SourceMaterial-Jorbaren

This is Avlis Source Material ⚠️Use of this material has NOT been authorized on the NWN Avlis Servers.⚠️ To use any of this material IC on NWN Avlis Servers, you must request approval of this material from the Avlis Team. Send a PM to the Dungeon Masters group on the Avlis forums to begin that approval process. To learn more about what Avlis Source Material is, please click here. You may use this material for non-server-related Avlis events, such as D&D/PnP.		Jorbaren the Wight Lord Shortly before the Orcish Destruction, an offshoot of the Gold Order of magic known as the Brotherhood of Alsahra created five enhanced wights known as Wight Lords to spread an undead plague among their enemies in The Great War. Unfortunately for them, creation of these beings finished only shortly before the massive evocation spell that heralded the Orcish Destruction, wiping out untold millions of beings and most of the nascent Wight Lords. The only known exception to this slaughter was the Wight Lord named Jorbaren. Mortal Life During his life, Jorbaren was an orcish necromancer native to the city of Fejraka in the old nation of Dobrekan. He rose through the ranks of the Gold Order through his many adventures in the Underdark of western Negaria, plying his trade and earning a reputation as an efficient creator of undead minions that were added to the armies of various Demon Lords below the surface. Though he was often accused of shirking loyalties to Valok and his fellow countrymen, Jorbaren was known to be a staunch supporter of the Gold Order and worked tirelessly to expand its influence deeper into the Underdark where it was not as prevalent at the time. Though he was born and came of age during The Great War, Jorbaren believed its cause was poorly conceived and that Dobrekan should have minded its own business during The Fairy War instead of committing actions against one side or the other in that conflict which led to the larger war at hand. When the Gold Order disclosed its plans to its members about the massive evocation spell under research to wipe out the enemies of the orcs, Jorbaren became concerned. From what little he understood of that school of magic, he believed the plan was once again poorly conceived and could backfire. Along with a number of his fellow magic users in the organization, Jorbaren voiced his concern and was rebuffed. This tension led to the creation of the Brotherhood of Alsahra of which Jorbaren was a founding member and mentor to the lower ranks. Brotherhood of Alsahra With growing tension between himself and the order and nation to which he was pledged, Jorbaren focused on his necromantic arts and was a leading contributor to the research and planning behind the schemes of the brotherhood. His innovations led to the creation of necromantic rituals capable of enhancing undead creatures called wights, to allow them to retain their intelligence and skills possessed during life while also enabling them to spread their undead condition to those they kill. During the year of the Orcish Destruction, Jorbaren and four of his brethren stepped up and offered themselves as vessels for this new magic and gained immortality as Wight Lords. With his newfound power, Jorbaren set out on the next phase of his plan which was to head into the Underdark to begin creating new minion wights. His associates, the other Wight Lords, spread out over the surface which ultimately was thought to lead to their doom when the great evocation spell laid waste to Negaria. News of this event angered Jorbaren and severed the last vestiges of his loyalty to his order and his nation. He vowed stability for himself and eventual vengeance against his own people for their gullibility and carelessness. Thus, began the next phase of his work in the Underdark amassing an undead army of wights over the next 1,400 years, all of them under his complete command. Exile in The Underdark The centuries spent below the surface garnered Jorbaren great power and holdings. His undead kingdom stretched out below part of the western coast of Negaria beneath what is now The Seven Cities, and even the surrounding Demon Lords dared not touch him. Stability was ultimately achieved around the time The Seven Cities were declaring their independence from The Kurathene Empire, and this enabled Jorbaren to enact the final phase of his work. Invasion of The Seven Cities In the year 1405 A.O.D, Jorbaren the Wight Lord and his massive army of wight minions invaded the City of Crosstreams, the capitol of The Seven Cities. According to his planning, The Seven Cities had great wealth conveniently located between both orcish nations of Brekon and Dubunat which gave them high strategic value. After sacking Crosstreams, Jorbaren began setting up a base in the area from which to conduct the gradual subjugation of the population. It was not his intent to turn them all into undead minions, only whatever he required to replenish his soldier wights. To further fortify his holdings, Jorbaren determined he would need a fortress to double as a military center and prison. With the help of some adventurers and several evil wizards, Jorbaren erected a massive peak overlooking Crosstreams. The peak was pushed up directly from the surrounding land and shaped to his will, with a height of nearly 2,000m, making it the tallest land structure on the entire delta which housed The Seven Cities. Near the top of the peak and deep within it, Jorbaren directed his wight slaves to construct a fortress designed for the undead and their prisoners. Completion of the structure took only two years, and its size and depth surpassed every other structure on the delta. It is thought that the lower levels of the fortress connect with the Underdark for a quick escape when needed. Downfall and Restoration of Crosstreams Jorbaren's estimation of resistance turned out to be misguided. Though he accounted for eventual opposition from the Orcish nations, he believed the defenses of The Seven Cities were too disjointed and weak to put up a tough fight, and he was partially correct. The flaw in his plan was not taking stock of aid from both The Kurathene and Toran Shaarda, which sent troops into the delta to fight the wight minions to a standstill. Meanwhile, powerful adventurers saw his new fortress as the ultimate dungeon challenge with him as the prize kill, and soon enough this prophecy fulfilled itself when a crack team of misfits entered the fortress through the stiff resistance and confronted Jorbaren resulting in his demise. With the removal of the Wight Lord and the end of his rule, residents of Crosstreams quickly repopulated the area and re-established their political structure. All that remained of Jorbaren and his minions was the large peak fortress that bears his name: Jorbaren's Peak.