Obould

King Obould I Many-Arrows, was an orc king of the Broken Arrow tribe in the mid–14 century DR and later an exarch of Gruumsh.

Personality
Obould was a large orc who was intelligent even by human standards. Considering that the blessings bestowed upon him calmed him somewhat, he became able to see things in a far broader perspective than any orc before him. This led to a change in orcish society under his leadership and the founding of Many-Arrows.

Relations
Obould was known to have four wives and at least eight sons. It was said his only fear was that when he died his sons would destroy all he had created in their fight to succeed him.

He was believed to have eight sons:
 * Araug
 * Kroll
 * Brymoel
 * Scrauth
 * Urlgen Threefist
 * Ugreth

Possessions
As a mortal, Obould was known to wear a ridged suit of black plate armor that was adorned with numerous spikes and decorations. Obould was also known to own a set of magical boots, which enabled him to leave no tracks in the snow, walk on ice without slipping, and endure the coldest blizzard without harm. In battle, he used a magical greatsword enchanted to catch fire at will. His black iron crown had four large rubies set into it, each of which could generate a large fireball. His main shaman and adviser, Arganth Snarrl, also made him a helmet shaped like a skull with a protective lens of the rare glassteel.

History
Obould was the king of the orcs of the Citadel of Many Arrows in 1367 DR. He lost this city when an orc horde led by King Greneire attacked the Citadel in the summer of that year. Though the horde had more than three times the number of orcs that Obould commanded, the Citadel held until Uktar, when Greneire's forces broke through the gates. Obould managed to slay Greneire in single combat but fled the battle due to grievous wounds suffered in the fighting. The Citadel was then lost when Clan Warcrown and troops from Silverymoon arrived to rout the exhausted survivors.

Obould retreated to Dark Arrow Keep, where he plotted his return to the Marches whilst building a new horde. Infighting was rife in the Keep though and seven of his eight sons plotted against him. Three of them, Scrauth, Araug, and Brymoel, had the gall to do so openly! All the while, Obould plotted to sweep back down south, reclaim the Citadel of Many Arrows, and from there conquer Silverymoon. After that, his plan was to conquer all of the lands north of the Rauvin to create the empire of Obouldar.

Eventually, the murmuring of his troops about his apparent weakness was too much for him. In a rage, he put his plans into action, quite possibly killing the sons who plotted against him and realizing his goal of uniting most of the orc tribes in the Spine of the World, also forging an alliance with Gerti Orelsdottr. He tested his army against the human settlement of Shallows and, despite many setbacks his forces easily won the day.

During the assault on Shallows, the dwarf Pikel Bouldershoulder used his druidic power to build a false statue of Gruumsh to rescue King Bruenor Battlehammer, who was at Shallows, and attack the orcs.

During his next assault, this time on the dwarven settlement of Mithral Hall, he underwent a religious ceremony where he was blessed by the orc god Gruumsh, which gave him greater strength, speed, and intelligence (the strength of a bull and the speed of a wildcat), and made his name synonymous with that of the orc god. He became commonly referred to by other orcs as "Obould-Who-Is-Gruumsh". Something changed within him though, and a desire for peace became gradually more apparent, much to the displeasure of many of his followers.

Obould's son, Urlgen Threefist, who was Obould's top commander, was slain in combat by the moon elf Innovindil.

During the fighting, Obould battled Drizzt Do'Urden twice. Obould won the first fight due only to his indestructible armor. The two fought again near the end, but the battle was interrupted before a clear victor could be determined. Worthy of note is that Obould caught Drizzt in his signature maneuver, and would have killed him if not for an enchantment from the drow priestess Kaer'lic Suun Wett that destroyed Obould's armor and prevented him from finishing the killing strike.

However, Obould's loss did not cause him to reject an offer made by King Bruenor Battlehammer to agree to a truce and sign the Treaty of Garumn's Gorge, which helped establish the borders of a new orc realm that would come to be called the Kingdom of Many-Arrows.

Obould remained at peace with—and was an occasional ally of—--Mithral Hall. Obould Many-Arrows died peacefully of old age in comfort in 1409 DR. Upon his death, Obould was raised by Gruumsh to godhood as an exarch in Nishrek. His legacy on Toril remained behind however and by 1479 DR Many-Arrows had established itself as a major power in the North.

Appearances

 * Video Games:
 * Neverwinter Nights


 * Novels:
 * The Hunter's Blades Trilogy
 * The Thousand Orcs
 * The Lone Drow
 * The Two Swords
 * The Orc King
 * Gauntlgrym