Part 84: Appendix: Mercenary Heroes (Inferno)
Appendix B - Mercenary Heroes (Inferno)Might Heroes (Heretic)
Lorhish
Male
Kennel Master: +3 Hell Hounds/Cerberi per week.
Tears
Biography: Once kennel master to Emperor Connor himself, Lorhish now plies his trade in the heart of Sheogh running a Cerberus kennel. A man of principle, this transformation in allegiance, if not vocation, came about when Lorhish refused a direct order from his Emperor to hunt down some young Orcs who were stealing apples from his orchards. Dismissed from his post and facing grim prospects, Lorhish hit the ale hard until a mysterious beauty promised him a new life for a few details about an Imperial Hunt scheduled for the end of the month on a visit to the Greyhound Duchy. Lorhish accepted her offer, and the result was an attack on the hunting party that left half of the Imperial Court dead. Tortured for his involvement in the plot, Lorhish died from his wounds, but never revealed the identity of the woman – a fact that seemed to account for his resurrection under her command in Sheogh.
Malik
Male
Delver of the Royal Purse: +350 gold/day.
Blood
Biography: Malik, a powerful Emir whose lands lie between Al-Rubit and the borders of the Holy Falcon Empire, surprised everyone when, after the Bloodmoon Eclipse, he declared himself a servant of Urgash, the Dragon of Chaos. Extremely wealthy, even for a lord of the Seven Cities, he has financed the works of several Wizards studying the forbidden magic of Chaos. His ambition is motivated by a desire to destroy the civilisation of his peers, whom he claims are decadent and unfocused.
The fact that his father nearly lost everything his family owned because of an uncontrollable penchant for gambling explains, in part, his fascination with the Demons of Sheogh, who are the masters of luck.
Nebiros
Male
Acolyte of Fortune: +2 Destiny.
Tears
Biography: Nebiros – a servant of the Overlord of Proliferation, Ur-Aazheel – forms part of a cadre of Demons who protect the Breeder Queen, ensuring Sheogh’s numbers continue to swell. Although he is a smart, cunning Demon, it is to Nebiros’ misfortune and eternal chagrin that, on account of his armor, he shares aesthetic similarities with Veyer, one of the most slow-witted denizens in all of Sheogh, and is often mistaken for the simpleton.
The next Demon who asks him if he wants to play “Fifty-Two Card Pickup” may well get a sharp instrument up a suitable orifice.
Nebiros also appears in HoMM V - it's likely that they're one and the same.
Nymus
Female
Expert Trainer: +1/week to all Elite creatures.
Tears
Biography: Foreknowledge of the true name of a Demon is necessary to summon it, and some Demons, weary of being forced to carry out the petty schemes of mediocre sorcerers, have taken to perpetually using an alias. Nymus, which means “No Name”, is the most widespread of these fake identities. Not very fond of violence herself, this Nymus is best known in Sheogh as a master trainer, having earned the begrudging respect of even the most battle-hardened Pit Lords, who’ve discovered they can still learn a trick or two from the Succubus.
Nymus also possesses a great sense of honor, always repaying her debts, which has given credence to the theory that she may have lived in the Lotus Empire in her former life.
Another Nymus appears in HoMM V, but as a male one that looks vastly different - possibly a nod to the meaning of it.
Vendela
Female
Tormentor Master: The Tormentor's and Lacerator's Retractable and Exploding Spikes now hit all enemies in a 5x5 area.
Blood
Biogaphy: Vendela immigrated to the Bull Duchy from the Free City of Hammer Fall, a town renowned for its infamous Bloodsmiths. These craftsmen are capable of inserting the legendary dragonblood crystals into master weapons, instilling them with powerful magical powers. Vendela brought with her the reputation of an able artisan, and acquired an impressive list of nobles as clients. Her work was soon brought to the attention of Connor Falcon, the Holy Emperor himself.
The Archangel Sarah was the first to cast the shadow of doubt upon Vendela, suspecting the crystals she was using bore the mark of Sheogh. After a missive was sent to the newly restored church of Elrath in Hammer Fall, the elders and Bloodsmiths responded, attesting that they had never heard of the imposter, and that she was most certainly a fraud.
In truth, Vendela was inserting Chaos shards – particularly dangerous strains of blood crystals – into the finest weapons, and hence the most trustworthy sword-arms, of the Holy Empire.
