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The Forgotten Realms campaign setting and shared fiction universe for Dungeons & Dragons has birthed a legion of popular characters, from Elminster and Drizzt to Arilyn Moonblade and Cadderly. Get the scoop on a whole mess of 'em here.

This is by no means a complete list. As one of the most detailed shared universes (if not the most) in literary history, there are always more characters in the Realms left to explore.

Character sub-pages:

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The Elminster Series

    Elminster 

Elminster Aumar, Sage of Shadowdale

Race: Human
Class: Wizard/Cleric/Fighter/Rogue
Alignment: Chaotic Good

  • The Arch Mage: He's one of the greatest wizard Toril has ever known (with the legendary Netherese characters Larloch, Karsus and Iolaum being the only ones above him), one of the most powerful beings and a charismatic man who has a vast array of acquaintances which he can call upon.
  • Author Avatar: Ed Greenwood vehemently denies it, insisting that Mirt is his avatar, but no one believes him. (Who says you can only have one?)
  • Badass in Distress: He had to be rescued by the Simbul from the depths of the Nine Hells.
  • Battle Aura: The Silverfire power he shares with the other chosen of Mystra manifests as a silver flame surrounding the user.
  • Big Good: Elminster serves as the heroes' mentor and biggest supporter in the Shandril and Finder's Stone trilogies. He might also be a contender for the setting as a whole, besides the good aligned gods.
  • Captain Ersatz: In appearance, at least, Elminster was a stand-in for Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings until 3rd Edition, when he suddenly looked like Sean Connery. He also borrows some habits and traits from Gandalf, like a love of smoking from a pipe, a strong association with one color, a habit to wander around the realm, and a close association with a divinity who values his wisdom.
  • The Casanova:
    • One of Elminster's defining traits is that he'll flirt and/or sleep with virtually anything that is female and not related to him. Even ghosts, liches, and dragons in human form. If we account for the disparity in series entries, the number of his conquests probably rivals James Bond. Even outside of his saga it's pretty much a Running Gag.
    • Seriously. The first thing he does after emerging from the Can in Temptation is find some random village that has been taken over by bandits and liberate it. The second thing he does is sleep with one of its women.
    • The series also doesn't shy away from the results of all that sex. Daughter is centered on one of his many children with various lovers, who meets some more near the end of it. Technically, fertility of the Chosen is under Mystra's complete control, but she rarely has good reasons to veto a magically strong bloodline.
  • Cast from Sanity: Doing magic can drive him insane since the Spellplague.
  • Cool Old Guy: Elminster loves jokes and riddles. He's an accomplished dancer who loves ice cream and sliding down banisters. And he's one of the most powerful characters of the setting.
  • Cool Sword: The Lion Sword, Elminster's signature +5 thundering longsword. In addition to having amped-up accuracy and damage over non-enchanted weapons, it is capable of emitting supernatural sonic blasts when it lands a telling blow.
  • Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: During the Time of Troubles, he managed to defeat the god Bane (with a bit of help from the mage heroine Midnight).
  • Dimension Traveller: Canonically he has been to Ed Greenwood's house on Earth several times alongside Mordenkainen (from Greyhawk) and Dalamar (from Dragonlance).
  • Disappeared Dad: Elminster has fathered several children by different women, but is mostly absent in their lives. Some, like Nastra, he had to leave for their own safety, but they later meet and team up. Since he's constantly off on various dangerous adventures however there is little chance of much relationship.
  • Doomed Hometown: Once a dragon rider burned a village to kill one of younger sons of the late king, but accidentally left alive a single shepherd boy. Who later turned out to be the son of the killed prince.
  • Eccentric Mentor: Elminster usually acts like this to heroic adventurers.
  • Flowery Elizabethan English: His speech pattern includes Ye and Thou.
  • Footnote Fever: There are a set of in-universe travel guides written by Volothamp Geddarm, or "Volo" for short. The books are peppered with footnotes by Elminster, who corrects Volo's often erroneous facts, refutes Volo's conclusions, or plain mocks Volo's intelligence!
  • From Zero to Hero: Went from an unlucky farm boy to becoming The Arch Mage and one of the most powerful heroes of the world of Toril.
  • Gender Bender: The middle part of Elminster: The Making of a Mage is basically "The Making of a Priestess". When Elminster agreed to serve the goddess of magic, he finds himself teleported without any warning to an unknown location and turned into a lass-"to see the world through the eyes of a woman" (and to hide him from Magelords out for his blood), having nothing on her save half of a broken ancestral sword, and no magic abilities save innate magic vision. Later he learned the spell himself. In the next book, Mystra pushes a silent sex-inverting spell into his mind, to give him a way to circumvent controls built into his body. Which he used while embraced... er... restrained by his current Love Interest, no less. "Well met. Call me Elmara, please!"
  • Guile Hero: El uses his wit and charisma to deal with his foes besides magic. In Elminster's Daughter he believes that deception and manipulation are part of human nature but he uses them to do good.
  • Interspecies Romance: Elminster manages to romance elves, a song dragon, and the goddess of magic, among others.
  • Invincible Hero: Downplayed, Elminster is one of the most powerful beings on Faerun, but he often needs the help of other heroes and he is often taken by surprise by sufficently powerful and crafty bad guys like Manshoon or Larloch. Word of God said this is partly due to Executive Meddling as TSR forbid Greenwood to make the villains an effective threat to Elminster.
  • Irony: Elminster in his youth hated wizards because of the one who ravaged his hometown, and then he ended up being of the most powerful spellcasters in the history of Toril and Mystra's champion.
  • Logical Weakness: Casting spells requires making hand gestures. Elminster having his fingers cut off by a rival mage thus renders him unable to do so, and temporarily helpless.
  • Mascot: Of the Forgotten Realms setting in general.
  • Old Master: Elminster is clearly the prime example of this in the setting. He's very, very old but he's capable of defeating a whole group of ancient evil mages and most magic characters speak with respect and awe about him, even the morally ambiguous Khelben Blackstaff Arunsun.
  • Pals with Jesus: He was a close confidant and occasional lover to the original Mystra and he has a friendly relationship with Midnight, the current Mystra.
  • Rage Against the Author: In The Wizards Three Ed Greenwood was scolded and abused by Elminster (from Forgotten Realms) while unceremoniously using his home for Crossover wizard parties. For laughs. And then Mordenkainen (from Greyhawk) plays a mean little prank on him too...
  • Really Gets Around: Elminister is cheerfully promiscuous even into old age, and has fathered dozens of children over the years.
  • Reduced to Dust: At the end of Elminster Must Die, a depowered Elminster is reduced to a pile of ash by his Arch-Enemy Manshoon. He got better in the next book by keeping his soul in the pile of ash that used to be his body.
  • Retired Badass: Elminster claims he retired from being an adventurer, but the thing is, with wizards, being "retired" isn't always that straightforward. (Folks in the Realms often suspect that a wizard who makes this claim is up to something, and they're usually right.)
  • Robe and Wizard Hat: Though he ditched the hat when 3rd Edition rolled around.
  • Smoking Is Cool: His pipe is actually a magical artifact.
  • Wife Husbandry: Some of the women he's bedded in the past are ones he's raised himself.
  • Wizard Beard: Varies depending on the depiction, but most sources give him a Merlin-esque beard reaching down to his chest.
  • Wizard Classic: Elminster is traditionally portrayed this way. It's demonstrated in novels and explicitly confirmed by Word of God that he's a man of many masks and the Old Mage with the iconic hat and pipe is his "good example for young wizards" role, because lots of folk look up to him. Elminster is not inclined to play by the rules unless it's the whole point, and when he goes out to "meddle", he isn't always recognizable as a living creature, let alone as himself.
  • Wizards Live Longer: The man is over a millennium in age.

    Mirt the Moneylender 
Race: Illuskan human
Class: Rogue/Fighter
Alignment: Chaotic Good

A moneylender and retired adventurer operating out of both Waterdeep as well as Skullport.


