I've just started running Wrath of the Righteous and the party has managed to capture Millorn alive. In keeping with the redemptive arc of the game they have taken pity on the dwarf and seek to do something to help recover his sanity and bring him back to the side of good.
For that I need to flesh out his background a bit. I've decided to make him the younger brother of Staunton Vhane. I don't really like the rather vague idea that Millorn left civilisation because he was dabbling in the dark arts and want something a bit more specific to flesh him out.
This is what I have so far:
Millorn Vhane was never a warrior like the brother who he worshipped as a hero. Staunton had all the drive and the skill at arms that he lacked. Nevertheless he followed his example and joined the crusades. Though his own contribution was not nearly so worthy as Staunton's he had the respect of his peers. When Staunton turned from the side of good he revealed his secret to his brother, hoping that the pair could work together. Millorn could not bear it. His hero was revealed as a traitor by his own words. He fled in horror, never telling anyone of what he had learned. It played on his mind though and whenever he assisted a crusader in battling the demonic forces of the Worldwound he held in the back of his mind that that crusader was also a traitor. After many years he could no longer bear it and retreated to the caverns beneath Kenabres to try to put his thoughts in order. Solitude and deprivation have done nothing to help him over the years and he has slipped into insanity. After all, if even his paladin brother should fall then what hope is there for someone like him?
Quite brief but it explains Millorn's presence under Kenabres and provides a bit of foreshadowing regarding Staunton Vhane. More importantly it means that the PCs have a way to redeem him. If they can bolster Millorn's belief in himself and provide a consistent example of people uncorrupted by self interest and evil then he'll shift his hero worship onto them. Perhaps he'll even abandon hero worship entirely and becoming a hero himself.
Any time the PCs slip or take the easier course of action Millorn will sigh in disappointment as his biased opinions are confirmed. They'll have to be extra good and brave to keep him on the right track. I'm thinking that he should probably latch onto an arcane caster. He considers himself weak compared to warriors so seeing another caster perform well will do more to strengthen his opinion of himself and his capabilities than the actions of a paladin or holy warrior.
What do you think? Does this create any real problems with the timeline or with Staunton's past?
You will meet Staunton Vhane's brother in module 2 - and it is also possible to redeem him. That this might make the encounter with Vhane's "real" brother seem more like a re-run is the only problem I see.