Help me flesh out an NPC / Villain!

[Wonzling]

Hey folks! I need to flesh out an important NPC/Villain for my FR campaign and I thought I'd tap into the creative potential that seems to be abundant around here

I little backstory:

The party had previously been given a mysterious artifact in the form of a mummified hand by a morally flexible NPC who wanted to use the party as guinea pigs to test its exact function and risks. The artifact was said to increase martial prowess in some way.
The party could not find out anything about the item, so they let it rest for a time.

During a later story arc, the party was being stalked by assassins. One of the party members (an NPC at the time), a physically weak female priest of Mystra in charge of keeping the artifact, was cornered by an enemy who seemed to be immune to magic. There were no witnesses to the battle, but the priest later emerged unscathed, the assassin beaten to death and the artifact nowhere to be found (the priest apparently activated it somehow under duress).
A spirit entity has token control of the character, giving her great monk-like combat abilities. The spirit has communicated that it wants to be returned to its burial site. It radiates strong evil when in control and has already killed several allies of the party who it considered to be obstacles to its plan.

The spirit doesn't communicate directly but will soon provide some clues as to its origins. I want the party to unravel these clues, seek out the spirit's resting place and thus free their companion.

What I need now is some inspiration as to who exactly this spirit was. I need it to be a monk -like figure with legendary martial and strategic skills (somewhat like Sun Tzu), but also with a strong evil philosophy. His identity is supposed to be obscure, but he left behind influential writings that can help piece together his whereabouts.

Sorry, this post became longer than intended...

 

[papa_laz]

Hey Wonzling, I like what you have so far. A character I came up with for my own campaign world might fit in nicely.

Legio was a brave and benevolent king, a man loved by all, until the loss of his daughter at the hands of shape shifter assassins drove him to madness and cruelty. After the kidnapping and subsequent murder, Legios inquisitors tracked his daughters killers to the town of Yania. Knowing that the assassins would be able to flee undetected if they heard word of the search, the inquisitors placed the entire town under lockdown, and Legio ordered his generals to encircle the town and prevent anyone from leaving. The inquisitors began to prepare to scour Yania, knowing that it could well take months to find the shape shifters. But Legio was unable to tolerate the thought of the assassins escaping, and mad with grief, ordered that the city be torched, along with all its inhabitants.

Incendiary rockets were launched en masse into the town, and flaming arrows lit up the night sky. Those who tried to escape past the blockade were cut down without mercy, and when dawn finally arrived there was not a building left standing. For two weeks the soldiers surrounded the town, killing any survivors that staggered out in search of food or shelter. Tens of thousands had burned to death in that one night, and thousands more died of starvation or were killed by their own countrymen. The entire kingdom was in chaos, villagers and townsfolk fearful of the kings lunacy began to take up arms and organise militias to defend their homes. Legio moved immediately to quash these forces and thousands more died in the ensuing carnage. The once peaceful kingdom had become a brutal dystopia in which the mad king and his inquisition ruled with an iron fist.

Day by day Legio sunk deeper into madness. His heart broken, and his mind twisted beyond insanity, he sought only to destroy any beauty or happiness that still remained in the world. Peaceful neighbouring kingdoms that had been allies for generations soon fell beneath the might his armies, and their people for the first time knew terror. But as time passed and kingdoms fell, loyalties changed, and those who could so easily take what they wanted decided that it was time to do so. Sensing weakness, Legio's court began to turn against him. His madness and lust for conquest was pushing their newly founded empire to the brink of destruction, and the kingdoms many enemies were beginning to consolidate their strength. However, it was the dark communes held with shadow lords that were becoming increasingly less conspicuousness that put the last nail in Legio's coffin. News of this devilry spread across the land and soon the people bayed for his blood. Seizing the opportunity, his enemies deposed him, and Legio was forced to flee with the inquisition hot on his heels.

But men of this power are never entirely without allies, and so he fled deep into the mountains to a hidden fortress that he had first encountered decades ago, when he began to dabble in the black arts. The master of this domain had struck a deal with Legio whilst facing persecution by the inquisition. The man had been charged with contacting the shadow plane and partaking in sorceries of an obscene nature, and was awaiting a trial which would inevitably lead to his death. However something told Legio that this man could prove useful, and so he staged a mock trial and execution, and made a deal with the sorcerer that in exchange for his life Legio would call on his powers when needed. Decades later the time came, and Legio called in his debt.

Seething with rage at the thought of never having revenge on those who had betrayed him, Legio demanded immortality from his dark ally. A quick bite from a bride of death granted his wish, and Legio watched with horror as the blood drained from his skin. There would be no turning back now, and an eternity of bloodshed was all that lay ahead of him. In a brief moment of clarity, Legio realised what he had become, and overwhelmed with grief and an inexorable tiredness, he made one last request. To rest. A portal was opened to an unknown land, and Legio strode through it without a glance back. He stepped out at the foot of an ancient stone temple in the middle of a rain forest, and knew immediately that this would be his home. Inside the temple lay a great stone sarcophagus, and using his new found strength, Legio pushed back the huge lid with surprising ease. Inside, the cold stone felt like the finest silk on his skin, and he basked in aura of tranquility and emptiness. Now he would rest, for a month, for a year, for a decade, he did not know. But in his dreams he would travel and find new wisdom, and when he awoke he would be ready...