The Shackled King

 Karkes seeks to find the key that will unlock him from his prison so that he may restore his former empire to glory. 

Karkes made a pact with a demon lord who granted him his power. He owes a permanent debt.

 Karkes is cursed to remain bound upon the very throne which he ruled from in life. He may never leave the dungeons of his fortress until he frees himself.

In an age past, Karkes was a fearsome warlock-king who ruled over his realm with an iron fist. As a result of a pact made with the demon lord Arkulak, Sovereign of the Seven Ceremonies, Karkes was able to control fiendish magic as well as he was able to swing a blade, allowing him to crush the other disparate rulers of the Hoarwilds under his boot and unite them under a single banner. As a condition of his power, however, Karkes was required to offer regular tribute to Arkulak in the form of gory sacrifice. For a time, Karkes' realm was stable, though its rivers ran red with blood in honor of the demon lord. The fury of the new king's vassals only grew as hundreds of their capable warriors were slaughtered in tribute to Arkulak. Low popular opinion further stoked the fires of discontent, and civil war soon split the Hoarwilds in two, as various independence factions united against Karkes and his loyalists. The campaign was long and brutal, but Karkes was ultimately deposed when his fortress of Slaughter's Watch was breached after an extended siege. Intent on seeing Karkes suffer, his vassals beat him near-death and then carried him atop his throne to the fortress dungeon. Priests of the Valkyrie Judiciary completed an old tribal ritual to bind Karkes to his own throne, ensuring that he may never unlock his chains without the designated ritual key. They then left Karkes to die a slow death. And die Karkes did. The vassals freed from Karkes and the kingdoms they ruled were eventually lost to time. So too was the ritual key that could free Karkes from his chains.

Through sheer power of fury aided by the power of the pact he forged with Arkulak, Karkes did not remain dead. He rose again, many years later, in undeath. Still chained to his throne in the dungeons of his fortress, Karkes retains many of the powers he had in life. He has spoken to those who would listen to him, calling them to his aid and sending them out into the Hoarwilds in search of the ritual key so that he may be finally freed from his imprisonment.

Karkes sacrificed dozens of lives within the walls of Slaughter’s Watch in tribute to Arkulak, the demon lord. These victims were usually buried in mass graves or thrown into the nearby river after they had served their purpose. Now, many of them have risen along with Karkes as 

 ready to help the former king return to his old glory. 

A loyal council of Karkes’ closest advisors remained at his side until the very end of the civil war. As punishment for their loyalty to a tyrant, Karkes’ enemies tortured and killed the council members one by one after Karkes had been dealt with. The influence of the demon lord Arkulak and the foul energies that persisted at Slaughter’s Watch caused the spirits of the council members to reform as 

that lingered within the fortress. Now that Karkes, too, has risen, the ice wraiths have once again sworn loyalty to their old king and are committed to helping him find the ritual key and restore his dominance. 

After Karkes returned to life still chained to his throne, he soon realised he would need help if he was to build his revenge and reestablish his kingdom. He called out again to Arkulak, thanking the demon lord for his return and asking for the Sovereign to grant him even a single ally to aid him in his new unlife. Arkulak was happy to oblige, and raised the wizard Azhar, who served as Karkes’ court magus until the end of the war, when he was murdered by Karkes’ enemies. Now a 

, Azhar is delighted to be once again granted an opportunity to serve his king. He puts his necromantic abilities to work by raising further undead to gradually grow Karkes’ new army. 

After Azhar was raised by Arkulak, the first task that the undead necromancer set about was to create a faithful servant for himself. Agnar the 

 is that faithful servant, who Azhar constructed from the ample frozen remains littered throughout the fortress of Slaughter’s Watch in the aftermath of the insurrection. Agnar spends much of his time at Azhar’s side acting both as a bodyguard and as an assistant for menial tasks such as body recovery and transportation of goods. When Azhar heads out into the Hoarwilds in search of the lost ritual key, Agnar follows close behind. 

After Agnar the atrocity, the second of Azhar’s creations was a 

 he named Wretched. It was not uncommon for curious travellers, or, more concerningly, intrepid adventurers to wander close to the fortress walls or even attempt to breach them. Wretched helps put an end to that. His ragged moaning echoes off the fortress walls as he wanders its interior as well as its surrounding perimeter. 

Shortly after Karkes was raised by Arkulak, a mother urvok has made her den in the ruined remains of the Slaughter's Watch fortress courtyard and gave birth to a litter of 

. The urvoks have no awareness of or familiarity with Karkes. The former king, however, was incredibly fond of the creatures in life and remains so in undeath. He considers the birth of the urvoks as a good omen and a sure sign of his eventual revenge. He has forbidden any of his followers, undead or otherwise, from disturbing the urvoks in any way upon threat of destruction. 

Because Karkes is shackled to his throne, he is entirely stationary in combat. Because of his Creature Sense ability, he cannot be surprised and will know that the characters are coming. To make an encounter with Karkes more dynamic, consider adding multiple minions with a variety of ranged and melee abilities to the fight. Furthermore, while the characters navigate Slaughter’s Watch, take advantage of Karkes’ telepathic abilities and lair actions to extend his interaction with the party before direct combat. In combat, remember to keep track of Karkes’ Frightful Presence, Frost Aura, and Regeneration abilities, all of which are passive. If the party attempts to stay out of Karkes’ range and take advantage of the fact that he can’t move, feel free to use Lair Actions during his turn to keep the fight dynamic in addition to his Inflict Misery action. If targets are in range, Karkes will use his Frost Chains attack every turn. He only uses his Disrupt Life legendary action if there is more than one target within its range. Otherwise he alternates between Anguish and Spiteful Gaze.

A former tyrant has returned in undeath, still chained to the throne that he was killed upon by his own subjects. It is time for him to rebuild his kingdom. 