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Hold of Belkzen
Capital: Urgir
Ruler: Overlord Ardax the White-Hair (de-facto)
When the orcs were driven to the surface by the questing Dwarves, they came up in this barren valley. They have since made it their home.- Expy: Of Mordor from The Lord of the Rings, with all the orcs and little vegetation.
- Founder of the Kingdom: The orc warlord Belkzen, who conquered the dwarven sky-citadel of Koldukar and renamed it Urgir.
- Heel–Face Turn: While formerly the mindless hordes of Tar-Barphon, they rebuffed the Whispering Tyrant after his recent release and inflicted a terrifying defeat on his forces.
- Quicksand Sucks: The Dirt Sea, a vast expanse of quicksand that serves as a sort of river for the inhabitants, specially the Ratfolk that live in small "islands" of the "sea" .
Ardax White-Hair
The current Overlord of the Hold of Belkzen, a rare example of a middle-aged orc.—-
- Evil Overlord: After leading the orcs against Tar-Baphon's armies, he was made the new overlord of Belkzen, though see bellow for further details.
- Just the First Citizen: Rather than taking the title of overlord, he continues to call himself the steward of Urgir, avoinding most of the titles and trappings of an overlord.
- Modest Royalty: While not royalty per see, he is the main ruler of Belkzen, but eschews most of the lofty titles that are offered to him, not even taking the throne and prefering to rule from his own halls instead of the capital.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Ardax breaks several stereotypes of the orcs in both popular media and in Pathfinder. He's a (By orc standards) lean and athletic rogue rather than a straight forward warrior, his ascension to power was made not by force but by strategy, with his main goal being to open bridges between and outside the Hold with diplomacy.
Juggerloathe
The offspring of Lamashtu's herald and a bulette, this titanic creature is a living legend.
- Abstract Eater: Physical matter is actually completely unharmed by its stomach. Instead it feeds on life energy, which is separate from souls in case you were wondering.
- Hybrid Monster: The Juggerloathe is the offspring of the Yethazmari, Lamashtu's herald, and a bulette.
- In a Single Bound: It can leap long distances, landing hard enough to knock down anything around it.
- Mook Maker: Those it swallows become bodaks with its stomach as it leeches the life from their bodies, regardless of what the creature originally was. Mechanically they function just like any bodak but they're noted to look bestial and warped even beyond typical bodaks.
- Super Spit: It can disgorge the contents of its stomach, spewing both acid and any victims or undead it currently holds within it.
Burning Child
A spirit of fire and ash formed from the soul of a child with sorcerous powers after his traumatic death.
- Ghostly Goals: Despite everything, he's just a child who wants to be comforted. Putting him to rest for good requires someone to embrace and calm him while he's in physical form.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Most of the time he's invisible and intangible, detectable only by the scent of burning flesh and faint sobbing. Encountering combat, however, sets off his fear and grief, causing him to manifest in a physical form formed from fire and ash.
- Playing with Fire: A fire sorcerer bloodline in life and a being of fire in death.
- Power Incontinence: He has no control over the fiery energy that makes up his form. When incited to physical manifestation, it spills out of him in uncontrolled torrents of destruction.
- Tragic Monster: In life he was a child whose magical powers caught the attention of orcs who abducted and experimented on him in hopes of turning him into a weapon. When they eventually pushed to far and killed him, his tormented and terrified spirit couldn't pass on and forced him to continue a solitary existence as he wanders in search of his parents in a desperate hope that they will save him. He's been this way for centuries.
- Walking Wasteland: When physical, he trails fire with every footstep and scorches all around him.
the Gravelands/Lastwall
Capital: None/ Vigil (formerly)
Ruler: Watcher-Lord Ulthun II (in exile)
Formerly the crusader state of Lastwall, which kept the Orcs of Belkzen and remnants of Tar-Barphon in check, this nation was destroyed by the Whispering Tyrant after his release in 4719 AR. Its haunted remains are now known as the Gravelands.- Fantastic Nuke: Tar-Barphon destroyed Lastwall with the Radiant Fire, a magical superweapon crafted from a crusader relic, the Shattered Shield of Arnisant.
