Prince Andru Cozar was the ruler of the Rock of Bral,[1][2][3] an asteroid in the Tears of Selûne,[note 1] during the events of the Second Unhuman War[4] and the War of the Spheres.[5]
Description[]
Prince Andru was a tall and slim man. His movements were somewhat graceful.[1]
Andru was rarely seen without the accompaniment of two to eight heavily armored bodyguards bearing halberds.[1]
Personality[]
Intelligent and serious, Andru reminded many of his grandfather Cozar.[3] He cared for few people beyond himself; he was conniving and shrewd, and in his plans, he believed that the ends justified the means. Nevertheless, he had a charming personality with a good sense of humor, was a quiet but capable ruler, and showed great skill in diplomacy.[1] Andru preferred wisdom and patience over force, which caused some to see him as weak.[6]
Abilities[]
As a wizard, Andru knew a small number of spells, including color spray, magic missile, message, mirror image, and web.[1]
Possessions[]
Andru, fearing that someone would try to kill him to rise to the throne of Bral, was never without his bracers of defense, his ring of protection, and his brooch of shielding. He also carried a magic dagger, a rod of beguiling, and beads of force.[1]
The Prince owned a shrikeship as his private yacht, which was named the Princess of Bral.[7]
Activities[]
Over the first fifteen years of his reign, Andru doubled the size of Bral's army and tripled the size of its wildspace navy. His rule saw a drift toward a more lawful Bralian society.[3] Andru, recognizing that his small city was not a powerful state, tried to make the Rock into a neutral center for diplomacy and negotiation among the spacefaring races. Prince Andru gained great profit serving as a mediator and powerbroker.[6]
The prince rarely held court, relying instead on a loyal group of retainers.[6] While more businesslike than his predecessors, Andru would still host entertainment on occasion, such as banquets and balls.[6]
Relationships[]
Andru was the younger son of Prince Frun. His brother was named Calar.[2][3] Calar's son Aric, the heir-apparent to Bral's throne, was thus Andru's nephew.[8] Andru's sister-in-law, Aric's mother, was named Ellana.[9]
Andru's consort was Cerena, a woman sixteen years younger than he. He cared for her, but it was not clear that he truly loved her.[1]
Andru's proconsul was his former tutor, Gadaric Main. One of his closest friends was the half-elf Tiendor Alian, and the two had been friends since Andru was only a boy.[10]
History[]
As a boy, Andru initially studied magic,[1] under the tutelage of the mage Gadaric,[10] but he gave it up to study politics instead.[1]
When his father Prince Frun died, Andru orchestrated the murder of his older brother Calar, so that he could take the throne.[1][3] This occurred only six days after Calar was crowned. Calar's widow claimed that her son Aric should take the throne, but Prince Andru simply had the rules of succession altered.[3]
Calar's body was found in the jettisoned trash trailing behind the Rock.[2][3] Andru ordered an investigation, and the official story was that a powerful underbaron moneylender had collaborated with the illithids to murder the prince.[3][3] The underbaron and a small group of his men were executed.[3]
Rumors & Legends[]
Many citizens of Bral suspected that Andru owed money or favors to the moneylender whom he had executed for Calar's murder or even hired him to do the deed.[2]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The Rock of Bral was originally designed to be placeable in any crystal sphere of the DMs choice, as stated on p. 94 of the Concordance of Arcane Space and p. 2 of Rock of Bral. However, it was then claimed to be one of the Tears of Selûne in both Faiths & Avatars and the Lands of Intrigue boxed set. On the other hand, the Spelljammer novel The Maelstrom's Eye depicts the Rock of Bral as being in the same crystal sphere as two other "worldlets", Spiral and Ironpiece. Fans of the Spelljammer campaign setting have given this sphere the unofficial names "Spiralspace" and "Bralspace", but author Roger E. Moore seems to have gone out of his way to never name the Rock's sphere, consistent with the original publications. Since Spiral and Ironpiece are only worldlets, it is within the realm of possibility for them to also be part of Realmspace, as is the Rock of Bral, leading to no conflict between The Maelstrom's Eye and the two FR sourcebooks.
Further indirect support for Spiral and Ironpiece being in Realmspace with the Rock of Bral comes from Moore's own article on the scro in Dragon Annual 1. On p. 46, Moore claims that the Second Unhuman War came to Realmspace in 1360 DR. The Maelstrom's Eye is set in 1361—or at the very latest early 1362 DR—and the former book describes the scro Tarantuala Fleet having already been in the sphere of Spiral for a whole year (p. 19). A second fleet returns to Realmspace's Garden in the sequel, The Radiant Dragon, too late for a date of 1360 DR, so Moore's dating of the Second Unhuman War may refer to the earlier fleet in The Maelstrom's Eye, if that fleet were indeed in Realmspace.
Later Spelljammer sourcebooks also add support to Realmspace being the canonical location of the Rock of Bral even for the "pure" Spelljammer setting. The adventure module Under the Dark Fist involves the PCs being picked up by an elven Armada named Arrow of Justice and taken to the Rock of Bral. Notably, the War Captain's Companion boxset states that Arrow of Justice is captained by Icarus, and he is said to work "strictly in the Realmspace crystal sphere."
Appearances[]
- Novels
- The Maelstrom's Eye (mentioned only)
- Adventurers
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Richard Baker (1992). Rock of Bral. (TSR, Inc), p. 21. ISBN 1-56076-345-0.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Jeff Grubb (August 1989). “Concordance of Arcane Space”. Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space (TSR, Inc.), p. 95. ISBN 0-88038-762-9.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Richard Baker (1992). Rock of Bral. (TSR, Inc), p. 7. ISBN 1-56076-345-0.
- ↑ Roger E. Moore (May 1992). The Maelstrom's Eye. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 5. ISBN 1-56076-344-2.
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher (1991). Under the Dark Fist. Edited by Jon Pickens. (TSR, Inc.), chaps. 2, 4, 5. ISBN 0-56076-131-8.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Richard Baker (1992). Rock of Bral. (TSR, Inc), p. 14. ISBN 1-56076-345-0.
- ↑ Richard Baker (1992). Rock of Bral. (TSR, Inc), p. 46. ISBN 1-56076-345-0.
- ↑ Richard Baker (1992). Rock of Bral. (TSR, Inc), p. 24. ISBN 1-56076-345-0.
- ↑ Richard Baker (1992). Rock of Bral. (TSR, Inc), p. 26. ISBN 1-56076-345-0.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Richard Baker (1992). Rock of Bral. (TSR, Inc), p. 23. ISBN 1-56076-345-0.