Gareth Dragonsbane

Gareth Dragonsbane is a fictional character from the Forgotten Realms fantasy world. He is a mighty paladin of the god Ilmater, and king of the Bloodstone Lands, the unification of his homeland, Damara, with the untamed territory of Vaasa.

Gareth was crowned King of Damara in 1359 DR when he succeeded in forging key alliances with many minor nobles throughout the land after Zhengyi the Witch-King of Vaasa, whose armies had conquered Damara, was defeated by a band of adventurers braving Castle Perilous, his stronghold. He has since then devoted his reign to rebuilding Damara's economy, forging alliances with other nations, and attracting adventurers to Damara while keeping an eye to the still-troubled enemy to the North, Vaasa.

During the events of the Year of the Rogue Dragons (1373 DR) Gareth Dragonsbane's soul had been imprisoned in the Plane of Shadow due to the treachery of some wizards who had been corrupted and were in reality Sammaster's agents. His absence left Damara briefly in disarray and prone to attack from orcs and goblinoids swarming from Vaasa. He was saved only thanks to the actions of dragonhunters Pavel Shermov and Will Turnstone, a handful of his trusted officers and companions, and (quite unbelievably) an ancient vampiric dragon by the name of Brimstone. Having recovered from his ordeal, he once more lead his troops to victory against the forces of Vaasa, apparently slaying the Witch-King (who had arisen again) in single combat. In reality, Brimstone had conjured the illusion of an undead riding on his back, and he and Dragonsbane had planned the fight all along. It had a demoralising effect for the Vaasans which made victory easier.

His wife and Queen of Damara is Christine Dragonsbane, a druidess. His mount is an intelligent warhorse named Glenden. His six best friends are his old adventuring companions: the extremely skilled and powerful monk Grandmaster Kane (who landed the killing blow on Zhengyi); the ranger Duke Olwen Forest-friend, the "thief"/spy Celedon Kierney; the bard Riordan Parnell; the wizard Emelyn the Gray; and the priest of Ilmater and disciple of St. Dionysus, Friar Dugald.

Gareth Dragonsbane was first published as a pre-generated player character in the 1985 module H1 Bloodstone Pass. Update stats for him continued to appear in the other modules of this series. Christine was a NPC in the same series.

He has recently appeared in Road of the Patriarch, where his friends captured the assassin Artemis Entreri for treasonous acts (actually a plan set up by Jarlaxle to help the king solidify his hold, without the king's knowledge). Entreri is less than impressed with Gareth's kingship, and classifies all the reasons Gareth and his friends give for Gareth's station as either a way of keeping commoners down or mere strength of arm. While Gareth's friends are furious at the disrespect the assassin shows, Gareth is uncomfortably aware there's more than a grain of truth to Entreri's reasoning, and resolves to deserve to rule by being a good king, rather than by dint of bloodline or force. He merely banishes the assassin from his realm rather than executing him (as many of Gareth's friends—even his wife—would prefer). Like Drizzt Do'Urden before him, Gareth saw Entreri as a mirror of himself, and strove to be above the reflection, making him a better man and a better king.