Psaro the Manslayer
Human Bard
Psaro the Manslayer was a human bard who appeared in Azimuth Campaign One. He was an NPC played by M.B.
Psaro was the instigator of the Manslayer War and the cause of much death and destruction in the late Fourth Age in the lands of Parthenia, Branca, and Konenbur. He sought to slay the prophesized Zenethian Children before they could rise, so that Esturk, The World's End, would return unopposed and bring about the end of Azimuth.
He was a constant threat and major antagonist throughout the journey of the Zenethian Children. He was eventually slain at the Citadel of Bronze by the Zenethian Heroes.
Description
Appearance
Psaro was a tall, fair-skinned human male with long blonde hair held behind a red headband. He wore a black outfit with a red-orange sash around his waist. He had a large furred cape. He wielded a longsword enchanted with a complicated spell engraved on the blade. His voice was deep with a slight accent.Personality
Psaro had a constant, calm anger about him. He often spoke with a charisma and had a dramatic flair. This was seen during his final battle when he summoned music to accompany the fight. He was manipulative and cruel, seemingly not caring about the cost to others, even his close allies, to accomplish his goals. This was seen with the enchantment on the door to his shrine at the apex of the Citadel of Bronze. To enter the room, the Zenethian Heroes were forced to relive the darkest moments of their journey. Psaro displayed a deep obsession with his love, Rose. After her death, he attempted to destroy the world rather than live on without her. He also built a huge statue of Rose in a shrine in his Citadel.Biography
Background
At some point during the late Fourth Age, Psaro fell in love with Rose. For her protection, he built a small settlement in the lands of Cascada. He named this place Rosaville. Through unknown means, Psaro discovered the Power of Evolution and used this to enchant the trees of Rosaville to bear fruit and enchanted the animals to speak and keep her company. Rose was killed for her tears by three bandits: a human, a dwarf, and an elf. The alarm spell Psaro had set alerted him to the intrusion but he arrived too late to save Rose. Psaro brutally slaughtered the bandits and took the name "The Manslayer". In his grief, he vowed to destroy the lands of humans, dwarves, and elves. At some point, Psaro approached the sleeping Esturk, The World's End, to propose an alliance to destroy the world. Esturk laughed Psaro away. Even still, Psaro worked to prevent the rise of the prophecized Zenethian Children so when Esturk next arose, he would rise unapposed. With Steverossa's aid, Psaro subjugated the races of Parthenia. Here, he began using the Temple of the Blackguard to gather divine power from the resting Zenthai, The Dragon King. This power was used to create the Black Mountains of Parthenia, to forge the magical barrier that coursed through them, and to work to perfect the Power of Evolution. Psaro spent much energy searching for the location of the Zenethian Children. He developed a spell to detect divine blood and his forces created bloodletting spell circles in several locations in Azimuth. In addition to preventing their prophecy, Psaro also needed this divine blood to perfect the Power of Evolution. Through unknown means, Psaro discovered the hidden location of Hometown.Campaign One: The Zenethian Heroes
In 4A 995, Psaro and his armies attacked Branca, the Kingdom of the South, from the east. The armies of Branca were defeated and scattered and Psaro marched to the Gimora Mountains. On 24 Felim 4A 995, Psaro and his armies, including Black Phillip and Steverossa attacked Hometown. They slew most of the residents and captured the childhood friends of the Zenethian Children, who were magically disguised as the Children. Psaro's armies marched back across the Branca countryside, causing much damage, and went back across the Parthenian Sea to Parthenia. Psaro continued working to perfect the Power of Evolution by experimenting on the bestial races of Parthenia. At some point, Psaro learned that he had been deceived and the Zenethian Children were active in the world. Psaro may have magically scryed on the Children using the divine magics stolen from Zenthai, The Dragon King, to avoid detection of the spell. Grupe was severely wounded in The Shrine of Breaking Waves. At some point, Psaro ventured here to gather some of Grupe's divine blood. Later in 4A 995, the Zenethian Children triggered the alarm spell on Rose's Tower in