Against the Darkmaster has taken a vice grip on my imagination and refuses to let go. Today the official blog posted an example of the Horned King of Annwn, the sort-of-default Darkmaster that takes more than a few cues from our lord and saviour Sauron.
So I've decided to create my very own Darkmaster, which is part of the point of the game.
Vestrian, the Blightlord
Appearance
Vestrian appears to many as a manifestation of their darkest fears, and sometimes their innermost desires. His actual form is obscured from all but his closest Hollow Bishops. He occasionally defaults to an impossibility emaciated, stretched figure wearing a three-pronged crown and draped in a sickly yellowing cloak.
Symbol
A white mask with a single black eye. Just observing the symbol can send someone spiralling into madness.
Dark Place
The Palace of Maladies
Vestrian does not exist within the mortal reality proper. His seat of power looms across foul dimensions, fractured in space-time. Within the city walls of Chane towers the vast Palace of Maladies, a structure of impossible dimensions and twisted angles. The rooms within shift and warp, very occasionally emerging in the mortal realm.
These entrances are most often revealed to those mad enough to glimpse them. On even more rare occasions, a fragment of Vestrian punctures through to the mortal realm, if only for a brief time.
Coveted Artefact
Vestrian's only hope of uniting his fractured persona into a single dimension is the Eye of Darkness, a jet black gemstone inset into a foul ring that exists only in the mortal realm. The Eye of Darkness belonged once to him until it was taken by Destria the Gluttonous as part of a powerful ritual. Before her power could spread too far, four heroes vanquished her, but the Eye was lost.
By retrieving the ring, Vestrian can once again return to his original state and expand his tyrannical empire of madness.
Servants
Lieutenants: Dark Mages, Nightmares
His Hollow Bishops, powerful mages warped by madness, and nightmarish beings indescribable to human tongues descent on the mortal realm with the objective of gathering worshippers to find the Eye of Darkness.Minions: Men
The minds of men are malleable, too easily corrupted by promises of power. Acolytes of the Blightlord are growing in the ranks of humanity. Warnings that your very own husband, wife, son or daughter could be an Acolyte echo throughout the realm. Paranoia is rife, which only serves to feed the madness Vestrian craves.Spies: Men
Vestrian's spies are the most frightening of all. They are everywhere, behind the local bar, teaching children, even in the courts of kings.Powers
Maddening Visage: To look upon the face of Vestrian is to lose ones faculties. Even seeing a fragmented version of the Blightlord can have a powerful impact on the wisest hero. When you first look upon the symbol of Vestrian, you must make a WSR against attack level 1, with failure resulting in a -20 to Wits based rolls for an hour. When you first see a Fragment of Vestrian, you must make a WSR against attack level 5, with failure resulting in a -40 to Wits based rolls for an hour and being stunned for a round. When you first see the True Form of Vestrian, you must make a WSR against attack level 9, with failure resulting in you falling into a catatonic state for 3 hours, unable to take any actions or speak. After 3 hours, any Wits based rolls have a -60 penalty for 5 hours.
Art: Zdzisław Beksiński
