Bishop Ward

Overview

Bishop Ward was a senior member of the Church of Demmazon in Toreon and the principal proxy used by Samos in his dealings with the party.

Ward acted exclusively on Samos's behalf. Samos deliberately used him as the visible agent who could carry out arrests, imprisonment, punishment, and other actions while Samos himself maintained the appearance of being an ally of the party.

This arrangement was central to Samos's deception.

Samos wanted the party to believe that he was attempting to help them while simultaneously controlling their circumstances through Ward. Ward could therefore appear to be the harsh and unreasonable Church official acting against Samos's wishes, while Samos retained the appearance of being sympathetic to the party.

Ward's apparent execution later reinforced this deception. Samos presented the party with an illusion depicting Ward's supposed death, allowing Samos to claim that he had punished Ward for mistreating them.

Ward had not actually been executed.

Position in the Church

Ward was a bishop of the Church of Demmazon and possessed considerable authority in Toreon.

The early campaign material identifies him as at least 9th level. His authority allowed him to:

• issue warrants for the party's arrest;
• command Church Enforcers;
• control the party's imprisonment;
• determine their treatment as prisoners;
• oversee their gladiatorial matches;
• order executions in the arena;
• and act publicly as Samos's representative.

Although Ward held his own position within the Church, his actions toward the party were undertaken on Samos's orders.

First Encounter

The party first encountered Ward shortly after returning to their home following their confrontation with the vampire.

Their house was on fire, along with portions of the neighboring buildings. Dozens of guards and civilians were present while others attempted to extinguish the flames. Ward stood apart from the other guards and was recognizable as a senior Church official.

This began his involvement with the party.

Samos's Proxy

Ward's most important role was serving as Samos's proxy.

Samos deliberately maintained the appearance that he was sympathetic to the party and potentially willing to cooperate with them. Ward provided the mechanism by which Samos could simultaneously pursue his own agenda without openly revealing his hostility.

When Ward acted against the party, Samos could appear to disagree with him. This was deliberate.

Ward was therefore not an independent antagonist who eventually exceeded Samos's authority. The apparent conflict between Samos and Ward was itself part of the deception.

Investigation of the Party

Ward investigated the party after their activities in Toreon began attracting attention.

He knew that The Chosen had an agreement with Samos's organization to stay out of one another's affairs. He quickly suspected that the party were Chosen.

Ward pointed out that finding seven individuals possessing supernatural gifts together was too unlikely to be coincidence. He demanded to know what they were doing in Toreon and whether they had been sent by Effron, Quentin, or the Chosen.

The party eventually admitted that they were researching the werewolf plague and ancient material connected to Pythia the Mad Prophet.

Ward subsequently brought the matter to Samos.

Meeting with Samos

Ward escorted the party to Samos and formally presented them. The meeting was part of Samos's larger deception.

Samos initially cultivated the appearance that he might be willing to work with the party. Ward remained in the room during the conversation and acted as the Church representative who could be directed by Samos.

The party eventually agreed to work with Samos under his proposed arrangement. Ward participated in the ceremony in which the party's Chosen badges were used to remove the geas affecting most of them. The apparent agreement, however, was not what it seemed.

Arrest and Imprisonment

After the meeting with Samos, Ward led the party away. He then brought them to a group of armed guards and had them imprisoned. The party was stripped of its possessions and confined.

Ward subsequently oversaw their treatment as prisoners, including severe restrictions on food, magic, and access to their equipment.

The conditions were deliberately harsh. The prisoners were weakened, denied adequate food, and exposed to disease. Tim was particularly badly affected. These actions were not evidence that Ward had betrayed Samos or gone beyond his instructions. Ward was carrying out Samos's plan.

The Heretics

The party became known publicly as The Heretics after being forced into the Toreon gladiatorial games. Their first match was against a girallon. Despite their weakened condition and poor equipment, they defeated it. Ward was present and witnessed the victory. Rather than treating their victory as grounds for release, the Church continued using the party as gladiators.

The Death of Beldin

Ward's most direct confrontation with the party occurred during the second major gladiatorial match. After the surviving prisoners defeated the other groups in the arena, several of the remaining slaves surrendered. Ward entered the arena and ordered that the surrendering prisoners be killed.

