Characters / Fighting Fantasy Antagonists Allansia Conquerors Warlords

Agglax

See his entry on the Pit page under Greater Demons.

Malbordus

^{Click here to see him in Temple of Terror}

Appears in: Temple of Terror

A human of great potential for magic, abandoned in the wilderness as an infant, who was taken to the underground capital of the dark elven kingdom of Tìranduil Kelthas, and raised by the High Priestess of the Snake Demon Myurr. As the final trial of his training, he is tasked to venture into the lost city of Vatos in the Desert of Skulls to recover lost Artifacts of Doom that would help him take over Allansia. Fortunately, the Legendary Wizard Yaztromo learns about his quest and sends the hero who braved the Caverns of the Snow Witch and The Forest of Doom to face him...

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• Antagonist Abilities: He starts the battle with a painful Deafening Spell that affects the whole room. And his cursed sword will paralyze you if you're hit three times.
• Artifact of Doom: The five Dragon Artefacts he is looking for are five dragon statuettes of bone, ebony, crystal, silver and gold, that can be turned into an invincible dragon obeying those who awoke them. With such Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Dark Elven Kingdom and its army could rise from their subterranean city and invade the land unopposed.
• Badass Long Robe: Malbordus wears a long, flowing black robe, fitting for an Evil Sorcerer.
• The Beast Master: He can subjugate animals, even those bred for war, into obeying him so thoroughly that they become dependent on him to live, unable to feed if he does not order them to.
• Big Bad: The powerful mage setting out to invade Allansia for the dark elves, whom you must track down.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Malbordus is the main villain of the book, but Leesha, the Grand Priestess of Vatos plays an equally important villainous role. At least one bad ending confirms that the two are in cahoots.
  • Contrary to Leesha, a Vain Sorceress of considerable power who only cares about sitting around and having her every whim catered, Malbordus is a Sorcerous Overlord in training, working to build his own power base. She flees as soon as you pose a threat to her, while Malbordus confronts you head on for the Final Battle, cementing him as the biggest threat and true Big Bad.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Not in the story proper, but the franchise as a whole. He does pose a considerable threat, yet is an upstart compared to other Big Bads. Justified in that Malbordus is still in training to become a proper Big Bad. Had he succeeded, he would have grown as formidable as the others.
• Black Swords Are Better: His cursed blade is made of pitch-black steel.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: He tries to kill you by summoning the dreaded Envoy of Death... who, rather than killing you on the spot is content with scattering the five letters D.E.A.T.H. across the dungeon, which are quite dangerous but easily escapable.
• The Champion: To the High Priestess of Myurr, and the Dark Elven Kingdom as a whole. And to Myurr himself by extension.
• Child Prodigy: Malbordus displayed immense potential for magic at a very young age, and passed his first initiation with flying colours at the tender age of nine.
• Complexity Addiction: Summoning a powerful spirit against you while he's searching the Plot Coupons is fine and dandy. But he had to send one with needlessly convoluted, next to useless methods. Better (or worse), the Envoy of Death makes it clear that he could easily snuff you on the spot, but goes for complexity instead.
• Creepy Child: He was so evil as a child that even the Always Chaotic Evil dark elves were disturbed. Of course, they saw his evil and potential as a blessing and set out to make use of it.
• Dark Messiah: He's this to the dark elves and the cult of Myurr who raised him.
• Despotism Justifies the Means: Malbordus and the Dark Elves want to take over and enslave all other races. They consider every other people as beneath them and only fit to crawl at their feet.
• Drop-In Nemesis: After you've found all five statuettes and smashed one of them, Malbordus will emerge from a nearby pit and challenge you to a fight, starting the Final Battle.
• Evil Counterpart: He's this to your own character if you think about it: Both of you are trained in swordsmanship and magic, received magical help in Darkwood and are sent to Vatos to look after the same set of artefacts, though your objectives are different.
• Evil Eyebrows: Made even creepier by his gaunt, skull-like face.
• Evil Laugh: He gives one in the Bad Ending, riding one of the Five Dragons to the Dark Elf Kingdom.
• Evil Makes You Ugly: As an adult he's tall, gaunt and dark-skinned, with almost-balding hair on his head and hideously exaggerated facial features that make his face look like a skull.
