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1A character sheet for the recurring main characters in the Avernum series. Be careful for {{spoiler}}s.
2
3Work in progress, any contribution is welcomed.
4
5
6----
7
8[[foldercontrol]]
9
10!!Playable Classes
11
12[[folder:Soldier]]
13
14The standard fighter class, Soldiers are well-trained in using all types of weapons, in physical skills and defense.
15----
16
17* MightyGlacier: Starts off with high Strength, Stamina and Defense, which means it will be the one carrying better defensive gear.
18* MultiMeleeMaster: A Soldier starts with plenty of points in both Melee and Polearms, as well as some points in Bows and Missiles.
19* SoldierVsWarrior: He's the Soldier compared to the Berserker: his skill with either swords or spears isn't that high, but he's better balanced and, because of the many spread points, has access to more figthing techniques.
20
21[[/folder]]
22
23[[folder:Rogue]]
24
25Rogues are nimble and capable of using bows, swords and, most importantly, lock-picking tools, skills which often puts them at odds with the Empire.
26----
27
28* FragileSpeedster: Rogue value speed and dexterity over strength and stamina.
29* HeroesPreferSwords: Unless you start as a Slith, the Rogue is only good with swords and daggers in melee.
30
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Priest]]
34
35Followers of one of the many faiths, approved or not, Priests can use their spells to heal, reinforce and damage undead and others.
36----
37
38* BladeSpam: In the first trilogy, it could summon a cloud of swirling knives to damage enemies.
39* TheMedic: The Priests number one priority is to keep others alive through healing spells.
40* TheNondescript: While there are many religions across the Empire, you never get to define the playable Priest's faith.
41* PlayingWithFire: One of the middle-tier spells summons a rain of sacred fire in a circular area. The top spell Divine Retribution automatically targets all enemies around.
42* StatusBuff: The number two priority is to buff other party members to improve their attacks or their defense.
43* SummonMagic: Priests can summon a Shade to fight on their behalf. The spell Divine Host summons a much stronger Divine Shade.
44* WhiteMage: The Priest is not well versed in combat but can perform the local equivalent of White Magic to heal, buff, cure and damage undead and other monsters.
45
46[[/folder]]
47
48[[folder:Sorcerer]]
49
50A scholar of magic and sorcery, well versed in arcane lore and usage of powerful spells in combat.
51----
52
53* BlackMage: Continuing on the analogy above, Sorcerers' bread and butter are highly damaging spells to cast upon their foes with deadly results.
54* ElementalPowers: The many spells they have allows them to attack with [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[AcidAttack acid]], [[AnIcePerson ice]], [[ShockAndAwe lightning]] and [[PureEnergy arcane energy]].
55* GlassCannon: The Sorcerer is the weakest class in terms of health, but on later levels they can wipe out whole groups of enemies unaided.
56* SummonMagic: They can summon aid of various kind, depending on the game: unlike Priests, they summon different creatures every time.
57
58[[/folder]]
59
60[[folder:Rebel/Scout]]
61
62A highly versatile class which can do pretty much everything, but never excel in a specific field.
63----
64
65* JackOfAllStats: The Rebel in a nutshell. Can be useful for cerain skills whose usage depends on the skill points of the entire party.
66
67[[/folder]]
68
69[[folder:Berserker]]
70
71Powerful and savage fighters from the farthest reaches of the Empire, their brute strength is paired with a though body and top-class swordsmanship.
72----
73
74* BarbarianHero: Downplayed in that you are free to customize the looks of the character.
75* MasterSwordsman: The standard Soldier usually starts with Melee at 5, the Berserker has Melee at 6, but 0 in Polearm.
76* SoldierVsWarrior: Contrasting the Soldier, the Berserker is the Warrior of the duo.
77* UnstoppableRage: In the first trilogy, Berserker were given the ability to go in a battle frenzy to strike harder, though games from 4 to 6 and the remakes remove this feature.
78
79[[/folder]]
80
81[[folder:Archer]]
82
83Usually trained in the army, these soldiers are focused on long-ranged combat using bows or other missile weapons.
84----
85
86* GlassCannon: As expected, he's a ranged class, so better keep the Archer out of harm's way.
87* NonIndicativeName: It is possible to specialize the archer in javelins rather than bows, or crossbows (in the first trilogy only.]]
88
89[[/folder]]
90
91[[folder:Shaman]]
92
93This followers of rare and mysterious cults are less skilled than Priests when it comes to magic, but compensate with better fighting skills.
94----
95
96* ChurchMilitant: What he lacks in spell he makes up with weapon skills.
97* PotionBrewingMechanic: In the first trilogy, Shamans were also better with herbal knowledge and potion making.
98
99[[/folder]]
100
101[[folder:Hedge Wizard]]
102
103A rare type of mage, this class can learn both branches of magic, often at the cost of being unable to master both fully.
104----
105
106* TheRedMage: Can channel both types of magic, though it's difficult to learn the top spells of both lists.
107
108[[/folder]]
109
110
111!!Allies
112
113[[folder:Erika Redmark]]
114
115Once among the most powerful and resourceful sorcerers of the Empire, Erika was put under a curse and banished into Avernum. There, she joined forces with King Micah, Solberg and Patrick in order to make Avernum habitable and prosperous. She currently resides in her own personal tower and still plots her revenge against the Empire. [[spoiler: She's killed by Rentar-Ihrno in ''3''.]]
116----
117* AloofAlly: She is on Avernum's side, though her reclusive lifestyle and obsession with revenge makes her not as much of a helpful asset as the Triad's wizards.
118* TheArchmage: She's the best sorcerer Avernum has to offer and it shows. She can even teach your party magic if their reputation is high enough.
119* BigGood: Technically speaking she's part of the BigGood Duumvirate with King Micah.
120* {{Curse}}: After she was banished, she was put under a spell that makes sunlight exposure fatal to her. [[spoiler: A flaw exploited by Rentar-Ihrno to kill her for good in ''3''.]]
121* EvenEvilHasStandards: She means to take her revenge on the entire Empire even if that means endangering Avernum with a bloody war, but she won't go as far as making the surface an unhabitable wasteland because of it.
122* GoodIsNotNice: She made Avernum habitable and defeated Grah-Hoth, but is still a bitter, haughty, revenge-driven lady.
123* TheHermit: Her tower lies in the westernmore reaches of Avernum, in the Abyss.
124* InsufferableGenius: While she did created the multi-purpose Fungi to feed the Avernites and buildings, as well as the books of magic, Erika still behaves as if pretty much ''everything'' good in Avernum is her doing.
125* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Confronts Rentar-Ihrno in 3, who just shine some sunlight on her to kill her istantly.]]
126* NotMeThisTime: In ''3 / Ruined World'' you can find evidence of her doing behind the Slime Plague, but she claims it's not her fault this time.
127* RevengeBeforeReason: You can point out that her plan to assassinate Hawthorne will inevitably cause retortion, but she openly admits that she doesn't care. She's actually thrilled at the prospect of a war against the Empire.
128* TokenEvilTeammate: Downplayed, but while Solberg is, initially, a well-intentioned and good wizard and Patrick a humble and helpful mage, Erika is still very bitter and wishes to get revenge on the Empire, even if that means causing a war with Avernum.
129* VainSorceress: An extremely powerful sorceress who's also still quite good-looking and proud of it.
130* WeakenedByTheLight: Her curse will kill her if she comes in contact with sunlight.
131[[/folder]]
132
133[[folder:King Micah]]
134
135The king of Avernum, he rules the vast cavern kingdom from the Castle, in the southern caverns. An overall good and fair monarch in spite of his age.
136
137----
138* BigGood: Of the first two games, since they do take place in Avernum.
139* CoolOldGuy: He's very old, probably around the same age as the three wizards, but he's an overall likeable fellow and just king.
140* TheGoodKing: He worked hard to turn Avernum into a manageable, good kingdom.
141* MeaningfulName: After Mica, a type of silicate mineral.
142* NotSoDifferentRemark: Detractors, such as Kyass, accuse him and Avernum of being a miniature Empire, fighting back the Slithzerikai and Nephilim for land and exiling undesirables and criminals to the Abyss.
143* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He's overall a nice person, more than willing to speak directly with the players once they've proved their worth.
144* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: He, with the help of Erika, contributed to forge the Kingdom of Avernum and his government.
145* WeUsedToBeFriends: He and Erika were close when they fought for Avernum. Now, she sees him like a spineless old coward who refuses to retaliate against the Empire, while Micah thinks she's a dangerous, reclusive extremist whose hatred for the Empire could undo all their efforts.