He then offered the party and the other survivors a chance at pardon if they would publicly submit to the Church, beg forgiveness, and kiss his ring. Beldin refused. He approached Ward, spat at him, and declared that he would not betray his principles or his god. Ward ordered the guards to restrain him. Beldin continued to refuse. Ward then ordered his execution. Beldin was run through and subsequently beheaded. His final words to the party were:

"Always with honor."

The crowd unexpectedly began chanting for the surviving prisoners to live. Ward nevertheless declared that the party would be spared for the moment, presenting this as an act of mercy while warning that their next fight would be their last.

The Final Imprisonment

Following Beldin's execution, Ward had the surviving party members returned to prison. They were placed in a section containing a room in which magic did not function. They were deprived of food and left unable to heal themselves magically. The water available to them was contaminated and caused additional illness. The conditions were intended to leave them weakened before their next gladiatorial match. Again, Ward was acting as Samos's instrument.

The False Execution

Samos eventually needed to reinforce the deception that he was on the party's side. He therefore provided the party with an apparent explanation for Ward's actions. Samos sent the party a programmed illusion in which he apologized for their treatment and claimed that Ward had been dealt with. The illusion depicted Samos holding what appeared to be Ward's severed head.

The image was intended to convince the party that Samos had punished Ward for his treatment of them. The party did not completely accept this explanation. They recognized that what Samos had shown them was merely an illusion and pointed out that an illusion did not establish that Ward had actually been killed. They were correct. Samos had never intended to execute Ward.

The apparent conflict between Samos and Ward was itself part of the larger deception. Samos could use Ward to carry out his orders and then present himself to the party as the person who had punished Ward for doing so.

Continued Service to Samos

Ward remained alive and continued working for Samos. He was later encountered leading a Church of Demmazon spying party that was observing the party from a flying vehicle.

The group was identified as a spying party from Samos, and Ward was its leader. When the party discovered them, the group attempted to flee and ultimately used teleportation to escape.

Ward's reappearance confirmed what the party had already suspected: Samos's claim that he had dealt with Ward had been part of the deception.

Character and Methods

Ward consistently presented himself as an authoritative representative of the Church.

He could initially appear controlled and professional when dealing with the party. Once acting against them, however, he was willing to use severe measures to accomplish Samos's objectives.

His methods included:

• arrest;
• imprisonment;
• deprivation;
• forced religious submission;
• gladiatorial combat;
• execution;
• intimidation;
• and surveillance.

His treatment of Beldin demonstrated his willingness to make a public example of someone who refused to submit.

Ward's apparent brutality also served another purpose: it helped make Samos's supposed opposition to him appear genuine.

Relationship to Samos

Ward was Samos's proxy.

There is no established period during the party's conflict with Samos in which Ward was acting independently or had genuinely gone rogue.

Samos used Ward because Ward could perform the actions necessary to control and punish the party while Samos maintained his false appearance of friendship and cooperation.

This made Ward an important component of Samos's deception.

Relationship to the Party

Ward became one of the party's principal personal antagonists during their time in Toreon.

From the party's perspective, he was the Church official who arrested them, imprisoned them, starved them, forced them into gladiatorial combat, and ordered Beldin's execution.

The party nevertheless became suspicious that Ward's apparent punishment by Samos was not genuine. That suspicion was eventually confirmed when Ward reappeared alive.

Known Information

The following is established:

• Ward was a bishop of the Church of Demmazon.
• He operated in Toreon.
• He served as Samos's proxy.
• He acted on Samos's behalf in dealing with the party.
• He identified the party as members of The Chosen.
• He participated in Samos's dealings with them.
• He helped carry out the apparent agreement with Samos.
• He subsequently had the party imprisoned.
• He oversaw their treatment as prisoners.
• He forced them into gladiatorial combat.
• He ordered the execution of Beldin.
• Samos later presented the party with an illusion depicting Ward's supposed execution.
• The party recognized that the illusion did not prove Ward had actually been killed.
• Ward was never actually executed.
• Ward later continued serving Samos.
• He subsequently led a spying party operating on Samos's behalf.

Uncertain Information

The surviving material does not establish:

• Ward's full name.
• His age.
• His exact clerical level beyond the early indication that he was at least 9th level.
• His precise position within the Church hierarchy.
• His personal history.
• How long he had served Samos.
• How much Ward himself knew about Samos's larger plans.
• How extensively Ward participated in Samos's deception before the party arrived in Toreon.
• The ultimate fate of Ward.