Bulwark, personal servant to King Boranel of Breland and liberator of the warforged, hasn’t been seen or heard from since the Treaty of Thronehold. Many warforged view Bulwark as their liberator and a great hero, heaping upon him a measure of honor and respect most people reserve for gods. Some rumors claim he took a new name and personality to gain complete freedom from his old life, while others darkly hint that he might have traveled into the Mournland to become the Lord of Blades, but no one knows for certain.
Adventure Hook: Divination magic cast to learn about Bulwark fails, but it also fails to prove that he is dead. Many warforged would follow him if he returned to lead his people, and the leaders of the nations of Khorvaire fear that unifying the warforged might result in their desire for a separate state. Thrane and Karrnath are particularly interested in proof of Bulwark’s death to nullify the threat to their indentured labor force.
Keith
First of all, there's the fact that there's not a lot of canon lore about Bulwark. So he's intentionally something of a blank slate. So it's fundamentally about coming up with a story that fits the story you want to tell. Just like Etrigani isn't, IIRC, canonically an agent of the Deathguard; that's what I do with her.So looking at Bulwark, I see a few easy options.
The first is that he was exactly what it said on the tin. He was a warforged bodyguard built to protect Boranel. Like all warforged, he emerged as a blank slate, devoted to his purpose; he evolved through his service and because of it.
In a way, you could say that he became a MIRROR of Boranel. Take the example I gave above, of Boranel playing Conqueror with him and discussing the state of the war all through the night.
In seeing Boranel fight for his people and his nation, he was inspired to fight for HIS people.
Option 2 is that he WASN'T designed to be a king's bodyguard; rather, he was a simple grunt soldier who did something remarkable and that Boranel requested his service. This would establish him as having developed a stronger personality BEFORE meeting Boranel; he could even have had a somewhat rebellious streak, questioning incompetant officers. This would present a Bulwark who was always QUESTIONING Boranel—even while being steadfast to his duty.
Personally, I like the first option, and I like the idea that in many ways Bulwark is more of a child of Boranel than any of his physical heirs. I support King Bulwark in 1001 YK!
Hot take on last night's Bulwark discussion: Three and Bulwark are the same. "Three" was his original unit designation. "Bulwark" is the name he chose for himself when he became the King's Protector.
While the idea that he began as Three but took the name Bulwark as part of his evolution of identity further enforces the idea that he was like a son to Boranel—that his personality evolved through his time with the King.