The Company of the Black Lotus is as much defined by its membership as it is by its enemies. A vast and diabolical assortment of villains despise and work against the Company. Some are individuals, others are whole Organizations. Both have come to despise the interference of the Company, and the setbacks to months or even years of planning their mere presence can accomplish. The following is an incomplete list of those who call the Company by the name, Enemy.
The SpellCutters
In the war torn land that is the Moonsea, there dwells a kind of man that has little need for emotion, unless it be depravity and hate. There, only power matters. From this oppressive land of power grasping city-states comes the SpellCutters. Adventurers and schemers, each of them has his own agenda, yet none has the power to achieve their ends alone. Together, they are a formidable force, and what they desire, they take. The Spellcutters have fought against the party as well as worked with them during the Battles of Loudwater, where the Spellcutters were the representatives for the Zhentarim held town of Llorkh which had been overrun in the initial push from the Hellgate Army. The Spellcutters possess the Ring of Hammarkh, stolen from Xanthin the gnome, a former member of the Company.
Erekan Thul, leader of the Spellcutters, is a ruthless member of that dark band of killers and manipulators, the Zhentarim. He has proven his mettle by moving slowly and purposefully toward any goal given by his superiors, always seeking to increase his own power first so that his eventual victory may be assured. Erekan was once a devoted follower of the god Bane, Lord of Tyranny. With that god's demise during the Time of Troubles, Erekan was swayed to the worship of his successor at the time, the mad Prince of Lies, Cyric, the Dark Sun. But the chaos and rampant infighting of the faith drove him away, finally leading him to embrace the worship of Xvim, the Godson of Bane, new Lord of Tyranny. If undead may be used to overwhelm his opponents, you can be sure Erekan has no qualms about using them. On the other hand, if Erekan gives his word of honor, it will be kept, at least to the letter, if not the spirit. Erekan's goals are the increase of his personal power, his faith's power, and the Zhentarim's power, in that order. Beware, for he has many hidden talents, and is always well prepared.
Caiaphus, marked as a warlock and consorter with dark powers by his silver, diamond pupilled eyes, Caiaphus is only too willing to sacrifice another for his own gain. The pacts he has made give him a mastery of magic and other powers upon which to draw, but ever must he keep his will strong, or the fiends of the lower planes may claim his soul for their own. His skills with magic and history make him invaluable in the Spellcutters' acts of tomb-robbing, and the items and spells he gains reduce his dependence on the powers of the night. Subtlety and shapeshifting are his preferred methods of manipulation, and he uses them well, much to the chagrin of the Company.
Gothas MageBane, a terror in battle, Gothas' muscles were sculpted in the deadly arena of Hillsfar, where he fought bloodsport for the enjoyment of the crowd. Eventually, none who came against him could match his fearsome strength, and he left to find a challenge to his skills. In an ancient ruin, he discovered SpellHacker, a mighty blade which could deflect any magic that might be directed at the wielder. Thereafter he took up the name, MageBane. His infamy spread, and he was sought often as a hunter of mages. In time he was sought out by Erekan Thul, who desired Gothas' strength of arm and magic sword to aid his causes. Ever the mercenary, Gothas agreed, for a substantial cut of the profits.
Following an ancient, elder god, Ghaunadaur, lord of evil elementals and master of amorphs, the Ghaunadarans are the sworn enemy of the Drow of the Promenade, home to Ellasha of the Company. Dressed in horrible ochres, umbers and mauves, this vile sect kidnaps and sacrifices innocents to their ancient, sleeping god, and seeks to sway and manipulate the world to their own agendas. Their hidden temple in Waterdeep destroyed by the Company and Force Grey, its few survivors remain hidden, implacable foes of the party.
Groleth, a beast of a man, is the leading crusader of the Ghaunadarans. A brutal, amoral man, he is at his happiest when using another for his own pleasure, especially through the infliction of pain. During the destruction of their temple, Groleth held firm against the Company for some time, but with the coming of reinforcements for the forces of law, fled, leaving his underlings to die horribly. There is no doubt that he is out there. Watching. Waiting. Planning his vengeance in the name of Ghaunadaur.
Kellowar Anthosis, at least that's the only name that have for it, is a silver tongued ooze capable of assuming the form of a stunningly handsome man, a tempter of Ghuanadaur known as a ghuanadaun. Using his looks and a facade of romantic interest, this creature successfully kidnapped Ellasha for a diabolical ritual designed to corrupt her into an evil servant of Ghaunadaur. Unfortunately, this disappearance prompted the intervention of the Company, which caused the eventual destruction of the hidden temple during the rescue. Kellowar was not present during the conflict and his whereabouts are unknown, though one can be sure his thoughts are hatefully latched on to the desire for the suffering of the Company.
