Makos

Makos was a tiefling warlock lich who lived in Neverwinter in the late years of the 15 century DR.

History
Makos grew up as a street urchin, but he was fiercely ambitious and determined to rise above his station. To that end, he entered into an infernal pact with the fiend Arikas.

In 1479 DR, Makos took part in the Siege of Neverwinter. Together with the guardsman sergeant Knox, the cleric Celeste, and the rogue Xuna, Makos brought down a dracolich in Valindra Shadowmantle's service. After defeating the undead dragon, Makos bound its soul to prevent it from returning to its phylactery.

When the Thayans created a Dread Ring within the Neverwinter Wood, Makos joined the Neverwinter Vanguard in assaulting it. He was also instrumental in stopping the plans of the demon lord Baphomet to reshape the world with the Maze Engine; Makos defeated the drow wizard Vizeran DeVir who tried to claim its power for himself, and then destroyed the artifact. Makos later journeyed to Icewind Dale to represent Neverwinter at a festival in Bryn Shander, only to find the town devastated by the Ring of Winter. After freeing Artus Cimber from his icy prison, Makos joined Catti-brie, Wulfgar, Xuna, and the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge in assaulting Fangbreaker Island to retrieve the Ring of Winter from the frost giant Storvald. The assault failed, and Makos was slain by Drufi.

Lord Dagult Neverember paid to have Makos resurrected, but his soul would not return to his body. Neverember subsequently erected a statue of him in Neverwinter's River District. Unbeknownst to Neverember, Makos had become a lich in order to avoid the attention of powerful beings tied to his infernal heritage; the resurrection failed because his soul had returned to his phylactery to regenerate. Though his new form required him to consume souls to sustain himself, he believed that consuming the souls of evil beings was worth it for the greater good.

Makos rejoined his companions in Chult as they sought knowledge of Acererak's death curse, explaining simply that he had established contingencies in the event of his demise. When Celeste was killed by batiri, Makos made a deal with the hag Nanny Pu'pu to bring her back as one of the undead; Celeste angrily sent him away for turning her into such a thing. Soon after Makos was contacted by Acererak, and made a deal for unspecified courtesies in exchange for attempting to convince adventurers not to end the death curse. He would later explain that faced with immortality as a lich, he had begun to take a longer-range outlook on battling evil.

When Celeste and the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge descended through the Fane of the Night Serpent to destroy the Soulmonger, the source of the death curse, Makos appeared and advocated that the Soulmonger could be used for good; by denying liches souls to feed on, they could all be destroyed. Those who must be resurrected could be raised through Nanny Pu'pu's ritual. Celeste was furious with Makos, deducing both that he was a lich himself and that he had made some sort of bargain with Acererak. She swore that if he ever advocated for Acererak again, she would destroy his phylactery herself.

Makos eventually made his way to Evernight, where he lived until Alric Vallenhas arrived with Etrien Sael and the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge and asked the warlock to provide them passage to the Nine Hells. Makos agreed, waiving payment in lieu of joining them for purposes of his own.

Behind the scenes
Makos first appeared in the Neverwinter four-part cinematic trailer titled "The Siege of Neverwinter".

Appearances

 * Neverwinter
 * ''Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms