Heroes of the Past

In a world of monsters, those who slay them are renowned for their deeds. The most powerful and succesful mortal champions are famous enough that their name lives on well after they stopped adventuring. Some are famous for a single, specific thing, others for a long life of excellence. Others are brought up as warning examples, perhaps due to the manner of their death or some particular habit that led to their downfall.

This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a overview of well known adventurers and power-brokers, whose deeds are discussed around campfires and in taverns to this day. Remember, not all the stories presented here are necessarily true...

If you are looking for a hero for your character to look up to, this list is a great place to start, but feel free to invent your own idol. If you spread the word of their great deeds, they might just end up on this list!

Artificer

Steinar Skyronbrand

(dwarf, TN, 616-761 AUC): The most renowned dwarven smith in history. His magical blades have armed emperors and warlords, been coveted by dragons and duelists, and have slain fiends and fey by the score. One of the very few known extant Skyronbrand blades is Starsteel, the prized heirloom of House Silionbar.

Bard

Christopher Buckliss

(human, CG, 1281-1340 AUC): Playwright who founded the Buckliss Theater in Covenant. Allegedly, his ghost still haunts the theater, longing to finish the play that he was writing when he died. His most famous plays are The Shipwright's Daughter and An Equinox Dream.

Talia Graceborne

(human, LN, 1336-1408 AUC): Well-respected Speaker of the Council of Estia who served for three terms, from 1390 to 1405. Held the Barony of Goldshore, buts he was the last of her house, which died along with her. In her will, she bequeathed the barony to its people, sowing the seeds of democratic elections across the islands.

Barbarian

Mulgi the Thunderer

(dwarf, LN, 211-382 AUC): The first wielder of Runewarden, and ancestor of the Grungiburgi clan on Cottenhorn. Mulgi was a mighty warrior and a wise leader who led his clan through the Demonic Wars of the early Empire.

Reginax the Unbeaten

(dragonborn, NE, 1310-1347 AUC): The gladiator with the longest undefeated streak ever in the Greystone Arena. Reginax was a ferocious red dragonborn who dominated all his opponents with his strength and reflexes. In his one-hundreth match, his opponent cheated by bringing poisoned weapons, and Reginax was slain. His 99-1 record remains unbeaten, with no one even coming close. Reginax was buried on the Arena grounds, and his weapon of choice, a massive greatsword with jagged edges, still hangs over the gates of the arena to this day.

Cleric

Svala Steelmaster

(dwarf, LG, 1281-1427 AUC): From a background as a blacksmith, Svala became a cleric of Heimdall who lived and worked in Covenant. Eventually, she became Archbishop of Covenant and served on the Estian Council, where she was well known as a voice of reason and well-argued politics, responsible for many compromises.

Druid

Atadan Aerilex

(wood elf, CE, 613-782 AUC): Atadan was the protector of a large forest on the mainland, but succumbed to a corrupting extraplanar force. Crazed and delusional, Atadan walked through his beloved forest, incinerating it behind him. He was finally stopped by a party of brave adventurers, who braved his flaming minions to put an end to his reign of terror on a field of ashes.

Tenelie Sildoren

(lunar elf, LN, 452-1253 AUC): Archdruid who was the greatest astronomer who ever lived. She charted the entire sky during her very long lifetime, and learned much about the nature of the heavens. Near the end of her life, she became a hermit, focusing solely on the skies. No one knows where her laboratory was located, but many have searched for her research.

Fighter

Titus Sulla

(human, LN, 810-879 AUC): The singular strategic mind of his generation, Legate-Marshall Sulla worked his way up the ranks of the Teccan Leggion from low-born legionnaire to supreme commander. His armies conquered vast swaths of land, expanding the empire. Nowadays, he is most well known for The Craft of War, the book he wrote to summarise all his knowledge of combat and warfare.