• Evil Sorcerer: He was tutored into The Dark Arts by the Dark Elves of Darkwood Forest and the cult of Myurr, and he is very skilled in the trade.
• Evil Weapon: He wields a cursed blade that can leave you paralyzed and defenceless.
• Evil Wears Black: He is only clad in black robes.
• Final Boss: With skill 10 stamina 18, he makes a powerful foe. But what makes him formidable are his Black Magic and his Evil Weapon. Without proper protection, he is a SNK Boss through and through.
• Forehead of Doom: As an adult.
• Friend to All Living Things: An evil subversion, as it's said that sinister and wicked animals came to witness Malbordus' birth and accompanied him.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Once a simple abandoned baby, sadly common in medieval settings, now an Overlord Jr. on his way to take over Allansia.
• Generic Doomsday Villain: While the same can be said for most Big Bads of the franchise, Malbordus is one of the least developed villains, with minimal looks, name, powers and characteristics. He is evil, he is ugly, he is powerful, he wants to Take Over the World, but so do most other more fleshed out villains with more presence and unique traits. Only his background salvages things a bit.
• Gotta Catch Them All: His second initiation test and his goal in the story is to retrieve the five Dragon Artefacts, and use their power to take over Allansia.
  • Your goal is the same, but contrary to him you're searching the artefacts to destroy them.
• I Have Many Names: He is also known as Aeren Tintathel.
• I Was Quite a Looker: As seen in the picture, he was good looking as a child. Now on the other hand...
• Magic Knight: Malbordus is equally talented in magic and swordsmanship.
• Make Some Noise: As soon as he appears he casts a dark spell that seriously harms your hearing, costing -3 skill, no less. Unless you're wearing a copper ring.
• Master Swordsman: He's not half bad with that Black Sword of his.
• Meaningful Name: In-universe.
  • "Malbordus" means "Child of Darkness".
  • "Aeren Tintathel" means "Storm Child" in dark elven language, for he was found during a stormy night.
• Misanthrope Supreme: Malbordus absolutely loathes humanity and the races of the surface.
• Moses in the Bullrushes: He was abandoned in a forest during winter, likely by a poor peasant family who could not afford a new mouth to feed. Dark elves found him and raised as a powerful Sorcerous Overlord.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Malbordus sounds quite ominous.
• Obviously Evil: His current appearance plays this as straight as possible. The narration states that he exudes an aura of pure malevolence and hatred.
• Older Than He Looks: Who could believe upon seeing him that he is a young adult? Even then, can you guess how old is he in the main picture here? A teenager? The answer: Nine years old. No kidding!
• Overlord Jr.: He is the adopted son of the high-priestess of Myurr, who sent him on his quest, and he plans to dominate Allansia as a whole for the dark elves, with him and her on top.
• The Paralyzer: It does this to you if he strikes you thrice with his blade, kind of like a ghoul's claws. A copper ring will protect you.
• Playing with Fire: He burned a village only with his mental focus, during his first initiation trial.
• Pointy Ears: He might be human, but his ears are elf-like.
• SNK Boss: Facing a skill 10 foe is tough, but not that hard with higher stats. Facing a skill 10 foe who wins if he lands three hits, after suffering a crippling loss of -3 skill is nearly impossible, even starting with the maximum of 12. Without protection from his magic, you are in for a world of pain.
  • Said protection however, namely the copper ring leaves him as powerful but still manageable. With it and skill 11 or 12, you can kick his sorry ass without much trouble.
• Sorcerous Overlord: He aims to become one, and you must do whatever it takes to prevent him from reaching his goal.
• Summon Magic: He called forth the Envoy of Death, a powerful spirit, and knows how to use the Dragon artefacts to summon the real deal.
• Take Over the World: Downplayed, as he covets one third of it. But it is already far too much.
• Villainous Cheekbones: Did we mention that his face looks like a skull?
• Villainous Widow's Peak: Up to eleven, as his Forehead of Doom highlights it.
• Walking Wasteland: Malbordus can wither plants by looking at them.
• You Are What You Hate: Malbordus utterly loathes humans and identifies as a dark elf, despite being human. Justified in that he hates humans for leaving him to die in the cold, while the dark elves saved him and are training him as a leader.
• Young Conqueror: He is a few years past being a teenager and he aspires to take over Allansia. He is not that yet, and you must ensure he never becomes it.

