This post was inspired by a writing prompt in the Worldbuilding Community, Worldbuilding Prompt #718 - Heroes and Villians
I thought I'd use it to discuss one of my oldest Non-Player Characters (NPC) - Gortig von Telram. He's been a regular and influential figure in the background of my homebrew D&D world for at least 40 years, even though very few of the many characters who have adventured there have met him in person. During that time, he has evolved considerably.
Image created by AI in NightCafe Studio
Gortig was originally introduced as the Count von Telram. Fort Telram is a powerful fortress in what was then the Grand Duchy of Jakta. Originally it guarded the Seaward Pass, the border between Jakta and the Western Wilderland, and Gortig was the strongman who was in charge of it.
At that time, back when the world of Argull was still fresh and new, the lore was that Jakta had tried to pacify and expand into the Wilderland. The experiment had failed. Because it looked likely that the colonial settlements would be overrun by monsters, Grand Duke Keshroy ordered that the Wilderland should be abandoned and all the settlers evacuated back into Jakta.
The settlers objected, believing that their pioneer spirit meant they could look after themselves, so they declared independence. Keshroy ordered Gortig to take his army from Telram, reinforced by mercenaries and Ducal troops, and evacuate the settlers by force.
What followed was a vicious war of independence, with the characters that were being played at the time taking an important role fighting on the side of the settlers (they'd been clearing monsters in Wilderland before it all kicked off). Gortig was very much the villain here. His troops slaughtered and burned their way across the Wilderland, committing terrible atrocities against military and civilian opponents alike.
Eventually the war burned itself out. The settlers had proved that their spirit was enough to hold their own land. A peace deal was hammered out where the Grand Duchy declared itself a Kingdom, consisting of Jakta and the Wilderland, but that the Wilderland would be very much an autonomous province with it's own Duke.
Gortig pulled his troops back to Telram, bitterly hated by the Wilderlanders, but appreciated by King Keshroy (as he now was) as a loyal and ruthless follower. When the need arose to send an expedition overseas to the Sarassid Lands, Gortig was a natural choice as it's leader. It helped that this provided gainful employment for all the mercenaries he'd recently employed to fight in the Wilderland.
The expedition was a great success, capturing the major port city of Tiraz and the important inland city of Avassar, and enabling a coastal strip of land to be set up by the Northern states which controlled a significant number of trade routes.
Map created in Wonderdraft - an excerpt from my main World map
Gortig next popped up many years later. This time, there was a fire in the Citadel of Jakta and the whole royal family was thought to have perished. The circumstances might be considered suspicious. Gortig just happened to be in the capital with a decent sized military force and immediately declared himself king.
Subsequently it turns out there was one survivor from the previous royal family, Princess Shrekana. She was rescued by a party of brave adventurers (another fun game of D&D !) and declared herself Queen, with the Wilderland as her base. The Wilderlanders still hated Gortig.....
The two sides squared up, raising armies and trying to attract allies. Just as they were about to launch into a bloody civil war, a spanner was thrown into the works (by me, as DM, who didn't want to have too many key NPC's wipe each other out) when an undead horde erupted from the south.
Patching up a shaky truce, Gortig and Shrekana knew they had to deal with the common threat before sorting out their internal matters. As the most experienced general in all the Northern states, Gortig was again the natural choice to lead an expeditionary army. He carefully left his household troops back in Jakta to keep his base secure, and took an army composed of Military Orders and mercenaries to the Sarassid Lands to fight the undead.
This is where we start to see another side of Gortig.
Many of the mercenary companies had worked with Gortig for decades. They knew he was a leader who won battles and was careful with his men's lives. They also knew that he was happy to lead from the front, getting stuck into the fight alongside them. His veterans respected and even loved him, and he returned that respect.
Much of Gortig's evolution has been in my own head. Perhaps it's just that I get too attached to key NPC's, but as time goes on, I find that I think more about their personalities and motivations.
It's probably coloured by my own belief that very few people actively set out to be evil. Most people are doing the best they can to look after the people they care about. It's just that some are more ruthless than others, and more prepared to use harsher methods.
So in the case of Gortig, in my mind he is someone who is doing the best he can to preserve and strengthen Jakta against a multitude of enemies both internal and external.
He is a polarising figure, both hero and villain. He inspires fear and hatred in Shrekana and the Wilderlanders. His troops see him as an inspirational and successful leader. The citizens of Jakta appreciate that he may be a tough king, but he has kept the peace and allowed them to get on with their daily lives. He is a strong and ruthless leader but he is also a winner and in a harsh world, that counts for a lot.
As for the fire; yes, he did it. He bitterly regrets having to incinerate the man who was both his king and his friend. But he believes it was the only way he could save Jakta from something that was about to happen which would have ended the kingdom.
I can't say too much more right now because it's part of a critical story arc which my current group of players will be going through in the near future, and as they say... spoilers !
The Von Telram Coat of Arms - created in the Worldspinner Heraldry Generator