Lucius Graeme

Temple Agent Courier (a.k.a. Aldren)

Lines upon lines mar that bare head. Beady golden eyes, set a-symmetrically within their sockets, watch delightedly over tankards of ale for so long. Fallen debry left a mark reaching from the bottom of the left cheekbone , running towards the right side of his lips and ending above his left eye leaves a pleasant memory of his unfortunate past.
There's something intriguing about him, perhaps it's his suffering or perhaps it's simply his hatred. But nonetheless, people tend to take him seriously.

The Master of Deception and Chaos

Lucius Graeme is a figure who immediately commands attention, not because of his physical stature, but because of the aura of quiet menace he exudes. His round, portly frame is draped in simple gray garments that conceal a calculating and dangerous mind. A small, unassuming gray hat often shadows his scarred face—a permanent reminder of an incident involving falling debris, leaving a deep mark from his left cheekbone to above his left eye. His golden eyes, asymmetrical and piercing, seem to hold secrets no one wishes to uncover. His voice, smooth and unnervingly level, has a way of unsettling even the most confident listener.

Personality

Lucius Graeme is the epitome of villainous cunning. Once a vain and cruel nobleman, his fall from grace has left him with a bitter hatred for the systems of order and morality that rejected him. His intelligence and perception are unmatched, allowing him to manipulate others with terrifying ease. However, beneath this controlled exterior lies a simmering rage that he struggles to suppress. When pushed to his limits, Lucius abandons his calculated demeanor and lashes out with brute force and terrifying conviction.

"Heroes cling to their ideals, unaware that they only serve to bind them in chains of their own making."

Lucius delights in feigning weakness, letting others underestimate him while he quietly gathers information and consolidates his power. He thrives in chaos and believes it to be the truest source of power. His worldview is shaped by his belief that the primordial forces of the elemental planes are neither good nor evil, but pure sources of destruction and renewal that can be harnessed by those strong enough to control them.

"I do not kill when I can persuade, nor destroy when I can corrupt. Why break when one can bend?"

Motivations and Goals

Lucius believes he is destined for greatness, seeing himself as a visionary who understands the true nature of power. His ultimate goal is to sow chaos and destruction, dismantling the structures of civilization and bending others to his will. He relishes the opportunity to manipulate heroes, communities, and even rival factions, often turning their own ambitions against them. To him, every act of destruction is a step closer to ultimate freedom—his freedom to control the forces of the world.

"Nature, civilization, good, evil—they’re all pawns to the primordial forces that truly rule this world."

A Priest of of the secret organization The Priesthood of Iuz, and a agent of the Temple of Elemental Evil, Lucius was sent by Iuz to serve the supreme leader Hedrack, who was quickly placed in the Elder Elemental Eye organization. However, Lucius’s ambition makes him a dangerous ally, as his ultimate loyalty lies with himself and his quest for power. He dreams of one day ascending to lead the cult, replacing Hedrack as the supreme agent of chaos.

Political Relationships and Influence

Lucius Graeme maintains a complex web of alliances and rivalries across the Viscounty of Verbobonc and beyond. As a courier and recruiter for the Greater Temple, his influence stretches from the city of Verbobonc to the gnomish lands of Tulvar in the Greenway Valley, and even to the borders of Celene. He is a master manipulator, using flattery, extortion, and misdirection to control the numerous agents and factions under his sway.

• With The Council of Lords of Verbobonc: Lucius has no official ties to the council, but his network of spies and informants ensures he is always aware of its political maneuverings. He has been known to spread rumors and sow discord among the lords, redirecting attention away from the Temple’s activities and toward convenient scapegoats, such as the gnomes of Tulvar.
• With Viscount Wilfrick Revepaix: Lucius views the viscount as a formidable but predictable adversary. While he respects Wilfrick’s dedication to law and order, he takes great pleasure in undermining the viscount’s efforts to maintain stability in the region. Lucius often uses subtle manipulations to delay or misdirect the viscount’s military forces, ensuring the cult’s plans proceed unhindered.
• With the Knights of Luna: Lucius considers the elven knights a thorn in his side but also an excellent tool for misdirection. By planting false leads and fabricating evidence, he has successfully turned the knights’ attention toward perceived threats in Celene and away from the Greater Temple.

Tactics and Duties

As the Greater Temple's courier and agent, Lucius is responsible for recruitment, intelligence gathering, and maintaining the loyalty of the cult’s far-reaching network. He is also tasked with overseeing the cult’s operations in Nulb, the Village of Hommlet, and the surrounding elemental outposts.