  • Acrofatic: One of the best fighters in the Realms according to Ed Greenwood and also noticeably obese. He is said to move like a panther and hit like bear.
  • Author Avatar: Of Ed Greenwood according to Word of God. Mirt was notably his player player in many games as well as the original protagonist of his Forgotten Realms stories.
  • Red Baron: His loud mercenary youth gave him titles "the Old Wolf" and "Mirt the Merciless".
  • Retired Badass: He used to be the commander of a mercenary company.

    Storm Silverhand 
Race: Human
Class: Fighter/Bard/Sorcerer
Alignment: Chaotic Good

  • The Caretaker: To the ghost of her sister Syluné, until Syluné's Heroic Sacrifice. Also, after the death of Mystra, Storm is the only person who can soothe Elminster's insanity when he uses magic.
  • A Father to His Men: Storm acts as a sort of "den mother" to the Harpers.

    Undarl 
Race: Malaugrym
Class: Wizard
Alignment: Neutral Evil

  • Cycle of Revenge: He burned down Heldon, which gave one Elminster Aumar the cause for killing him and other Magelords. Which wasn't the end of it — Clan Malaug would be much better off if they considered his death a personal affair, rather than the cause for a blood feud quickly adding all Chosen of Mystra to the list of their enemies, already quite formidable. Thus, while on his own Undarl was but a secondary villain in one book, he was at the root of some very large-scale affairs happening over a great span of time, such as Harpstar War and events described in Shadow of the Avatar.
  • Dragon Rider: He even used this as a gimmick to join the Magelord and was nicknamed "the Dragonrider".
  • Multilayer Façade: A Malaugrim who pretended to be a Yuan-Ti posing as but yet another aspiring Magelord trying to infiltrate the magical oligarchy of Athalantar.
  • Suicidal Overconfidence: Like most of his kin. When Magelords were brought down, he was nearly killed and got a golden opportunity to pretend he's dead and go take over another place. Instead, he pops up and gives Elminster one more reason to kill him.

    Lhaeo 
Race: Human
Class: Fighter/Wizard
Alignment: Neutral Good

Elminster's scribe and secretary. There is more to him than meets the eye.


  • Obstructive Bureaucrat: He gives Akabar Bel Akash the runaround when the latter tries to book an appointment with Elminster in Azure Bonds, making him fill out form after pointless form for hours until Akabar falls asleep from exhaustion. Then when Akabar wakes up, Lhaeo tells him that Elminster just left on an interplanar journey, finally leading Akabar to give up in disgust.
  • Sent Into Hiding: When Prince Haedrak Rhindaun of Tethyr was born, his existence was kept secret. When he was only six months old, his name was changed to "Lhaeo" and he was sent to the mage Elminster for safekeeping. Twelve years later, the populace of Tethyr rose in rebellion and killed the entire rest of the royal family, leaving Prince Rhindaun as its last member. He stayed in Elminster's care until he was 33 years old, when he was convinced to begin his attempt to regain the crown of Tethyr.

War of the Spider Queen series

    Pharaun Mizzrym 
Race: Drow
Class: Wizard
Alignment: Neutral Evil

  • The Alcoholic: This almost got him killed sometime before the start of the series when his sister Greyanna attempted to kill him by luring him into a trap. He didn't realize what was up until it was almost too late.
  • Badass Bookworm: As a mage, he has to frequently research and memorize spells — and he knows how to use them.
  • Blue Blood: He is quite proud of his noble status.
  • The Charmer: So persuasive is he that Danifae notes that he's the true leader of Quenthel's group. Considering how cunning Quenthel is and the drow's female-dominated society, this is no small feat (though it is helped considerably by Quenthel not being at full power).
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: Magically paralyzed in the Demonweb Pits and eaten alive by thousands of spiders.
  • Cultured Badass: You'd be wrong if you thought this preening dandy wasn't very dangerous.
  • The Dandy: Fashionable, vain to the point of narcissism, and allergic to physical exertion. While on the journey with Quenthel's group, he can't shut up about his inability to properly groom himself.
  • Defiant to the End: Sneering at an alhoon at that.
  • Distracted by the Sexy: When he first met Danifae, he couldn't stop staring.
  • Eaten Alive: By spiders, no less.
  • Enemy Mine: Decided to help Quenthel when Danifae started to show signs of group dominance in Resurrection, despite the fact that they still wanted to wring each other's necks.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Sacrificed himself to save Kael in The Crystal Mountain.
  • Inhuman Human: He was quasi-resurrected in the body of a human in The Crystal Mountain.
  • Lovable Rogue: As loveable as drow get, anyway.
  • A Man Is Always Eager: Played completely straight.
  • No Honor Among Thieves: Completely left Ryld for dead in Dissolution, but felt a mote of guilt about it, albeit briefly. It came back to bite him.
  • Not in This for Your Revolution: While he was forced into looking for Lolth by Gromph and the Matrons of Menzoberranzan, Pharaun was mostly in the hunt for the glory, since if he came back successful, it would put him in a better position to become Archmage, should Gromph ever die.

    Ryld Argith 
Race: Drow
Class: Fighter
Alignment: Lawful Evil


  • Combat Pragmatist: He knows about fencing styles traditional for Drow, but goes with what gives him more advantage instead of showing off.
  • Converting for Love: His lover Halisstra tries to convince him to join her in the afterlife with Elistrae, but he chooses to go to his patron goddess, Lolth.
  • Exotic Weapon Supremacy: By drow standards. Most drow use light weaponry with an emphasis on dexterity, crafted from Underdark mithril. Ryld's blade is dwarven-crafted and friggin' huge!
  • In Harm's Way: Wanted more excitement in his life and got plenty.
  • I Will Only Slow You Down: Attempted to use this in the Cold Fields when he and Halisstra were dying of hypothermia. She didn't let it happen.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The manly man to Pharaun's sensitive guy.
  • Master Swordsman: One of the best in the Underdark. He'd probably be the master of the martial academy if not for his low status.

    Quenthel Baenre 
Race: Drow
Class: Cleric
Alignment: Neutral Evil


  • Alpha Bitch: First as Mistress of the clerical school Arach-Tinilith, then later as Matron Mother of House Baenre.
  • Back from the Dead: She was killed by Drizzt during Siege of Darkness, but was brought back to life by Lolth some time later.
  • Blue Blood: The third daughter of Menzoberranzan's largest and most powerful House.
  • Break the Haughty: When Faeryl turned on her and got her captured, she was stripped and tortured. Her normal personality faded quickly. It seems to have returned at the end of the series, however.
  • Dark Action Girl: She's a very powerful priestess and one of the most ruthless fighters in Menzoberranzan. Even when she's temporarily de-powered, she's more than capable.
  • Deadpan Snarker: To the extent that its practically her language.
  • Ice Queen: Even among the drow priestesses she's a cold fish, with her default expression being a scowl.
  • Inadequate Inheritor:
    • She takes over House Baenre after Yvonnel's and Triel's deaths, but most drow don't initially respect or fear her the way they did her predecessors. Her brother Gromph openly considers her a whiny, weak-willed fool. She gets better when she's imbued with Yvonnel's memories and Lolth uses her as part of a scheme to release her demonic rivals in the Underdark.
    • When she's one of the candidates to become Lolth's chosen, Lolth says she isn't suited for the job because she never realized that chaos needs no purpose or direction.
  • Klingon Promotion: As of the current edition, she slew her sister Triel in battle and is now the current Matron Mother of House Baenre.
  • Lady of War: Without a doubt the er... "hero" of the War of the Spider Queen.
  • Mistress and Servant Boy: With Jeggred, primarily, but tries to treat every male she comes across as this.
  • More Deadly Than the Male: As it is with most drow, by virtue of the female-only priesthood of Lolth.
  • Our Elves Are Different: One of many beneficiaries of the setting's drow admiration.
  • Rage Against the Heavens: She's furious at Lolth for choosing Danifae to be the Chosen instead of her, and goes so far as to call Lolth out on it. Lolth takes her demand in stride, telling her that she never realized that chaos doesn't need purpose or direction.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Her eyes glow red in the Underdark, a function of her infra-vision, which all drow have.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: She's very proactive during the War of the Spider Queen, as well as ruling over the priestess academy and successfully overthrowing her sister for rulership of the house.
  • Snake Whip: She uses a whip consisting of several living snakes, with each snake being possessed by a demon, giving them sapience.

