The Governor

While some have been mentioned, the camp is home to some people who the players can choose to interact with. However, there is a chance your players prefer to ignore all the activities in camp and only pursue the quest in the city. However, the events from the side quests will still take place in the background with or without the player’s involvement, the extent to which they play out is up to you as the DM. However, if they spend more time in the camp, they will likely at some point encounter the Governor.

While more of a title, the governor has actually been two people. A little over six months ago it was Silas (NG Fighter), but since his betrayal, it was Xavier (LE Wizard). As so many adventurers come and go some may be aware of this change, but as Xavier was close friends with Silas and he had claimed Silas was killed in an accident (though in reality he escaped and is now a bandit), not many have given this much thought.

 

Silas

Silas grew up on the streets and made his way based on his excellent fighting skills. There he met Xavier, and the two of them of them became fast friends, working for whoever would hire them. Silas cared about the people around him and developed a strong moral code from his mentor and master who taught him how to fight. After years of living in the city, the two set off adventuring and soon founded a small adventuring company band. When the lost city appeared the two happened to be close to it when they first heard the stories of its appearance they rushed to it and were among some of the first groups to explore the ruins.

Roleplaying Silas:

To roleplay Silas it largely depends on when the players encounter him. If they travel back in time, they will find him as the Governor, a kind yet just leader of the camp. If they hunt down the bandits a year later they will see that he has compromised himself much to stay alive and to get his revenge on Xavier for his betrayal. He will still hold his love of justice, but it won’t be nearly as strongly tempered by his desire for revenge and struggle to survive.

Xavier

Xavier was born into a servant family of a noble lord, he grew close to the son of the Lord’s family who took him under his wing and taught him the ways of magic. He studied for years, but the lord’s son began to research dark magic. Xavier refused at first, and when an experiment went wrong resulting in the deaths of several people, Xavier was blamed for it.

While waiting to be executed, he ended up as part of a breakout with a local crime lord whom he ended up working for as his personal wizard. There Xavier met Silas, and the two formed a lasting friendship, with Xavier’s keen street smarts and Silas’s code of honor balancing the two out.

Years passed and after becoming veterans in the mercenary and crime world the two heard of the appearance of the Lost City. Both were near the great desert at the time, but had failed an important job for their employer and were being hunted. The two made a choice to go explore the lost city instead and made a name for themselves have been some of the first to enter and some of the ruins and found the catacombs. There they were able to secure a vast amount of treasure.

The camp at the time was a lawless place that was almost more dangerous that the ruins and so, Silas became the governor and the two brought it to its current state. As time has gone on though Xavier has become obsessed with finding more and more about the ruins and making as much money as possible. Silas has been content with the money and cares more about ensuring order and rule of law. The two have gone head to head on the issues several times.

It’s only about six months into running the camp that Xavier will make an attempt on Silas’s life, rending Silas a bandit and leaving Xavier as the governor of the camp (see side quests Bandits and Slavers).

Roleplaying Xavier:

Like Silas, it largely depends on when the players encounter Xavier. A year ago Xavier had only begun to plot to overthrow Silas, and his final decision is predicated on the monster attacks in the city, leaving a good excuse as to why Silas never returns from an exploration. At this time Xavier is quiet and will look at the players with suspicion. If they bring him documents or clues about the city to translate he will agree to it, however, for a price, and will endeavor to steal or learn as much information about the city as he can.

Once he learns that the city is sealing in the darkness, however, he will decide that profit is worth more than his curiosity and attempt to ensure that no one, including the players, know this secret, even if it means killing them. If he learns about this in the past, he will also attempt to sabotage adventurers in the future while still making as much money as he can from those who come to camp. He doesn’t want to leave though due to the price on his head back in civilization. At the present time, Xavier will be a much harsher leader of the camp, with higher tariffs and harsh punishments for those who break the rules.

He will address players with cold indifference, and while he’ll still be interested in the knowledge they can bring to him, he’ll bring the full force his troops for those who step out of line.

For both Silas and Xavier’s stat blocks see appendix A.