146[[/folder]]
147
148[[folder:Solberg]]
149One of the greatest wizards of Avernum, former member of the Triad in the Tower of Magi, lives as a recluse in his tower in north-eastern Avernum, but becomes a Triad member again in ''3''. Unlike Erika, he's a rather modest, level-headed person. By the time of the fifth game he creates the utopic community of Tranquility in the far north of Avernum.
150
151----
152* TheArchmage: One of Avernum's oldest and most powerful sorcerers.
153* BigGood: Could be considered one alongside Erika and Micah in the first two games, he's also one as member of the Triad in ''3''. He becomes much less good in ''5''.
154* DemonSlaying: He helped fighting back Grah-Hoth and his demons, and can help you reforge the Demonslayer sword in ''1''. In ''2'', you can ask him a way to break through [[spoiler: Garzahd's]] demonic-based defenses.
155* GenreSavvy: In ''3'', he doesn't trust Linda, but apparently has trouble convicing enough people to see things his way. [[spoiler: Day 160 proves him right.]]
156* GiverOfLameNames: In ''5'' he has a pet Hellhound called "Cheeseball Two", much to the latter's annoyance.
157* TheHermit: In the first two games he abandoned the Tower of Magi and dwells inside a small abode in a small cavern in northeastern Avernum, surrounded by a pool of magma. Even more in the second game, where he's hunted down by the Empire and demons lay in wait for him outside, and you'll need a special pass to access his abode.
158* HumbleHero: He's the most level-headed, modest and reasonable of the original wizards. Becomes grouchier and more arrogant in ''5'' though.
159* JerkassHasAPoint: For all his mismanagement and unjust rule over Tranquility, his comments about food scarcity were already made by Rentar-Ihrno in the past and prove to be a major plot point in ''6'', where Blight is making food scarce.
160* NeverMyFault: In ''5'', he can grant you access to the land of the Anama if you get rid of his former associate Sorengard, who he blames for the Sentinels' going mad. When you finally reach the core of the factory and destroy the Prime Sentinel corrupting the others, you can talk to a weak, starved Sorengard who reveals that it was Solberg's idea to make a "thinking Golem" to control the others, going against Sorengard's advice. When you confront Solberg about it, he briefly admits his involvement before rapidly blaming Sorengard again, accusing him of BystanderSyndrome.
161* ObstructiveBureucrat: In ''5'', his racism and hatred towards the Empire will cause a lot of trouble for the party, who need aspecial permit just to get into his personal domain and must help him defeating his own crazed golem creations.
162* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: In ''5'' he's still extremely prejudiced against people from the Empire and absolutely refuses to have the Anama even travel through Tranquility, to the point of openly threatening them with death. Slightly justified in the second case, as Anama abhors all sorcerous magic.
163* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: As a member of the Triad. He becomes much stricter as the ruler of Tranquility, accepting only a selected few into his utopic land and blaming others for his failure to control the Golems.
164* SanitySlippage: When you meet him in ''5'', he's still lucid enough to carry on a normal conversation, but he's clearly going senile and paranoid with age. By the sixth game, he's gone completely senile and most Avernites see him as too much of a liability against the Slith Horde.
165* SoleSurvivor: In the second trilogy, he's the last remaining wizard of the original three.
166[[/folder]]
167
168[[folder:X]]
169
170A crazy old sorcerer and member of the Triad, X is eccentric but powerful and resourceful, and can teach powerful magic to heroes. He made a series of special items in ''3'' which can be found and collected.
171
172----
173* AnvilOnHead: The secret spell he's working on. By the time of the second trilogy, he's perfected the spell and would like to have you procure him the perfect anvil in Fort Draco so that he can crown his project.
174* BunnyEarsLawyer: Ad odd and senile goofball of a wizard who's nevertheless one of Avernum's strongest wizards.
175* GenreBlind: He refuses to take Solberg' concern over Linda seriously.
176* SanitySlippage: Due to his extremely old age, even by wizard's standards, X in the last game feels much less powerful and coherent than he was before and speaks in very terse, not-fully clear sentences.
177[[/folder]]
178
179[[folder:Patrick]]
180
181One of the three wizards of Avernum who defeated the [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils Haakai Lord]] Grah-Hoth, he resides in his tower south of the Castle, where he leads his experiments and research. Passes away by the time of ''3''.
182
183----
184* TheArchmage: One of Avernum's strongest wizards, unlike Erika and Solberg he lives in a easy-to-reach abode south of the Castle, along with the people studying under him.
185* KilledOffForReal: Dies of old age during the 5 years between ''2'' and ''3''. You can find a monument to him in the Tower of Magi.
186* MacGuffinGuardian: In ''2'' he's tasked by King Micah to protect Demonslayer, keeping the sword in a secret crypt under his tower.
187* OnlySaneMan: Compared to the revenge-focused Erika, the anvil-obsessed X and the Demon-loving Linda, Patrick is one of the tamest and most reasonable of the wizards.
188[[/folder]]
189
190[[folder:Kyass]]
191
192A charismatic outlaw who leads an outpost of rebels in the Abyss, rejecting the rule of King Micah, whom he considers an hypocritical tyrant. [[spoiler: He's unaware that the Empire is secretly helping him and in ''Crystal Souls'' he's captured, tortured and transformed into a monster the party has to kill.]]
193
194-----
195* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Given this is the Abyss, it's only natural that Kyass is not only charismatic, but also stronger than his followers.
196* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: In ''2'' he's captured by the Empire, tortured, experimented upon by the cruel Elderan and transformed into a hideous dinosaur-like monster you're forced to kill.]]
197* Irony: Boasts about how his people are really free and how much of an hypocrite Micah is. [[spoiler: Imperial agents are secretly supporting him.]]
198* OptionalBoss: If you keep up with the Castle's "cease or desist" order, Kyass will turn hostile and attack you. [[spoiler: Regardless of what you did, Kyass becomes one if encountered by the party under Elderan's Tower, as he undergoes a forced OneWingedAngel.]]
199* TheResistance: His outpost is essentially a living place for all those who can't bear either Micah, or the Abyss.
200[[/folder]]
201
202[[folder:Motrax]]
203
204One of the last Five Dragons of Avernum, Motrax is the friendliest and the easiest to approach, allowing humans and cats in his lair. In the second game he lies gravely injured for the war against the Empire and eventually succumbs to his wounds in the third game.
205
206----
207* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: In ''2'' he lies badly wounded in his lair after contributing to the war effort on Avernum's side.
208* [[CrazyCatLady Crazy Cat Dragon]]: His lair is filled with cats, which he cares after.
209* KilledOffForReal: By the time ''3'' rolls, he's succumbed to his wounds.
210* KindHeartedCatLover: Unlike the other 4 Dragons, Motrax is neither power-hungry nor paranoid, is more than willing to barter knowledge and goods with the Avernites and thinks cats are "remarkable".
211* MoralityPet: One of the human wizards in his lair is incredibly affectionate to him, and despite his massive draconian ego he does admit he cares for her in return.
212* OurDragonsAreDifferent: One of the oldest and largest drakes of Avernum, he's an overall good ally of Avernum and content to live with humans.
213* TokenGoodTeammate: Compared to the other four dragons, especially the likes of Pyrog and Sulfras.
214[[/folder]]
215
216[[folder:Athron]]
217
218One of the last Five Dragons of Avernum, Athron is paranoid and reclusive, but her knowledge is great. She has her nest somewhere in southeastern Avernum. By the third game, she's returned to the Surface and gave birth to several hatchlings.
219
220----
221* MamaBear: In ''3'' she had hatchlings, and a warning in her lair openly states that she won't tolerate people harming her babies, not even in self-defense.
222* OptionalBoss: It's possible to pick a fight with her in ''1'', but unlike most examples, doing so is not advised, since [[spoiler: you need a vital piece of information to complete the game from her.]]
223* RedOniBlueOni: She's the violent, paranoid and lonesome Red Oni to Khoth's more approacheable Blue Oni.
224* TeleportersAndTransporters: In ''2'' she uses the portals in her lair to move the party in rooms full of hostile creatures. Passing through enough times, causes her to give up and let the party have an audience with her.
225[[/folder]]
226
227[[folder:Sulfras]]
228
229One of the last Five Dragons of Avernum, Sulfras is possibly the strongest, the most vicious and the hardest to find. [[spoiler: She also knows the way to leave Avernum.]] She's captured by Empire Forces in ''2'', but she's eventually set free and returns to the surface in the third game.