Vendela escaped the imperial detachment that was sent to imprison her, killing half of them with two frightful hammers of her own confection. She has resurfaced only recently.
Vendela has possibly one of the most powerful specialties - even without actually using it in-game you can imagine the power of a 5x5 Exploding Spikes.
Magic Heroes (Warlock)
Daeva
Female
Succubus Master: Succubi and Lilim's ranged attacks now also cause the Immolation effect.
Blood
Biography: Flinty and flirtatious, Daeva is finding life in Sheogh nothing like the dance over hot coals she feared it might be. In fact, compared to the turmoils of her living years – a violent, abusive father, her subsequent murder of this depraved man, her capture by enslavers which led to further defilement, a meeting with Demon cultists which got her sent to the jails of the Inquisition and a slow, painful death – she considers her days in Urgash’s realm wicked fun.
Deleb
Female
Agony Master: Automatically starts with the Agony spell, and gains a +10% effect when using it.
Blood
Biography: Don’t confuse Deleb, a servant of the Overlord of Pain Ur-Traggal, with a Succubus. She’s not.
And to prove it, she’ll gladly invite you to test out her latest mechanical contraption; a machine that’s liable to flay or burn or sear your skin in never-before-imagined ways. Not without a smile, of course. Being a Master of Fire Magic, she could happily talk for hours about the difference between a burn and a scorch or a brand and a scald, but she’d much rather show you.
Deleb was infamous during HoMM V, due to the some would argue overpowered abilities of her Ballista speciality.
Jeddite
Male
Master of Fire: Increases the effectiveness of Magic (Fire) by 6%.
Blood
Biography: Jeddite was a powerful Wizard with an affinity for Fire magic. His love for all things burning grew to become an obsession, to the point where the other Wizards began to think of him as dangerous. It wasn’t long before Jeddite became a servant of Abaddon, the Demon Prince of Destruction. One day, while staring at the fire consuming his master’s tower (with his master still inside it), Jeddite had a vision of a knight in fiery armor. The man presented himself as Kha-Beleth, the Prince without a throne, and said he had plans for the fallen Wizard. Kha-Beleth removed Jeddite from the path of mindless Destruction to make him a servant of greater goals instead. Some say on this occasion Jeddite saw what was hidden under Kha-Beleth’s helmet, but he has always refused to comment on this rumor. Jeddite is now building a secret society of worshippers of Chaos inside the Seven Cities.
Jeddite appeared in HoMM III as a Warlock, and in HoMM IV as a Sorceror.
Lamia
Female
Spellweaver: +2 Magic Power.
Tears
Biography: Lamia has been a Succubus for so long that her current incarnation is older than those of all the current Princes of Sheogh. Once a Shantiri Priestess during the height of the ancient empire, she is said to have seen it all and done even more.
Lamia’s reasons for becoming a Succubus seemed to have stemmed from a wager with the Arch-Demon Azkaal, who was warring against the Angels and rapidly rising to his future title of Prince of Destruction. It is taken for granted in Sheogh that Lamia lost the bet, but Azkaal might argue the contrary.
Three decades later, in the fateful battle that saw Azkaal defeated by the Archangels Michael and Sarah, Lamia was by his side as his magical protector and consort. She is said to have smiled for the first time in 30 years when Azkaal’s soul was whisked away and trapped in a powerful artifact which she herself had crafted.
Tynan
Male
Spellbreaker: +2 Magic Defense.
Blood
Biography: Tynan was born a large and healthy baby to farmers of the Stag Duchy who had immigrated to escape the wars of consolidation during the founding of the Falcon Empire. His parents succumbed to the great famine of the year 12 YSD, but the child was taken in by a local Baron and raised as a servant in his household. Tynan was incredibly tall and strong, and assumed to be dimwitted because of his lumbering gait and amiable manners.
During the Wars of Fire when the Demons seized the opportunity to invade the weakened realms of Ashan, recovering from the Elder Wars, Tynan had become an unremarkable bodyguard who followed the Baron like a sheepdog following a farmer. During a formal visit to the Duke of the Unicorn, Tynan surprised everyone by crushing the Duke’s head against a stone table.
A Demon Prince who had grown rather fond of his brilliant spy and extremely clever confidant had Tynan reincarnated after his subsequent execution in the form of a handsome incubus. Tynan has remained loyal to him since... though no one knows precisely which Prince he serves or how he was initially recruited.