Rackham Graygale

(human, NE, 1141-1187 AUC): Once the most feared pirate in the known world. Rackham and his crew aboard his black-sailed flagship, Krakenbrand, would ruthlessly plunder and pillage their way across the ocean. In the closing years of the Empire, Emperor Thimonos V paid Graygale an exorbitant bribe to fight alongside the Imperial Fleet against the Northern Islands who had risen up in revolt. However, Krakenbrand and many other Imperial ships were sunk north of Maeral, in one of the first engagements of the Seaguard. Rackham and his crew all perished, and since no one outside the crew knew where they had hidden their vast amount of loot, it was lost.

Octavian Caldesor

(human, LN, 1108-1174): "The First Sword of Tec". He served as advisor and personal bodyguard to Empress Herminia Casta. In this role, he faithfully served for 37 years. When the empress died of old age, he declared his duty done, and died only three days after her. He was given the exceedingly rare honor of a burial in the Imperial tombs, next to the Empress he served.

Monk

Alathar Sandwhisper

(gnome, TN, 1040-1225 AUC): A master runecarver who took a solemn vow of silence. He spent decades of his life walking the beaches of Kiniden, scribing swirling runes in the sand before they were washed away by the ocean waves. His disciples would walk behind him, trying to decode their master's ephemeral work before it disappeared. It is said he was the first monk to master the g rune, but that knowledge was lost to the waves.

Phastina Umberian

(human, LE, 500-541 AUC): Assassin who pioneered the Way of Shadow. Her final kill was Emperor Belleron himself. After she had slit his throat, Phastina was discovered. In the ensuing chase, she was killed after slaying two dozen of the Emperor's bodyguards. This assassination set off the Regulan Revolts, a century of chaos for the Empire.

Lucidia of Tec

(halfling, TN, 910-1018): Iconoclast philosopher whose teachings gathered many followers. Her most famous work is Teachings, in which she promotes a lifestyle where an individual's actions are more important than their beliefs, and downplays the influence of the gods. This did not win her any favors with the various temples or the Senate, whose rule was intermingled with religion.

Paladin

Baron Thomas Emberbloom

(human, LN, 1156-1239 AUC): Baron of Godshearth. One of the founding fathers of the Estian League. To protect the new nation, he created the Lodge of the Roses, whose headquartered used to be the Emberbloom family seat.

Ranger

Eirik Hoarfrost

(dwarf, LN, 1275-1404? AUC): Polar explorer from Myrknes who mapped much of the oceans north of Estia. He was last seen in 1404 when he headed out on another expedition, but has not been heard from since and is presumed dead.

Nirnea Elendorei

(wood elf, NG, 1021-1258 AUC): Nirnea is widely regarded as the greatest archer to ever live, rivalled only by Uller himself. She would train with two-inch clay targets, called dragon's eyes, having an assistant hundreds of feet away throw several in the air at once, each shattered by an arrow before they hit the ground. She could also shoot blindfolded, from horseback, and mid-sprint.

Hector Evenheart

(human, LN, 978-1029): One of the most famous dragonslayers who ever lived. He hunted down and slew several dozen chromatic dragons, of all colors. To this day, dragons speak of him with as much fear and reverence as they can muster for a mortal. He died after a conclave of dragons got word he was setting out to slay them and set an ambush for him and his entourage. Three of the dragons died in the ensuing battle, but in the end, the red dragon Moteda slew Hector with her devastating breath.

Rogue

Trixie Softstep

(halfling, CG, 1287-1332 AUC): Infamous for her last words ("There are no mimics in the Feywild!"), which were uttered shortly before being devoured by a mimic while adventuring in the Feywild. 'Trixie' is used in some variants of Thieves' Cant to mean "foresee one's own failure". For example, "any trixies in the plan?" means "Are their any obvious things we are missing here?"

Cormac Moonshot

(gnome, CN, 1219-1267 AUC): Famous gambler who invented gnome fold. Famous for never turning down a wager, Cormac's antics are legendary. He once flipped a coin with a rakshasa, gambling a pair of daggers against his life. Could have retired a very rich gnome at several points in his career, but always would find a bet to lose it all on. He burnt his candle quickly and was killed by a scorned djinni who had just lost a game of dice for a wish.