    Jeggred Baenre 
Race: Draegloth
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

  • Blood Knight: He lives to fight and kill. Literally, since he's a draegloth: it was the reason he was conceived in the first place.
  • Blood Lust: To a disturbingly literal extent.
  • Body Horror: His combined drow and demon characteristics lead to some...abominable features.
  • The Brute: Bodyguard and assassin to Triel and later to Quenthel.
  • Combat Sadomasochist: Loves inflicting pain and, while very difficult to do, he doesn't mind receiving it much.
  • Dumb Muscle: He's not exactly stupid, but he's savage and only barely sentient.
  • Finger-Lickin' Evil: The only thing he loves more than the taste of blood is the taste of blood on his own claws.
  • Human Sacrifice: He was sacrificed to Lolth by a very disgruntled Quenthel.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: Also likes the taste of Drow.

    Valas Hune 
Race: Drow
Class: Rogue/Scout
Alignment: True Neutral

  • Kukris Are Kool: He dual-wields them. Even cooler given that they are enchanted to produce lighting.
  • Ranger: The closest equivalent to one to be found in the Underdark. Hune is a peerless scout who knows the Underdark inside and out.
  • Scarily Competent Tracker: How good is he? He's the most capable tracker in a group that includes a priestess and a wizard skilled in divination.
  • Stealth Hi/Bye: His skill at silent movement and teleportation means he can pull this one off effortlessly. It's even more irritating to the drow.
  • The Stoic: Partially because it's just his personality, but mostly out of necessity, due to his job and the environment he's doing it in.
  • Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: To practically every female he encounters.

    Faeryl Zauvirr 
Race: Drow
Class: Cleric
Alignment: Neutral Evil

  • The Dog Bites Back: Got a measure of revenge against Quenthel before she got killed herself.

    Halisstra Melarn 
Race: Drow
Class: Cleric/Bard/Seeker of the Song
Alignment: Neutral Evil

  • And I Must Scream: As a "reward" for betraying Lolth (and doing such a bad job of it), she was transformed into Lolth's emissary, sent to deal with her enemies as her avenger while unable to control her own actions and being perfectly aware of her consciousness while doing so.
  • The Chosen One: Was chosen by Elistraee to destroy Lolth, but didn't go through with it.
  • Conflicting Loyalty: Between her love for Ryld and her worship of Elistraee, then between her worship of Elistraee or Lolth.

    Danifae Yauntyrr 
Race: Drow
Class: Cleric
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

  • The Chosen One: She was handpicked by Lolth to be the final piece of her rebirth.
  • Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Being such a master manipulator is probably the reason that she became Lolth's chosen vessel.
  • Depraved Bisexual: Used her ability to seduce pretty much anyone constantly and to deadly effect more than a few times in the series.
  • The Starscream: Quickly became Quenthel's right-hand, and just as quickly started plotting against her.

    Gromph Baenre 
Race: Drow
Class: Wizard/Archmage
Alignment: Neutral Evil

  • Eye Scream: Had his eyes eaten out by his familiar as part of a transplant.
  • Familiar: Kyorli, a talented but otherwise normal rat. It's one of the few things Gromph openly shows affection to.
  • Man of Wealth and Taste: He shares the standard drow love of conspicuous consumption.
  • No One Should Survive That!: Escaped the monumental explosion of a House, but only just barely.
  • Older Than They Look: Over 700, but looks young thanks to an Amulet of Eternal Youth. With the death of his mother and older sister, he may well be the oldest living drow.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: During the Silence of Lolth, he is by far the most powerful being in the Underdark, but refrains from moving against the priestesses because he correctly guesses that Lolth has put measures in place to protect them during her absence.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: He used to have amber eyes (like his brother Dantrag and his daughter Liriel), but was blinded and got an eye transplant.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Although in his case its more a function of him being male, which forces him to do more to justify his existence.
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: One of the best dressed in the Underdark, which is really saying something.
  • Sibling Rivalry: He and Quenthel fight over Triel's ear on the throne. So much so that he tried to kill her several times.
  • Super-Scream: What he teaches at Sorcere. Also doubles as a Signature Move.
  • Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Quite tall, very dark, and extremely surly.
  • Wizards Live Longer: In his case, he lives even longer than expected of an ordinary elven wizard, thanks to a unicorn amulet he possesses.

    Aliisza 
Race: Alu-fiend
Class: Sorcerer
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

  • Memory Gambit: Zasian cast a spell on her in order to prevent the inhabitants of Celestia from catching on to her role in his plan to invade the realm. Unfortunately, this also prevented her from realizing what was going on.

    Kaanyr Vhok 
Race: Cambion
Class: Fighter/Rogue/Sorcerer
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

  • Revenge Before Reason: After being freed from his geas in The Crystal Mountain, he could have just walked away and left the entire ordeal behind him after leaving the party. Instead, he decided he'd help the demon lords of the Abyss wage war on Celestia because the angels pissed him off.
  • The Scream: Was quite pissed to learn that traveling from the City of Brass over to Celestia had taken 12 years instead of the mere moments it felt like.
  • Team Killer: Abandoned the party in The Crystal Mountain and came back with a host of demons to kill them for getting in his way.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He really did not like being forced to work with an angel in the Empyrean Odyssey trilogy.
  • Villainous BSoD: Had one just as he was about to kill Aliisza, thanks to her "Reason You Suck" Speech, which gave her enough time to take him out first.

    Nimor Imphraezl 
Race: Drow/Shadow Dragon
Class: Rogue/Fighter/Assassin
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

  • The Gloves Come Off: When he cut ties with Dyrr, the lichdrow attempted to kill him in retaliation. Nimor put on his Game Face and fought back for a bit and set the guy—who was just as powerful as Gromph—back on his heels.
  • Lie to the Beholder: His handsome drow appearance is just a disguise. His real form is more akin to the shadow dragons that make up half his heritage.
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: He sees the destruction of countless of drow cities as a necessary sacrifice to bring about the downfall of Lolth.

The Empyrean Odyssey

    Kael 
Race: Half-drow/half-fiend
Class: Paladin
Alignment: Lawful Good

  • Grand Theft Me: Aliisza took over his body (thanks to a spell from Zasian) as soon as she met him for the first time, though not entirely by choice.
  • Orphan's Ordeal: Had to come to grips with the fact of who his parents were and their differences in morality over the course of the Empyrean Odyssey trilogy.
  • Plot-Relevant Age-Up: Wasn't even born when the series started. He was born while Aliisza was in stasis placed on her by the Triad and was raised by Tauran. The next time we (and Aliisza) see him, he's already fully grown.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Subverted. While he is a half-drow, he's actually a good guy. Doesn't mean he's not dangerous to his enemies, though.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Followed in Tauran's footsteps at the end of the The Crystal Mountain and went to stop Kaanyr from reaching the Lifespring instead of marching off to war against the Abyss.

    Tauran 
Race: Astral deva
Class: Cleric
Alignment: Lawful Good, later Neutral Good

  • Break the Cutie: The fall of Helm and Tyr's disgrace nearly forced him into Heroic BSoD territory. This happens again after the death of Mystra, since the group ultimately failed and he thought he had been completely betrayed by Aliisza.
  • Carry a Big Stick: Wielded an enchanted mace in combat.
  • Fallen Angel: Was stripped of his divinity and immortality as punishment for his crimes against the House of the Triad.
  • Half-Truth: His mastery of this and lying by withholding information would make many a devil proud.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Had a feeling something was amiss with the gods and went rogue when no one would listen to him.
  • Ship Tease: Had a scene where he was feeling particularly heart-broken about what was happening with the gods and got head-on-lap action with Aliisza.

    Zasian Menz 
Race: Human
Class: Cleric
Alignment: Lawful Evil

  • Soulless Shell: Became a Living Vessel after his role in helping to kill Mystra.