Oldoran Zagor

See his entry on the Demonic Three page under Conquerors.

Razaak

Appears in: Crypt of the Sorcerer

Far and away the worst SNK Boss of the franchise, virtually invincible without cheating. Once a power-hungry mage apprentice, he spent forty years in isolation to become a necromancer. He then demanded obedience from the lords of Allansia, but being totally unknown, he was dismissed as yet-another harmless Big Bad Wannabe. Big mistake. He blighted the entire land for years, until he got killed by the legendary hero Kull, wielding his own cursed sword. But after a century, he has returned as a lich after his vault was accidentally opened, and plans to wipe out all life in Allansia. Alerted by your old friend, the Legendary Mage Yaztromo, you set out to destroy him once and for all...

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• Achilles' Heel: Not a spoiler for you learn it right away, but Razaak can only be felled by his own cursed sword, which you must fetch as soon as possible.
• All There in the Manual: Downplayed. The intro reveals all you need to know about him, but the guidebooks add details. Notably that he studied in the famed Wizarding School of the Forest of Yore.
• Animal Motifs: Insects. He is described as evoking a grotesquely deformed bug, and he summons a plague of insects to kill you or to spread pestilence.
• Antagonist Abilities: What makes him such a nightmare to fight. Even without counting his many deadly spells, he is a powerhouse with max skill, lots of stamina, and a Touch of Death that kills you as soon as he grabs you at any point of the battle. Talk about broken...
• Antagonist Title: I wonder who the sorcerer of the title might be?
• Back from the Dead: He was slain a hundred years before the start of the story, and returns as an undead, even worse than before.
• Badass Boast: His greetings sums up as "you are powerful to make it this far, and I know that you have the only thing that can harm me. But you still stand no chance." And true to form, it won't be easy.
• Badass Long Robe: He wears a luxurious red and gold robe that does not fit his hideous frame and many deformities, but reminds you that said hideous midget is a necromancer of considerable might.
• Bald of Evil: The least disturbing of his many deformities.
• Bee-Bee Gun: Razaak summons millions of venomous insects to spread plague, and he uses it against you during the Final Battle. You must have the Hamakeis' parchment and to know how to cast its defensive spell, lest you die a painful death.
• Big Bad: The Lich Master who threatens all life in Allansia and must be stopped at all costs.
• Black Mage: Gets some nasty, One-Hit Kill attack spells under his belt.
• Body Horror: Where to begin? The eyes? The arms? The face? The oversized head? This sod is hideously deformed from head to toe.
• Continuity Nod: He shares some powers with Zanbar Bone, the Big Bad of City of Thieves, another super powerful lich from a book by Ian Livingstone. Namely the Touch of Death, and the need to wear a Ring of True Seeing to see through his first trick. In The Port of Peril, a revived Zanbar Bone completes the reference by using a Bee-Bee Gun attack similar to his own. Livingstone sure loves referencing his previous works.
• Creating Life: He creates hideous monsters just to pass time.
• Creepily Long Arms: One is long enough to reach the ground. The other averts it by being shrivelled.
• The Dark Arts: He masters Dark Magic to create monsters and summon demons.
• Depraved Dwarf: He is very small and horribly evil.
• Despotism Justifies the Means: He always craved power for the sake of power. Back when he was alive, he wanted to rule and tyrannize Allansia, but after dying and becoming a lich, he became much worse.
• Disability Superpower: Seriously, how can such a deformed creep be such a deadly fighter? He most likely enhances himself with magic.
• The Dreaded: Zig-zagged. In his backstory, Razaak was not taken seriously at all at first but quickly became this all around. Now, he is mostly forgotten, but everyone who still know about him fears him greatly. Even the Big Good, the Legendary Mage Gereth Yaztromo, is wary of him.
• Elaborate Underground Base: He turned the crypt he was buried into one, under the Moonstone Hills.
• The End of the World as We Know It: Extinguishing all life is rarely good for the planet's health.
• Evil Makes You Ugly: And how! No-one knows know what he looked like as a human, but as an undead, dear Titan, this grotesque, vaguely human thing is so utterly disgusting that even the narration states that you never felt such revulsion.
• Evil Sorcerer: An undead and very, very evil one.
• Evil Weapon: His own cursed sword, which he cast away per a pact with the demons he worships. It is indestructible, can harm supernatural beings, and is the only weapon that can kill him. But its wielder becomes an undead skeleton doomed to hold it forever, or until someone takes it, risking the curse in turn. Yaztromo saves you from the curse after you win the Final Battle, and throws the sword in the collapsing chasm, buried under thousands of tons of rubbles.
• Femme Fatalons: A male example, his hands with long, pointed fingernails are described as looking like a bird-prey's talon.
• Final Boss: By far the hardest to defeat of the franchise, no question asked. This creep is an utter nightmare, feared and reviled by many fans.
• Fireballs: He masters the Firebolt Spell well enough to make what's usually a rather common attack spell into a deadly attack. If you did not breathe a magic smoke, you're dead meat in two shots.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Razaak was but a simple wizard graduate, but he grew over the years to a world-threatening Sorcerous Overlord.
• Frozen Face: His skull-like face is fixated in a permanent rictus. Despite that, he can talk just fine.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Not only do you kill him with the cursed sword he cast away, but you destroy him for good with the horn of the Gargantis he bred as his major military asset.