230
231----
232* AloofAlly: And in this case, Ally is... a stretch. To use an euphemism.
233* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: Big time, compared to the good-natured Motrax and the reclusive Khoth.
234* DragonHoard: You have to contribute to it with some nice items. In ''2'', you can choose a piece of it as a reward.
235* EnemyMine: In ''2'', the only reason she aids you is her imprisonment at the hands of the Imperial Army. In ''3'', she's willing to let you have a magical sword to deal with the Alien Beasts, if only because said beasts are a pain in the ass even for them.
236* KillItWithFire: In ''2'' she releases a massive and deadly wave of Quickfire to cleanse the Imperial outpost in her lair. And you, if you're not fast enough.
237* TheLeader: She could be considered this among the Five Dragons. Surely she's the largest, strongest and baddest.
238* MacGuffinGuardian: In an interesting case, the MacGuffin you need from her in ''2'' was given to her by the party from ''1''.
239* NotMeThisTime: In ''3'', after being implicated as suspects in the plagues freely admits that the dragons are planning revenge against the Empire, but their plans haven't even started yet.
240* {{Necromancer}}: After roasting alive the Empire Soldiers in her lair she bounds their souls to the ground as a punishment.
241[[/folder]]
242
243[[folder:Khoth]]
244
245One of the last Five Dragons of Avernum, Khoth is reclusive but more tolerant than his sisters, and loves knowledge and magic, which is why he's willing to barter them for more knowledge. He returns to the surface by the third game.
246
247----
248* BadassBookworm: A giant dragon who's also gluttonous for lore and knowledge.
249* BerserkButton: Leave his scrolls and books where they are, thank you very much.
250* EnemyMine: Implied to have considered an alliance with Imperials in ''2'', spoilt when they tried to steal books from him.
251* TheHermit: He lives in the northern reaches of Avernum, a place which is partly infested by demons and partly covered in underground rivers which make his lair hard to reach.
252* RedOniBlueOni: He's the calm, collected and overall more open Blue Oni to Athron's red.
253[[/folder]]
254
255[[folder:The Vahnatai Council]]
256
257The powerful council that leads the Vahnatai people, they're at first distrustful of the heroes, who have to prove themselves by recovering the Crystal Souls stolen by the Empire.
258
259----
260* AloofAlly: They are very cold and disdainful at first, but they do get better when you actually recover the Crystal Souls. In the fourth game they are willing to help Avernum [[spoiler: because of Rentar-Ihrno's actions]], though the last game puts more emphasis on the Aloof part of the trope, as, according to their envoy, both the Blight and the Slith Horde are merely a natural way to end the taxing presence of humans in the underworld.
261* BreakTheHaughty: Minor example, they're still horrified to learn that [[spoiler: a rogue faction is in cahoots with the Empire and has sold the Crystal Souls to them.]]
262* EnemyMine: You have to cause a permanent alliance with the Vahnatai by recovering the stolen Crystal Souls.
263* FantasticRacism: They're not too fond of humans, as their people are, but they eventually grow out of it and become genuinely respectful of you.
264* TheGrays: They're essentially fantasy equivalents with crystal magic in lieu of superior technology.
265* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: In spite of their distrust and contempt for humans and the theft of the Crystal Souls, they're still willing to give your characters a chance. [[spoiler: In the third game, their leader Borh-Ihrno still tries to help the Avernite stopping Rentar, and pays with his life.]]
266[[/folder]]
267
268[[folder:Anaximander]]
269
270Leader of Avernum's secret service, he's the boss of the heroes in ''3'' and sends them on their scouting quest on the Surface to investigate Valorim and find out how to prevent the Plagues from destroying what could be their new home.
271
272----
273* BigGood: As your direct superior, he's this in ''3''.
274* MissionControl: You have to inform him of the various events you encountered on the surface and learn your next step.
275* OhCrap: When he hears of the Plagues, but mostly that either Erika, the Dragons or the Vahnatai could be responsible for it.
276* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He's your boss, but he's nothing but reasonable and helpful.
277[[/folder]]
278
279[[folder:Empress Prazac]]
280
281Successor and daughter of Hawthorne, Prazac is the young and wise leader of the Empire. Unlike her power-hungry predecessor, she's willing to cooperate with Avernum to stop the Plague. [[spoiler: She loses her life in an attack from Dorikas, the leader of Darkside Loyalists.]]
282
283----
284* BigBrotherIsWatching: [[spoiler: A benevolent example, the ending cinematic of ''Ruined World'' reveals that she was actually monitoring the party's whole adventures from her throne room in Blackcrag Fortress, and when the group's about to die in Rentar-Ihrno's Keep, she has them teleported to safety as a way to say "thanks". Still creepy in hindsight, as she has Anaximander himself summoned in her throne room in the same way.]]
285* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: As Rentar-Ihrno's facility is collapsing around the heroes and about to detonate to smithereens, Prazac orders her personal Court Wizard to use his magic to teleport everyone to safety.]]
286* TheEmperor: Well, Empress, but unlike her predecessor, she's sane, sensible and willing to make peace with Avernum. Too bad most of her subjects pretend she's not here to order them and follow their own agenda anyway. Also, she's apparently the very first Empress.
287* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler: Unfortunately enough, despite her well meaning and just ideas, her actions during ''III/Ruined World''' turns several imperial nobles and generals against her, and ultimately the Darkside Loyalists have her assassinated.]]
288* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Unlike the previous emperor, Prazac is reasonable and even willing to make a solid alliance with King Micah. [[spoiler: After the Avernites successfully take care of the Monster Plagues depopulating Valorim, she's more than willing to let Avernum settle in the vast fertile lands of southern Valorim, which aren't far from the original Avernum's emerging spot.]]
289[[/folder]]
290
291[[folder:General Manfred Redmark]]
292
293One of the most influent generals in the empire and Prazac's most likely successor, he's also a descendant of the infamous Erika. He's in charge of the operation to hunt Dorikas.
294
295----
296* TheCavalry: [[spoiler: Personally leads a large army of imperial soldiers to assault Dorikas' fortress. Subverted as by the time they get there, you already did most of the job yourself.]]
297* DeadpanSnarker: His haughtiness leads to him being sarcastic to you, as seen if you try to ask him to talk about himself.
298* TheEmperor: He's canonically the next emperor in ''6''.
299* GoodIsNotNice: He's the next candidate for the imperial throne, and also a pompous, bossy man.
300* OldShame: InUniverse, his familial relation to Erika is this to him.
301* PetTheDog: If asked, he can give the party a Blessed Shield as a gift, originally intended for the real party.
302* TranquilFury: While he keeps his emotions in check, he shows great fury when he sees that the Avernites have tricked your party of greenhorns into becoming the official hunting party.
303
304[[/folder]]
305
306[[folder:Melanchion]]
307
308Son of Athron, Melanchion is a great dragon who decided to return to Avernum but, rather than live in hiding as advised, decided to learn from the best of the old Dragons and establish a settlement in the depths of the northern caves of Avernum, willing to barter with the locals.
309
310----
311* BadassBookworm: Like Koth, he's more than willing to look for information and lore. Bringing him rare scrolls is a sure way to let him share his treasures with the heroes.
312* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: For a Dragon, creatures known to be arrogant, cruel and haughty, he's surprisingly civil and rules his small island justly. In the sixth game he even tries to act for the greater good of Avernum and take over certain lands, such as the Abyss.
313* YoungAndInCharge: For a Dragon, he's surprisingly young, so much that his mother Athron is keeping an eye on him, but he still lords over a portion of Avernum and forces several powerful creatures to pay him tributes.
314
315[[/folder]]
316
317
318!!Villains
319
320[[folder:Emperor Hawthorne III]]
321
322The cruel leader of the Empire, Hawthorne is a senile, sadistic old archmage who rules the Empire with an iron fist and banishing thousands of people into Avernum. He's eventually assassinated by adventurers sent by Erika, which kickstarts a war with Avernum.
323
324----
325* TheArchmage: Not only he's the emperor, he's also a frighteningly powerful sorcerer.
326* BigBad: Of the first game along with Sss-Thsss and Grah-Hoth.
327* TheCaligula: A cruel, insane despot and full-fledged madman in charge.
328* DecapitatedArmy: Deconstructed: as feared by many, killing Hawthorne not only doesn't stop the Empire the slightest, it also give them a valid excuse to eradicate Avernum in retaliation.
329* TheEmperor: The cruel, wicked and insane leader of the massive empire.
330* EvilOldFolks: You can't help but notice how old and frail he looks. He's still a sadistic old douche.
