Rolf Lowenroth

Son and Heir of Baron Franz Löwenroth of Adlerturm

AC 1017

"I take pride in the noble creature I have become. How can others see me as a monster?"

Appearance

The thin frail wisp of a boy that was once Rolf Löwenroth has grown into a large robust specimen of manhood. His long hair is a rich brown, worn long and tied with a bow in the back. With his full beard and moustache, he appears to have a mane. His features are all at once captivating and menacing, with penetrating dark brown eyes and that disarming, almost hungry, smile. His build is muscular and powerful, and his tanned skin is conspicuously matted with body hair.

Wizardly robes are not his style. Instead, Rolf prefers hunting garbs for the day-to-day and military uniforms for social and official functions (as do the ladies!). Though not particularly handsome or pretty, his mien is majestic and full of pride. His manner of speech is slow and precise, with a slight tendency to growl when under duress.

Background

In AC 989, Rolf Löwenroth, son and heir of Baron Franz Löwenroth of Adlerturm and his Alphatian wife Frau Waltraud, was born a weak and wan child. Young Rolf often fell prey to illness, which greatly delayed his growth and magical studies. Once in AC 1001, when Rolf was 12, Herr Franz even had to smuggle in an illegal cleric to cure Rolf of a life-threatening bout of dysentery. Being small and feeble, Rolf also often fell prey to the bullying of other children, to the point that his younger sister Walburg Löwenroth would sometimes—to his great embarrassment—have to come to his defense! Even at the Great School of Magic, Rolf was often taunted other students; three in particular, Juchi, Akbalik, and Muhuli Virayana, cousins of Prince Jherek Virayana IV of Krondahar, were his most hated tormentors.

During the Wrath of the Immortals War, Rolf had to suspend his studies at the Great School of Magic and return to the security of home. This proved to be a catastrophic move, since Rolf was in faraway Adlerturm when the Plague of 1008 occurred. Rolf succumbed to the plague and was at death's door long before the council allowed clerics to re-enter the Principalities. Desperate with worry and grief, the frantic Herr Franz (who could not find a cleric in that time of war) turned to the only possible cure for his dying son and heir: a mysterious enchantment from an ancient Taymoran scroll, which promised to "pass a spark of might" from a healthy beast onto an ailing human.

Herr Franz performed the strange ceremony, sacrificing his most favored pet lion, and within days, Rolf recovered. The Taymoran sorcery turned out to be more potent than either father or son expected, as Rolf not only regained his health, but as the months progressed, Rolf's feeble frame and weak constitution was soon replaced by a vibrant picture of vigor, vitality, and virility. By AC 1010, the robust man who returned to Glantri City to resume his magical studies was no longer the pitiful boy that he had once been.

Rolf Löwenroth became the latest pet of the Glantrian jet set. Though not particularly genteel, his coarse charms—and the promise of wild times—had an allure that most primped and powdered Glantrian gentlemen failed to offer. Rolf romanced many, many women, and was reputed to have a boundless sexual appetite (Doña Carmina de Belcadiz will attest to this, as she once had an extremely satisfying yet ultimately exhausting tryst with Herr Rolf!). Rumors of his sexual escapades became rampant, much to the pleasure of the ladies—and to the displeasure of Baron Franz back in Adlerturm!

After graduating from the Great School of Magic, Rolf continued living his decadent lifestyle in the City of Canals, when his father Herr Franz was short of coercing him into return to Adlerturm. Rolf's decision to join the Glantrian Army surprised Herr Franz, and allowed his son a few more years of freedom before training him for taking the reigns of dominion ruling. Of course, Rolf had his own motives for becoming a military wizard; not only would be attract more of the ladies, but he would find an outlet for his growing bloodlust.

During the invasion of the hordes of Ethengar, Herr Rolf distinguished himself as one of the most effective, although rather bloody, military wizards on the battlefield. Even Prinz Jaggar von Drachenfels, Warden of the Marches and personal friend of Herr Franz was much impressed at this heir of Adlerturm. And yet, all through this, rumors persisted about Rolf—wild parties under the full moon, a secret hunting lodge, some poor ingénue traumatized by unbridled passions—and scandal threatened to erupt and shame the Löwenroth name!

Herr Franz practically begged Prinz Jaggar to assist him "discipline" the wild and unruly Rolf, and Herr Franz practically geased Rolf when, at first, Rolf was about to rebuff Prinz Jaggar's match of his cousin, Viktoria von Drachenfels. But in AC 1017, Rolf agreed to marry Viktoria, and Herr Franz's joy and relief was inestimable.

Personality & Quirks

Once an insecure and timid child, Rolf has grown into a confident, bold, and proud man of the world. His manner is rough and his behavior is often feral, sometimes downright predatory, be it on the battlefield, in a sexual conquest, or in confrontation against foes. Rolf is sometimes taken aback by his own compulsive drives and single-minded passion, but he would rather have these than the helplessness and angst he had as a child.