Formerly led by Pravis Muridae, a wererat con-artist, the party ran afoul of the lycanthrope and his followers during attempts to hunt the sewers for exotic beasts which had escaped an importer's shop. In the end, after several near death escapes, Pravis was cornered during an assault on the party's mansion in retribution for the destruction of the cult's sewer temple, and was burned to death in their fireplace. With his death it is unclear whether the cult retained any cohesion. But if it did, one can be sure that it hasn't forgotten the shame heaped upon them by their losses to the Company, and the vicious setbacks to their plans.
A former power group of Waterdeep, exiled en masse from the city decades ago, the Shadow Thieves constantly place agents within the port to harrass and gather information upon their nemeses, the Lords, as well as acquiring any items, money and information that they can to finance their continued vendetta. At first, the Company was merely an adventuring group who possessed an interesting item that the Shadow Thieves desired, the Ring of Hammarkh, due to the legends that it was also a key to unlock a hidden cache of magical dwarven weapons within the bowels of UnderMountain. With the setbacks and losses to their agents, the Shadow Thieves declared a vendetta against the Company, framing one of them for murder, and embroiling them in a plot to murder a group of citizens who had helped oust the Thieves form the city so many years ago. In the end, it backfired, as the Company succeeded in saving several of the assassination targets, and revealed one of the group's hidden safe houses for its agent's in the city. Naturally, this only incensed the Shadow Thieves further, causing them to swear to achieve the Company's destruction - though next time it'll will be a foolproof plan.
It began innocently enough as a foray to a
lost temple in hopes of exploring, and retrieving lost treasures and lore.
Did it matter that
rumors
hinted it was a temple dedicated somehow to vampirism and the undead? Not
at all, it only drew the Company that much faster, especially Namique, the
cursed half-undead leader of the party. Their entry into the ancient, sealed
temple began the fulfillment of a long ago prophecy, one which foretold the
return of a great evil, the Dark God. No matter where they turned or travelled,
somehow, the prophecy continues to rear it's ugly head, refusing to let them
escape their part in a horrible apocalypse to come. As the prophecy unfolded,
the party found that they had become the unwitting instruments of that evil
- their presence somehow the key to releasing the twisted and evil champions
of the Dark God.
Umbra,
the Night Lord, was the last surviving high priest of the Dark Faith.
As the forces of light swept the temples and followers of the Dark God aside
like a cleansing flame millenia ago, Umbra led his followers to a hidden,
prepared shelter to wait out the jyhad, praying to his dark master for the
means to restore what was lost. And so the Dark God used his power to seal
and hide the underground temple from the forces of light, and left his priest
and faithful to starve to death. Then as they died they saw the truth, as
the dark spell laid by the god surfaced, granting undeath to all, except
Umbra who was made into something both more and less, something that would
wait for the right time, the right blood that he could drink, that would
restore his flesh and ignite the cold heart of the vampire within him. After
being released by the Company, and a half dozen skirmishes, Umbra, surrounded
and nearly beaten by the Company was swept away in a billowing cloud of mist,
screaming for his revenge. Where did he disappear to? Will he return? Only
time will tell....
Coresthree
Antrillym, Dark Sorceress, was the greatest wizard follower of
the corrupt ways of the Dark God, taking to heart the depraved and selfish
attitudes of the faith in her small kingdom of sorcery. When she died, long
before the scouring of the faith by the forces of light, the Dark God foresaw
the coming war, and made a pact with his devoted follower, taking from her
the last vestiges of her soul, agreeing to grant her eternal unlife when
the right moment had come in exchange for her services at that time to restore
his greatness and evil upon the world. There was no doubt, and she agreed
without hesitation. The Company unleashed her millenia later, but after a
disastrous confrontation with her awesome powers and deadly mummy's touch,
were forced to seek a rare and dangerous reversal of time itself so that
they might survive. In the process they lost their memories of disturbing
her, and thus the knowledge that another of the Dark God's champions had
been released.
Torel Malborym, Dark Knight of the Torch, was the greatest and most fearsome battle-lord and crusader of the faith, leading the unholy armies of the Dark God in whatever campaign his deific master commanded. As the life began to fade from his body with age, the jyhad against the faith began, Torel bargained for a renewal of his youth to fight for his faith, but the Dark God saw that it would be futile then, for all the forces of light were against him, and his followers were not enough. Instead he called upon Torel to accept living death, and to be entombed, to be released when his fervor and battle-might would truly serve the restoration of the Dark God's glory. Released prematurely by a sect of inquisitive wizards, it was only after a grueling battle with many casualties that the last survivors were able to bind the death knight into a prison gem. From then on the gem passed thru many hands, and finally into the Abyss, where the dark soul within waited for centuries, until finally a triad of priests with an undeniable magnetism found his prison, and with slick words did the dark knight convince them to speak the words needed to shatter the prison - and thus was Torel freed by the priests of the Company. He and his demonic steed, a corrupted unicorn, were now free to once again champion their dark master.
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