331* FinalBoss: More emphasis here since he's the one of the third and last of the three main quests.
332* FlunkyBoss: Not only there's a portal spawning imperial warriors ''and'' imperial reinforcements coming up behind you, but he also has four personal golems he can infuse with magic to kill you in gruesome, creative ways.
333* GreaterScopeVillain: He and his precedessors are basically the reason why Avernum itself exist and why the conflict is happening.
334* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The violent and cutthroat climate he contributed to create ends up being his undoing, his death caused by Avernites, people he exiled and abused for years, is only the icing on the cake.
335* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: [[spoiler: He's so senile and deluded that he barely realize that he's received a mortal wound and dies without much fanfare.]]
336* OrcusOnHisThrone: Justified, he has no reason to leave his home and you have to barge in.
337* PuzzleBoss: [[spoiler: Surrounded by an invincible barrier, he relies on four golems to attack you. However, as you damage or destroy the golems, he'll use energy from his shield to heal and empower them. Once enough energy has been dissipated, you can kill him.]]
338* SorcerousOverlord: He's the cold-hearted ruler of an empire encompassing the entire surface world and is also a powerful sorcerer.
339* TimeLimitBoss: Sort of, the more you wait, the more troops will flow in. Take too much time and you'll be overwhelmed.
340[[/folder]]
341
342[[folder:Grah-Hoth]]
343
344A powerful Haakai Lord of great power who once terrorized the cavernous kingdom which would eventually become Avernum, but was defeated and sealed away inside a magical prison by Erika, Solberg and Patrick. Too bad the seal on his prison is weakening... [[spoiler: He's eventually freed by the heroes but before he can organize his forces he's killed by them with Demonslayer.]]
345
346----
347* ArrogantKungFuGuy: After getting wounded by you a second time, he'll remark that he'll have to punish himself for allowing himself to grow so weak in these years.
348* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Invoked by Linda in ''3'', where she secretly plots to use her own soul as a bait and open a portal to call Grah-Hoth back from Hell, but he was overtaken by his Haakai rivals who usurped Linda's plan.]]
349* BadassBoast: When he's introduced he gets one at your party, [[spoiler: revealing that the Slith invasion you just stopped was merely a minor play he staged by possessing their leader.]]
350* BigBad: Of ''1/Escape from the Pit''.
351* BadBoss: He's not very kind to his underlings, the Imps he enslaved outright despise him [[spoiler: and are willing to help you sneak in his throne room]] and furthermore, [[spoiler: as the Sliths can attest, he has no use for pawns which have outlived their usefulness.]]
352* BigRedDevil: Especially in the remake, he looks a lot like one. Has a more eldritch-look in the ending picture.
353* DemonLordsAndArchDevils: He's a Haakai Lord, the most powerful breed of demons.
354* EvilIsBigger: Towers over your heroes and lesser demons.
355* EvilOverlord: Including a massive basalt fortress in the middle of a cavern full of magma lakes and hordes of demonic servants.
356%%* TheManBehindTheMan: Hes' this to [[spoiler:Sss-Thsss and the Slithzerikai Invasion]].
357* SealedEvilInACan: Was defeated by Erika, Solberg and Patrick and locked inside a special urn, inside a golem-guarded crypt, beyond a stronghold manned by powerful undead soldiers. [[spoiler: Still does nothing to stop his spirit to wander Avernum and cause havoc.]] You must break the seal with the [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Blessed Athame]] to release and kill him.
358* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: After the above-mentioned ArrogantKungFuGuyMoment, he starts to express disbelief in his defeat, and by the time he's critically wounded he's reduced to a frothing berserk crying in rage over your victory.]]
359* VolcanoLair: His personal domain is located in a far, charred land with a basalt castle emerging in a pool of scalding magma. [[spoiler: Years later, Garzhad and Rentar-Ihrno would re-use his lair for themselves.]]
360* WeaksauceWeakness: Being a Haakai Lord, he's incredibly tough and difficult to kill, unless you have Demon Slayer/Arrows of Light.
361[[/folder]]
362
363[[folder:Sss-Thsss]]
364
365A despotical Slithzerikai warlord with a bad attitude and a giant army ready to eradicate Avernum, he's leading the Sliths to war and is the main threat of the kingdom. [[spoiler: He's actually under the spell of Grah-Hoth.]]
366
367----
368* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: He's the leader because he's the most powerful Slithzerikai their army had to offer.
369* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler: He's actually under the spell of Grah-Hoth the entire time.]]
370* TheDragon: [[spoiler: He's secretly this to Grah-Hoth, who considers him his "pet".]]
371* EvilOverlord: He rules the Sliths with an iron fist and plans to destroy the Avernite to reclaim Avernum for themselves.
372* FlunkyBoss: He's fought with his concubines and servants.
373* OldShame: InUniverse, peaceful Sliths encountered in ''2'' and ''3'' feel regretful for all the collateral damage Sss-Thsss caused, and the FantasticRacism they're subjected to doesn't help.
374* LargeAndInCharge: He's a huge, ferocious Slith.
375* LizardFolk: Being a Slithzerikai, it's a due.
376* VillainousLegacy: In both ''2'' and ''3'' you can stumble into bands of renegade Sliths still worshipping the late Sss-Thsss as a God. In the sixth game, you learn that the Sliths of Gnass have built commemorative statues of the late Sss-Thsss as a warning for those who embrace warfare.
377[[/folder]]
378
379[[folder:Anastasia/Zemera]]
380
381A sorceress turned to a life of banditry, she's the chieftain of a gang of Nephilim and has stolen the enchanted necklace of the Mayor of Cotra. [[spoiler: She makes a surprise return in ''4'', as a lich and the one who provided Rentar-Ihrno with magic and created the sea monsters plague.]]
382
383----
384
385* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: She became the boss of a gang of Nephilim by torching several of them alive with her spells, causing the others to relent and follow her out of fear. Recently, though, there's attrition between her and the other high-ranking Nephilim shamans and warriors.
386* [[EvilSorcerer Evil Sorceress]]: She uses her magic to help bandits and perform acts of evil.
387* FlunkyBoss: She's with Nephilim and can summon more monsters to help her. [[spoiler: In the fourth game, she's surrounded by several spectral entities which acts as her SoulJar and must be destroyed to weaken her shield.]]
388* FromNoBodyToNightmare: She starts as a renegade sorceress and became the leader of a ruthless gang of Nephilim bandits. [[spoiler: Then she returned from the dead as a much more powerful Lich and helped the rogue Vahnatai against Avernum.]]
389* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: In her fortress, you can find a human male prisoner who pretty much tells you that was kept alive so that Zemera could... relieve stress. Despite the rape implication, the dude is happy enough with the situation, given that the alternative is death.
390* OptionalBoss: [[spoiler: In the fourth game, as her domain in Khoth's Lair is optional.]]
391* StarterVillain: Of the first game.
392* TheUndead: She can summon shades and undeads. [[spoiler: In ''4'' she returns as a Lich.]]
393* VillainTeamUp: [[spoiler: In ''4'', she allied herself with Rentar-Ihrno and her Vanhatai faction, though eventually she got bored and broke the alliance.]]
394
395[[/folder]]
396
397[[folder:Linda]]
398
399A member of the Triad with a penchant of demonology, she thinks she can learn arcane truths and secrets by summoning demons and has bound a Haakai Lord to the Tower, who promptly put her under his spell. During the second game she's exiled in Motrax' lair, but becomes once again a member of the Triad in ''3''. [[spoiler: Only to summon a demon lord again, destroying the entire tower out of spite.]]
400
401----
402
403* AscendedExtra: Zigzagged trope: she's a minor antagonist in ''1'', then an optional NPC encounter in ''2'', then back as a Triad member in ''3'' [[spoiler: when she destroys the Tower of Magi and needs to be destroyed.]]
404* BroughtDownToNormal: She seemingly loses most of her powers after the destruction of her Haakai summon. She gets them back in ''3''.
405* CloudCuckooLander: Summoning demons hasn't been... good for her mental health, to say the least.
406* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: In ''3'', she tries to open a portal and summon back Grah-Hoth using her soul as a bait, but [[EvilIsNotAToy other Haakai Lords interfere and grab ahold of her soul, using the portal to invade the tower]].]]
407* OptionalBoss: [[spoiler: If you let day 160 roll by in ''3'', her plan will destroy the tower by summoning several demons through a portal and you have to destroy the demons and use the Blessed Athame to kill Linda, closing the portal.]]