Rolf is as bigoted and racist as only his Hattian heritage allows him. Though he has no great love for the Flaems, he particularly hates the Krondaharans. Not only is he very vocal about his bias, but he has been known to harass and bully Krondaharan natives. He has already killed four Krondaharans in duels, and his recent slaying scores of Ethengarian horsemen has only whetted his appetite.

Rolf grew up fond of the large cats in Adlerturm, pets and familiars of his ailurophile father. Over the years, his affinity to lions, has grown steadily, now more so than his father's—although the other felines tend to react to him with fear or submission.

Web of Intrigue

Though poplar in the Great School of Magic and the Glantrian social scene, Rolf considers very few his friends. He is civil—if a bit condescending—to the allies of Adlerturm, be they the Drachenfels or the Aalbanese in general. Rolf does have a genuine interest in the Monster Hunters' Union and the Monster Handlers' Syndicate, as is more active in their activities than Herr Franz himself.

Rolf was once very close to his sister Frau Walburg von Drachenfels, his one true friend and defender, but since their growing older and his becoming a party animal, they have grown apart. Still, they remain cordial.

His newly-wed wife, Viktoria von Drachenfels, seems blissfully ignorant of his debauched bachelor days—or if not, she does not care one bit. Rolf is glad to find that Viktoria is a proper Aalbanese wife, formal and obedient to her husband, and occasionally leaving him to go about his own business with no question or reproach. Rolf is inclined to maintain his marriage to Viktoria, if only for his political future.

Rolf has a very complex, often conflicting, relationship with his father, Herr Franz. On one hand, Rolf if very grateful and devoted to Herr Franz and would want nothing more than to make his sire proud of his son and heir. On the other, Rolf has very strong emotions against his father, finding Herr Franz ambitious and pretentious—particularly with that undeserved moniker of "The Lion Master." Rolf cannot wait to succeed Herr Franz as the Baron of Adlerturm and run the dominion his way.

Prince Jherek Virayana IV is particularly wary of Rolf Löwenroth. Though Rolf was in his rights when he defeated Juchi Virayana in a magical duel, Jherek suspects that Rolf had something to do with the tragic deaths of Akbalik and Muhuli Virayana—who were brutally slain by a wild cat during one of Prince Jherek's hunts. With Prince Jherek's passing, the elders of House Singhabad are clamoring for the new prince, Ralindi Virayana, to investigate Rolf and avenge their blood.

Style of Magic & Combat

Statistics: 9th-level werelion transmuter (Glantrian Military Wizard Kit); Str 18(20), Dex 13, Con 16(17), Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 14; AL C (D&D), LE (AD&D). (Scores in parentheses for werelion form).

Werelion Form: AC 4; MV 15, Jump 6; #AT 2 claws/1 bite; Dmg 1d6/1d6/2d6.

Werelion Powers: communication (lions), fearful howl, ferocity, savage, transformation (3 slots).

Werelion Penalties*: bloodlust, chemical vulnerability (unknown), dietary requirement, mark of the beast, weapon vulnerability (unknown).

Languages: Thyatian (Glantrian and Aalbanese dialect).

Skills: animal handling (large cats), animal lore (large cats), etiquette (though he doesn't bother to use it), heraldry, hunting, reading/writing, riding (land-based).

Weapon Proficiencies: dagger, short sword.

As a result of the ancient Taymoran enchantment (actually a curse of lycanthropy), Rolf is a true werelion, more so than his father Herr Franz, who is only a weretiger with certain leonine features. The enchantment has affected Rolf's mind such that he is blind to his own monstrosity. His transformation is quick and uneventful. In his hybrid form, he retains his human consciousness but sees his lion-man form as perfectly normal (much like a simbasta would looks at an image of itself), whereas he retains no memory of his activities in lion form.

Rolf is passable in spellcasting, although he is vicious in physical combat. Rolf attacks ferociously hand-to-hand, and seems invulnerable to all but enchanted weapons (The weapon vulnerability and chemical allergen of the werelion is as of yet undiscovered!). Rolf can be so savage that his hapless opponents hardly notice his transformation to man-lion form. The fact that his victims usually end up in shredded, bloodied pulps of flesh, does not unsettle Rolf one bit.

Rolf is not keen in spellcraft or scholarly magic, unlike his obsessive father. He has accepted the use of Herr Franz's feline spells, but has turned down his father's sponsorship into the Secret Craft of Cryptomancy—finding it a "weak and frivolous elven fad." His favored spells are those that aid in physical combat, such as jump, strength, cat's grace, haste, lion's roar and spectral claws (the few spells he had taken from his father).

From his mother, Rolf inherited an ancient Alphatian artifact, the Wand of Kersy. With this wand, Rolf likes to polymorph his prey—sexual or otherwise—into rabbits, pheasants, deer, mice or other helpless animals, so that he may savagely hunt them out, before inevitably having his way with them.

"He is my brother and I love him, but I do not care for his games of cat and mouse."

(Walburg von Drachenfels)

Notes:

*Werelion powers & hindrances for AD&D 2e conform to those given in "Beasts at Heart," by John W. Mangrum, appeared in The Book of Souls, edited by the Kargatane.

Author: Kit Navarro