Rosaville. Psaro immediately sent Black Phillip and his armada to attack the intruders. As a result of this, the armies attacked the coastlands and navy of Konenbur. Near the end of 4A 995, Psaro sent Steverossa to ambush the Children at the Mausoleum of Dwarf Lords. Steverossa sacrificed himself to send a dagger with the blood of Brigitte to Psaro. In 4A 995, a doppelganger disguised as a defector from Branca entered Endor, the First Mountain. Through the doppelganger, Psaro spoke with High King Thorik Oathenhammer and convinced him that King Alphonse Brancana was raising an army to attack Endor. This caused High King Thorik to gather his armies and prepare to defend the supposed upcoming attack. In 4A 996, during the finale of the Endor Tournaments, the doppelganger disguised as Psaro approached and spoke with the Zenethian Heroes. Psaro asked the children to give their blood to him and he would never accost them again. They declined, and Psaro used a Meteor Swarm spell to attack the Arena, killing the doppelganger. Joseppe was severely wounded in the Fire Spire Sands. At some point, Psaro ventured here to gather some of Joseppe's divine blood. In late 4A 996, the forces of Psaro engaged with the allied armies of Azimuth in the Battle of the Bay of Shipwrecks and the Battle of the Iron Marshes. On 3 Janafen 4A 997, the Zenethian Heroes entered the Citadel of Bronze and made their way to the shrine at its apex. Here, Psaro battled the Heroes. During the fighting, Psaro drew Rath's divine blood. Pushed to near-death, Psaro attempted to cast an incompleted version of the Power of Evolution on himself using the four blood samples he had access to. The effect backfired, transfiguring Psaro into a mutated beast. The Heroes slew the creature, and Psaro momentarily regained some semblance of his former intellect before perishing in the Citadel.Relationships
Black Phillip, General of the Manslayer
When Psaro conquered the bestial races of Parthenia, he did so by empowering and enabling the subjugation of the others by the minotaurs. The leader of the minotaurs, Black Phillip, became Psaro's head general and bodyguard. Black Phillip displayed a fear of Psaro and did what he was told without hesitation.Steverossa, the Illithid
Steverossa defected from Esturk's forces and voluntarily joined Psaro. It is not known what caused this. Psaro used Steverossa to begin the subjugation of Parthenia and plan the attack on Branca and Hometown. Steverossa was loyal enough to Psaro to sacrifice himself to transport the blood of Brigitte, the Grayguard, to Psaro.Character Information
Legacy
- The alliances formed by against Psaro during the Manslayer War would set the beginning of relations between these nations into the start of the Fifth Age.
- Animals capable of human speech are said to be found in the Forest of Plenty of Cascada as a result of Psaro's use of the Power of Evolution here.
- The Citadel of Bronze, though mostly destroyed, still stands in northern Parthenia.
- Parthenia is surrounded by the sharp and jagged mountain chain known as the Black Mountains of Parthenia. These were magically created by Psaro during his reign here.
- Psaro had enveloped Parthenia in a magical energy barrier during the late Fourth Age. After Psaro's death, this barrier shattered and shards of it rained across Parthenia, causing much damage. Though most of these shattered shards dissipated into energy shortly thereafter that suffused the land, the largest shards are still strewn about Parthenia. The greatest concentration of them is in the Glass Hills nearest to Psaro's Citadel of Bronze.
- Psaro and his actions in Parthenia were listed in Maalik’s research into potential sources of residuum.
Notable Items
- Psaro's Sword: Psaro wielded a longsword enchanted with a complicated spell engraved on the blade. This spell was activated during his battle with the Zenethian Heroes. It is unknown what became of the weapon.
Quotations
- “With the power of a god, I can punish those who have wronged me.” - said by Psaro's doppelganger in the Arena of Endor
- “The gods are weak, and yours is dead. Now you shall be too.” - said to the Zenethian Heroes before their battle in the Citadel of Bronze
- “Rose… I would have killed… them all... for you, my Rose…” - said at the moment of Psaro's death
Character Type
Non-Player Character Actor
M.B.
Non-Player Character Actor
M.B.
Current Status
Deceased
Species
Date of Death
3 Janafen 4A 997
Circumstances of Death
Slain by the Zenethian Heroes
Place of Death
Children
Gender
Male
Founded Settlements