Abattoir

About

Lord Abattoir is a powerful wizard who lives in a massive, foreboding castle staffed by his own personal army and surrounded by the dwellings of his subjects. Decades of experience and a few close calls have sharpened his mind and tempered his attitude. He got this far by being ruthless, decisive, and clever. He is far less cocky and far more cunning now.

Abattoir is a slow, methodical sort of villain. He's a real perfectionist - he edits and overanalyzes everything as a reflex, and he enjoys convoluted plans with layers and layers of failsafes, backups, and contingency measures. He does not enjoy rushing into a situation unprepared... though this "preparation" period can last anywhere from a month to an eternity, depending on how much he's enjoying himself and how often his advisors prod him to move things along. Even in the heat of the moment, faced with a rapidly evolving situation, Abbatoir takes measured and deliberate actions to maintain control. He hates letting emotions or adrenaline make him sloppy or greedy. That said, he doesn't hesitate when he knows it's time to strike - his absolute favorite combat move is annihilating an enemy while they're in the middle of a rousing speech about good winning the day.

Abattoir is extremely perceptive, and his natural distrust of everyone and everything makes him very hard to fool. But he doesn't always let on when he's picked up on something. He keeps his cards close to his chest, and his poker face is killer. (Do not play poker with Abattoir. His glare pierces right through you until you can't tell if he's cheating or not.) Around enemies, he treats every interaction like a chess game. He attempts to analyze what his foes are capable of and predict what they expect him to do next. He tries to stay several steps ahead, already setting up to stop a counterattack for a move he hasn't made yet. (Do not play chess with Abattoir either. You'll probably lose and it'll take forever.)

To his staff and subjects, he comes off as reasonable, mellow, and merciful. Sure he's a necromancer with a frightening name and aesthetic, but that's all for show! Look, he's not the selfish trigger-happy megalomaniac he used to be. He's changed, he's really more of a gentleman now. The using-undead-as-staff thing is just a quirk of his, he probably made them a long time ago. See, he even treats them well, and they're literal zombies who don't even notice! I heard he'll even use his magic to do favors for people if they just ask nicely!

Of course, Abattoir has changed since he was younger, and he is putting on a bit of a show. A dangerous gleam in his eye is your only hint that he's plotting your demise. But please, by all means, keep talking about your local overlord like he's your weird but well-meaning uncle. Abattoir loves it when people underestimate him. It ensures that they'll be totally unprepared when he comes in for the kill.

Lord Abattoir enjoys long walks on the beach, strategy games, and thinking of monologues and one-liners that his enemies won't get the chance to listen to. It's a guilty pleasure of his. He gloats to his advisors so he can still express himself.

A Little New-Age Management

It isn't easy to stay on top. Abattoir employs a variety of strategies to keep his position secure. And he does everything deliberately. Everything for a reason.

That includes villainy. Despite his utter lack of remorse or empathy, Abattoir does not do bad things for no reason. It's only practical, after all. Fucking people over for the hell of it is a great way to get killed by an angry mob. In fact, he does his best to be downright pleasant, simply because people are more likely to stick by him if he is merciful. If he rules only by fear and force, he risks being deserted, sold out, and betrayed the moment he shows weakness.

Abattoir is deceptive on a grand scale. On top of his nonthreatening persona, he's littered his entire fortress with traps. Most are magical, and they range in complexity from simple touch-activated runes to nearly undetectable curses. He tells his staff about some of the traps - the ones that occupy the same areas they do - but only he knows all of them. In Abattoir's opinion, if someone activates a trap he didn't tell them about because they went somewhere they weren't supposed to, that's their own fault.

His people - his staff, his minions, his army, whatever you want to call them - are a mixture of undead and living. The undead are naturally loyal to him due to his reanimation methods, and have little free will of their own. They need barely any maintenance or upkeep, and he considers them relatively disposable. The living ones are fewer in number, and they're more important for Abattoir's operations. They can think for themselves, make decisions, and adapt to changing situations on the fly. He needs them to stay on his side.

Despite popular assumptions, Abattoir does not mind control his living staff. Nor does he threaten them into serving him. He used to, on both counts, but his methods have changed with experience. Now he simply offers people a good deal so they'll want to work for him. In fact, he calls them his "staff" because that's what they are - they get pay, healthcare, housing, whatever they need. It keeps the morale high. It makes them less likely to desert or betray him. It makes them truly, actually loyal.

This is not to say that they all get free rein to do whatever they want. Abattoir ensures that access - and information in general - is given on a need-to-know basis, with strict warnings against snooping in unauthorized areas. Punishment usually isn't necessary, though. The natural consequences of entering certain areas uninvited can be punishment enough.

Abattoir does discipline staff who fuck up something important, but he can also recognize when a situation was beyond anyone's control. He doesn't take out his frustration on the people who happened to be there when everything went to shit; that only sows resentment without helping anything. Similarly, he is kind to those who give him bad news. By reacting gracefully, he hopes that people will tell him about fuckups and failures before they get too big to handle cleanly. You have to be honest, though. He puts so much work into having open lines of communication, and nothing makes him angrier than underlings going behind his back and taking matters into their own hands.

Though he keeps all his staff at arm's length for his own protection (so they can't give up all his plans or be used as bargaining chips later), Abattoir does trust his advisors more than anyone else he knows. He chooses them specifically to be realistic and honest with him, which makes his plans better and keeps his ego in check. He wants his advisors to call him out on poor choices, find holes in his schemes, and question him as much as they feel is necessary. He never retaliates or punishes anyone for criticizing him, even when it irritates him - their differing perspectives are precious resources to him, and no one will share their thoughts if they fear his revenge.

Abilities & Appearance

Lord Abattoir is a frighteningly powerful necromancer. Besides the ability to reanimate corpses en masse, he can levitate, teleport, and even polymorph himself at will. He's partial to enervation and domination spells, but he's happy to disintegrate someone if he needs to be sure they'll never get up again. The stones, gems, and artifacts he wears are all magical, and they help him focus and concentrate his power. He doesn't need them, necessarily, but they enhance his already busted abilities. He fiddles with them when he's nervous or bored.

He wears intimidating clothes to hide his figure, which is pretty fragile. He's put on some weight since his youth, but he's still a squishy wizard through and through. His stripes are usually faint, but the stripes - and his horn - glow brightly when he casts spells. The brighter the glow, the more energy he's put into the spell.

He has a habit of holding up one hand in a melodramatic villain pose. His advisors have begun pointing out whenever he does "the hand thing." He didn't realize it happened this often.

Brief Backstory

As a colt, Abattoir was tutored in magic against his will. He showed potential, but lacked focus - he had trouble getting his magic to work properly. Before he felt he was ready, his parents entered him in a competition to win a powerful magic crystal. Abattoir didn't want to enter. He had nightmares of fucking up in front of an audience and enduring his parents' crushing disappointment. His tutor made him practice constantly, but he had no plan and felt wildly unprepared.

At the competition, he panicked. He couldn't focus at all, let alone on a spell. He couldn't cast shit.

Abattoir looked around at the silent faces watching him. He was overwhelmed with emotion - fear, shame, and anger are the ones he remembers best. He channeled it all into the fiercest spell he'd ever cast. In a wave of concentrated power, he forced everyone watching to do what he wanted. He wiped out the entire audience and reanimated them to clap for him.

It was the beginning of his rise to power and descent into villainy.