast, though, but one's dead (killed in a pathetic way, too), and the other's... undead.

Nibenay comes in second place.

I'm surprised Kalak got so many votes, considering he hardly had any screen time.