The Darklords, also known as the Darklords of Helgedad, were monsters created by the Dark God Naar to conquer the world of Magnamund. They had very individual personalities and characteristics, but all were thoroughly evil. The very sight of a Darklord would drive an average mortal insane. Before appearing in Magnamund, twisted by Naar, they existed as timeless beings not racked by the evil hatred and anger that later characterized them.
The leader of the Darklords is given the title Archlord. This title is established by force, where one Darklord forces the others to submit, often with violence.
The Darklords[]
- Chlanzor
- Dakushna
- Ghanesh
- Ghurch
- Gnaag, fourth and last Archlord of the Darklords
- Haakon, third Archlord of the Darklords
- Khatellu
- Kraagenskûl
- Menashga
- Mrugor
- Nhorg
- Shebnar
- Slûtar
- Taktaal
- Tomogh
- Unc
- Vashna, first Archlord of the Darklords
- Xog
- Zagarna, second Archlord of the Darklords
- Zhanshal
In Lone Wolf The Roleplaying Game, it is suggested that two Darklords were killed by Archlord Vashna, and one died separately, in the first year of his reign (MS 3192), although this is inconsistent with other source material describing events afterwards.[1] August Hahn, author of the guide, explained that this was due to unclear source material at the time, and said his assumption was that Naar could (and did) resurrect the Darklords not killed by an act of the Light, such as the Sommerswerd.[2]
Powers[]
These evil beings were immune to all normal weapons; only the Sommerswerd and supernatural weapons that they themselves created could mortally wound them. They had another weakness: the pure air and sunshine of Magnamund was poison to them. That weakness spurred the creation of the Darklands to give them a hospitable home.
Timeline[]
- 3072- The twenty Darklords are sent by Naar to conquer Magnamund for evil.
- 3150- The Drakkarim nations ally to the Darklords.
- 3192- Rise of Archlord Vashna.
- 3400- Spawn bred in the Black City.
- 3434- Sommlending arrive in North Magnamund, led by King Kian; Darkland armies are forced behind the Durncrags by the Sun-people.
- 3520- Helghast Wars begin.
- 3550- Helghast Wars end; Brotherhood of the Crystal Star halts Helghast infiltrations.
- 3785- Vashna prepares the Black Muster to conquer Sommerlund, at this time ruled by King Ulnar I.
- 3799- Darklord Vashna slain at Maakengorge 3799, and his soul is imprisoned inside the Maakengorge.
- 3800+ Civil war in Helgedad.
- 4000? Darklord Zagarna recovers Doomstones of Agarash and becomes Archlord; completion of Darkland cities.
- 5050- Invasion of Sommerlund,; destruction of Kai; Archlord Zagarna slain.
- 5050-5053- Civil war in Helgedad; Darklord Haakon and Slûtar fight for control.
- 5052- Lone Wolf used as pawn in Darklord power struggle.
- 5053- Lord Slûtar frees Lone Wolf, Darklord Slûtar disgraced; Haakon of Aarnak becomes Archlord.
- 5054- Barraka of Vassagonia's attempt to resurrect Vashna fails; Lone Wolf recovers Dagger of Vashna.
- 5055- Haakon agrees to give Orb of Death in exchange for Lone Wolf; Lone Wolf recovers the Book of the Magnakai; Archlord Haakon killed by Lone Wolf; Haakon imprisoned on Plain of Despair
- 5055+ Darklord Ghurch discovers Haakon’s fate.
- 5055-5058- Civil war in Helgedad; Darklord Slûtar, Gnaag, Unc, and Ghurch fight for control.
- 5058- Darklord Gnaag becomes Archlord; Darklord Unc and Ghurch killed.
- 5058+ Darklords unite behind Gnaag; Darklands wage open war on Magnamund; Vassagonia, under Zakhan Kimah, allies with Darklands; Darklord Xog conquers Cloeasia; Zakhan Kimah slain in combat with Lone Wolf and is succeeded by Zakhan Shoualli; Vassagonia declares war on Helgedad; Gnaag raises Siege of Torgar; Darklord Chlanzor and Kraagenskûl lose battles against Freelands at Zuttezna; Darklords destroy Luomi and recover three remaining Lorestones; Lorestones moved from Mozgoar to Torgar.
