Sir Torrence Bleysmith

Sir Torrence Bleysmith is the darklord of the island of terror known as Staunton Bluffs. He resides in Castle Stonecrest, which is also home to a great number of undead. While he exists as a particularly powerful ghost, he suffers from a few severe vulnerabilities.

Biography

Sir Torrence Bleysmith was born into nobility as the son of Count Rupert Bleysmith, a man who was hard to please in his children's eyes. August was his elder brother and ultimate rival for his father's affections. This desire to trump one another festered into bitter hatred, which ultimately resulted in embarrassment and grief for their father. Their rivalry did not abate, and in time Count Rupert declared war on his neighbors, the Avergnites of the Duchy of Avergne. While away, he set the elder brother, August, in charge of the castle and affairs. This angered greatly the jealous Torrence.

Blinded by jealous rage, Torrance went so far as to betray his family and country be delivering military information and secrets to the Avergnite military commander, Commander Pierre Willis. It was his hope that this betrayal would result in the death of his brother, all the while employing duplicity to secure the trust of August. Eventually, his treachery paid off and he was able to deliver August to a band of Avergnites who slaughtered him and his men. His pleasure of knowing his brother was dead did not last long, as the Avergnites in turn betrayed Torrance and began their invasion of his ancestral lands in earnest - something made very easy, as it was Torrance himself who previously given them all the intelligence that they ever needed against his own army.

The cowardly Torrance hid in a cesspool while the Avergnites looted his castle and slaughtered his family. Days later, he emerged to find his home destroyed and family gone, driving him almost mad. Recalling magic that he learned as a youth, he performed an evil ritual that fell on his Staunton subjects, and like mindless undead they obeyed and picked up weapons to repel the Avergnites. This failed, and every last one of his subjects were killed. Ravaged with guilt and grief, Torrance hung himself that night; the next morning Staunton Bluffs was but a memory to his original world.

Current Sketch

Sir Torrence Bleysmith was not allowed to escape his guilt by simply killing himself, and rose a fortnight later as a ghost. The Avergnites has settled in to his land and created a living for themselves, which enraged him even further. He soon discovered that whatever happened to his bones also affected his incorporeal body, and when a stone fell on what was left of his arm, it mangled his appearance as a ghost. He was able to trick an adventurer into moving his bones, and this adventurer became the victim of his betrayal. Instead of simply dying, however, the corpse of the man rose as the undead and paced endlessly, which Bleysmith finds an annoyance. Every other mortal who perished to the spectral Bleysmith's betrayal suffered the same fate, which Bleysmith cannot do anything about (but that does not stop him from betraying and killing if he has the chance.)

He has many powers and abilities of a powerful ghost, such as a devastating aging touch. As powerful as he is, he cannot directly harm any Avergnite living in his land. If his bones are found and destroyed, this will end his existence. He lives in constant fear that an Avergnite will take advantage of this vulnerability; even though the Avergnites are more than happy to leave the old ghost alone. Fostered by his fear, he also has instructed all of the undead living in the domain to stay well away from the Avergnites and not harm them; something they grudgingly obey.

[[category:Character\]\]

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Islands of Terror
		Islands of Terror - p79
		Islands of Terror - pp78-81
		Islands of Terror - pp64-68 Realm of Terror - p85