408* TooDumbToLive: While it's possible to learn magic to summon other creatures or even demons, trying to summon a Hakaai Lord and dismissing all concerns as ignorant nonsense is straight demented. [[spoiler: She recovers some of her sanity in her final moments and begs to be killed.]]
409* WhosLaughingNow: [[spoiler: Destroys the Tower of Magi after day 160 in ''3''.]]
410[[/folder]]
411
412[[folder:Pyrog]]
413
414One of the last Five Dragons of Avernum, Pyrog is a violent and unsufferable monster who's attended by Giants and forces people to worship her. During the events of the first game she's eventually killed by some adventurers.
415
416----
417* BloodKnight: She's actually disappointed if you do not accept her challenge.
418* TheBrute: She's the most violent of the five, and also the dumbest.
419* DoomedByCanon: Even if you let her off the hook in the first game, she's killed by adventurers by the time the war starts.
420* FlunkyBoss: She has her army of Cave Giants fighting alongside her.
421* SuicidalOverconfidence: She downright challenges anyone entering her lair to a fight. It gets her killed.
422[[/folder]]
423
424[[folder:Garzahd]]
425
426Hawhthorne's right-hand warlock, Garzahd is a powerful and crafty sorcerer with no morals and a burning desire to protect the Empire by any threats with any means, he's the leader of the Imperial Army in ''2''. Has made himself nearly-invulnerable by mixing his own blood with demonic blood.
427
428----
429* TheArchmage: He's among the most powerful sorcerers in the Empire, barring Hawthorne himself.
430* BigBad: Of ''2'', being the general of the Empire Army stationed in Avernum and the main responsible for the invasion.
431* DragonAscendant: Subverted, he even laughs off your offer to let him rule after you take care of Hawthorne. More or less, he's something of a DragonWithAnAgenda or DragonInCharge.
432* DropInNemesis: After recovering the Crystal Soul from the Ziggurat, he will appear from nowhere and blast the roof with Quickfire, forcing you to run for your lives, fighting through enemy forces.
433* EvilSorcerer: An amoral piece of crap with a fantastic skill in dark magic.
434* FateWorseThanDeath: In the fourth game, you encounter a tormented wretch in the remains of old Empire fort, barely held together by Rentar-Ihrno's magic. It turns out to be none other than Garzahd himself, who is in so much pain from getting reanimated constantly and begs you to finish him off. [[spoiler: Before you do though, Rentar's magic kicks in and he tries to defend himself against his will. You have to put him out of his misery by killing him, or what's left of him at least.]]
435* FinalBoss: He's treated as such for ''2''.
436* GeneralRipper: He's also the main commander of the military expedition against Avernum.
437* HalfHumanHybrid: He turned himself into one as part of his countless protection and defenses.
438* HeWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler: His breakdown reveals him to be a WellIntentionedExtremist variation of this.]]
439* IAmAHumanitarian: You can find humanoid bodies and "weird meat" in his pantry...
440* ILetYouWin: How the battle against him in ''1'' is depicted: he's mostly unharmed, the damage you did was an illusion but he ultimately thinks that perhaps he could let you kill Hawthorne after all...
441* TheManBehindTheWoman: Downplayed, but he has shades of this with Prazac despite being her main advisor. It's implied that the war against Avernum is entirely ''his'' pet project.
442* NighInvulnerable: He wears a massive amount of protection on himself and is extremely difficult to harm and kill, taking only ScratchDamage from most attacks. [[spoiler: Hitting him enough times with Demonslayer break his defenses.]]
443* OptionalBoss: [[spoiler: You can encounter what's left of him in Rentar-Ihrno's keep in ''4''. Killing him will allow you to enter a hidden part of the dungeon and deactivate Rentar's line of defense.]]
444* ProperlyParanoid: He's always on the edge, fearing threats coming from the demons, the Avernites or the Vahnatai. [[spoiler: ''3'' proves him right in hindsight.]]
445* UndeadAbomination: [[spoiler: His undead form in ''4'' resembles a gaunt, humanoid undead covered in rotting, misshapen flesh and bulging bones, which can fall off his body in droves to form more skeletal warriors.]]
446* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: Undergoes one if you have Demonslayer and gives a MotiveRant as you injure him more and more.]]
447* VillainHasAPoint: [[spoiler: Accuses the Vahnatai to be a threat for Avernum and the Empire. Game three proves him right, with the Monster Plagues nearly depopulating Valorim.]]
448* WeaksauceWeakness: He has demonic blood in his veins, which means: [[spoiler: Demonslayer is the only weapon capable of demolishing his defenses.]]
449[[/folder]]
450
451[[folder:Midori]]
452
453An ancient and wicked Lich, dwelling inside the corrupted fortress of Angierach along with the Twelve (Ten in the remake) Masters, she guards one of the Crystal Souls.
454
455----
456* AdaptationPersonalityChange: In the original game, Midori is a nondescript FlatCharacter at most. In the remake she has a more defined personality.
457* AxCrazy: Her personality in the remake. She enjoys putting intruders through a gauntlet of deadly fights for shit and giggles.
458* DarkActionGirl: Referred to with feminine pronouns, though by this point her gender is kinda trivial.
459* EqualOpportunityEvil: The Twelve/Ten Masters are composed of extremely aged and evil humans, demons and Rakshasi.
460* GratuitousJapanese: For some reason, possibly a coincidence, her name means "Green".
461* MacGuffinGuardian: A Crystal Soul is kept sealed inside her stronghold, protected by a magical barrier, impervious even to normal barrier-dispelling enchantments. [[spoiler: But still vulnerable to Quickfire.]]
462* OurLichesAreDifferent: She looks like an ordinary skeleton, but is an incredibly powerful spellcaster. Like most liches from this series, she lacks a SoulJar.
463* QuirkyMinibossSquad: She leads the Twelve/Ten Masters, a group of powerful humanoids serving her and ruling Angierach.
464[[/folder]]
465
466[[folder:Rentar-Ihrno]]
467
468Aloof and powerful Vahnatai sorceress, Rentar-Ihrno heavily distrusts humans and barely offers her help against the Empire because of her desire for revenge. [[spoiler: She's ultimately so offended by the Empire's crimes that she and her followers engine the monster plagues to unleash on Valorim.]]
469
470----
471* AloofAlly: In ''2'', she'll eventually and begrundingly lend you her help only after you've recovered enough Crystal Souls, and even then she treats you with contempt and sends you on a dangerous errand for her.
472* TheArchmage: She's among the most powerful Vahnatai spellcasters, as [[spoiler: her handiwork in 3 shows.]]
473* BigBad: [[spoiler: The real mastermind behind the events of 3, she also escapes and turn her vengeance on Avernum in 4.]]
474* CombatPragmatist: [[spoiler: Once she realizes that Erika can match her blow for blow, she decides to aim for the ceiling and let sunlight burn the rival to a crisp.]]
475* EnemyMine: In ''2'' she has nothing but scathing contempt for the Avernites, but she does recognize Garzahd as the most impending threat.
476* FantasticRacism: Towards pretty much everything not Vahnatai.
477* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: By the time ''3'' runs around she seems friendly, but she's actually planning the eradication of the entire human population of Valorim and possibly the Empire. However, in the fourth game it's possible to talk her out of her vengeance and persuade her to come quietly to face judgement.]]
478* GoodIsNotNice: In ''2'' she's one of your allies, but is cold, unhelpful and disdainful. [[spoiler: Cut to ''3'' and ''4'', and drop the Good part after TheReveal.]]
479* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler: She's mad at the Empire for daring to use the Crystal Souls as power sources, but she did the same to one of them to power up the Golem Factory.]]
480* HoistByHerOwnPetard:[[spoiler: True, the massive facility under her volcanic lair allows her to generate all the monsters she likes and send them to wreck the surface. However, as Bon-Ihrno revealed, manipulating the energy beams and the slime production inside the machine can cause it to overheat and explode. In ''4'', completing the Shades sidequest will give you a magic shard from Rentar's current form, allowing you to use it to shield yourself against her strongest attacks during the final boss fight.]]
481* HopelessBossFight: [[spoiler: Fighting her head on and killing her the regular way is technically possible in III, but can take hours. The remake turns it outright in a PuzzleBoss and makes you sabotage the mechanism and activate the controls while fighting her back.]]
482* IShallTauntYou: [[spoiler: In the fourth game, she seemingly invites the heroes to her lair under the pretense of helping them... only to reveal herself as the mastermind behind the Shades and the other plagues of Avernum, taunting them before revealing that the cavern system they just walked through was a deadly trap to get rid of them.]]