• When the adventurers begin to disrupt the Temple’s plans, Lucius takes a more active role. He employs the Devastation Orb, a powerful elemental weapon, to unleash destruction on key locations, demonstrating the cult’s power and deterring further interference.
• Lucius is not above using blackmail or leveraging personal grudges to achieve his goals. He excels at turning others’ weaknesses into his strengths, often coercing influential individuals to act as his unwitting agents.
• As the Greater Temple courier agent his duties include recruitment, investigating the activities of temple contacts and activities. His network is extensive reaching from the city of Verbobonc to the the borders of Celene and into Tulvar in the Greenway Valley.
• Under the guidance of Hedrack he ensures the Cult of the Elder Elemental God plans stay on track.

Connection to Lakash Quallad

Lucius shares a mutual understanding with Lakash Quallad, the disillusioned scion of House Krivaltis who has fully embraced the Temple’s teachings. While their methods differ, the two men respect each other’s cunning and commitment to the cult. Lucius often uses Lakash’s connections in Verbobonc’s underworld to bolster his own operations, while Lakash relies on Lucius’s strategic mind to navigate the Temple’s internal politics.

Relationship with Lady Nysera Krivaltis

Lucius Graeme’s intricate web of influence extends to Lady Nysera Krivaltis, making her a crucial ally in advancing the Temple of Elemental Evil's objectives in Nulb. As a long-time operative and courier for the Temple, Lucius understands the importance of fostering relationships with local power players like Nysera. Their collaboration is pragmatic and rooted in shared ambition, though tensions arise due to their differing priorities. The Alliance

• Shared Ambitions: Lucius supports Lady Nysera’s rise in Nulb, viewing her as a valuable intermediary between the Temple and the village’s factions. In return, Nysera provides him with logistical aid, securing trade routes and silencing dissenters who could hinder Temple operations.
• Information Exchange: Lucius provides Nysera with intelligence on rival factions in Nulb, including Dick Rentsch and Captain Tolub, while using her network to funnel information back to the Greater Temple.
• Nysera’s Independent Streak: While Nysera is willing to work with Lucius, her ultimate goal of reclaiming her family’s honor sometimes clashes with the Temple’s broader objectives. Lucius keeps a watchful eye, wary of her potential to betray the Temple if it serves her ends.
• Conflict of Interests: Lucius remains loyal to the Greater Temple's vision of domination, which does not always align with Nysera’s ambitions. He quietly undermines her when her goals threaten the Temple’s agenda.

Temple Activities in Nulb Through Lady Nysera

• Logistical Coordination: Lucius uses Nysera’s enforcers, led by Sir Torvel Hawke, to protect shipments of goods and personnel moving through Nulb. He often relies on her influence to secure safe passage for cultists and supplies.
• Recruitment Efforts: Nysera’s rise in power enables Lucius to identify and recruit new allies, especially among the disaffected residents of Nulb. Nysera occasionally lends her authority to disguise recruitment efforts as legitimate village activities.
• Undermining Rivals: Lucius helps Nysera weaken her rivals, including Dick Rentsch and Tolub, as they pose threats to both her dominance and the Temple’s operations. In turn, Nysera facilitates Lucius’s covert elimination of individuals who betray the Temple or disrupt its plans.

Role in the Campaign

Lucius Graeme is an ideal antagonist for Dungeon Masters running the "Temple of Elemental Evil" campaign. His cunning, charisma, and cruelty make him a compelling villain who challenges players both strategically and morally.

Encounter in Nulb

In Nulb, Lucius assumes the guise of a harmless gambler and storyteller at one of the rowdiest inns in town, the 1. Waterside Hostel of Nulb. To the untrained eye, he appears to be a jovial drunkard, a harmless frequenter of the tavern’s dice games and a collector of tall tales. However, sharp-eyed adventurers may notice his knack for extracting information under the guise of friendly conversation. Subtle inconsistencies in his stories, combined with his unnerving ability to steer conversations, may tip off the players that Lucius is far more dangerous than he appears.

• Clues: If the adventurers observe Lucius for long enough, they may notice he consistently directs conversations toward topics of local defenses, patrols, or recent travelers. Lucius uses this information to keep the Greater Temple informed about potential threats. His smooth demeanor hides his true identity, but careful observation could briefly reveal his cold, calculating nature.
• Combat: If confronted in Nulb, Lucius will not fight directly but instead rely on mercenaries and elemental creatures to protect him. He will retreat at the first sign of danger, leaving behind breadcrumbs of clues leading to his wider operations.

Quest Hooks

• Lucius seeks adventurers to retrieve a powerful relic from the elemental planes, claiming it is the key to defeating the Temple. In reality, the relic will amplify the Temple’s power.
• He offers false information about Hedrack’s plans, hoping to lure the players into a trap.
• Players may be tasked with dismantling Lucius’s spy network, uncovering his agents within Verbobonc’s nobility and military.

