Saed Baroda

Sometimes Saed thieves off the Shining South caravans that travel Veldorn. He normally mediates all disputes between his fellow beast chieftains, thanks to his abilities and his psionic powers.

“They come to me whining of oppression and injustice. But were any of them given even a modicum of power, they would do everything I have done—and worse.”

Once Saed was a member of Chaka Baroda and the wealthiest merchant of Turelve. Thus, as a Durpari custom, he was also elected Nawab. Saed became more and more powerful but did not want to share his wealth with his Chaka fellows. So he discreetly started searching for a way to achieve immortality by means of potions of longevity. Saed was the ruling Nawab of the city of Turelve, in Durpar. By Durparian custom, the Nawab was the wealthiest merchant of the city. With such influence, (and his tremendous psionic powers), Saed was able to manipulate caravans and other traders into hiring his escort service and renting his warehouses and thus remain in power.

Saed did not want to pass on his wealth to others in his family, or Chaka; in his opinion, they were beneath his intellect and therefore unworthy. Saed put out discreet inquiries for potions of longevity to keep himself young and in power forever. A response came one dark night in the Year of the Chevalier, 1048 DR, from a mysterious stranger from the north who promised him something better: immortality. All Saed had to do was follow the stranger to an abandoned shrine of the goddess Shar and swear loyalty on her altar. The stranger was a friendly, open fellow, and Saed trusted him, not realizing that he had fallen prey to vampiric charm. Saed followed his new “friend” to the desolate place in an old city under a large hill, and he swore loyalty to Shar. 

The ruler of Turelve gained immortality, but he became a slave in the process. Soon, Saed’s family, Chaka Baroda, and the rest of the city became suspicious of the unusual hours that Saed was keeping, and business began to drop off. Chaka Baroda investigated and soon found out that Saed was nothing more than a puppet whose strings were pulled by a hideous vampire. At considerable expense, they had this monstrosity tracked down and destroyed by a group of adventurers, but Saed escaped. The Chaka put out a story about his disappearance, and a successor was chosen from the family. Chaka Baroda still rules Turelve to this day. Saed had fled to the west with a charmed bodyguard who guarded his coffin. Eventually, he settled in Vaelen, the ancient underground city where he had become a vampire.

Due to his negotiating skills, the other monster rulers, (known as beast-chieftains) of Veldorn came to respect Saed’s abilities to reach consensus and arbitrate disputes. This ability not only stems from his days as a tough bargaining merchant but is equally due to Saed’s developed psionic abilities. Since taking on this role, there have been no serious outbreaks among the beast chieftains, and Saed has persuaded them to act together in case any one of them is threatened from the outside forces of good. Indeed this has paid off handsomely: all invasions into Veldorn have been humiliated by a stiff, coordinated defense of the beast-chieftains.

When the Datharathi Chaka rose to power in the 15th century, Saed manipulated their hired adventuring bands to make forays into the Beastlands and remove any potential rivals for his power.