483* KickTheDog: In her private rooms you can find Demon Slayer, implying that she stole it from Avernum out of spite.
484* LoadBearingBoss: Inverted in ''3'', [[spoiler: instead of defeating ''her'', you sabotage her machine and cause her lair to collapse. Played straight in ''4'' if you fight her to the death.]]
485* MookMaker: She's adept at summon magic, and [[spoiler: she created the Plagues along with her disciples.]]
486* MoralMyopia: [[spoiler: Killing thousands of innocent citizens with her schemes? An act of justice. However, when your heroes kill her minions in self-defense, she deems them beyond forgiveness and plans to have them killed even if they agree with her plans. Deep down though, she feels remorse for her actions.]]
487* OmnicidalManiac: [[spoiler: If her plans succeed, Valorim will be reduced to a barren wasteland.]]
488* OrcusOnHerThrone: [[spoiler:She has no reason to leave her base after TheReveal, as the controls for producing more monsters are right inside her throne room. Justified in the fourth title, where she forcibly turned herself into a Crystal Soul]].
489* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: She's mad at the Empire and wants revenge at all costs. [[spoiler: It's also behind the events of the third game.]]
490* SheWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler:Her burning hatred for the Empire lead her to become a villainess]].
491* TeleportsAndTeleporters: If you try to talk to her before the time, she'll forcibly teleport you outside her lab.
492* VillainousBreakdown:[[spoiler: Reacts with utter disbelief and fear when the Avernites sabotage her facility, and loses it when they're saved from the exploding structure by Prazac.]]
493* VillainHasAPoint: She'd rather have the Avernites leave Avernum, but at least she points out that the vast caverns of Avernum have meager resources and won't be able to support the current population for extended periods of time. [[spoiler: She also justifies her vengeance on the Empire by poiting out that the Empire will be left in chaotic disarray and Avernum will be able to overthrow them and take back their land.]]
494* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Her ultimate plan will allow the Avernites to settle back on the surface permanently... over the thousands of corpses and smoldering ruins of the Imperial cities.]]
495* TheWomanBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:The mastermind behind the monster Plagues afflicting Valorim in the third game, while she's the one behind the Shades and the sea monsters in the fourth game]].
496[[/folder]]
497
498[[folder:The Slime Plague]]
499
500The first plague afflicting Valorim's province of Krizsan: hordes of mindless blobs roams the country, dissolving everything in their path. They're spread thanks to the demented rogue wizard Bojar and the eldritch Alien Slime.
501
502----
503* BlobMonster: An entire invasion of slimy, corrosive blobs of brightly-colored death.
504* BodyHorror: In the Pit, you can run into slimes trying to merge with various humanoids and beasts. There's also Bojar in the remake, who's partially turned into a Slime himself.
505* BrightIsNotGood: ''Ruined World'' makes this more evident, since "natural" slimes are dull-colored instead.
506* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Usually, the slime's color helps you remember their specialties: green ones are corrosive, ochre ones can slow you, mauve ones can use spells, and so on.
507* DegradedBoss: Several more Alien Slimes are fought in the final dungeon.
508* EldritchAbomination: The Alien Slime is a towering, grotesque, slime-spitting abomination that flails and wobbles around in the deepest reaches of the Slime Pits, and looks like nothing you've ever seen. It vaguely looks like a massive spider too in the Remake.
509* FusionDance: Some Slimes are trying to give birth to new abominations by forcibly merging with living creatures.
510* MookMaker: Slime Pools/Pillars are used to give birth to slimes by the dozens. Bojar was able to start his own collection using a sample of the breeding fluid.
511* StarterVillain: They're the very first Plague you come across, and the easiest to deal with.
512* WalkingWasteland: The slimes, due to their corrosive trails, are ruining the lands and slowly corroding the buildings.
513* WhosLaughingNow: Implied to have been Bojar's main motivation.
514[[/folder]]
515
516[[folder:The Roach Plague]]
517The second plague, afflicting the Island province of Abigail: Swarms of gigantic cockroaches infest the island, thriving in garbage, spreading filth and illness. They originate in the remote and mysterious Filth Factory.
518
519----
520* AnimalJingoism: They're at odds with the GiantSpider colonies on the island.
521* BigCreepyCrawlies: An entire army of them. Some of them are even human-sized, Judas Breed-style.
522* CreepyCockroaches: The smallest of which are around the same size as dobermans.
523* KillItWithFire: [[spoiler: The Quickfire generated by the Phoenix Egg is the way to get rid of the Factory once and for all. Also include CollapsingLair and OutrunningTheFireball.]]
524* ThePigPen: An entire gigantic Factory filled with mountains of trash and organic waste is used to breed new insects and produce more filth to feed them. Furthermore, the insects spreads even more filth which, of course, ruins the island.
525* TokenGoodTeammate: There's a colony of Giant Intelligent Friendly Talking Roaches living on the island and working with the Giant Intelligent Friendly Talking Spiders of Bigail. You'll need their help to locate the Factory.
526[[/folder]]
527
528[[folder:The Troglo Plague]]
529The third plague, afflicting Sharimik province: these massive humanoids were believed to be extinct, but now they have reappeared, stronger than even, guided by their warrior priests in combat.
530
531----
532* TheBrute: Troglodytes are stout, massive and physically powerful, though unlike the Giants, they do show traces of GeniusBruiser, using clever tactics and fire magic.
533* TheChessmaster: Surprisingly enough, the Troglo King is one: under the pretense of a diplomatic mission, he essentially manipulates you into getting rid of his fanatical priest who's hindering his plans and forcing him to fight the humans, under the promise of relenting the attacks on humans. [[spoiler: He lied on the last part, but he does stop attacking humans once the pathway to the Giants' Lair has opened again.]]
534* FantasticRacism: They hate Giants more than anything else, and is actually the key to defeat them.
535* LivingRelic: They were thought to be extinct, but were brought BackFromTheDead by [[spoiler: the Vahnatai.]]
536* PragmaticVillainy: The Troglos are attacking human towns under the pressure of their priests, but they'd rather spend their energy on fighting their ancestral enemies, the Giant, if only they could get rid of the barrier.
537* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: They're mostly ferocious warriors, with the warrior-priests known as Khazi leading their lines. They even have separate burial grounds to differentiate cowards from true warriors.
538* ReligionOfEvil: They worship their gods through a demonic altar which empowers them.
539[[/folder]]
540
541[[folder:The Giant Plague]]
542The fourth plague, afflicting Lorelei, Sharimik's neighbour: Giants, thought as extinct, have reappeared and spread chaos and death, besieging several cities and destroying minor villages in their path.
543
544----
545* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: They're among the biggest enemies you can encounter.
546* BackFromTheDead: Hill Giants were wiped out by the Empire centuries ago, but the enemy force has resurrected them along with the Troglodytes.
547* BoringButPractical: They're a gigantic population of humanoids using arms and equipments barely at Bronze-Age level and mostly attack by throwing large boulders: there are so many of them though, that such methods are more than enough.
548* TheBrute: They're the most physically-oriented of the five Plagues, consisting in an entire race of massive, brutal humanoids who live in primitive, bronze-age castles.
549* EnemyCivilWar: They'd gladly attack the Troglodytes given a chance... [[spoiler: And once you demolish the barrier separating the two people...]]
550* FantasticRacism: They pretty much hate everything shorter than them, including humans and Troglodytes.
551* ImprovisedWeapon: They often use massive stones and boulders in combat.
552* LivingRelic: They were eradicated by the Empire in a distant past.
553* OurGiantsAreBigger: They are huge, primitive humanoids of limited intellect and huge strength. They also keep monsters as guards and worship pain.
554[[/folder]]
555
556[[folder:The Golem Plague]]
557The fifth plague, afflicting Gale: whole squads of mindless and tireless automatons emerged from the wilds, killing everything alive on their paths and forcing the people of the province to consume the deadly Skribbane Herb to stand the pain. They're seemingly spawned by the deadly Golem Factory.
558
559----
560* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Normal Blade Golems are gray, Fire Golems are Red, Frost Golems are blue, Jeweled Golems are green.
561* CreativeSterility / DumbMuscle: General Baziron notes that the Golems use extremely rigid tactics and are much slower to adjust to a changed battlefield situation than human combatants.
562* ElementalPowers: Some golems are enchanted with the powers of FireIceLightning.
563* {{Golem}}: An entire Factory of them, which continuously produce them in massive numbers and spawn them in the surrounding region, killing anything living, be them animals or humans.