- The Remnant: While many of the surviving knights of Ozem, now called the knights of Lastwall, fled the Land or guard the remaining city of Vellumis, the Crimson Reclaimers fight a guerilla-war against Tar-Barphon's minions.
Watcher-Lord Ulthun II
Male Human Paladin of Iomedae
The youngest watcher lord of lastwall, and the last of then as Tar-Baphon destroyed Vigil. Currently living in Absalom alongside the other refugges of Lastwall.- Bully Hunter: Ulthun's life as a hero began already as a boy as he would stand between the weak and those who would seek to harm them. This evolved today into a desire to protect everyone he can.
- Knight in Shining Armor: He's a paladin of Iomadea after all, the goddess of Knight in Shining Armor.
- The Stateless: After the fall of Lastwall, Ulthun and the survivors of the Whispering Tyrant's attack become refugees currently living in Absalom.
Molthune
Capital: Canorate
Ruler: Imperial Governor Markwin Teldas
The ambitious nation broke away from Cheliax, only to have the same thing happen to them when Nirmathas rebelled.- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of 18th-century Prussia, as a thighly run, militaristic state with ambitions to expand.
- Proud Warrior Race: Of the Proud Soldier Race variant - Molthune is decidedly militaristic, but these guys are Prussians, not Klingons.
Nirmathas
Capital: Tamran
Ruler: Forest Marshal Weslen Gavirk
This small forested nation was a part of Molthune until they chafed too much under their law.- Just Like Robin Hood: It's an entire nation of free-spirited guerilla fighters.
Oprak
Capital: Hunthul
Ruler: General Azaersi
A relatively young nation of hobgoblins in the mindspin mountains. Oprak was established by the Ironfang Legion after its invasion of Nirmathas and Molthune. It is able to draw on a rich part of the plane of earth and is regarded as a threat by many of its neighbors.
- Heel–Face Turn: The country arguably serves as one for the Hobgoblins as a whole, after spending most of the time warmongering raiders, the foundation of their country has the Hobgoblins and other monstruous ancestries starting to form diplomatic relationships with other nations and abandon their more destructive tendecies.
- Monster Town: A Monster country to be more exact. As a newly formed nation, Oprak's main goal is to elevate goblinoids and other monstruous ancestries to the same political stand as the more "civilized" ancestries.
Azaersi
Commanding officer of the Ironfang Legion, Azaersi is the mastermind behind the invasion of Nirmathas and Molthune and dreams of building a homeland for monsters like herself atop the ruins of these two human societies. A charismatic leader with a storied career as a mercenary behind her, Azaersi has attracted hobgoblins, bugbears, minotaurs, and stranger beings from across Avistan to her banner, and is poised on the cusp of success.- Badass Longcoat: Wears a long red coat atop her chainmail.
- Benevolent Dictator: After forming Oprak, the warweary Azaersi largelly concerns herself with the preservation and stability of her nation, ensuring that it will outlive her. She's ceased her military operations and now strives to form diplomatic relations with other nations.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: With Zanathura. Azaersi provides the military muscle and strategic leadership, while Zanathura brings spiritual insight and mystical power.
- Bling of War: Her golden shoulder pads denote her rank.
- The Chessmaster: Azaersi planned out her campaign to the last detail, and laid the groundwork well in advance, taking first Nirmathas and then Molthune by total surprise.
- Dark Messiah: Seen as such by many of her subordinates, especially the hobgoblins.
- Final Boss: The final opponent fought as part of the Ironfang Invasion Adventure Path.
- The Generalissimo: Plans to make herself military dictator of Oprak, with the other members of her inner circle as partners in the junta.
- Glorious Leader: Styles herself as leader to the goblinoids and other monsters of Avistan.
- Only Friend: She is Zanathura's and Zanathura is hers.