• Hostage Situation: Razaak has Yaztromo kidnapped by a demonspawn he summoned, forcing you to save him. He did not bother for hostages though, as he merely wanted anyone opposing him dead, and was planning on sacrificing the wizard.
• Hypno Trinket: If you face him wearing a Demon Talisman, it compels you to obey him and he kills you without fight. He might have crafted it himself.
• Kill All Humans: And every other life-form with them.
• Life Drinker: From the surroundings of the Very Definitely Final Dungeon to his foes, he decays and withers all he comes in contact with.
• Load-Bearing Boss: His crypt crumbles as soon as you destroy him once and for all, forcing you to escape safely to fully finish the game.
• Looks Like Orlok: Hideous? Check. Bald of Evil? Check. Hunchback? Check. Nightmare Face? Check. Deathly waxen skin? Check.
• Mad Eye: One of his eyes his oversized, bulging and protruding.
• Marathon Boss: He boasts stamina 20, which would be unwelcome even if he was not already so broken.
• The Necrocracy: Razaak aims to make Allansia solely populated by undeads, and rule it forever.
• Necromancer: Necromancy is his main field of magic. From animating undeads to draining life-from the land or his victims, and even returning from the grave as an undead, he sure knows the subject.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: Only his own Evil Weapon can harm him. And after killing him, you must pierce his heart with a Gargantis Horn to prevent further resurrections forever.
• Night of the Living Mooks: He raises thousands of undeads to serve him and plans to make an army of every corpse in Allansia to destroy all life.
• Nightmare Face: Skull-like, deathly waxen, with a Mad Eye, fixed in a creepy rictus.
• No Body Left Behind: Razaak disintegrates when you snuff him out for good.
• Nothing but Skin and Bones: He hasn't got a single pound on flesh on his body.
• Oh, Crap!: He has a downplayed one before you fight him, his eyes reflecting an ounce of fear. Still intensely satisfying considering the headaches he will cause you.
• Omnicidal Maniac: He wants to extinguish all life in Allansia, making it a land of the undead.
• One-Hit Kill: EVERY trick in his arsenal, even his normal attack under conditions. Nightmare we tell you...
• Our Liches Are Different: Razaak is never referred to as a lich, but being a nearly indestructible undead necromancer of immense power, he more than qualifies.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: You would think at first glance that this hideous, deformed midget could not fight well in such a state, but he soon gonna prove you wrong. And haunt your worst nightmares while he's at it.
• Plague Master: Razaak causes plague, pestilence, droughts and all sorts of disasters across Allansia. He used it in his backstory to make people take his threats seriously, and now he does so merely For the Evulz. Which tips you that something is off, and prompts you to investigate and act.
• Red Baron: He lacks a title in the gamebook, but the guidebook calls him the Undying One.
• Reduced to Dust: All that's left of Razaak after you kill him is a thin sheen of brown dust.
• Resurrective Immortality: He reached it after becoming a lich, and you must not only kill him again but make sure he stays dead for good.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: He became one after his death, for a mage sealed his corpse in a crypt that was not to be opened in a hundred and ten years, to prevent him from returning as a lich. Of course, it was opened before the time limit, probably by unknowing grave-robbers.
• Sequential Boss: As soon as you meet him, you must survive his many attempts on your life, each with a specific counter, before fighting him.
  • He first welcomes you transformed into your friend Yaztromo to catch you off-guard, then hurls Firebolt spells, then summons hordes of insects, then blasts you with a Thunderbolt spell. Without the aforementioned counters, you are done for. Then you fight him and shit really hits the fan.
• Shock and Awe: He masters an exceptionally powerful version of the Thunderbolt Spell. Without a magic shield to deflect it you are toast. Literally.
• SNK Boss: Not counting his deadly tricks, the Final Battle is virtually Unwinnable by Design. Skill 12 (the normal maximum) and stamina 20 makes him super tough, and he wins instantly by hitting you twice in a row. With few means to match his might, even starting with skill 12 and reaching 13 with a bonus, your chances of winning fairly do not exceed 6%... Any player can tell horror stories about this creep.
• Sorcerous Overlord: He is a powerful lich lording over a lifeless domain around his crypt, with an army of monsters and undeads, including all trolls in Allansia, and setting out to rise every dead.
• Tainted Veins: Razaak's skull is covered in bulging, palpitating red veins.
• Touch of Death: His Signature Move is a life-draining touch. If he grabs someone, he drains them dry and turns them into his undead slave. You can No-Sell every other One-Hit Kill move he dishes out, but not this one, which makes it his true That One Attack despite being much less flashy than the others. This alone is what makes him such a SNK Boss.
• Undeath Always Ends: But you will go through hell to end his own.
• Undeathly Pallor: Long past simply being pale, his tone is a deathly, greyish waxen. Did we mention that the fucker is ugly as hell?
• Villain Ball: By the start of your quest, he has built himself a considerable power base and his Evil Plan is running smoothly. You only discover the truth when investigating the plagues spreading all around and the mysterious deaths near his lair, which he caused just For the Evulz. Had he refrained from being a dick for no reason, he would have succeeded. Well done, dumbass, undeath sure has rotten your brain.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: He can transform and assume other aspects. He welcomes you transformed into Yaztromo to catch you off-guard. Without a Ring of True Sight, you are doomed.
• Walking Wasteland: Razaak turns his surroundings into a desolate, decaying wasteland.
• Zombie Apocalypse: His Evil Plan in a nutshell.