- 5070- Darklord Kraagenskûl killed at Argazad by Lone Wolf; Darklord Taktaal slain at Helgedad by Lone Wolf; Archlord Gnaag killed by Lone Wolf; Transfusor and Helgedad destroyed, and subsequently all remaining Darklords killed.
- 5070- Darklord Gnaag and Kraagenskûl imprisoned on Plain of Despair.
- 5070+ Civil war in Darklands; Darkland armies flee to Kagorst, Kaag, Akagazad, Aarnak, Nadgazad, Gournen, Helkona, Mozgoar; Doomstone of Darke and Nyras Scepter lost; resurrection of Vashna fails; Gazad Helkona is taken over by Xaol; Slûtar and Zagarna factions continue to war for Kaag; Archdruid Cadak of Mogaruith temporarily wins control of Kaag; Nadziranim win control of Kagorst and Akagazad; Doomstone of Darke recovered, and Nadziranim of Kagorst and Akagazad ally with Warlord Magnaarn; Nyras Scepter destroyed. There are also rumors in Magnamund that one of the Darklords still lives.
Fate of the Darklords[]
Archlords[]
- Vashna, Lord of Helgedad - killed by King Ulnar I
- Zagarna, Lord of Kaag - killed by Lone Wolf
- Haakon, Lord of Aarnak - killed by Lone Wolf
- Gnaag, Lord of Mozgoar - killed by Lone Wolf
Darklords[]
- Kraagenskûl, Lord of Helgedad - killed by Lone Wolf
- Ghurch, Lord of Ghargon - killed by Gnaag
- Unc, Lord of Aarnak - killed by Gnaag
- Taktaal, Lord of Helgedad - killed by Lone Wolf
Darklords killed by the fall of Helgedad[]
- Chlanzor, Lord of Gazad Helkona
- Menashga, Lord of Nadgazad
- Tomogh, Lord of Gournen
- Slûtar, Lord of Kaag
- Dakushna, Lord of Kagorst
- Shebnar, Lord of Helgedad
- Zhanshal, Lord of Aarnak
- Ghanesh, Lord of Helgedad
- Nhorg, Lord of Gourizaga
- Mrugor, Lord of Helgedad
- Xog, Lord of Helgedad
- Khatellu, Lord of Helgedad
References[]
- ↑ Hahn, August [2004]. Lone Wolf: The Roleplaying Game, Dever, Joe, Mongoose Publishing, p. 188. “During [Vashna's] first year as Archlord, the Darklords drop from 20 to 17 in number; two die at his hand. One is torn apart for the capital crime of questioning his decisions in battle and the other is detonated after he has the temerity to seek the Ebon throne for himself.”
- ↑ August Hahn (2004-08-05). my reflections on darklands. Archived from the original on 2024-08-10. Retrieved on 2024-08-10. “Second, the two Darklords killed by Vashna is a note taken directly from the source material I had to work with and other notes found along the way to researching the book. It was my assumption (and nothing was ever revealed to prove or disprove it) that they were either two existing Darklords rebirthed by Naar or two unnamed Darklords replaced after their demise.
It appears that, at least in the time before Lone Wolf, Naar took a very direct hand in the lives/deaths of the Darklords and was fully capable of bringing them back time and again as long as they were not slain by an "act of the Light" such as Ulnar and the Sommerswerd.
Because I did not have any direct answers, I chose the path of least resistance and simply noted what I had uncovered. If it really bothers you that the number is inconsistent (and it is, I agree), take the option I have personally and assume that the two were Haakon and Zagarna (both of whom were then brought back by Naar after torment in the Dark and watched carefully by Vashna thereafter).
I did not mention this in the book because I wanted to leave it to Games Master interpretation. When in doubt, I like to leave things as open as I can to give you judges more room to work with.” (small typographical errors fixed)