The Finder's Stone Trilogy

    Alias of Westgate 
Race: Human
Class: Fighter
Alignment: Neutral Good
A redheaded sellsword who wakes up one morning after a drunken bender to find that there's a magical blue tattoo on her left arm and a gaping hole in her recent memories. Together with her companions Dragonbait, Akabar Bel Akash, and Olive Ruskettle, Alias sets out to uncover the twin mysteries of her missing memories and the azure bonds engraved in her skin.
  • Action Girl: She's a straightforward melee fighter who goes toe to toe with monsters and evil spellcasters.
  • Amnesiac Hero: Downplayed. Alias can remember most of her life in great detail, but there's a large chunk missing from her recent memories. Then it's subverted with the revelation that all her memories are fake.
  • Anti-True Sight: She's under a permanent magical effect which prevents others from scrying on her or otherwise magically discerning her whereabouts. This is the reason why in Masquerades, the young crime lord Victor Dhostar made Alias fall in love with him so he could keep tabs on her.
  • Artificial Human: She's a magical construct created by the Nameless Bard on behalf of a coterie of villains.
  • Bash Brothers: She and Dragonbait are always seen adventuring and kicking butt together.
  • The Cameo: She and Dragonbait show up in the first story arc of the Forgotten Realms comic, tasked by Elminster to track down the Hand of Vaprak. They end up helping the Realms Master's crew to defeat the ogre mage Gornak and dispose of the Hand.
  • Can't Hold Her Liquor: For a seasoned adventurer and mercenary, Alias has trouble carousing. This is one of several hints that she isn't what she believes herself to be.
  • Fake Memories: Exaggerated. Her entire past is a complete fabrication implanted into her by her creators.
  • Fiery Redhead: Alias is a redheaded Action Girl who is also highly emotional.
  • Hidden Depths: For being a tough warrior woman, Alias is a surprisingly good singer. That's because Finder, the Nameless Bard, implanted his songs into her memories.
  • Manchurian Agent: She's been programmed to assassinate King Azoun IV of Cormyr, and nearly kills a hapless Giogioni Wyvernspur when the latter's spot-on impression of the king activates her programming.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: She is the passionate and aggressive Red Oni to Dragonbait's Blue Oni.
  • Walking Spoiler: Alias's true nature is revealed partway through the first book and has a big impact on the rest of the trilogy.
  • Womanchild: As a result of being born with the body of an adult, Alias' emotional development is stunted. That is why, especially during emotionally charged moments, she tends to overreact, as children tend to do. She can be subject to great rage, petty jealousy, deep sadness and ecstatic happiness.

    Dragonbait 
Race: Saurial
Class: Paladin
Alignment: Lawful Good
A mysterious reptilian being that was standing guard outside Alias's window when she first woke up at the inn. Though he cannot speak the common tongue, he seems to understand it well enough, and he is fiercely loyal to—and protective of—Alias.
  • Aura Vision: His shen sight lets him see the color of a person’s soul, reflecting their character.
  • The Cameo: He and Alias show up in the first story arc of the Forgotten Realms comic, helping the Realms Master crew to defeat the ogre mage Gornak and dispose of the Hand of Vaprak.
  • Cool Sword: At the start of the trilogy, he wields a very unusual broadsword with a shortened grip and a flanged head somewhat like a mace.
  • Cover-Blowing Superpower: He exposes himself as a paladin by using lay on hands to heal a gash in Mist's wing.
  • Named Weapons: His initial sword is named Hill Cleaver.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: People tend to assume that Dragonbait is stupid due to his seeming inability to speak. He is all too happy to exploit this misconception when necessary.
  • Starfish Language: His people speak at a pitch which humans cannot hear, and emphasize their words by giving off scents which reflect their emotional state.
  • Trapped in Another World: His people come from a different world of the Material Plane. They were transplanted to the Forgotten Realms by Moander.
  • The Unintelligible: Dragonbait can communicate. It's just not a form of communication that most humans can even notice, let alone understand. Dragons like Mist can understand him just fine, however.

    Akabar Bel Akash 
Race: Human
Class: Wizard
Alignment: Lawful Good
A wizard merchant from Turmish. He befriends Alias and accompanies her on her quest, partly to prove that he is more than just the "greengrocer" she dismisses him as.
  • Demonic Possession: He gets possessed by Moander and used as the dark god's mouthpiece partway through the first book. Dragonbait manages to free him from Moander's control.
  • Exotic Extended Marriage: He is married to two women, which is normal enough in his native land but unusual in Cormyr and the Dalelands. He's married a third wife, Zhara, by Song of the Saurials.
  • Henpecked Husband: He mentions that his wives call most of the shots, both in their marriage and in their business. He doesn't seem to mind all that much.

    Giogioni Wyvernspur 
Race: Human
Class: Fighter
Alignment: Lawful Good
A foppish and perennially unlucky scion of the Wyvernspur family. Giogi's remarkable impression of the King of Cormyr nearly gets him killed during his cousin's wedding, and he finds himself forced onto a yearlong misadventure to determine the whereabouts of his would-be assassin, Alias. Upon his return, Giogi—now possessing a bit more confidence—becomes involved in a crisis revolving around the theft of his family's most precious relic, the eponymous wyvern's spur.
  • Animal Lover: Giogi is very affectionate to his horses and talks to them as if they were people. He shows the same kindness and concern to a polymorphed Olive, much to her annoyance.
  • Butt-Monkey: He does not have a good time in Azure Bonds. First, he nearly gets murdered at his cousin Frefford's wedding, then he gets left behind by his family and is forced to make his way back home alone. Then the red dragon Mist makes a meal of Giogi's horse and threatens to eat him too unless he delivers her terms to King Azoun IV. Then he gets sent off to Westgate to find out more about Alias, the very person who almost murdered him, and when he finally runs into her, she steals his horse (though she does at least give it back afterward). Fortunately he picks up the Finder's Stone shortly after this, and his luck takes a turn for the better.
  • The Chosen One: The family guardian has marked him as her favorite Wyvernspur of his generation, giving him the right to use the spur's power.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Giogi is introduced as a secondary character in Azure Bonds but gets to be the main character of the second book, The Wyvern’s Spur.
  • Endearingly Dorky: His funny awkwardness coupled with his big heart help him earn the friendship of Olive and the love of Cat.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He's the only member of the predominantly black-haired Wyvernspur family to be blond, and he's an all-around kind-hearted, good-natured man.
  • In-Universe Nickname: Everyone calls him "Giogi" for short.
  • Royal Rapier: He's the son of a respected aristocratic family and wields a fencing foil as his weapon of choice.
  • Scaled Up: A heroic example. He can use the wyvern's spur to transform himself into a very large wyvern, and he uses this power to protect his family from Flattery's depredations.
  • Voice Changeling: He can do a fantastic impression of Azoun IV. His friends love the trick, but it lands him in hot water more than once.

    Flattery Wyvernspur 
Race: Human
Class: Wizard
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
A powerful and exceptionally cruel wizard who desires the magical wyvern's spur hidden in the Wyvernspur family crypt.
  • The Ageless: His maker gave him this form of immortality. Flattery can be hurt or killed, but he does not age, and he is still kicking around two hundred years after the Nameless Bard was banished to another plane.
  • Arc Villain: He's the Big Bad of the second book of the trilogy.
  • Clone Angst: He's a clone of the Nameless Bard, created to preserve the latter's songs for all time. Flattery hates the fact that he was made in another man's image and seems to fear that his clone status makes him something less than human.
  • Domestic Abuse: He is verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive to his wife Cat, who is rightfully terrified of him.
  • Magic Knight: Flattery isn't just a high-level wizard. He's also a skilled duelist and a freakishly strong man who can snap a carriage wheel in two with his bare hands.
  • Marriage of Convenience: He marries Cat to basically use her as a canary in a coalmine regarding whether he counts as a proper member of the Wyvernspur family. If he does, then Cat will be considered one as well by marriage, and she'll be able to enter the crypt without being attacked by the guardian. If not, then it's her the guardian will kill, leaving Flattery free to think up another means of getting the spur.
  • Necromancer: Most of his minions are undead creatures which he raised from the dead himself.
  • Reduced to Dust: He's fond of using the disintegrate spell to turn his enemies into a pile of ash.
  • Scaled Up: He can transform himself into a blue dragon with his magic, taking on this form at the novel’s climax.
  • Spontaneous Weapon Creation: He conjures a rapier from thin air to duel Giogi during the final battle.