Oversight in the Village of Hommlet

Lucius plays a crucial behind-the-scenes role in the Village of Hommlet, where he oversees and manages key cult agents embedded in the local community.

• Gremag Gozlin at the Traders' Shop: Lucius has established Gremag as an operative in the 13. D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile in Hommlet. While Gremag outwardly appears to be a shrewd but simple merchant, he serves as one of Lucius’s most trusted informants, providing reports on the activities of adventurers and locals. Gremag relays information to Lucius through an encrypted network of couriers, ensuring that Lucius remains aware of any potential threats to the cult’s plans.
• Connection to the Adventurers: The players may find themselves in conflict with Gremag if they investigate suspicious dealings at the Traders' Shop. Gremag will feign ignorance but ultimately attempt to eliminate any adventurers who dig too deep, reporting directly to Lucius for further instructions.
• Joseph Millar the Saboteur at Doomwatch Construction Site: Joseph is another agent under Lucius’s direct supervision, working covertly to sabotage the 30. Doomwatch Keep Construction Site. Posing as a loyal laborer, Joseph ensures that progress on the fortifications is continually delayed, diverting resources and attention away from the cult’s activities. Lucius provides Joseph with intelligence and resources, ensuring his sabotage remains undetected.
• Encounter Hook: If the adventurers investigate issues at the construction site, Joseph’s activities may lead them to uncover Lucius’s larger network in the region.
• Zert at the Inn of the Welcome Wench: Zert is one of Lucius’s most dangerous agents, strategically placed at the 7. The Inn of the Welcome Wench in Hommlet. While Zert outwardly appears to be a capable mercenary seeking employment, he is, in truth, Lucius’s enforcer and protector. Zert keeps an eye on the adventurers staying at the inn, reporting their movements and plans back to Lucius. 5. Catching Zert in the Act - Hommlet
• Combat Opportunity: Zert’s presence at the inn creates the potential for direct confrontation. If the players begin to uncover Lucius’s network, Zert may be ordered to eliminate them, leading to a dangerous and dramatic encounter.

Legacy

Lucius Graeme represents the destructive potential of unchecked ambition and chaos. His story serves as a cautionary tale for players, highlighting the consequences of compromise and the allure of power. Whether he is defeated or escapes to scheme another day, Lucius’s impact on the campaign will be felt long after his final encounter with the adventurers.

History

A Priest of The Priesthood of Iuz and a leader of the Temple of Elemental Evil, Lucius was sent by Iuz to serve the supreme leader Hedrack, who was quickly subverted into following the Elder Elemental Eye. He serves as a courier for the Greater Temple to all the agents in Village of Hommlet and the other elemental outposts. His network of agents are extensive and has the power and authority to make decisions and guide his agents efforts into misleading the Mounted Borderers from Nulb and the elemental outposts. Ensuring the raids redirect attention to the gnomes in Tulvar.

Ambush Encounters

Lucius’s primary strategy is to remain in the shadows, but he is not above orchestrating ambushes to eliminate threats. Using his network of agents, he ensures that the adventurers face challenges at the worst possible times.

• Bandit Ambushes: Lucius often employs bands of mercenaries and elemental creatures to target the adventurers. These ambushes are carefully planned to strike when the party is at its weakest, using the terrain and the environment to the attackers’ advantage.
• Elemental Minions: Drawing upon his connection to the Greater Temple, Lucius may unleash elemental creatures to attack the players, testing their strength and resolve. These encounters serve to weaken the party and provide Lucius with valuable intelligence about their tactics and abilities.

Final Confrontation

As the adventurers dismantle the elemental temples and disrupt the cult’s operations, Lucius becomes increasingly desperate. In the final stages of the campaign, he emerges as a pivotal foe, wielding the Devastation Orb in a last-ditch effort to turn the tide of battle. The orb’s power allows him to unleash catastrophic elemental destruction on the players and their allies, creating a high-stakes confrontation.

• Tactics: Lucius will use his mastery of deception and misdirection to separate the adventurers, creating opportunities to ambush and overwhelm them. He will attempt to manipulate the players into making mistakes, using their own goals and motivations against them.
• Personality in Combat: True to his villainous nature, Lucius will mock and taunt the adventurers throughout the battle, highlighting their failures and weaknesses. However, his overconfidence may be his downfall, as he underestimates the players’ resilience and resourcefulness.

Summary

Lucius Graeme’s presence in the campaign creates a rich tapestry of intrigue, danger, and manipulation. His connections to key agents in Hommlet and Nulb, combined with his direct oversight of cult operations, ensure that he remains a constant threat to the adventurers. Whether encountered as a manipulative gambler, a shadowy overseer, or a desperate villain wielding catastrophic power, Lucius provides a dynamic and memorable antagonist for Dungeon Masters to unleash upon their players.

