Vinjarek, better known as the Mound King, was an evil plaguechanged great wight who ruled over the Tombs of Deckon Thar.[1][2][3]
Description[]
The Mound King was a mysterious figure who was said to wield terrible plaguechanged powers.[3][6] His posture was stopped and he wore tattered chain mail and a gold and silver crown studded with gemstones.[7] He wielded a mighty sentient frostbrand broadsword known as Deepchill,[1] the scabbard for which had long since fallen apart.[8]
His voice and laughter were raspy and hoarse.[1]
Personality[]
The Mound King was cold and vengeful.[3] He responded with violence against any minion who might challenge him,[9][10] and he found amusement in the futile attempts of clerics to turn him. While he delighted in draining the life from adventurers who opposed him, he rarely pursued invaders within his lair, instead using his treasures to lure them into a trap.[1]
While he preferred solitude, he did not shy away from leading and coordinating his followers.[7] His many undead minions respected his leadership, especially in battle.[11]
Activities[]
He spent much of his time sitting immobile upon his throne, accompanied by no more than three wight servants who acted as his messengers when he needed them, although his throne room became a hive of activity whenever his lair came under attack.[7]
Vinjarek tolerated no competition for his position as great wight.[9][10] His main focus was ruling over the Tombs of Deckon Thar,[7] however as of the 15th century DR, he began inciting monstrous activities beyond his lair and threatening nearby settled lands.[12]
Possessions[]
Vinjarek's crown (valued at about 15,000 gp) had belonged to one of the rulers interred in the Tombs of Deckon Thar.[7] Aside from the crown and Deepchill, Vinjarek kept nothing of value on his person, however he had a treasure chamber located behind his small throne room beneath the greatest burial mound of the Tombs.[1][7] As of the mid–14th century DR, his hoard contained about 13,250 gp worth of ingots, trade weights, jewelry, and coins, including a matched set of gems that had once been embedded in the scabbard of Deepchill.[1] The hoard also contained a number of magic items, including a shield, the tip of a spear, a cursed berserking longsword (which once belonged to a warlike bandit lord interred in the Tombs), a ring of spell turning, and a brooch of shielding. Much of this loot was scattered across the floor of the treasure chamber because the chests which had contained it had long since rotted away.[11]
As of the late 15th century DR, his hoard was said to have grown to contain a vast amount of gold and magic.[6]
History[]
It was not clear what Vinjarek's relationship had been to the Chieftains in Gold—the bandit civilization that had interred its rulers in the seven Tombs of Deckon Thar[12][14]—but it was apparent that he had not been originally buried in the Tombs.[7] He may also have played a role in the rising of other wights within the Tombs.[2]
At some point before the Time of Troubles, he ascended to become a mighty great wight who ruled as the Mound King over the lesser wights of the Tombs of Deckon Thar.[9] He had likewise earned a reputation for rendering the rich Tombs of Deckon Thar too dangerous to plunder,[13] and as of the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR, none had managed to bypass him and his minions to plunder the legendary Tombs.[2]
During the events of the Spellplague, the Mound King become plaguechanged, gaining unknown but terrible powers.[3][12] In the decades that followed, he tightened his control around his lair and caused an increase in monsters across the Nether Mountains. By the late 15th century DR, he was one of the premier threats to the people of Luruar,[12] and had become a person of interest for the Order of Blue Fire.[6] The location of his lair remained an unplundered mystery,[6][13] however one of his barrows was raided by adventurers from Silverymoon during this time, all of whom perished one-by-one on their journey home: each body was discovered without its limbs, loot, or equipment, and with the words "Disturb not the Mound King" carved into their flesh.[3]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Vinjarak is stated to be a wight with 8 Hit Dice in Silver Marches. This is the equivalent of CR 5 according to the Monster Manual v.3.5 and the Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5.
Appearances[]
Adventures
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Steve Perrin (December 1988). “The Tombs of Deckon Thar”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 26. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl (July 2002). Silver Marches. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 15. ISBN 0-7869-2835-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 255. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ Monte Cook, Jonathan Tweet, Skip Williams (July 2003). Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 102. ISBN 0-7869-2889-1.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Dan Jewell, Creighton Broadhurst (March 2009). Shades of Blue Fire (LURU1-3). Living Forgotten Realms (RPGA), p. 26.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Ed Greenwood et al. (December 1988). Lords of Darkness. Edited by Scott Martin Bowles. (TSR, Inc.), p. 79. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ Steve Perrin (December 1988). “The Tombs of Deckon Thar”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 27. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Steve Perrin (December 1988). “The Tombs of Deckon Thar”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 28. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ed Greenwood et al. (December 1988). Lords of Darkness. Edited by Scott Martin Bowles. (TSR, Inc.), p. 78. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Steve Perrin (December 1988). “The Tombs of Deckon Thar”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 25. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Rob Heinsoo, Logan Bonner, Robert J. Schwalb (September 2008). Forgotten Realms Player's Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7869-4929-8.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Creighton Broadhurst (August 2008). Slivers of Eaerlann (LURU1-1). Living Forgotten Realms (RPGA), p. 27.
- ↑ Steve Perrin (December 1988). “The Tombs of Deckon Thar”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 21. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.