AD&D and Forgotten Realms comic (DC Comics)

Characters from AD&D and Forgotten Realms (1989) published by DC Comics.


    Cybriana / Kilili / Kyriani 
Race: half-elf (as Cybriana), drow (as Kilili), half-drow (as Kyriani)
Class: Wizard
Alignment: True Neutral (as Kyriani)
A kind-hearted half-elf with a complicated history.
  • Body to Jewel: As Cybriana, parts of her body would turn to crystal whenever she cast a spell, starting from her fingertips, and gradually spreading up past her elbows. She no longer has this problem as Kyriani.
  • Celestial Body: After her second Split-Personality Merge, her hair turns black as night (apart from some white streaks) and becomes filled with bright dots like twinkling stars.
  • The Dragon: Kilili was Imgig Zu's righthand woman and most dangerous servant.
  • Enemy Without: Kilili is a manifestation of her drow mother's evil nature, exorcised from her when she was a child and obtaining physical form soon afterward. She has nothing but contempt for her good half Cybriana and conspires with Imgig Zu to kill her.
  • Fusion Dance: At the climax of the first arc, Cybriana merges with Kilili against the latter's will to stop Imgig Zu's people from escaping the Eye of Selûne. The result is a new entity called Kyriani.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: As Cybriana, she is a natural blonde and an unfailingly kind and generous person. She retains her good character as Kyriani, but not the hair colour.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Cybriana was born to a Drow sorceress who had a tryst with a Human wizard named Agrivar.
  • Heroic Bastard: It is implied the tryst that resulted in Cybriani's conception was extramarital in nature.
  • Ring of Power: She owns a magical ring of telekinesis.
  • Split-Personality Merge: Kyriani isn't just a physical fusion of Cybriana and Kilili, but a mental one.
  • Unknown Relative: She is Priam Agrivar's paternal half-sister, a fact which came as a surprise to both of them.

    Timoth Eyesbright 
Race: Centaur
Class: Fighter
Alignment: Chaotic Good
A courageous centaur and close friend of Onyx the Invincible.
  • Armor of Invincibility: In the Scavengers arc, Timoth obtains a magical suit of dragonslayer's armor, complete with a shield. The armor itself prevents enemies from grappling him and protects him from hostile spells, while the shield is proof against a dragon's Breath Weapon.
  • Bow and Sword in Accord: His primary weapons are a longbow and a double-bladed sword.
  • Double Weapon: He wields a sword with a blade at each end of the hilt.
  • The Dulcinea Effect: When he and Onyx first met Cybriana, she was being abducted by Imgig Zu's chasme minions. Timoth immediately leapt into the fray to save her and volunteered to escort her to the city of Waterdeep — much to Onyx's consternation, as Waterdeep was twenty leagues out of their way.
  • No-Sell: As a centaur, Timoth is immune to certain spells and magical effects that target humanoids. Xanathar's Charm Person ray has no effect on him, though the same cannot be said for the beholder's Charm Monster ray.
  • Unwitting Pawn: In the comic's third arc, Timoth is hired to deliver a statuette by a doddering old wizard. Little does Timoth know that the statuette is (a copy of) a powerful magical artifact, or that the wizard is really Khelben Blackstaff, who is using Timoth as bait to draw out the mysterious thieves' guild that has recently begun operating within the city.

    Vajra Valmeyjar 
Race: Human
Class:' Fighter
Alignment: Neutral Good
A former slave-gladiator from the infamous Arena of Blood in Manshaka. Vajra escaped that grisly life and took up work as a bouncer at the Selûne's Smile tavern, where she would become involved with Cybriana and her protectors.
  • Action Girl: Vajra is a tough-as-nails fighter who can more than hold her own in a swordfight.
  • Amazonian Beauty: Vajra is a very tall and muscular woman thanks to her time in the Arena of Blood, and several characters—like Agrivar and Abon Duum—comment on her beauty.
  • Chained by Fashion: She continues to wear one of the manacles that marked her as someone who fought in the Arena of Blood, mainly as a warning for potential troublemakers to not mess with her.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Vajra lost her parents to the Tethyrian civil war and grew up on the streets as a thief and a beggar. She fell in with Connor and began to learn the tricks of the thief's trade from him, only to be sold into slavery when a robbery went south and be forced to fight for her life in the Arena of Blood.
  • Price on Their Head: Vajra's former masters put a large price on her head after she escaped, and there are plenty of bloodthirsty bounty hunters looking to collect.
  • Spiteful Spit: When Abon Duum has her in his clutches again and starts coming onto her, she spits in his face.

Crew of the Realms Master

    Dwalimar Omen 
Race: Human
Class: Wizard
Alignment: True Neutral

An elderly wizard from Halruaa. Omen is the captain of the Realms Master and leader of a crew which tracks down and disposes of dangerous magical artifacts.


  • Calling Your Attacks: Like most magic users in these comics, he speaks the names of his spells as he casts them.
  • The Captain: He captains an enchanted caravel called the Realms Master and is the respected leader of its crew.
  • My Greatest Failure: The demise of his first group that led to death of one member and Minder's transformation into a golem became major turning point of his life.
  • Power Floats: Omen is a high-level wizard, and he frequently casts the fly spell on himself before going into battle.
  • Secretly Dying: Unbeknownst to most of the crew, Omen is dying of a mysterious affliction which can't be cured by clerical magic.
  • Wizard Classic: He's a wise but cantankerous old man who wields great magical power. All he lacks is the pointy hat and slightly longer robes.

    Minder 
Race: Iron Golem
Class: Warrior
Alignment: Neutral Good

A sapient iron golem. Minder often acts as the voice of reason in the Realms Master's crew, while simultaneously serving as the party's muscle.


  • Foreshadowing: The comic drops many hints that Minder is something more than an ordinary golem. Minder invokes the name of the dwarven god Clangeddin Silverbeard when surprised in one issue, and she can be polymorphed to take on different forms, something which Elminster notes is normally impossible, as golems are typically immune to that kind of magic. Sure enough, she is actually the spirit of a dwarf bound to an animated statue, and not a proper golem at all.
  • Hotter and Sexier: Her second body had attractive feminine tone.
  • We Can Rebuild Her: Due to her adventure with Omen, her life was transferred from a female Dwarven warrior to an Iron Golem.

    Foxilon "Foxy" Cardluck 
Race: Halfling
Class: Thief
Alignment: Chaotic Good

The first mate of the Realms Master.


  • Dark and Troubled Past: He and his kin were manipulated through an addictive substance called "Cheeeese" that led them to commit heinous crimes before he escaped from the dealer's lair.
  • Impossibly Tacky Clothes: He takes it upon himself to make a new outfit for Priam after the latter's original getup starts getting threadbare. Unfortunately for Priam, Foxy chooses the most garish color combinations imaginable, making Priam the laughingstock of the crew.
  • Lovable Rogue: Due to his Thief class and his amiable nature, he generally add charm to the group.
  • Off the Wagon: He once had a crippling addiction to a drug called cheeeese. He's been clean for many years, but a chance encounter with the substance almost leads him to relapse in one issue.

    Ishi Barasume 
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
Alignment: Lawful Good
A samurai warrior woman from Kozakura.
  • Far East: She came from Kozakura, which was one of the nations in Kara-tur.
  • Lady of War: A graceful samurai lady.
  • Rags to Riches: Double Subverted due to her circumstances. Ishi's parents are peasant-soldiers who were elevated to the Samurai class by her lord in gratitude for their service. After Lord Kori's conquest of her liege's lands, she became a wanderer until she returned to her homeland in "The Honor of Two Swords" short story to finish off Lord Kori. Though depending on her relationship with Priam, she may become a member of Agrivar noble family.
  • Samurai: Zig-Zagged Trope as "The Honor of Two Swords" showed that she came from commoner parents who were elevated to Samurai.