Ulrakaah

See her entry on the The Pit page under Greater Demons

Xortan Throg

Appears in: Advanced Fighting Fantasy

The main antagonist in Dungeoneer, the first book of the role-playing game Advanced Fighting Fantasy, Xortan Throg is an old Evil Sorcerer, descendant from the royalty of the lost city of Carsepolis, who strives to restore the kingdom now replaced by Port Blacksand, the infamous City of Thieves. He abducts Princess Sarissa of Salamonis, prompting her betrothed Prince Barinjhar of Chalice to lead an expedition against him. But little does Throg know that a being far more evil and dangerous that he could ever be is lurking around his lair, and that the adventuring party launched after him will track him down come hell or high water...

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• Actually a Doombot: The sorcerer you face in his tower is but a construct in his likeness animated by magic, through which he can see, talk, act and spellcast.
• Antagonist Abilities: A very powerful wizard, who can spam a slew of nasty spells and counter your attacks, always troublesome when faced head on.
• Arc Villain: The primary antagonist of the first book... out of three.
• Astral Projection: As his body double falls, Throg casts an image of himself in the fire to swear revenge.
• Attack Its Weak Point: When facing him in his tower, you must destroy the two incense burners on each side of his throne to break his magic. Destroying one renders him vulnerable and makes his spells harmless. Destroying both forces him to fight at close range.
• Attack Reflector: During the last Boss Battle, he deflects back every projectile thrown at him. The easiest way to take him down is to deflect back his Death Spell with a Crystal of Power.
• Badass Long Robe: Wears elaborate robes and toga, as does the Big Bad due to their shared origin.
• Bald of Evil: Has little to no hair on top of his head and he has not a single decent bone in his body.
• Barrier Warrior: In addition to the Ward Spell he uses to No-Sell your projectiles, he casts a Barrier Spell between your party and him, to gloat without being attacked before the first Boss Battle against him.
• Bastard Bastard: Xortan Throg boasts about being the last descendant of the king of Carsepolis. While true, his royal ancestor was but the result of the last prince's one-night-stand with a servant maid. And a good monarch he would be not.
• Beard of Evil: He sports a typical scumbag-looking goatee.
• Big Bad Wannabe: While Xortan Throg is a genuinely powerful and threatening Sorcerous Overlord, he can't hold a candle to Lord Varek Azzur, whose throne he covets, and to the true Big Bad of the epic.
• Black Mage: Xortan Throg masters a lot of attack spells ranging from troublesome to deadly.
• Brains and Brawn: He is the brains to his secret accomplice Prince Barinjhar, having devised their plan when the prince came to see him. Him fighting with spells and Barinjhar fighting with a sword reflects this.
• Cast from Hit Points: Averted in the first Boss Battle against him. Played straight in the second, as like all mages in Advanced Fighting Fantasy, spellcasting costs him stamina.
• Climax Boss: He is confronted each time at the end of a quest, but the story goes on after.
  • In Tower of the Sorcerer, you fight him atop the titular tower, where you learn the truth about his plan. Don't be fooled by his pathetically low scores (a measly skill 2 stamina 6), he has a tremendous magic special skill 20 and you cannot fight him normally. He counters spells and long-ranged attacks and fires spells from afar. You must attack the incense burners to prevent him from spellcasting, either rendering him vulnerable to projectiles or forcing him to fight with said measly skill 2.
  • In Revenge of the Sorcerer, you track him down to his secret lair, where he is preparing his real Evil Plan. He is a powerful and very dangerous foe with skill 10 stamina 28 and magic special skill 21, who fortunately loses stamina when spellcasting. He deflects back your projectiles and uses the Arrow-Snake spell to turn your arrows into snakes. He takes three turn to reach, casts the dangerous Petrify Spell if you get close and the even worse Death Spell if you get closer, so you need reviving tricks. After exhausting his spell supply, he fights at close range with a dagger. You can one-shot him by deflecting back his Death Spell with the Crystal of Power.
• The Dark Arts: Xortan Throg masters all sorts of curses and evil spells, and can raise undeads.
• Death Ray: The Death Spell casts a black energy bolt that insta-kills at contact, and ages the caster by one year per casting.
• Despotism Justifies the Means: Xortan Throg wants to restore Carsepolis as the biggest political power in Allansia and rule it as king, but not for the good of his subjects... Oh no.
• Devious Daggers: He wields a dagger to fight at close-range when he can no longer cast spells.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Congratulations! You just slew the Evil Sorcerer who gave you trouble for so long. But now, the true villain is at large, by your own (unwilling) doing at that. And compared to what he will put Allansia through, this quest was but a walk in the garden.
• Dual Boss: During the first confrontation, you face both Xortan Throg and Prince Barinjhar. However, Throg is content with spellcasting at distance and countering attacks, letting his ally do most of the fighting. Beware, for the prince is a powerful foe with skill 11 stamina 14.
• Elaborate Underground Base: His tower is in fact one of his bases, the real Very Definitely Final Dungeon being a derelict palace in the ruins of Carsepolis, below the sewers of Port Blacksand.
• Evil Duo: With Prince Barinjhar. Throg being the conqueror craving for a long-gone kingdom and Barinjhar being the fighter who resents his betrothed's higher station and fears being subjugated.
• Evil Eyebrows: Thin eyebrows casting shadow over his sunken eyes.
• Evil Gloating: The SOB just cannot utter a single sentence without singing his own praises.
• Evil Is Petty: Xortan Throg wants to crush the kingdom of Salamonis, for the utterly heinous crime of being the mightiest kingdom of Allansia, which he regards as usurping Carsepolis' glory. Never mind that it was destroyed centuries before Salamonis rose into prominence. Gee! Childish much?
• Evil Makes You Ugly: Old, ugly and simian-looking, in stark contrast with the Big Bad who is an aversion.
• Evil Old Folks: An old and morally bankrupt man, who wants a kingdom of his own to tyrannize.
• Evil Plan: Gather enough forces to dethrone Lord Azzur and rebuild Carsepolis. Also, subjugate Salamonis. His alliance with Prince Barinjhar to get rid of Princess Sarissa is the first stage.
  • Knowing that attacking from the outside is bound to fail, he plans to strike from within, operating from the ruins of Carsepolis below Port Blacksand, raising the skeletons of the entire Carsepolis army, subjugating the local fish-men and getting supplies from rogue pirates under Azzur's nose.
• Evil Sorcerer: A staple of the series, that cannot be escaped even in other format that gamebooks.
• Evil Tower of Ominousness: He lives in one. The first quest even being called Tower of the Sorcerer.
• Eviler than Thou: Played with, since they never met and he likely never heard of the former, but Throg falls on the short hand of the stick compared to both the real Big Bad and Lord Azzur. The former becomes in record time the Sorcerous Overlord he spent a lifetime trying and failing to be. As for the latter, he is the Pirate King of the Western Ocean and a world-class Badass Normal of whom even the Big Bads of the gamebooks steer clear. Poor Xortan is waaay out of his depth.