564* ImplacableMan: Unlike the Slimes and Roaches, they're actually a threat. Unlike the Troglos and Giants, they lack psychological weaknesses, needs for sustainance or reasons to direct their rage at anyone else than their intended target. They're slowly wiping out the life from Gale's Province, demolishing the cities brick by brick and forcing the imperial soldiers to take [[FantasticDrug Skribbane Herb]], essentially amphetamine, just to keep up.
565* KeystoneArmy: Once the [[spoiler: Crystal Soul]] fueling the Factory is destroyed, the entire Factory is destroyed and the Golem production stops.
566* OmnicidalManiac: They not only attack humans, but kill any animal life they come across.
567* OurDemonsAreDifferent: They also include Demon Golems, which are... well, golems built to resemble demons and can cast magical abilities typical of demons.
568* PerpetualMotionMonster: Golems are unstoppable and don't need to sleep, rest or eat.
569[[/folder]]
570
571[[folder:The Alien Beast Plague]]
572The last plague, these alien creatures were made not only to hunt down the Imperials but also to destroy everything in their path with unearthly ferocity. They were so destructive the entire province had to be sealed behind a giant wall.
573
574----
575* AbnormalLimbRotationRange: In the remake, the description mention that the beasts can do so with their necks to shred people apart.
576* EldritchAbomination: A downplayed example, they're still an entire race of ferocious, unstoppable monsters never seen before and this contribute to the terror they inspire. [[spoiler: Unsurprisingly enough, they serve the ulterior end to keep the Imperials from finding proofs of Rentar-Ihrno's involvement.]]
577* LargeAndInCharge: They also have Pack Leaders which are bigger.
578* MultiArmedAndDangerous: In ''3'' they have three pairs of legs.
579* NighInvulnerable: They're very tough, even more so than Giants and Golems.
580* OmnicidalManiac: Alien Beasts aren't satisfied with exterminating the population, they'll even tear buildings apart and destroy both vegetation and the soil itself, making the entire land they've invaded bare and lifeless.
581* OurMonstersAreWeird: Alien Beasts are massive, six-legged black worg things or, in the remake, large, quadrupedal dinosaur beasts of unimaginable ferocity and strength, powerful enough to destroy an entire country if left unchecked and to bother beasts such as ''Dragons''.
582* RaceLift: Massive canine mammals in the original games, they look more like dinosaurs in ''Ruined World''.
583* SealedEvilInACan: They were so vicious, the Empire gave up fighting them and decided to keep them inside the Province by building a giant wall around them. The bad news... they're learning to dig under the wall and crossing the mountains.
584* WalkingWasteland: The entire province they've infested has been turned into a desert, and they did this with nothing but their claws and fangs.
585[[/folder]]
586
587[[folder:The Shades]]
588Appearing in the fourth game, these towering spectral ghosts have manifested in several cities of Avernum, such as Formello, Silvar, Almaria and the western reaches of the Great Cave. Seemingly invincible and unscrutable, these black creatures have thrown Avernum's citizens into panic.
589
590----
591* AnIcePerson: The first Shade employs ice attacks and can inflict the "Frozen" status to your characters.
592* BurningWithAnger: The Shade of Wrath also uses fire attacks.
593* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: [[AnIcePerson The Blue Shade of Ice]], [[WalkingWasteland the Green Shade of Venom]] and the [[HatePlague Red Shade of Wrath]].
594* TheDreaded: The people of Avernum have learnt to fear these monstrosities. Since Shades apparently attack those who try to deal with foreigners, this leads to whole cities shutting down and refusing to communicate out of sheer terror.
595* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: They showed up out of nowhere, start randomly hunting people for no discernible reason and nobody knows much about them.
596* HatePlague: The Red Shade drives surrounding people into senseless rage, to the point that the entire city of Dharmon decide to openly protect the Shade by killing all those who may fight and stir it into a battle frenzy, and show no sign of gratitude when the Shade is killed, accusing your party [[UngratefulBastard of putting Dharmon in unnecessary jeopardy]]
597* HealingFactor: Before you acquire [[spoiler: the Onyx Scepter]], Shades are able to cast spells to recover from all damage after a while. Attacking them in an exercise is futile before that.
598* TheHeavy: They serve as the main plague of Avernum for most of the story, keeping Almaria sealed up, for example.
599* InTheHood: They resemble huge, towering humanoids cloaked in black robes and hoods.
600* MookMaker: The Red Shade sheds a Draining Skeleton on its turn after sustaining damage.
601* OurGhostsAreDifferent: They were created by [[spoiler: Rentar-Ihrno]] to bring chaos to Avernum and spread fear. They're more like Golems, though they are susceptible to Repel Spitit.
602* RunOrDie: In the first part of the game, winning against the Shades is impossible, so if you accidentally aggro one early on you're advised to run away, as they won't pursue you past the city gates.
603* TurnsRed: When finally fought, each Shade goes through three phases during which they use a cheap shot: first they spawn a large amount of mooks, then they use a special trick (the blue one makes itself NighInvulnerable, the green one spams a wave of terror, the red one grows stronger) then they use the summon trick again.
604[[/folder]]
605
606[[folder:The Sea Monsters]]
607A mysterious breed of monstrous creatures which have appeared in the seas of Avernum, because of this creatures all forms of travel by ship are impossible. They appeared alongside the Shades.
608
609----
610* CombatTentacles: They have long tentacles they use to grab and sink ships.
611* TheGhost: They are ''exclusively'' mentioned and descripted several times, you can see one of their abandoned breeding grounds but you never see or fight them. Justified, as the game never implemented battles against sea creatures.
612* OutsideContextProblem: Avernites were used to fighting monsters of all kinds from the caverns or, at most, coming from the water but fighting on land: the presence of kraken-like abominations who swim too far away and too deep to be attacked left them with no real answer to counter them.
613* PerpetualMotionMonster: Subverted, their only weakness is the fact that they need to be fed and reinforced with spells very often: with the defeat of the BigBad, they'll die off on their own.
614* SeaMonster: Very large, green monsters with long tentacles and teeth-filled maws.
615
616[[/folder]]
617
618
619[[folder:Dorikas]]
620Leader of the Darkside Loyalist, an imperial faction secretly planning to overthrow the Empire. His men are secretly sabotaging Avernum and taking advantage of the situation to spread chaos.
621
622----
623* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: In ''5'', your party can decide to go rogue and help Dorikas, which makes him become the Emperor instead of Redmark. The following game confirms it never happened, though.]]
624* BerserkButton: When he confronts the party in his keep, he will become outraged if the party chooses to play the IgnoredEnemy card when he shows up.
625* BigBadDuumvirate: In the fourth game, alongside the real BigBad [[spoiler: Rentar-Ihrno]], despite having no direct connection to her. He becomes the actual BigBad of the fifth game.
626* CombatPragmatist: If the fight starts going against his favor, Dorikas is not afraid to use any method to turn the tide to his advantage.
627* CrazyPrepared: [[spoiler: His EvilLair was actually meant to act as a fully functional outpost for the Empire so that they could monitor the Avernites.]]
628* GetBackHereBoss: In ''4'', after suffering enough damage in combat he will summon some critters and cast Terror on the entire party as he makes his escape to another part of the base, where he recovers some health and attacks again. He uses a similar strategy in ''5''.
629* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has a massive burn scar across his face.
630* {{Irony}}: For a snobbist racist who despise Avernum, he used the very same plan as the Avernite used to assassinate Hawthorne with similar results (though rather than a war, he's hounded by imperial agents).
631* JokerImmunity: Even if you manage to slay him in the fourth game, he reappears alive in the following.
632* LargeAndInCharge: Described as an enormous man, surpassing his own soldiers in size.
633* MagicKnight: Dorikas is prepared for anything: he can rip you a new one with either his spear or with a barrage of spells, your choice.
634* NeckSnap: [[spoiler: If you decide to spare him so that he can face judgement, he will use Ruth's last spell to kill himself in this manner.]]
635* NotSoDifferentRemark: When you confront him in ''5'', he will comment that he wasn't much different from the playable characters when he was younger and more idealistic.
636* OneHandedZweihander: When he first appears, the narration describes him wielding a massive halberd in his right hand and a rune-engraved baton in his left. While his sprite wields the polearm two-handed, his size and spellcasting implies he easily wields the thing with one hand (while in the fifth game his sprite uses a sword).
637* TinTyrant: Wears a massive platemail covering all his features, except for his face.
638* VillainExitStageLeft: When you deal enough damage, Dorikas will cast spells of Terror before making his getaway through a portal.
