Boresh, the Betrayer – Steal this Enemy

Boresh is an older bother to one of the player characters (in a family with three brothers), and son to a famous heroic father.  As the eldest son, it was thought that he would follow in his father’s footsteps, becoming a great fighter.  And indeed, he did grow to become strong.

However, as a young adult, he failed to protect his mother and their home while his father was away.  The intruders (supposedly enemies of his father) ransacked his home and had beaten his mother.  Boresh tried to fend them off, but fell to the invaders, sustaining horrid injuries.

Though he was never blamed for not be able to protect his mother and brothers (one of which is a player character), he none-the-less felt horrid guilt and incompetence.  He wanted nothing more than to be able to protect his family.

Soon, he was quietly approached by a vassal of a powerful entity, offering to grant him power in exchange for minor services.  At first, the services consisted of acquiring rare plants and herbs, and sacrifices of small animals (birds & rodents).  But as his “powers” were granted to him at an ever-slow pace, he asked the vassal for ways to increase it.  The vassal agreed to the request, and instructed Boresh to sacrifice his family dog.  After some contemplation, Boresh agreed.

The relationship between the vassal and Boresh continued like this for two years, culminating with Boresh sacrificing known criminals.  By this time, his Fighter skills had improved significantly, as well as gaining powerful Warlock powers (granted by the vassal).

Unfortunately, his youngest brother walked in on one of these sacrifices accidentally.  The two got into an argument, which led to a fight, and subsequently the accidental death of the brother.  Feeling ashamed, he wrote a note, claiming to be an old enemy of his father’s, and placed his brother’s body and the note in the town square in the middle of the night.  The note was written to signify hatred of Boresh’s father, signed by Lucis (a random name).

At this point, Boresh stopped associating with the vassal, and buried his warlock powers deep inside.  His father, coming out of retirement, vowed to track down this ‘Lucis’ and destroy him.  So he set off on a long journey as only a grieving father, yet famous hero, could.  After two months of traveling, word came back to Boresh and his town that his father had fallen in battle (presumably to Lucis).

Boresh then publicly announced that he would not go after his brother’s or his father’s killer, that he had a responsibility to his mother, his remaing brother (the PC) and his estate, which he now inherited.

At this point, he took on the role as head of the house.  Caring for his mother and teaching his younger brother how to be a man.  He was strong, and a good fighter, but every few months either his house or those of his neighbors would be attacked by barbaric orcs.  Boresh and his brother (the PC) fought well against these invaders, but eventually the threats became too great, so Boresh resumed contact with the vassal.

The vassal agreed to grant Boresh increased strength and speed, as long as he resumed and continued his service.  Unfortunately, the sacrifices needed for his power-gain were escalating, and he eventually succumbed to the madness of the dark lords.  Soon he was sacrificing the homeless, then farmers, and then young women.  His power had consumed him, and as a mockery to his sanity, he gained the ability to change shape into that of Lucis, becoming two people.  Part of the time he stayed at home as Boresh, and other times he ventured out as Lucis.

Through his Lucis persona, he has goals to achieve.  And yes, many people will perish as a result of his endeavors.

THE TWIST: The vassal is a succubus, employed by the likes of Mephistopheles (ruler of the 8th Plane of Hell).  Mephistopheles has plans for this Boresh, which he will slowly cultivate into fruition.  Everything that has happened to Boresh, his family, his father, and his town was instigated by the succubus.

Boresh must be presented as an NPC who makes appearances from time-to-time, often to help the players (mainly his brother).  He genuinely doesn’t want to hurt his brother or his friends, and is actually a likable guy, but as the party gets closer and closer to Lucis’s endeavor (whatever it is), he starts to become more agitated.

At first, as Lucis, he will not fight the players.  He will let his minions and soldiers do that.  Not until he becomes a level-appropriate enemy will he finally reach the end of his rope, facing off with the group (namely his brother).  When the players realize that Lucis is actually Boresh – well, that’s up to you.

Optional Twist: Have a second player use Boresh as as a Fighter-type in the group as his normal character (he will have to know everything about your plans for Lucis).  Make sure the fighter is made up using the normal rules, but otherwise let the player decide his powers (perhaps you could even give him small little bonuses or powers that may or may not be noticed by the other PCs).  At the end of your campaign, have the player character reveal that he is actually Lucis, and then he and the GM fight the other players.  Make sure that Lucis now has a nice elite or solo combination of fighter and warlock powers to throw at the group.