Greetings and welcome to the sixth installment of the Bad Guys of Iron and

Blood. This time around will feature Balok, the Black Knight.

Balok, the Black Knight

9th Level Warrior, CE

Quote: "Even your best fight was no match for me!"

AC: 3 (Splint mail + Shield)

Movement: 12

HD(hp): 9(58)

THAC0: 12

#of Attacks: 2

Damage/Attack: 1d8+6(total bonus)

Special Attacks: Gravebringer Sword

Special Defenses: Gravebringer Sword

MR: Nil

Size: M (6'5")

Morale: Champion (15)

XP Value:

Str: 15 Dex: 14 Con: 8 Int: 13 Wis: 13 Cha: 16

Background: (As presented in the Iron and Blood gamebook.)

Balok was once a great champion for good, reknown as a fair leader of men.

Seduced by the sinister siren call of an evil sword which lusted for blood,

Balok claimed it as his own and carried it back to his home. Balok turned

on a sparring partner and slayed him. One victim was all the vampire sword

needed before it was able to to exert its complete will over Balok. Soon

the admired lord of the keep became a feared and hated man. His lust for
evil unbridled, he slaughtered every living being in his keep. He now

travels the world, guided by his vampiric blade, seeking more blood for the

blades unquenchable thirst.

Current Sketch:(Ideas of my own.)

Surviving the Iron and Blood tournament, Balok made his way to the domain of

Falkovnia. The border gaurds that greeted him lost their lives when they

attempted to wrest the Gravebringer from his hands. The border garrison was

being visited by Vlad II, the son of King Drakov. Vlad II was searching for

men to aid in the extermination of the vampyre race, which had been recently

discovered. Seeing the outland warrior slay the border gaurds, Vlad II

approached Balok with a proposition. In exchange for destroying the

vampyre, Balok would not only get to keep his life, but would be given some

land holdings to govern in the King's name. The swords desire for blood

urged Balok to accept.

Balok was given command of a unit of men in order to flush out the vampyre.

When the first cell of vampyre had been wiped out, only Balok emerged from

the battle alive. A second unit was given to him, and met a similar fate.

(Though believed to have died in battle with the vampyre, many of these men

actually fell victim to the hunger of the Gravebringer blade.)

Balok was indeed granted land in Falkovnia, but it is located within the

area currently held by a tenacious band of kobolds. Balok has not yet seen

his holdings, but will most likely be very displeased when he does.

Combat: Balok fights with the Gravebringer longsword (as seen in Dragon

Magazine #258) that brought him low so long ago. Balok is specialized in

this weapon, and makes two attacks per round with a bonus of +1 to hit and

+2 to damage. Balok also uses a shield in combat, at is not above

occasionally shield-bashing opponents.

The Gravebringer sword is a very powerful, sentient weapon (Int 15 and Ego
20). In the hands of a chaotic evil warrior, the sword is +4, to any one

else it is merely a +1. The sword raises an evil wielder's charisma score

by 2.

In combat, the sword burns with a blue black flame, and protects its wielder

from missle weapons by cutting them from the air (Just as if the holder were

protected by a protection from normal missles, and protection from magical

missle spells.)

In the event that Balok is confronted by any more than 7 foes, the

gravebringer sword will subjugate Balok's mind and control him in combat.

(This is an ego test, but the sword automatically wins the contest in

Balok's hands.) When under the swords control, Balok's eyes burn with the

same fire that flickers along the blade. When the sword assumes control, it

activates its deadliest power. So long as the sword is unsheathed and in

control, every being within a 20' radius of the wielder loses 1hp/round.

These hit points are transferred to Balok, healing him any damage he has

taken, and even taking him beyond his normal maximum. Any excess hit points

Balok collects from this power are lost to the swords hunger at the end of

combat. This power is detrimental to the warrior that holds the

Gravebringer, leaving him exausted and possibly unconcious. At the end of

such a possession, Balok must make a system shock roll. If he fails, he not

only loses conciousness, but also loses a point of Constitution permanently.

It is probable that when Balok's body finally gives out, the Gravebringer

will present itself to another warrior, possible the son of King Drakov.

Hope you found this interesting, let me know what you think.

See you next time. ;)

Grigg

There are nights when the wolves are silent, and only the moon howls.
-George Carlin