Baellin Tugard¶
Contested
This page is named in two open questions. State of Alghert in 704 SM: the Rivenlands gazetteer shows a secure and prosperous kingdom in the autumn of 704 SM, the campaign sessions a kingdom given over to a demonic Hollow with the king's consent. Prince Immeron and the Tugard succession: one campaign note has the king seeking the death of an exiled Prince Immeron of Alghert, while the dynasty notes make Princess Ewe his only child.
King Baellin Tugard rules Alghert, "the Jewel of Dalmar", as absolute monarch of the Tugard Dynasty, which has held the kingdom "for almost 200 years" (S319). In the autumn of 704 SM of the Fifth Age he is forty-eight, "a plump old king" who "is consumed with paranoia. Some call him the mad king, however he is far from mad. He is cunning but careful, isolationist but loyal, protective but pragmatic. His greatest desire to keep his kingdom separated from the dirty and corrupt outside world. He sees his kingdom as infallible and perfect" (S319). His heir is his daughter, Princess Ewe Tugard.
The closed kingdom¶
Under Baellin, Alghert permits no magic "other than from the Priests of the patron God Kalar", with harsh penalties "especially for outsiders"; travellers' papers are checked on the king's roads, and "refugees are turned away" (S319). Its neighbours "are all but vassals, which depend on Alghert for protection and prosperity" (S319). No army has entered the kingdom in a hundred years.
The coven and the Hollow¶
The campaign's prep tells what the closed borders hid. The king and princess "head a coven of witches and serve Demonlord Adramycos", servant of the Archdemon Bhaal (S181, S182). The Alghert Coven was led in practice by the governess Jehanna Motters. Alghert held part of the Mithis Heartstone, and the royal pair were moving Mithis objects to build a Hollow around its vault so that Bhaal's forces could break in. "The King and princess have agreed to the plan so long as the hollow is stable, they regain control of Alghert and they have been promised great powers from the long term hollow. The hollow covers most of the southern area of Alghert. This also represents an opportunity to throw off the impotent Kalari priesthood into something more liberal" (S181, S182). "Ewe is unhappy with the deal they have made" (S182).
When Pemeril's wards failed and devils came into the streets, the Royal Guard sealed off the castle, and "a deserter reports that Princess Ewe has been taken prisoner by her father (the King). Even the royals are in chaos!" (S184). The party's dealings with the court belong to the Sancturi Campaign.
Prince Immeron¶
One early campaign note gives the king a quarrel with an exiled prince of his own house: "Kill Prince Immeron. (why?) Bounty ... King of Alghert wants him dead and is willing to give ?? for him", and "Exiled Prince Immeron ?? of Alghert. Exiled because he ran before he was killed" (S138). Immeron lived in the Florentine Woodlands and is the man the campaign came to know as Amer. The dynasty notes, by contrast, call Ewe "the only child" (S154, S319).
Ullric Tugard¶
An ancestor of the dynasty, King Ullric Tugard, stands in stone in Pemeril's Temple Park: a dragonslayer, "pre-dark sun", bearing a two-handed hammer (S184). No source gives his reign or his dragon.
Madarn¶
Captain of the Royal Guard at Pemeril: "Old man, knows the king well. Veteran warrior. 40 men" (S184). He commanded the guard when it sealed the castle.
Earlier accounts¶
The first note on the dynasty makes Baellin fifty-two and has him less knowing: "He knows he is guided by witches, but does not realize the full extent of their control" (S154). An early plot note has Princess Ewe worried that the kingdom is "ignoring the rising storm (Sancturi, Hollows) and that when the storm hits, they will be helpless" (S133).
Gap
No source names Baellin's queen, gives the date of his accession, or records his fate after the fall of Pemeril's wards.