• Fate Worse than Death: If you kill him by reflecting his Death Spell, his ghost is doomed to roam the ruins of Carsepolis aimless and powerless forever and ever. And the Crystal of Power having been taken out of his reach to Nicodemus or the King of Salamonis, there is no way he can touch it to resurrect like Sargon did. Given what kind of man Throg is, this calls for cheers instead of tears.
• Femme Fatalons: Xortan Throg is a male variant with long, pointed nails. He weaponizes it when fighting at close range, dealing damages similar to that of a dagger.
• Final Boss Preview: The first Climax Boss against him serves as this, although he is only the Disc-One Final Boss in the epic. You learn of how he fights and the fact that you'd better avoid direct confrontation.
• Foil: Xortan Throg and Sargon are both powerful and dangerous Sorcerous Overlords from Carsepolis, with similar clothing and fighting style. But one is an Evil Sorcerer only remotely related to royalty, a Big Bad Wannabe obsessed by a long-gone kingdom and targeting another country for petty reasons. The other is the High Priest who was a first class citizen, now a continent-threatening Big Bad and Omnicidal Maniac. They both died the same way, but Sargon could resurrect and have another (much bigger) shot at villainy, while Xortan Throg has no hope left.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: If you follow Sargon's advice, Throg ends up killed by his own Death Spell, reflected back at him with a Crystal of Power.
• It's Personal: After the first quest, your adventuring party has a huge bone to pick with Throg, and he himself wants you dead for the crime of meddling.
• Laser-Guided Karma: He wanted to be king of Carsepolis, and will now spend all eternity roaming its ruins as a ghost, doomed to wallow in what's left of the kingdom he so badly wanted to raise but will remain forever underground, and him along with it. Ghost king of a ghost kingdom, talk about poetic justice... All the sweetest in that he is killed with his own spell.
• Lean and Mean: Thin as a rake, and utterly vile.
• Marathon Boss: He boasts one of the highest stamina scores in the franchise, 4 points over the normal maximum, making him this if you go for the normal battle route.
• Natural Weapon: His pointed nails, should the need arise.
• No Ontological Inertia: His petrifying spells are dispelled after he dies, and the skeletons he animated turn back into harmless carcasses.
• No-Sell: He deflects all your shots and spells, and even deflects them back in the second Boss Battle.
• Obviously Evil: One look at the sod is enough to understand that he is up to no good. Though he does not look very intimidating...
• Old Master: A very old, powerful and dangerous wizard, with decades of experience.
• Orcus on His Throne: He remains in his tower for the entire first campaign, sending his monsters and pet do the footwork for him. Even when you fight him he remains glued to his throne till the bitter end.
  • Completely averted for the Climax against him though, as he has been raising his army in secret for quite some time. And works towards toppling Port Blacksand from within.
• Pointed Ears: He has them.
• Recurring Boss: You fight him twice in the entire book.
• Right-Hand Attack Dog: Throg has two, one per quest and both very dangerous.
  • In Tower of the Sorcerer, his Giant Griffin can be fought upon venturing in the wrong place. With skill 12 stamina 15 and 2 attacks per turn, it is a very powerful but fortunately Skippable Boss.
  • In Revenge of the Sorcerer, the Skeleton T. Rexpy is Throg's last line of defence. It is a very powerful foe with skill 12 stamina 25 and 3 powerful bite attacks per turn. Worse, it is immune to neutralising spells and bladed weapons merely rip on its bones for half damage.
• Rightful King Returns: Subverted. Xortan Throg delusionally fancies himself as this. First problem, his kingdom was toppled nearly three hundred years ago and replaced by something else entirely. Second, the current ruler is indeed a loathsome tyrant ruling a Wretched Hive, but he is equally loathsome and would be an even worse ruler since Azzur at least abides by Pragmatic Villainy. Third, you actively try to kill him before he can make his "triumphant return".
• Royal Blood: He is the last descendant of the prince of Carsepolis. This should not matter since the kingdom no longer exists, but he obsessively yearns to rebuild it.
• Save the Princess: He kidnapped Princess Sarissa of Salamonis, starting out the quest to rescue her from his clutches. He in fact kidnapped her so that he could kill her and all the warriors sent to save her, letting her betrothed (his accomplice) report the bad news and gain leverage over Salamonis.
• Scary Teeth: His mouth is full of spaced pointed teeth that make his smile creepy.
• Shock and Awe: During the first battle, he mostly attacks with Force Bolt spells: bolts of electricity that can only be dodged with a test of luck, bypass armour defences, deal 4 of damage and knock you backward.
• Sinister Schnoz: He has a big, crooked, ugly nose.
• Smug Snake: Xortan Throg has the power and cunning of a proper Big Bad, but ten times the arrogance. He acts high and mighty even without enough military power, and fancies himself as smarter than he is. He bits off much more than he can chew and ends up paying the heavy price. Karma is a bitch baby!
• Sorcerous Overlord: A rather low-scale compared to the other of the franchise, yet not to be underestimated. He strives to surpass the aforementioned big shots or die trying.
• Sorting Algorithm of Evil: He is a powerful enemy, but barely even a blimp on the Legendary Mage Gereth Yaztromo's radar, contrary to the Final Boss.
• Squishy Wizard: Averted. A frail old geezer whose threat only comes from his magic he might be, but he can take loads of punishment and fight at close range. So much that fighting him normally is not advised.
• Starter Villain: Xortan Throg can be seen as a watered down version of the Big Bad, who fittingly regards him with absolute disdain.
• Taken for Granite: Xortan Throg masters the very dangerous Petrify spell, which decreases its target's stamina by slowly turning them to stone, becoming a statue when they die. You must successfully test your luck to escape it, but it can be dispelled.
• Throne Room Throwdown: The first battle against him unfolds in his throne room.
• Unknown Rival: To Lord Azzur. Xortan Throg covets the city Azzur is ruling with an iron first, and strives to kill him and take his place to restore his kingdom. However, Azzur could not care any less about yet another upstart challenging him, and likely has not even heard of him in the first place.
• Villainous Cheekbones: Making him look thinner. Justified as he's being bony and emaciated with age.
• We Will Meet Again: After the first confrontation with him, he tells your party that he will have his vengeance.
• Weak, but Skilled: A frail old geezer who makes up his lack of might and strength with mastery and skills.
• The Wrongful Heir to the Throne: Let's just say that he would not honour his royal ancestors if he were to take the throne. On the absolute contrary...
• Zero-Effort Boss: He is this both times if you know what to do. During the first fight, destroy his incense burners in the tower and he won't be able to do anything. In the second, let the Crystal of Power do the trick and voila! Thank you, good bye and don't forget to tip.