639* VillainHasAPoint: You spend the entire game seeing first hand that Avernites tend to be arrogant, hostile and distrustful of the Empire. [[spoiler: Even when you kill him, General Redmark still honor his last request to use his own hidden fortress as an outpost to keep watch on the Avernite from the Northern Frontier.]]
640* VillainousLegacy: [[spoiler: In the sixth game, you can find remnants of the Darkside Loyalists hiding in the caverns and Erika's old lair in the Abyss.]]
641* WellIntentionedExtremist: How Dorikas ultimately sees himself. The player may come to the same conclusion during the course of the game.
642[[/folder]]
643
644[[folder:Gladwell]]
645A mysterious and creepy sorcerer found in the Abyss, where he fled after some of the experimental slimes he was breeding killed four people. Implied to be a former student of Patrick, he has a penchant for cruel experiments, dangerous missions and putting {{geas}} on people in exchange for his "help".
646
647----
648* AffablyEvil: He genuinely wants to be helpful and aid the Kingdom of Avernum but... his methods and prices are still immoral.
649* AmbitionIsEvil: [[spoiler: His ultimate goal is to gather enough strength to take over Avernum. The player can decide whether to stop him or to let him become the next king.]]
650* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: If you complete all his quests in 6 and you do not kill him, then he will be able to dethrone Starrus and become the supreme overlord of Avernum.]]
651* BadSamaritan: He's very generous with the help he can provide. Not so much when it comes to the price for said help.
652* CollectorOfTheStrange: In his tower, the corridor leading to his balcony has paralyzed monsters as decorations.
653* JokerImmunity: He's a recurring character in the second trilogy, but even if you kill him in the fourth or fifth games, he comes back in the following.
654* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: After spending years killing people, performing sick experiments and enslave innocents under the pretense of helping them, Gladwell is finally slain by some adventurers in a battle inside Erika's Tower ruins.
655* MadScientist: From raising man-eating slimes to send heroes to collect body parts of various creatures to sending whole parties to unleash wild magic all over the caves.
656* MysteriousPast: Very little is known of him, except that he once was a student in Patrick's tower.
657* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: In the sixth game, no matter what anyone else implies, he's not responsible for bringing the Scuttlers from the Northern Frontier... despite being from the Northern Frontier.
658
659[[/folder]]
660
661[[folder:Lysstak the Beast]]
662Chieftain of a band of bandits infesting the newly-colonized region of Drake Pillars, Lysstak is said to descend from an imperial general and is feared for his fighting prowess, his unmatched speed and the sheer number and organization of his followers.
663
664----
665* BadBoss: Thinks nothing of forcing his men to share their hideout with a violent ogre and in his room there's a freshly killed Goblin.
666* TheDreaded: The miners and civilians of Drake Pillars would love to get rid of him... but they're just too terrified of him and his men to actually act and even help you. Case in point, when the clue given to you by the innkeeper leads you straight into a trap which she boldly denies, everyone in the tavern silently sides with her.
667* EqualOpportunityEvil: He's willing to hire women, nephilim, nephar, slithzerikai, goblins and ogres.
668* LightningBruiser: Because of his magic, he can move around and run at top speed, like a blur. Subverted in that his actual trick involves SelfDuplication using his own future selves as copies.
669* LoneWolfBoss: Zigzagged, he denies working for Dorikas despite respecting his ideals, but you can find letters signed by the man himself which makes clear that he was involved with the Darkside Loyalist.
670* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Beast doesn't really sound reassuring.
671* OhCrap: His last copy (and real self) does this when you kill his two future selves, even after reassuring himself that he can use their experience to deal with you and avoid death.
672* PowerMisidentification: People believe that his enchanted jewel gives him otherwordly speed to the point of making duplicates. Turns out his actual magic makes duplicates from his future selves.
673* StarterVillain: He's the first important threat faced by the party in ''5'', supported by Dorikas.
674[[/folder]]
675
676[[folder:Incantor Ruth]]
677
678A powerful Darkside sorceress and Dorikas' right-hand woman.
679
680----
681
682* AffablyEvil: She's courteous, kind and treats the party with more respect than their colleagues.
683* DisappointedByTheMotive: She will react with disgust and asks herself how could she see an ally in you if you still refuse to join the Darkside Loyalists and still express your loyalty to the Empire.
684* TheDragon: Responds directly to Dorikas. She's also the last line of defense before the area where the Darkside Loyalists are holed up in.
685* InTheHood: She wears a full sorcerer's robe with a large hood.
686* VillainousBreakdown: A very short one when fatally wounded by the heroes, where she seemingly regrets fighting the Empire and ending up dying alone in the dark caves of Northern Avernum.
687* WeCanRuleTogether: When encountered by the party in Exodus, she offers them the chance of renouncing to their quest and actually aid Dorikas.
688* YouShallNotPass: She and her warriors will try to stop the pursuing party from crossing the Black River beyond the Vahnatai Lands.
689
690[[/folder]]
691
692[[folder:Dervish Tholmen]]
693A Darkside Dervish and one of Dorikas' lieutenants. He prepares an ambush against the party halfway through.
694
695----
696
697* BlackKnight: Wears a full armor, brandishes a pole axe, fights in the name of an evil master and blocks your way across a bridge.
698* TheBrute: One of Dorikas' loyal followers, though he can mostly fight.
699* FlunkyBoss: He sets up an ambush with a veritable army of bandits and Darkside Loyalists, forcing the party to run for their lives, fighting through waves of enemies before reaching the camp where Tholmen is fought.
700* HostageSituation: [[spoiler: Thanks to his small army, he can force the Anama village to help them into laying an ambush for the heroes. The Anama wouldn't do this, but can't fight back.]]
701* {{Hypocrite}}: For all his talks of honor and discipline, he's still the guy who had several miners murdered and thrown into an abyss.
702* NobleDemon: He's honorable and the thought of fighting a fellow imperial warrior sincerely disgusts him. He also shows a good deal of respect for the party and, if slain, will go down gracefully.
703* VillainExitStageLeft: When wounded enough he pulls out a smoke bomb to make a getaway, though reluctantly so. [[spoiler: Letting him flee allows you to prove your loyalty to the Darkside Loyalists and eventually join them.]]
704* WeHaveReserves: Sends waves after waves of Avernite outlaws at the heroes.
705
706[[/folder]]
707
708[[folder:The Slith Horde Leaders]]
709The three leaders of the Slithzerikai Horde threatening Avernum's safety along with the Blight's threat running rampart across the cave. Each of the three leader specializes in a different field, the first being Khrez-Yss the Shadow, the second Ess-Kalyn the Manburner and the third Ghavassa-Oss the Impaler, a Slith warlord.
710----
711
712* BigBadDuumvirate: Of the sixth and final game, though Avernum has already plenty of problems even without the Slith Horde.
713* BloodSport: Ghavassa-Oss' palace include a massive arena, where captured humans have to fight against Sliths and lizards.
714* FighterMageThief: They're structured as this in both specialties and roles.
715* GetBackHereBoss: Khrez-Yss takes the party on in the cellar system of Formello, taking advantage of his stealth and the number of healing vats in the area to escape to safety whenever his health gets too low and go back attacking the party from a different angle. You need to disable the spawing points to keep him from coming back again and again.
716* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The encounter with Ghavassa-Oss starts with the party lead into the arena portion of his palace, where several Sliths and lizards are sicced on the heroes. After slaying a good amount of them they can then challenge Ghavassa-Oss himself and, if they defeated enough waves, pretty much force the warlord to come down in the fray and fight personally.
717* KeystoneArmy: Deconstructed with Ghavassa-Oss: true, his death deals a massive strike to the morale and organization of the Horde... but for the moment it makes the entire Slith garrison of Formello furious, forcing the party to flee towards the teleportation pylon as fast as they can.
718* KillItWithFire: It's right there in Ess-Kalyn's moniker.
719* TheMagnificent: All three of them carry significant monikers related to their profession and skill, namely the Shadow for the stealth operations, the Manburner for the fire-wielding caster and the Impaler for the spear-wielding warrior leader.
720* OhCrap: Ghavassa-Oss has a minor one if the heroes defeat all the enemies in the arena then issue a challenge, as he realizes that he must take them on to save face despite the danger he'd be in.
721* OrcusOnHisThrone: Ghavassa-Oss leads the troops from the conquered city of Formello, sending soldiers to attack the Eastern Gallery. By contrast, Khrez-Yss is first encountered in a goblin cave deep in Avernum territory, spreading chaos and rebellion.
722

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