The Book Of Fire/Forger
The Heartless Forger of Ornate Designs in Steel and Shadow
HISTORY: In life, he was one of the greatest inventors the Solar Deliberative had ever known. Because of this, he was forgiven his eccentric nature and isolationist ways; few Solars visited him at his far Northern Manse, which was populated exclusively by brilliantly crafted automata, golems and crafted consciousness, all acting out a charade of daily life...
When the Usurpation occured, he made it to his Manse, but not to hide as others did. Instead, he openly dared the Terrestrial Host to come for him. When they did, they died by the hundreds in the various traps built into the Manse, until the guiding Sidereals were finally able to get them to his location, only to find him mysteriously already dead.
Deactivating his Manse, they converted it into his tomb, and sunk it beneath the surface, hoping to give his spirit rest. And, eventually, the Malfeans came...
He needed little convincing, and gave away his name ere before the Neverborn finished their pitch. Reborn as The Heartless Forger of Ornate Designs in Steel and Shadow, he immediately set about his dark work...
DESCRIPTION: The Heartless Forger appears as a 7ft tall transparent outline of a man, "filled" with visible magitech organs affixed to a Soulsteel skeleton (true to his name, the heart is the one organ conspicously missing). Comprised of every one of the 5 MM, his pistoning, pumping and cycling inner workings are clear to all who look on him. Within each finger is a different tool, and his hands duplicate the effects of Bracers of Universal Crafting.
The Forger's weapon of choice is a Grand Goremaul he calls Ringing Triumph; in addition to the standard abilities of such a weapon, it can pound any object or life form into any shape the Forger desires, without actually harming it (it's size and mass remain the same). If forced into battle, he will also summon about him a version of Celestial Battle Armor, with all of the Soulsteel features.
The Heartless Forger's Citadel is The Bone Factory, an elaborate Underworld Factory Cathedral closely modeled on the tomb he was buried in, albeit with suitable trappings. Teams of ghosts and zombies tirelessly work there mass producing his creations, while the R&D teams try them out on the outskirts of his territory...
GOALS: The Forger is insane, even by Deathlord standards. He seems little concerned with the extinction of Creation, and moreso with the crafting of the means to do so. As far as he's concerned, nothing much has really changed since he was alive.
He pursues many projects, to the point of finishing few. If another, even a Solar dedicated to stopping him, were to share his crafting passion and show geniune interest in his projects, he would cheerfully show them off!
SERVANTS: The Heartless Forger is unique in that he has no Deathknights. He prefers to experiment on his share of Solar shards and has plans to use them to power a gargantuan Colossus Warstrider that his Artificier Corps is currently building...
Otherwise, the Forger is well-served by an elaborate network of ghosts, most with various Crafts skills useful to him. His interest in the living world is low, but occasionally he arranges for the execution of some genius savant whose work he admires.
His army is small, but arguably the best-equipped of all the Deathlord's forces. The Forger has created an Underworld equivalent to virtually every Artifact listed in WotLA, esp. the vehicles and weapons, and has improved upon the Mask of Winters' Loathsome Osseus Shells.
If he ever launches a campaign in Creation, he is looking forward to extensively outfitting zombie armies in necrotech (some examples of which can be found in The Autochthonians). He also has a special class of Nemissaries who have developed Arcanoi enabling them to possess and move arms, armor and unliving objects instead of dead flesh...