Zeverin

Appears in: Tower of Destruction

A demented wizard obsessed with power, in cahoots with one of the Demon Princes... He studied magic at the Ice Palace of the Elven Mages, under The Archmage Elokinan, before killing them all after completing his studies. He created a gigantic Flying Sphere that can destroy entire settlements in a few minutes, and is working on the even more destructive titular Tower of Destruction. He earned the staunch hatred of the survivor of a village he destroyed to test his inventions, who would not rest until he is destroyed...

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• Actually a Doombot: He vanishes into thin air when you first strike him down, as it was just a projection. A projection that you can disable to avoid quite a hard fight, by destroying the jewel on the statue.
  • In your second fight, fighting him feels real and he falls to the ground in a broken mess when killed, but he returns nonetheless. Whether it was this again or he got revived by Relem is unclear.
• Antagonist Abilities: He masters a large array of attack spells, and uses them during the Climax. From Energy Balls and clouds of frost costing -3 stamina, to thunderbolts dealing -5. Unless you can fly to fight him, or kill him with special weapon before fighting, his Flechette Storm spells cost you -5 stamina before you can engage him in a swordfight.
• Astral Projection: The first time you face him, and when he appears to gloat after that, he is but an image in his likeness through which he acts and uses his powers from afar.
• Ax-Crazy: He might look much more composed than most examples, but he is seriously off his rocker and enjoys spreading destruction way too much.
• Badass Bookworm: He is a very powerful and skilled wizard, but also very gifted in magic engineering, experimenting to create giant flying structures, a major breakthrough in itself. Too bad he only seeks to accomplish it for evil purpose.
• Badass Long Robe: As expected of a wizard.
• Beard of Evil: A long, thick, black one.
• Black Mage: He uses lots of magic attacks, ranging from troublesome to deadly.
• Blood Magic: His Weapons of Mass Destruction are powered by blood, continuously fuelling a furnace.
• Cessation of Existence: His final fate, courtesy of Elokinan. If anyone deserves it, it's him.
• Climax Boss: Zeverin is only the second-to-last boss, and while powerful he is quite the joke next to Relem. But this fight is the highly satisfying culmination of your Roaring Rampage of Revenge. Nasty spells to cast before fighting (or if you fail to harm him), and skill 10 stamina 13 makes him tough. Epecially since you need all your strength for the Final Battle and Post-Climax Confrontation.
• Curse: He cursed the Ice Palace, trapping his elven teachers' souls on the Earthly Planes as tormented ghosts, maddening many to become spectres. You must lift it and help them pass away.
• The Dark Arts: Zeverin specializes in Demonology and destructive magic.
• Deal with the Devil: He gained his current level of power, and probably his Resurrective Immortality, by selling his soul to Relem.
• Deceptive Disciple: Zeverin only studied under Elokinan and his mages to gain power and knowledge, and as soon as he had nothing left to learn from them, he killed them all and cursed them to remain as ghosts.
  • His own apprentice Aliades was this to him. He was his student but quickly realized what a dangerous psycho he was learning under, trying in vain to stop him and ending up jailed for his trouble. You save him from the destruction of the Sphere after beating Zeverin the first time, and he provides priceless help and Exposition, but Zeverin sadly kills him with a Rapid Aging curse the following morning.
• Devious Daggers: He fights with a dagger during the first battle against him.
• Diabolus ex Machina: When he reappears during the Post-Climax Confrontation.
• The Dragon: He is eventually revealed to be this to Relem.
  • Zeverin himself has his own Co-Dragons: The Dark Elf Sorcerer leading the dark elves he sent to ransack the Ice Palace; and his Champion Dazrakk, the powerful man-orc serving as his bodyguard in the Sphere. But they are little more than tough Boss Battles.
• The End of the World as We Know It: He seeks to devastate Titan, one continent after another.
• Energy Ball: He can fire many small ones at once, or a ginormous one.
• Energy Bow: Zeverin uses a variation in the first fight against him. He has no bow but fires never-missing energy darts, dealing additional damage, making the Boss Battle against his bodyguard Dazrakk pretty dangerous.
• Evil Eyebrows: Shading his eyes to accentuate the malice in his stare.
• Evil Gloating: After you destroys the Sphere, Zeverin appears as an Astral Projection to boast that it was but a minor setback and that you won't stand a chance against what he has in store next. While waxing lyrical about how great and powerful he is. It is up to you to prove him wrong.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: He obeys Relem, persuaded that he will be allowed to dictate his law to what's left of Titan. It is quite clear that he is completely out of his league, and that Relem only regards him as a disposable pawn. Even his former apprentice and his right-hand lampshade this.
• Evil Sorcerer: Notice a trend there?
• Final Boss Preview: Subverted since he is not the Final Boss, but you do get a preview when facing his Astral Projection in the Sphere, along with The Champion. His spells complicate the already tough Boss Battle, but you can destroy the gem on the demon statue's forehead to dispel his projection. He has only skill 8 stamina 8, making him quite manageable, but the ordeal before still makes it annoying.
• Flechette Storm: One of his attack spells, throwing waves after waves of energy darts.
