Born Roman Meillthorpe in 1304 in Athkatla.
The son of a commander in the Athkatla Guard and a High Preistess of Mystra, Roman expressed a keen interest in the ways of the military guard at a very early age. He enlisted in the guard at the ripe age of 15, after having bested the company leader's eldest son in a match of swordplay.
Roman had his first official kill soon after entering the military at the age of 16 while assigned to guard a grain shipment heading to Beregost. Some marauders had attacked their shipping convoy, which unbeknownst to the
raiders, was heavily guarded by Athkatla guardsmen disguised as simple merchants. Roman had nothing short of a religious experience when taking his first life. He began to think of himself as a judge among the living. His interests in taking life grew, as did his interest in death itself as he began to take on more dangerous missions with high rates of bloodshed.
It was not long that he found himself worshiping at the altar of Kelemvor. "Roman, judge of the living... left hand of Kelemvor, judge of the dead!", he thought to himself... over and over with each victim of his authority and his vanity. In time, his infatiation with death as well as his collasal ego, combined to bring him to take up the study of necromancy and magic outside of the rules of the growing Cowled Wizard circles.
By this time, Amn was growing as a very powerful nation state with trade routes and wealth coming in from every direction in Faerun. With the growing strength of Amn, came more promenant corruption, and Roman was never very far from it. He would never think twice about burning down a village that would not give him and his guard passage for thier trade route; forcing commoners to pay tithes to Amn with or without jurisdiction often scraping some off the top to keep for himself; and at every chance he could get... feeding his inquenchible desire to damn the living to death for whatever trivial reasoning.
By the 1340's he rose to the rank of Captain of the North Routes and was in charge of many companies of Amnish soldiers who both protected and bullied their way to greater wealth for Amn. Roman would always find himself in the most turbulent regions of Amn and acquired quite a reputation for himself as both power hungry and cruel. Those that banded with him, found his ruthless leadership to be very rewarding. Those who opposed him found his passage to be a curse upon their lands.
It was rumored that he performed haenous rites on the living as he often had citizens of allied villages brought in for questioning who were rarely seen again. If they were ever seen again, they would always be found wandering with strange symbols burnt into their skin or even parts of their skull and brain matter removed. None were able to utter the name 'Roman' as the culprit... but the Cowled Wizards began to take notice.
This went on for years until 1365, when the Constable of the Amnish Northern territories held an investigation into Roman and these rumors that he had descended into a dark madness. It was discovered in his Chateau in Crimmor that he had an unsanctioned dungeon and magical experimentation facility in secret chambers on his property. What they uncovered there made even the stoutest of men cringe and wretch... townsfolk with crudely amputated limbs and no medical care clinging to life... clergy of opposed preists beheaded and bodies defiled... evidence of necromancy and that some of his victims had actually spent some time as the walking dead before being butchered... tome upon tome of magic scroll... none of which within the law of the Cowled Wizards who by that time had vast political power in Amn.
Roman was immediately shipped off to Spellhold to be imprisoned until death take him to be judged by the very one that he served. He spent his following years in a dank small stone room with only a tiny sliver of light coming from under his door from the torchlight in the hallway. He prayed and conversed with the voice of Kelemvor in his head... about how his time was not through... about how he had much more to do... about how he should seek the temple in Sundren!
Then one day in 1372... the voices in his head went silent. No matter how Roman pleaded and meditated... the voice of his master was lost and would not return. This pushed Roman out into the Abyss of mental unrest so much so that not even the magic dampening stones of Spellhold could contain him. In a brilliant flash of crushing energy and fury, Roman was able to escape the isle of Brynnlaw and having many friends in many port cities, he was able to secure secret passage to the port of Avanthyr in Sundren. He arrived at port... drained and somewhat confused. He tells folks he's a retired captain of Amn... not entirely false. The rest has yet to be.
The son of a commander in the Athkatla Guard and a High Preistess of Mystra, Roman expressed a keen interest in the ways of the military guard at a very early age. He enlisted in the guard at the ripe age of 15, after having bested the company leader's eldest son in a match of swordplay.
Roman had his first official kill soon after entering the military at the age of 16 while assigned to guard a grain shipment heading to Beregost. Some marauders had attacked their shipping convoy, which unbeknownst to the
raiders, was heavily guarded by Athkatla guardsmen disguised as simple merchants. Roman had nothing short of a religious experience when taking his first life. He began to think of himself as a judge among the living. His interests in taking life grew, as did his interest in death itself as he began to take on more dangerous missions with high rates of bloodshed.
It was not long that he found himself worshiping at the altar of Kelemvor. "Roman, judge of the living... left hand of Kelemvor, judge of the dead!", he thought to himself... over and over with each victim of his authority and his vanity. In time, his infatiation with death as well as his collasal ego, combined to bring him to take up the study of necromancy and magic outside of the rules of the growing Cowled Wizard circles.
By this time, Amn was growing as a very powerful nation state with trade routes and wealth coming in from every direction in Faerun. With the growing strength of Amn, came more promenant corruption, and Roman was never very far from it. He would never think twice about burning down a village that would not give him and his guard passage for thier trade route; forcing commoners to pay tithes to Amn with or without jurisdiction often scraping some off the top to keep for himself; and at every chance he could get... feeding his inquenchible desire to damn the living to death for whatever trivial reasoning.
By the 1340's he rose to the rank of Captain of the North Routes and was in charge of many companies of Amnish soldiers who both protected and bullied their way to greater wealth for Amn. Roman would always find himself in the most turbulent regions of Amn and acquired quite a reputation for himself as both power hungry and cruel. Those that banded with him, found his ruthless leadership to be very rewarding. Those who opposed him found his passage to be a curse upon their lands.
It was rumored that he performed haenous rites on the living as he often had citizens of allied villages brought in for questioning who were rarely seen again. If they were ever seen again, they would always be found wandering with strange symbols burnt into their skin or even parts of their skull and brain matter removed. None were able to utter the name 'Roman' as the culprit... but the Cowled Wizards began to take notice.
This went on for years until 1365, when the Constable of the Amnish Northern territories held an investigation into Roman and these rumors that he had descended into a dark madness. It was discovered in his Chateau in Crimmor that he had an unsanctioned dungeon and magical experimentation facility in secret chambers on his property. What they uncovered there made even the stoutest of men cringe and wretch... townsfolk with crudely amputated limbs and no medical care clinging to life... clergy of opposed preists beheaded and bodies defiled... evidence of necromancy and that some of his victims had actually spent some time as the walking dead before being butchered... tome upon tome of magic scroll... none of which within the law of the Cowled Wizards who by that time had vast political power in Amn.
Roman was immediately shipped off to Spellhold to be imprisoned until death take him to be judged by the very one that he served. He spent his following years in a dank small stone room with only a tiny sliver of light coming from under his door from the torchlight in the hallway. He prayed and conversed with the voice of Kelemvor in his head... about how his time was not through... about how he had much more to do... about how he should seek the temple in Sundren!
Then one day in 1372... the voices in his head went silent. No matter how Roman pleaded and meditated... the voice of his master was lost and would not return. This pushed Roman out into the Abyss of mental unrest so much so that not even the magic dampening stones of Spellhold could contain him. In a brilliant flash of crushing energy and fury, Roman was able to escape the isle of Brynnlaw and having many friends in many port cities, he was able to secure secret passage to the port of Avanthyr in Sundren. He arrived at port... drained and somewhat confused. He tells folks he's a retired captain of Amn... not entirely false. The rest has yet to be.