"Chaos is the truest form of control—those who embrace it will shape the world to their will."

Lucius Graeme

Agent of the Temple of Elemental Evil and Cleric of the Elder Elemental God
(Human Cleric Level 7)
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA
16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 9 (-1) | 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 15 (+2)

• Medium humanoid (human), chaotic evil
• Armor Class: 16 (chain shirt, shield)
• Hit Points: 45 (7d8-7)
• Speed: 30 ft.
• Saving Throws: Wisdom +6, Charisma +5
• Skills: Deception +5, Insight +6, Persuasion +5, Religion +5
• Senses: Passive Perception 13
• Languages: Common, Abyssal

Traits

• Dark Devotion (Cleric of Evil): Lucius has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
• Fanatical Conviction: When Lucius is reduced to 0 hit points, he can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a success, he drops to 1 hit point instead.
• Temple Agent: Lucius has advantage on Charisma (Deception) checks when posing as an innocent traveler or gambler.
• Aura of Elemental Chaos: Lucius can channel a fragment of the Elder Elemental God’s chaotic power once per long rest. Each creature of his choice within 15 feet must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute.

Actions

• Mace: Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+3) bludgeoning damage.
• Unholy Smite (1/day): Lucius deals an additional 14 (4d6) necrotic damage when he hits with a melee attack.

Spells Prepared

(Spell Save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks)

• Cantrips (at will): Thaumaturgy, Sacred Flame, Spare the Dying
• 1st level (4 slots): Command (x3), Cause Light Wounds, Detect Magic, Protection from Good
• 2nd level (3 slots): Detect Charm (x2), Find Traps, Hold Person (x2), Silence (15 ft. radius)
• 3rd level (2 slots): Animate Dead, Continual Darkness, Dispel Magic, Bestow Curse
• 4th level (1 slot):
• Control Water (Elemental-themed control over large water sources, representing the Elder Elemental God’s power).
• Divination (Used to communicate with the Elder Elemental God or guide agents in their missions).

Tactics

• Stealth and Ambush: Lucius uses his Deception skill to appear harmless, luring adventurers into false security before striking.
• Manipulation: He may use Command or Hold Person to control key targets in battle.
• Desperate Measures: In critical moments, Lucius will unleash Bestow Curse or Animate Dead to overwhelm foes.
• Elemental Chaos: Lucius leverages Control Water to flood passages or cut off escape routes.

Alignment

Neutral evil

Species

Humans of Greyhawk

Ethnicity

Oeridian Oerid

Other Ethnicities/Cultures

• Suloise Suel

Year of Birth

532 44 Years old

Sex

male

Eyes

golden eyes, asymmetrical and piercing

Hair

short cropped black

Height

5'9"

Belief/Deity

Elder Elemental God

Aligned Organization

Cult of the Elder Elemental God

Related Plots

• The Return of the Temple: Hedrack’s Gambit and Lareth’s Insurgency

"Civilization is a fragile mask over the face of the elemental chaos. It’s a shame when it breaks… or a delight."

Lucius Graeme Introduction

Lucius Graeme, draped in a well-worn cloak and clutching a weathered merchant's satchel, approaches the adventurers with a practiced, disarming smile. His smooth, slightly unnerving voice carries a friendly yet probing tone as he speaks: "Ah, travelers! A fine day to find company on these lonely roads, wouldn't you agree? Allow me to introduce myself—just a humble merchant peddling wares and tales alike. The name's Aldren. Been wandering these hills for years, trading with the gnomes and passing adventurers like yourselves. Always an adventure out here, isn’t it?"
He adjusts his satchel, letting the faint glimmer of trinkets and oddities peek out, an inviting distraction as his golden eyes linger on each party member, assessing them carefully.
"Tell me, friends, what brings you to the Kron Hills? It’s not often I see a group like yours—armed and armored, yet with the air of purpose about you. Are you hunting treasure, seeking glory, or perhaps delivering some noble cause? The hills have no shortage of mysteries, I assure you."
Lucius leans forward conspiratorially, his tone dropping slightly, as if sharing a secret.
"These parts have their dangers, mind you. Not just the usual bandits or wild beasts. Strange things—whispers of old powers stirring, unnatural storms, and… well, I hear tales of the Greenway Valley being less safe for travelers these days. Makes a man curious about what might draw someone like you to these parts. And perhaps… how I might be of assistance?"
His voice softens further, laced with subtle charm and intrigue.
"After all, we’re all travelers here. A bit of information for a bit of coin—or a friendly exchange of stories. Who knows? Maybe our paths cross for a reason, eh?"
Lucius smiles warmly, his golden eyes glinting faintly with a mix of feigned innocence and calculated intent.