• Hate Sink: Self-absorbed, self-aggrandizing to a fault, demented, murderous and insufferably smug... Long story short, this guy is an utterly abhorrent piece of trash.
• The Heavy: Zeverin is the one who built the Sphere and later the Tower, cursed the Ice Palace, destroyed your Doomed Hometown, and whom you track down and fight several times throughout the story.
• High Collar of Doom: Just to drive the point home. He is not a nice fellow.
• Immortality Immorality: Zeverin lived many lives across centuries, each eviler and mightier than the former.
• In the Hood: When you face him during the Climax, he wears a robe whose hood hides his face.
• It's All About Me: Zeverin actively tries destroy the world to indulge his petty delusions of grandeur, howling for you blood for thwarting his twisted schemes. He clearly doesn't give a damn about the lives he destroys, acting as if being his guinea pigs was a honour, and takes offense when his Evil Gloating does not impresses you. Yes, he lost his marbles, provided he ever had them in the first place.
• It's Personal: You're not the only one who yearns for Zeverin's head mounted on you wall, Elokinan is understandably pissed at his wretched disciple for killing and cursing him and his people. Quite fittingly, Elokinan is the one to finish Zeverin off once and for all at the very end.
• It's Personal with the Dragon: You only face Relem as a necessity to save the world from the Tower of Destruction, but Zeverin remains your primary target until the bitter end.
  • At first, Zeverin only sees you as a minor nuisance, but he also develops a staunch hatred for you, after you "kill" him, destroy his tower and banish his lord.
• Karmic Death: His death at the hand of a survivor of his twisted experiments, not to mention his existence being obliterated by the ghost of the mentor he betrayed are very satisfying and totally well-deserved.
• Kill It with Ice: He is highly vulnerable to ice, so using a Wand of Cold deals him a crippling -8 stamina.
• Lean and Mean: Zeverin is short, skinny, and very evil.
• Magic Knight: He is very skilled with magic and casts nasty spells, but he is equally skilled with weapons.
• Master Swordsman: Zeverin wields a curved sword in your second fight, and wields it well.
• Moral Myopia: He kills thousands and curses dozens without batting an eyelid, but is affronted to see you oppose him. You should know your place and thank him for the privilege he grants you.
• Narcissist: Very much in love with himself. There is nothing remotely likable about this guy.
• No-Sell: Invoked but downplayed. He is stated to be immune to fire and lightning, but you can never attack him with it.
• Obviously Evil: He must have been a pretty good Master Actor to prevent Elokinan to suspect anything, for just looking at him makes it pretty glaring that he is up to no good.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Zeverin would gladly doom every mortal in the world to death and damnation, if this means he can rule what's left.
• Pre-Final Boss: Hope you have some potions in store, for Relem appears right after you snuff him.
• Post-Climax Confrontation: After you "kill" him and banish Relem, you first must escape the crumbing Tower of Destruction before it crashes on the mountains, then he reappears out of nowhere without explanation and hurls a Wave-Motion Gun to obliterate you. If you wield the Ice Sword, fortunately mandatory for the Final Battle, Elokinan appears to make him vanish forever, otherwise everything ends.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Zeverin is off his rocker something big. While competent and threatening, his posturing, self-aggrandizing attitude show that he is but a petty Smug Snake, far less smart than he fancies himself to be. He wants to be the greatest no matter what, even if the world must go down the drain for it, unable to see that he is but a pawn.
• Rapid Aging: He kills his former apprentice Aliades that way, for the unspeakable offence of being a decent human being who helped you. Fortunately, he cannot do the same to you.
• Recurring Boss: You battle him twice and confronts him thrice.
• Resurrective Immortality: He reincarnates time and time again.
• Shock and Awe: He casts the powerful Thunderbolt spell, costing you -5 stamina before fighting.
• Smug Snake: And how! Despite his genuine power, skill and talent, Zeverin suffers from massive delusions of grandeur and Genre Blindness, being nothing more than a convenient pawn for Relem.
• Squishy Wizard: He is powerful and skilled, but frail, and his stamina score is rather lacking.
• Summon Magic: He summons all manners of demons, made easier by working for one of their monarchs.
• Villainous Cheekbones: Franly the only thing missing is a neon sign saying "eviiiiiil" over his ugly mug.
• Wave-Motion Gun: The most powerful spell he uses against you is a gigantic energy blast. He attacks you with it after you destroy the tower. If you cannot counter it with the Ice Sword, you are in for a nasty One-Hit Kill ending.
• Weapon of Mass Destruction: He builds the magical sort: First a gigantic flying Sphere of Destruction that rains fire-blasts and can wipe villages off the map like nothing. Then the titular Tower of Destruction, many times bigger and destructive enough to wreck the three continents one by one, in a few weeks at worst. He masters the technique to build them, but only Relem can sustain them and make them work.
• Wizard Classic: He looks like a pretty standard Evil Sorcerer.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He pulled this on the Elf Mages as soon as he completed his training.
  • It's painfully obvious to anyone but him that Relem has this in store for him the second he stops needing him, instead of the riches and power he promised him.

Zharradan Marr

See his entry on the Demonic Three page under Conquerors.

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