The monarch before you practically radiates a patient calm. His every move seems deliberate and economical as he slides a piece across the conqueror board next to him before speaking. “You have arrived, as I expected and anticipated,” he says.
In 991 YK Kaius III came of age, taking his place as the rightful ruler of Karrnath and succeeding the regent, his aunt Lady Moranna. Although he is famous for his part in the Treaty of Thronehold, for ending the Blood of Vol’s hold as the official religion of Karrnath, and for efforts at rebuilding his land, few know much about him personally. He grants few private audiences and rarely makes public appearances; he seems content to let his wife, Queen Etrigani, and his chief advisor, Lady Moranna, attend to the daily tasks of governing the land.
Source: Five Nations
Tall and thin, with striking eyes and a sharp mind, King Kaius III cuts an impressive figure, the spitting image of his grandfather Kaius I. Through his forceful personality he helped end the Last War, convincing his rivals to meet and forge a new peace at Thronehold. In the months that followed, he continued to champion the Thronehold Accords and extended the hand of friendship and alliance to his neighbors.
Source: Eberron Campaign Guide
Although Kaius has never wavered in his commitment to peace, few foreigners trust him. He grants audiences rarely, and dignitaries who have met with him claim that he’s too earnest and aggressive, and he has a strange air about him, suggesting something is not quite right.
Kaius does everything precisely, his every step careful and measured. His actions have an air of calculation about them, as if his intentions were constantly colored by some plot only he knows of.
Other aspects of Kaius’s behavior reinforce this impression of strangeness. Kaius keeps a large harem at his fortress, even after his marriage, but he has produced no heirs. Also, the king bears an unmistakable resemblance to Kaius I, and those who knew the old king find the similarities in mannerisms and speech between him and his grandson downright uncanny.
Source: Eberron Campaign Guide
The Valenar view the Mournland as a proving ground, and warbands frequently venture across the border to test their mettle. Quite a few do not return, but those who do are fully proven in the eyes of their comrades. Many who fail to return aren’t dead, but have in fact been corrupted by the Mournland itself. Something about the bloodlust of the Valenar seems to call to the magic of the region. The result is a community of creatures that aren’t quite Valenar any longer. They congregate in an area that the Valenar refer to as Taer Virduul, or “Camp of the Mad.” The riders of Taer Virduul are all insane, consumed with pure bloodlust. Their mounts suffer the same affliction, and indeed evidence suggests that the Taer Virduul elves might share an empathic link or even a primitive hive mind with their mounts. Elves and mounts both are cannibalistic and cruel, torturing captives and even eating them alive. They make clothes and armor from the flesh and bones of their victims.
If you have access to Heroes of Horror, apply the tainted raver template (page 154) to both the elves and their mounts. If not, simply assume that each is in a constant state of rage (as the barbarian ability), homicidal and chaotic, unable to be reasoned with.