    Vartan Hai Sylvar 
Race: Elf
Class: Cleric
Alignment: Chaotic Good

A sun elf cleric of Labelas Enoreth.


  • Break the Haughty: For most of the series Vartan is a haughty, condescending jerk. Then the Time of Troubles happens. Vartan gets possessed by his own god, who makes him do horrible things to his friends against his will. Vartan comes out of this experience a guilt-stricken shell of his former self, desperate to atone for the things he did with no idea of how to even start.
  • Cant Argue With An Elf: Due to being brought up in Evermeet's culture, he generally carried this attitude. This later caused him to doubt on that trope once he suffered Labelas' shenanigans that nearly killed him and the group.
  • Carry a Big Stick: As a cleric, he carry a mace.
  • The Casanova: Vartan's quite the charmer and is more than happy to "entertain" the ladies... he has a fondness for human women in particular. He does occasionally have to deal with a jealous husband.
  • Combat Medic: Like any good cleric, he can use his magic to heal or harm in equal measure.
  • Crisis of Faith: He loses faith in his god Labelas Enoreth during the Time of Troubles, due to said god possessing him and doing terrible things to his friends.
  • I Owe You My Life: Priam rescued Vartan from a band of gnolls when they first met. To repay him, Vartan joined Priam on the latter's quest to dispose of the Hand of Vaprak.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He showed his Evermeet upbringing that showed an arrogant attitude in his socialization, but is generally a friendly person.
  • Spontaneous Weapon Creation: His Spiritual Hammer spell creates a flying hammer made of pure magical force.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: In issue #9 he pesters Foxy to tell him about the treasure that he mistakenly assumes Omen must possess. A passing fishman overhears this conversation and goes to tell his buddies about the ship full of treasure sailing through their waters, leading to an attack on the Realms Master.
  • Wilfully Weak: Vartan refuses to make use of his clerical powers during his Crisis of Faith, even in situations where there's a dire need for his healing abilities. This gets to the point that Vartan would rather trick a delirious Agrivar into laying hands on himself to heal the paladin's broken leg instead of Vartan healing said leg for Agrivar.

    Priam Agrivar 
Race: Human
Class: Paladin
Alignment: Lawful Good

Son of the wizard Ostus Agrivar. Priam lost his father and the use of his arms to Imgig Zu, an event that would lead him to spend the next few years as a drunken beggar. He eventually avenged his father's death, learned that he had a half-sister, and regained his stolen vitality. A complicated series of events would lead him to join the crew of the Realms Master.


  • 10-Minute Retirement: He leaves the party in a huff at the end of issue #6, only to have an epiphany in the next issue which leads him to come back.
  • The Alcoholic: He became an alcoholic vagrant due to Imgig Zu's curse upon his hands and the assassination of his father. Although both were resolved, he still have issue with alcohol addiction.
  • Big Brother Instinct: He is protective of his half-sister, Kyriani.
  • Blue Blood: He came from Agrivar Family in Waterdeep.
  • Career-Ending Injury: He got zapped by Imgig Zu's staff of withering, reducing his arms to shriveled twigs too weak to hold a sword. This put an end to his crusading days and led him to become a drunken beggar, though he was eventually cured and regained his fighting skills.
  • Healing Hands: Like any good paladin, he can heal others by laying on hands.
  • I Have This Friend: Played for Drama in issue #10. Priam, after seeing how Foxy reacted to the cheeeese, tells the halfling a story about "a friend" who struggles with alcoholism. He does this to commiserate with Foxy, recognizing him as a fellow addict who almost fell Off the Wagon, and to assure him that his friends will always be there for him.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Less obviously so than his friend Vartan, but still noticable: while a noble and well-intentioned man who will do anything for his friends, he is terrible at listening to people, he has some serious anger issues, he's more self-righteous than he has any right to be, and his struggle with alcoholism has led him to say and do questionable things. After recovering from his relapse (more or less forced on him by Labelas — see Off the Wagon below) he seems to have come to some conclusions about himself and is on the road to leaving most of his worst traits behind.
  • Last-Name Basis: Nobody calls him by his first name. Even close friends call him "Agrivar."
  • Off the Wagon: By the Forgotten Realms series he's gotten a handle on his alcoholism, and he spends most of the series sober and in control of himself. Then he angers Labelas Enoreth, who punishes Priam by magically amplifying his addiction. He spends the next half-dozen issues barely able to go two minutes without asking for a drink, and it isn't until the very last issue that he starts to regain his self-control.
  • The Paladin: He is one dedicated to Tyr, and possesses the requisite holy powers.

Antagonists

    Gornak 
A powerful ogre mage who schemes to obtain the Hand of Vaprak.
  • Acrofatic: He has a prominent gut which doesn't hamper his agility in any way. At one point he casually leaps over a slash from Ishi's sword while dueling her.
  • An Arm and a Leg: The Hand of Vaprak was originally his hand, but it was struck off by Elminster in the past. He reclaims the Hand and reattaches it to regain his power, only for it to be cut off again at the climax of the arc.
  • Assimilation Backfire: The Hand of Vaprak allows him to drain life from others to empower himself. He tries this on Omen to punish the captive wizard for his defiance, only for it to backfire because of Omen's affliction, leaving Gornak wracked with agonizing pain for a moment.
  • Buried Alive: He gets buried under the rubble of his collapsing tower. Since the fact that ogre mages can regenerate means he's probably still alive down there, Foxilon commissions a large public fountain to be built directly over the site, ensuring that Gornak won't be able to dig his way out from under the many tons of monument.
  • Charm Person: He uses the charm person spell to take control of Ishi, making her attack her allies.
  • Evil Sorcerer: As an ogre mage, this is a given. He wields formidable magic and seeks to get his hands on an Artifact of Doom that would grant him godlike powers.
  • Kill and Replace: He murders and impersonates a local sage to lure the protagonists into a trap.
  • Load-Bearing Boss: A justified example. When the party defeats Gornak, the earth elemental that he summoned disappears, taking a large chunk of the floor with it. This compromises the tower's structural integrity, leading to its collapse.
  • Magic Knight: He's not too shabby with a katana and wakizashi on top of his magical abilities.
  • Starter Villain: He's the villain of the first story arc of the Forgotten Realms comic, with the threat he poses being what brings the protagonists together. He’s also dead by the end of the arc.
  • Summon Magic: He conjures an earth elemental to deal with the party during their final encounter.

    Labelas Enoreth 
The elven god of longevity and time, and Vartan's patron deity. Vartan calls upon him to help discern the identity of a mysterious individual that has been killing dragons. Labelas gives him the knowledge that he seeks but warns him that there will be a price to pay for it. And during the Time of Troubles, he comes to collect.

