Pwyll Daggerford

Duke Pwyll (“PWILL”) Daggerford (LG male Illuskan human knight2 5, see Appendix 2, page __), born in the Year of the Sword and Stars (1332 DR) is the fair-haired, second son and third child of the late Duke Pryden Daggerford. Tall and handsome, the bright-eyed young duke is brave, fearless, and a natural leader of warriors. Pwyll has no end of noble-born female suitors, but prefers the quiet company of his fellow soldiers to the sordid machinations of his barons and Waterdhavian noble houses, all trying to marry off their sisters and daughters to secure access to the ducal throne and hence control the trade routes south of Waterdeep.

Duke Pwyll’s formal titles include Duke of Daggerford, Duke of Calandor, King of Man (a title the Heralds consider disputed and shunned), Baron of the Steeping Falls (a title written but never spoken after three dukes of Calandor in short succession were murdered after its utterance), Shining Lord of the Sword Hills (a title never employed in the company of dwarven dignitaries as it implies human claims to the Forlorn Hills put forth during the Kingdom of Man), Warden of the Lizard Marsh, and High Knight of Dragonspear (a non-inheritable title awarded by the Lords’ Alliance to all commanders, living or posthumous, who fought against the Alliance of Avernus).

Pwyll had a short career as an adventurer, cut off when his older brother, Merovy, died adventuring along the Unicorn Run in the Year of the Bow (1354 DR). Pwyll’s father, Duke Pryden, realized that his sole remaining male heir needed training in how to be a land ruler. Pwyll chafed against this necessary restriction of his adventuring life, but saw the necessity and acceded to his father’s wishes, leaving him well prepared when his father, Duke Pryden, fell fighting the onslaught of diabolic forces from Dragonspear Castle in the Year of the Worm (1356 DR).

Pwyll gained his nickname of “Greatshout” after swallowing an unknown potion he discovered in the sack of Dragonspear Castle, which gave him the ability to shout as if he were using a fabled horn of blasting. His voice is considerably roughened from when he set out on that last campaign against evil, but no one has seen or heard him use the great shout since he came back from the wars. There are many stories of its use during the last weeks of the campaign, though. (Pwyll discovered an elixir of shouting during the campaign and used it in conjunction with the gorget of swallows* he inherited from Duke Draconandar.)

Although he proved his mettle on the battlefield, Duke Pwyll is still busily proving his control of the ducal throne. Having returned to the ducal castle, the young duke now spends his days trying to restore the security and prosperity of his realm. Pwyll is slowly coming to the realization that the greatest threat to his rule is not the remnants of the Alliance of Avernus but the growing power of Lord Tarn Urmbrusk. The young duke has even begun to privately wonder if his family’s series of misfortunes might not be due to the hidden hand of Lord Urmbrusk. At the present time, Pwyll is trying to decide whether to coopt the exiled Waterdhavian lord, by marrying his sister off to him, or confront Daggerford’s primary financier, with the inevitable huge hit to the duchy’s economic recovery that would ensue at a time when his people are already suffering. Until he produces an heir, Duke Pwyll is very protective of his sister, convinced she might well be killed if he lets her go off and adventure like their elder brother, Lord Merovy.

Pwyll meets regularly with his advisors and more infrequently with the town’s Council of Guildmasters and the Council of Man, planning how to defend the duchy, and enrich the duchy and his family by shrewd investments. There are recurring plans to dredge the river and make Daggerford an important harbor, but the duke sees such ambitions as folly. The duke is rarely seen in town, except for the rare meal at the River Shining Tavern, preferring to spend his scarce hours of freedom hunting (now-a-days for devils, not stags).