- Spikes of Villainy: Large spikes jut from the shoulder pads of her uniform.
- The Strategist: Azaersi is a mercenary general turned conqueror, and her brilliant head for tactics and strategy alike is what makes her so dangerous.
Ustalav
Capital: Caliphas
Ruler: Prince Aduard Ordranti III
The only kingdom of the otherwise nomadic Varisians, Ustalav is an ancient nation haunted by monsters, conspiracies and the former rule of Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant.- Überwald: Ustalav is Eastern Europe as seen through the lens of the Universal and Hammer Horror films, divided by Castlevania.
Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant
Neutral Evil male human (Kellid) mythic lich necromancer 20/MR 10
Perhaps the single greatest threat the Inner Sea region ever faced, the Whispering Tyrant is an incredibly powerful necromancer. His first attempt at conquest ended when the god Aroden struck him down, but he arose over two millennia later as a lich to continue his plan. He was eventually defeated in the Shining Crusade but could not be killed, resulting in his imprisonment by the Great Seal beneath Gallowspire.
- Alternate Company Equivalent: Of Vecna. Both are men who became liches and are a Godhood Seeker, acting as major antagonists for their setting in their quest to achieve godhood. This is made more explicit by Tar-Baphon's title of "The Whispering Tyrant" being similar to Vecna's title of "The Whispered One".
- The Archmage: With full 20 wizard levels and ten mythic tiers, Tar-Baphon is one of the most powerful spellcasters on Golarion.
- Batman Gambit: His first attempt at building an empire emulated that of the Runelords, leading the god Aroden to strike him down for fear of allowing history to repeat itself. This was actually Tar-Baphon's plan all along, as being slain by a god was an important part in his plan to become a powerful lich.
- Big Bad: He's the overarching villain of the Tyrant's Grasp adventure path, where his escape from Ballowspire causes one of the most dangerous events in the Inner Sea.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Like Ruthazek, Tar-Baphon originated in the Compleat Encounters series.
- Evil Is Petty: In spite of his power, infamy and grandiose ambition, he's not above committing acts of petty cruelty for their own sake. Examples include tossing a minor noble into the Negative Energy Plane, or turning a psycopomp into an undead abomination for daring suggest he obey the fundamental rules of life and death. Even his defeat in "Tyrant's Grasp" is more because he was so frustrated and angry that the heroes were being pests, that he chose to use the Radiant Fire on them, when he likely could have won without it, and ends up temporarily dead because of it.
- Evil Overlord: What he was in life, what he was in undeath, and what he still seeks to be.
- Fantastic Nuke: In Tyrant's Grasp, he creates the Radiant Fire which can cause one of the 11 shards of Aroden's shield to explode in a burst of positive and negative energy, which can both kill entire cities of people as well as (due to the positive energy part) make living creatures either bizarrely mutate or spring up out of nothing, including entire forests.
- Final Boss: He's the final fight in the Tyrant's Grasp AP, and by extension in the 1st edition Pathfinder storyline.
- Godhood Seeker: He's obsessed with both power and personal survival, and views his current status as an ageless undead and the most powerful necromancer to ever live as a stopgap measure mean to give himself time to work towards his real goal — conquering Absalom, draining every drop of divine power from the Starstone and becoming a true god.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Of Carrion Crown; the entire plan of the Big Bad is to break him out of Gallowspire. He doesn't appear directly because of this.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He was envious of Aroden's divine power, and part of why he challenged him to a fight was to prove he could defeat him. Once Aroden dies, he directs much of his anger at his successor, Iomedae.
- Hoist by His Own Petard:
- He challenged Aroden to a fight, partially because it is the first part of his plan, but also to prove he could do so. While his death was planned, Paizo have implied that Aroden's victory was more than he planned, and ended up delaying his return.
- His initial defeat during the Shining Crusade also was done by his own hand. When General Arnisant confronted him with the Shield of Aroden, Tar-Baphon tried to end the fight right away with the Wish spell to take Arnistant's heart and crush it. Due to Arnisant's faith and devotion to Aroden though, the Shield of Aroden blocked the spell and shattered, burying shards into Tar-Baphonen, and badly hurting him to the point he could be sealed.
