YMMV / The History of the Runestaff

• Badass Decay:
  • In Count Brass, all of the newly brought back warlords have decayed from vigorously insane warriors to being single phrase automatons.
  • Hawkmoon himself between Count Brass and Champion of Garathorm degenerated from the hero of the resistance to a basement-dwelling wargame obsessive.
• Complete Monster: The brutal and ambitious Baron Meliadus of Kroiden serves as the commander of the armies of Granbretan and one of the chief agents of its conquests. Feared across Europe for his cruelty, Meliadus brutally strips conquered lands of their resources and commits unspeakable atrocities on their people. Swearing vengeance upon hero Dorian Hawkmoon when his attempt to turn him into a tool of his prior vendetta against Count Brass—an enmity begun by Meliadus's attempt to rape Brass's daughter Yissolda—by means of the brain-eating Black Jewel fails, Meliadus comes to increasingly devote his resources towards personal revenge, earning the displeasure of his master King-Emperor Huon—which in turn drives Meliadus to overthrow Huon and seize power for himself in a betrayal shocking even to Granbretan, though he himself is killed by Hawkmoon shortly after. Ambitious, self-absorbed and cruel to a fault, in an empire of evil Baron Meliadus stands out above the rest.