Spellsword

Parsion Junides Canon

(human, LN, 914-988 AUC): Battlemage who served in the Teccan Legions and led his flight to many victories. Later elected Senator, and was a driving force behind the evolution and popularization of Dragonchess, of which he is considered the first true master. Parsion's Gambit is still a popular opening among dragonchess players.

Lana Lacemane

(halfling, NG, 1214-1312 AUC): Charitor of the Pilgrim Knights, and a gifted healer who worked fearlessly on the frontlines of many battles. Lana played a big role in the establishment of a school for field medics in Elderholm, and their wider incorporation into Pilgrim forces.

Sorcerer

Sacella the Blessed

(aasimar, LG, 180-462 AUC): The first Empress of Tec, a powerful divine sorcerer who is said to have been the daughter of Phatos. During her long reign, Tec entered into a period of unprecedented prosperity that later became known as the Age of the Three Great Empresses, after Sacella and her two successors, Chloe and Licinia.

Curtis Hollyfield

(human, NG, 1371-1403 AUC): Curtis "the Unfortunate" was somewhat dimwitted, but without evil in his heart. He was however cursed with vast magical powers that he had no control over. Chaos followed in his footsteps, as his wild magic swelled over often and harshly. One day, he accidentally set fire to a chicken coop in Owl Rock, and when a mob cornered him afterwards, the stress made him surge so hard that he exploded in a storm of feathers and wild magic.

Chiogosa the Diplomat

(silver dragonborn, LG, 1268-1341 AUC): Daughter of Tepyristes, Chiogosa was a powerful sorceress. She was sent to Covenant as an envoy of the dragons, and eventually was given the honor of serving as Grand Emissary on the Estian Council, brokering several important deals with foreign nations.

Warlock

Esme Faelight

(human, CN, 1083-? AUC): Warlock who was able to trick her archfey patron and claim their powers as their own. She now rules her gloomy Feywild realm as the immortal Lady of Whispers. There are many incompatible stories as to exactly she accomplished this, many of them fabricated by her or her dark servants.

Sorrow Bloodbane

(tiefling, NE, 666-? AUC): Servant of the archdevil Mephistopheles. His birth was prophesized to tip the scales in the Blood War. It did no such thing, of course, but he was raised to devilhood after slaying several demon commanders with his fiery magic and claming their souls for his master. Is rumored to have scores of warlocks of his own, serving the devils' cause.

Benthos of the Reef

(water genasi, CG, 830-867): A genasi in the service of a powerful Marid who was awarded a wish for his services, which he promptly used to wish for him to become "one with the river". His master then thought for a while, before turning Benthos into a riverstone. Legend has it that the stone is still out there, waiting for someone to free Benthos from this curse.

Wizard

Catiana Casta

(human, LN, 1004-1089 AUC): Teccan archmage who formulated Second Sun and first cast it at the Battle of the Midnight Sun, which ended the Corcaster Rebellion. Grandmother of Empress Herminia Casta, who was also a powerful wizard.

Aerilwyn Nilteril

(high elf, LN, 621-767 AUC) The greatest Bladesinger the world has ever known, and wielder of Nilisnebar. Renowned for her mastery of swordplay and air magic, Aerilwyn served the Teccan Empire as Legate-Commander of the Bladesinger Guard, one of the most elite units in their Legions and personal bodyguards to the Emperor. She died when she sacrificed herself to save her soldiers in a battle against white dragons on Iacaris, during a flare-up of the Dragon Wars.

Abelin Gemscribe

(gnome, NG, 1131-1279): Arcanist whose work on the properties of magical residue, ley lines, and wild magic is the cause of many sleepless nights of study for Archivist students. Extremely intelligent in his field, but rather dimwitted otherwise. The unit of magical flux is named Abelin after him, and is defined to be the smallest iota of detectable magic. The amount of magical flux generated by spells varies greatly. A fireball emits a couple hundred Abelin, while even a minor illusion can put out several thousand Abelin in the area it affects.