- How he's beaten in Tyrant's Grasp. Turns out that because the heroes had some slivers of Aroden's shield embedded in their souls, they were able to (with some modifications) alter the frequency of the slivers. This meant that if they were able to successfully goad him into firing on them with the Radiant Fire the resulting feedback loop would destroy him as well. The heroes then proceed to so enrage him that he throws caution to the wind and does just that. He came back, but the Radiant Fire is forever lost to him.
- Hopeless Boss Fight: The final fight against him in "Tyrant's Grasp" is meant to be unwinnable by conventional means. Not only does he have a massive amount of forces he could, in theory, direct to overwhelm the heroes, but he's simply too strong on his own to win head on, having Mythic levels in a AP where the players don't. Even getting to him is hard, because his fear aura can trap the heroes before they can actually get into range to properly fight him. Instead the fight is meant to push him just enough that, rather than draw it out any longer, he uses the Radiant Fire to try and win, only for it to backfire and kill him too. To top it off, he arrives with a summoned daemon to aide him, making it harder to defeat him because of that.
- Horns of Villainy: His helmet, the Horns of Naraga, is made from an impressive set of horns.
- Karma Houdini: While his plans have been foiled, nobody has yet found his phylactery, which means he still cannot be destroyed forever and still remains a threat to Golarion. Losing a chunk of his forces and the Radiant Fire at least delayed him, but 2e confirms he's back and preparing again.
- My Death Is Just the Beginning: He arranged to be killed by Aroden after his ascension, as being slain by a god would make him more powerful when he rose as a lich.
- Mysterious Past: His mortal life is unknown to all but himself. His earliest records basically say he was born in the area that would become Ustalav, but his first appearances in history are when he already was a lich and wanted to fight Aroden.
- Not Quite Dead: Beyond the obvious, this happened to him just before he was sealed when his attempt to use a wish to slay an enemy was rebounded by an artefact. It didn't quite destroy him and no one wanted to risk killing him when they couldn't find his phylactery to ensure he wouldn't just reform far away in a safe location to start his campaign all over again, so they sealed him while he was weakened instead.
- Necromancer: One of the strongest on Golarion. He can raise dead bodies as zombies and skeletons under his control without expending spell slots, and there is no limit to the number of undead he can personally control.
- Psychopathic Manchild: For all his superhuman intelligence and his near-godlike power, Tar-Baphon is essentially a glorified school bully who considers it a personal insult that the world doesn't revolve around him, and seeks to make it so regardless of how many lives he destroys or ruins in the process.
- Red Baron: He's known far better as the Whispering Tyrant than Tar-Baphon. Justified, as given the time since his birth it's unlikely his name has ever been spoken by a currently living being.
- Riddle for the Ages: The location of his phylactery. Since he first became a lich, nobody has been able to find where his phylactery is hidden, making truly killing him almost impossible as a result. Despite multiple attempts to find it, nobody, not even the gods, have been able to. The only way to stop him initially was sealing him away, but with the lich free and focusing on regaining his power, the question of where his phylactery is has been a discussion by some characters.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: He was imprisoned by the Great Seal, and an entire country founded dedicated to making sure he doesn't get out.
- Soul Jar: As a lich, he has a phylactery, the problem being no one knows what or where it is. As a result, he was imprisoned under Gallowspire as everyone knew they couldn't kill him permanently without finding it.
- Supernatural Fear Inducer: Getting too close to him paralyzes you with fear unless you pass a large will save, and even if you do you're shaken until you get farther away.
- Villainous Breakdown: As Tyrant's Grasp draws to a close, his frustration with the PCs' continued survival against him and their destruction of his minions gets to the point where he ends up using the Radiant Fire' - a weapon powerful enough to wipe out a city in a few seconds but has a limited amount of uses - directly on them. This proves to be his undoing.