For more information on Labelas Enoreth as he appears in other D&D works, see Dungeons & Dragons: Demihuman Deities.
  • All for Nothing: Labelas' plan to get back into the upper planes fails completely because Helm saw the Realms Master coming and smashed it out of the sky before it could hit him. The only things Labelas managed to accomplish was alienating one of his most devout clerics and making himself an enemy of the Realms Master’s crew.
  • Big Bad: He's the closest thing the series has to a main antagonist, and he singlehandedly does more damage to the Realms Master and her crew than any villain before or since.
  • Blackmail: He exorcises Omen and Foxy of their respective personal demons, but despite having the power to destroy said demons outright, he instead keeps them imprisoned in jars. As he later makes clear to Omen, he can and will put those demons right back where they came from should either man step out of line.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: A hapless worker accidentally drops a piece of lumber which nearly falls on Labelas. In response, Labelas furiously tortures the man with magic and then kills him with an energy blast that strips him down to the bone.
  • Divine Intervention: He briefly possesses Vartan in one story arc to spout a prophecy that points the party in the right direction. In another issue, he again possesses Vartan to cast a Dispel Magic that Vartan had not prepared, saving him from otherwise certain doom.
  • Fantastic Racism: He has nothing but contempt for the dwarves and their gods. He offers to restore Minder to her original body, only to callously rescind that offer when he learns that she's actually "a rock-grubbing stone-bitch". He's not fond of humans and other non-elves in general either, though he's at least somewhat more tolerant of them than he is of dwarves.
  • God in Human Form: He appears before Vartan in the guise of a mortal elf in the final issue.
  • Jerkass Gods: Labelas acts like a complete asshole during the Time of Troubles. He effectively maims and enslaves the population of Ruathym. He cures Omen and Foxy of their personal demons via exorcism, only to keep said demons around so he can put them right back where they came from if Omen or Foxy get out of line, which he later does. He tortures and kills a man for accidentally dropping a piece of lumber which narrowly missed him. Worst of all is his attempt to force himself upon Ishi; when Priam intervenes, Labelas punishes him by magically amplifying his alcohol addiction. And when Minder tries to stop this, Labelas blasts her to bits. For all this, though, Labelas is not evil in the D&D sense of the word: he is simply profoundly uncaring.
  • Must Make Amends: By the final issue, Labelas has realized that his actions during the Time of Troubles were reprehensible, and that he deeply wronged one of his most loyal servants. He appears before Vartan and tries to make amends by offering to grant him a wish, but Vartan won't accept it unless Labelas extends the same courtesy to the rest of the crew, whom he also wronged.
  • Possession Burnout: His power is too much for a mortal host body to bear. When the party arrives at Ruathym, his host—a random elvish woman—is covered in glowing red cracks from head to toe, and she crumbles into a pile of dust when Agrivar strikes her with his sword, revealing that Labelas had reduced her to a literal empty husk. Vartan begins developing these same cracks as Labelas draws more heavily on his divine powers, though they disappear once the god is expelled from his body.
  • Sizeshifter: He grows to gargantuan size to throw down with the colossal avatar of Clangeddin Silverbeard.
  • Time Master: He is the god of time, after all. In the final issue, he stops time for everyone but himself and Vartan so the two of them can have an important talk.

    Los 
Leader of the Akri, a tribe of werecats living in a set of ruins beneath the Anauroch desert. His forces capture the party to either recruit them into his pride or use them as food.
  • Bad Boss: He threatens to butcher and eat his lieutenant Karse if she doesn't find the escaped prisoners in a timely fashion. He also kills his dwarven forgemaster once the latter has outlived his usefulness, and lets his army of living statues rampage through the ranks of his pride, killing everyone in their path.
  • Fashionable Asymmetry: He wears a glove on his right hand but leaves his left hand bare.
  • Final Boss: He was the last major villain the crew of the Realms Master fought before the Forgotten Realms comic ended.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: Like the rest of his tribe, Los likes the taste of humanoids.
  • King of Beasts: The leader of a tribe of mostly female werecats turns out to be the only werelion amongst them. Go figure.
  • Loincloth: He wears a leopard-skin loincloth as one of his only articles of clothing.
  • Natural Weapon: He doesn't bother with artificial weapons, instead preferring to slash foes with his claws.
  • Our Werebeasts Are Different: He's a werelion. Like most D&D lycanthropes, he can change from human to Beast Man form at will and retains his intelligence while transformed.
  • The Social Darwinist: He's big on survival of the fittest. He wants to recruit Ishi into his tribe not just because she's a woman, but because she is clearly a warrior and the only member of her party who isn't badly hurt, crazy, or of small size. He also has no qualms about letting his living statues massacre his followers, telling the survivors that any who died were unfit to live.
  • Take Over the World: He plans to expand his territory by using an army of Living Statues that can absorb the powers and skills of whomever they kill.
  • You Kill It, You Bought It: He assumed leadership of the tribe by killing the previous leader, Karse's mother. Karse kills him in turn after Los proves himself a crazed megalomaniac unfit to lead.

    Imgig Zu 
Race: Unknown
Class: Magic-user
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

A fiendish sorcerer of unknown but extraplanar origin. He killed Priam's father to obtain the Eye of Selûne, and now he seeks the one person whose magic can unlock the terrible secrets hidden within the gem.


  • Armor Is Useless: The fact that Imgig Zu wears a breastplate doesn't stop Agrivar's flung sword from punching straight through him.
  • Bad Boss: He's perfectly willing to kill his minions for their failures and warn his other subordinates that they could be next if they screw up.
  • Dishing Out Dirt: He uses a lot of earth-based magic like flesh to stone and rock to mud.
  • Evil Sorcerer: He's a 13th-level magic-user and a profoundly evil fiend bent on slaughter and conquest.
  • Horned Humanoid: He has six horns growing out of his head.
  • Magic Staff: He carries a staff of withering, which makes anything struck by it shrivel up into decrepitude. He uses it to wither Agrivar's arms, leaving the paladin too weak to pick up anything heavier than a wineskin.
  • Near-Villain Victory: He was within moments of achieving his goals before the heroes managed to break free of their restraints, derail his plans, and kill him.
  • Starter Villain: He's the antagonist of the first arc of the AD&D comic. His threat is what brings the various heroes together for the first time, leading them to form a long-term adventuring party once he has been dealt with.
  • Take Over the World: His goal is to free his monstrous kin from their imprisonment within the Eye of Selûne and lead a bloody campaign of conquest across Faerûn.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: He tricked Selûne into helping him enter the Material Plane by appearing before her as a handsome human male.
  • You Have Failed Me: He kills one of his Chasme minions for failing to capture Cybriana.
  • You Killed My Father: He murdered Priam's father right in front of him.

    Abon Duum 
Vajra's former master, the cruel pasha of Manshaka. Abon Duum wants to reclaim his most profitable slave at any cost, but his evil ambitions go far beyond that.
  • Abhorrent Admirer: To Vajra. Once he has her back in his clutches, he tells her that he desires her and wishes to own her body and soul. Given that he's the man who enslaved her, she doesn't reciprocate.
  • Arc Villain: He's the main antagonist of the Spell Games arc.
  • Deal with the Devil: He struck a pact with the evil god Malar to advance his own ambitions. Malar would give him an artifact powerful enough to challenge the gods, and in return Abon Duum would give Malar the Kittenlord once he had no further use for the boy.
  • Fat Bastard: A morbidly obese man and a cruel, tyrannical slaver with aspirations of godhood.
  • Godhood Seeker: He aspires to enter the outer planes and challenge the gods that he might become a god himself. To that end he kidnaps the Kittenlord so that the current Catlord—who has the power to traverse the planes—will take him to Gladsheim in the plane of Ysgard.
  • Non-Action Big Bad: Abon Duum is a mortal man with no martial skills or magical abilities. He relies on his many minions to do his dirty work.
  • Perpetual Frowner: He is almost never seen without a severe expression on his face.
  • Uncertain Doom: He is last seen prostrating himself in terror before the god Tyr, who barely acknowledges him before sending the protagonists—but not him—back home to the material plane. What happened to him next is unknown, but it probably wasn't anything good.
  • Would Hurt a Child: He is perfectly willing to kidnap a child and have his minions threaten their life to make the child's guardian do what he wants.

    Salabak 
One of Vajra's fellow slave-gladiators. They reunite years after her escape, when he saves her from several of Abon Duum's bounty hunters. He has the power to project his thoughts as visible images.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: Vajra is both horrified and saddened by Salabak being Eaten Alive, saying that she can hear his screams.
  • Eaten Alive: He is devoured by a froghemoth.
  • Love-Interest Traitor: He and Vajra were close before they escaped, and they get intimate with each other after they reunite. But to Vajra's misfortune, Salabak is a loyal agent of Abon Duum, and he's setting her up for a fall without a shred of remorse.
  • Master of Illusion: He can project lifelike images of horrifying monsters with his thoughts, a power he uses to trick people into taking cover from nonexistent threats more than once.
  • Mystical White Hair: A white-haired young man with apparently psychic powers.
  • Paper Tiger: His illusions may be terrifying to look at, but they can't harm you. Anyone who realizes that Salabak's illusions aren't real can walk right through them and sock him in the jaw.
  • Puppy-Dog Eyes: He flashes these eyes at Vajra to try and convince her that he still loves her, so that she'll save him from drowning in quicksand. Vajra doesn't take the bait.
  • Slashed Throat: His throat was cut in the years since Vajra saw him last. Salabak claims that Abon Duum did this to punish him for a failed escape attempt. In reality, he did it to himself as part of his tribe's rite of passage.
  • Taking You with Me: Having fallen into a quicksand pit and failed to convince Vajra to pull him out, Salabak spitefully grabs Vajra's arm and tries to drag her under with him. His attempt is thwarted by the sudden arrival of a froghemoth, which eats him alive.
  • The Voiceless: He cannot speak due to his slashed throat, and instead communicates through projected images.

