1. The Loyal Pet
Name: Grath “Iron-Fang” Murduk
Race/Class: Half-Orc Warlock (Patron: Zerubbabel)
Appearance: Towering and broad, with gray-green skin etched in scars. His tusks are capped in silver, and his left arm is covered in twisting, eye-like tattoos that writhe faintly when he channels his pact magic.
Personality: Fanatically loyal, brutish, zealous. Grath is not clever, but his devotion to Zerubbabel is absolute. He often refers to himself as “the Beholder’s Fang.”
Role: Zerubbabel’s personal bodyguard and enforcer. Grath stands at the beholder’s side during all meetings, glaring at others and waiting for an excuse to unleash eldritch power.
Quote: “You speak to my master through me. His will is my blood, his eye my soul.”
Hook: If the PCs want to reach Zerubbabel, they must go through Grath first — or find a way to sever his patron link.
2. The Forger
Name: Darrik “Inkweft” Nackle
Race/Class: Svirfneblin (Rogue/Artificer hybrid)
Appearance: Small and wiry, with chalky gray skin and fingers permanently stained with ink. His spectacles are enchanted to magnify runes, and he always carries a belt of fine chisels, stamps, and inks.
Personality: Arrogant, exacting, obsessive. Darrik sees himself as an artist whose medium is forgery. He despises incompetence and ignores orders from anyone but Zerubbabel himself.
Role: Master of forgeries, counterfeit seals, and false documents. He produces everything from royal decrees to guild contracts, often so perfect that even magical scrutiny struggles to detect them.
Quote: “Do not insult me with your crude signatures. I do not copy. I improve.”
Hook: Darrik could accidentally incriminate Zerubbabel through his own pride — or demand the PCs fetch rare inks or enchanted quills for his “masterpieces.”
3. The Fallen Noble
Name: Serenya Veythra
Race/Class: High Elf Rogue/Assassin
Appearance: Once golden-haired and graceful, Serenya has drastically altered her looks — cutting her hair short, tattooing one side of her face with black skull-markings, and filing her teeth to sharp points. She dresses in dark leathers, always with a crimson scarf to hide her noble features.
Personality: Cold, ruthless, efficient. Serenya despises her former peers and takes pleasure in humiliating surface nobles during her raids.
Role: Strike team leader. Serenya runs many of the Grim Skull’s surface operations — ambushes, kidnappings, assassinations.
Quote: “The surface spat me out, but the shadows crowned me queen.”
Hook: PCs might cross her while protecting a noble target — or uncover her true identity, which could ignite a scandal in Lygos’ courts.
4. The Ambitious Second
Name: Varkorr Bloodflame
Race/Class: Red Dragonborn Sorcerer (Draconic Bloodline)
Appearance: Tall and imposing, his crimson scales shimmer like embers. His horns curve back like a crown, and his breath constantly smolders as if he is suppressing fire within. He wears a charred half-cloak stitched with skull motifs.
Personality: Ambitious, cunning, prideful. Varkorr sees himself as the rightful leader of the Grim Skulls — and chafes under Zerubbabel’s paranoia. He’s willing to bide his time, but every victory only fuels his hunger.
Role: Zerubbabel’s second-in-command, outwardly loyal but secretly scheming. He commands respect among the rank-and-file, and many would follow him if he challenged the Beholder.
Quote: “The eye tyrant is old and rotting. The fire of conquest needs new breath.”
Hook: PCs could be courted as pawns in his coup against Zerubbabel — or find themselves caught in the middle when his ambition boils over.