Other Characters

    Elaith Craulnober 
Race: Elf (Moon)
Class: Fighter/Wizard
Alignment: Neutral Evil

A notorious crime lord of Waterdeep and infrequent Friendly Enemy of Arilyn Moonblade.


  • Anti-Hero: Mostly. He tries to be a full-on hero, then full-on villain, but fails at both.
  • Broken Bird: The haughty, though back then innocent, variant. From the prince, Captain of the King's guard, betrothed to a princess and heir to an almost sacred artifact to self-exile and soon enough grave robber.
  • Evil Parents Want Good Kids: He knows he's badly messed up and wants his daughter to be a proper elf.
  • I Am Not Left-Handed: He doesn't advertise his wizardry expertise and it frequently makes a nasty surprise.
  • Last of His Kind: He was the last in his clan, which is why the moonblade he expected to take for granted didn't kill an unworthy claimant.
  • Magic Feather: Once accidentally did a darkly humorous version of this to himself.
  • Noble Demon: As a crimelord, he's obviously ruthless and indiscriminate, but still retains some elven ideals.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Danilo Thann, eventually.

    Larloch 
Race: Lich, formerly human
Class: Wizard, also referred to as an Arcanist
Alignment: Lawful Evil

Larloch is an arcanist, one of the supremely powerful wizard-kings of the ancient empire of Netheril. Larloch is one of the few arcanists to survive Netheril's destruction, and he's only grown even more powerful in the millennia since.


  • The Ace: He's one of the most powerful wizards in the entire setting, has more magic items to his name than most continents' worth of people, is a brilliant Evil Genius with multiple contingency plans, rules over The Necrocracy, has multiple other liches at his beck and call and a massive army of undead monstrosities.
  • All Your Colors Combined: Ioun stones are magical gems that orbit around the user's head. They come in various colors, each with its own unique power. Larloch had a virtual rainbow of ioun stones around him at any given time.
  • The Archmage: In a setting filled with uber-powerful mages, Larloch is among the best of the very best. Ed Greenwood suggested at one point that he could be over 40th level. He's created vast hoards of magic items, and even multiple Artifacts Of Doom.
  • Berserk Button: Do not call him a warlock. He will inflict a Fate Worse than Death on you.
  • The Dreaded: He's so terrifyingly powerful that even Szass Tam, a mighty archmage in his own right, was very careful and respectful when he visited Larloch at the latter's home.
  • Godhood Seeker: He tried to ascend to become the new god of magic, but was barely stopped by Elminster and the Srinshee.
  • I Gave My Word: He occasionally abducted living beings like adventurers, who he would force to perform certain tasks for him. If they succeeded, he would always restore them and give them anything and everything he promised.
  • It Amused Me: He unleashed a large group of liches who went on a magical rampage until they were destroyed. When he was asked why he did it, he simply answered with this trope.
  • The Necrocracy: His home, the Warlock's Crypt, is one of these. The Crypt is a city filled with lesser liches, vampires, wraiths, specters, wights and various other undead horrors, all of whom were faultlessly loyal to him.
  • Our Liches Are Different: He's one of the most powerful liches in the setting, and commands a small army of lesser liches.
  • Time Master: One of his favorite tactics if he is directly attacked is to annihilate his opponents before they could do anything. He will freeze them with a time stop spell, speed himself up with a haste spell, and then destroy his victims with a flurry of quickened spells.
  • The Worf Effect: Over the years, some fourteen Red Wizards of Thay have all tried to destroy him and conquer his holdings. Needless to say, they were all massacred.

    Tchazzar 
Race: Fiendish red dragon
Class: Dragon ascendant
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
A red dragon who aspired to godhood and founded the nation of Chessenta to that end.
  • Dragons Are Divine: A dragon who seeks to be a god and is well on the way to that goal — Tchazzar is worshipped as a living god by his own cult, and can grant spells to his priests.
  • Godhood Seeker: He seeks apotheosis into divinity, and has managed to become a dragon ascendant demigod.

    Yamun Khahan 
Race: Tuigan human
Class: Fighter
Alignment: Lawful Evil
A Tuigan warlord who once tried to unite the entire world under his banner. He is transparently the Forgotten Realms equivalent of Genghis Khan.
  • Affably Evil: He is a barbarian warlord who drinks from the skulls of enemies and wanted to conquer the known world of Toril, but he's a charismatic Benevolent Boss to his warriors, who adore him in return, and also develops something akin to friendship with the foreign emissary Koja.
  • Badass Normal: Compared to many other villains in the setting, Yamun is just a very talented human fighter with no special abilities besides his strategic cunning.
  • Big Bad: Of The Empires trilogy of novels.
  • Book Dumb: Yamun is illiterate and needs scribes like Koja to write for him. He is also a shrewd and charismatic warlord who unified his people and conquered most of Kara-Tur and bits of Faerun before dying.
  • Born in the Saddle: Being the ruler of the Tuigan, who are the Forgotten Realms take on the Mongols, is sort of a given.
  • The Chosen One: Yamun believes he was chosen by Teylas, the tuigan god of storms to be the one who would lead his people to the conquest of Abeir-Toril. However...
  • Dark Messiah: He unified the Tuigan tribes under his rule and led them in a campaign of conquest while believing to be the chosen champion of the god Teylas.
  • The Emperor: He self-proclaimed to be the Illustrious Emperor Of All Peoples.
  • Evil Chancellor: His stepmother/wife, Eke Bayalun.
  • Hidden Depths: Despite his demeanor as a Steppe barbarian, he was able to present his diplomatic and strategic cunning to unify the Tuigan tribes to create a horde.
  • Killed Off for Real: He is eventually killed by the king of Cormyr, Azoun IV at the end of the Horde invasion.
  • Klingon Promotion: He became the emperor of the Tuigan by being the biggest badass on the steppes and killing everyone in his path.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: Very plainly based on Genghis Khan.
    • The Poorly Chosen One: Despite believing that he had been chosen by Teylas to lead his people to conquer Abeir-Toril, he was stopped by the combined armies of Cormyr, Sembia, Zhentil Keep and the Dwarves.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: Being a Tuigan (the Forgotten Realms' version of the Mongols) warlord who believes to be destined to conquer Faerun makes him definetely this.
  • Redeeming Replacement: His son, who became a paladin and kept the Tuigan nation united through wisdom rather than strength of arm.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Yamun always rides into battle alongside his warriors.
  • Take Over the World: His goal was to subjugate the whole continents of Kara-Tur and Faerun, although it is uknown if he was also aware of Maztica and Zakhara.
  • Villain Protagonist: In Horselords, the first book of The Empires trilogy, he shares the role of main character with Koja.
  • Villainous Valor: After his army is defeated in the final battle, he still fights King Azoun to the death instead of surrendering.
  • Villain Team-Up: Made a temporary alliance with the Red Wizards of Thay to help his horde defeat the warriors of Rashemen and reach Faerun.
  • Wife Husbandry: Yamun married his stepmother, Eke Bayalun. He became khahan by killing his father, and by Tuigan tradition the new king inherits the former king's harem.
  • Worthy Opponent: Saw King Azoun IV of Cormyr as this, so much so he refused to kill him when they met in his tent because it would be too cowardly compared to facing him on the battlefield.


Alternative Title(s): The Elminster Series

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