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Kevoth-Kul

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Kevoth-Kul
Kevoth-Kul.
(Person)

Titles
Alignment
Ancestry/Species
Class
Gender
Male
Homeland
Organization
Companion(s)
Source: The Inner Sea World Guide, pg(s). 143 (1E)
Legends, pg(s). 74
ff. (2E)
Kevoth-Kul, on his throne as the Black Sovereign of Numeria.

Kevoth-Kul is the absolute ruler—the Black Sovereign—of the strange, barbarian land of Numeria.1 A former tribal leader, he now rules his land from his Palace of Fallen Stars in the capital of Starfall.2 For more than 20 years, Kevoth-Kul was a puppet of the Technic League, who controlled him with Numerian fluids before he managed to break free from addiction.3

Appearance

Kevoth-Kul is in his early fifties but appears to be only 30; as a result of consuming Numerian fluids, he no longer ages, but also suffers from erratic behaviour.3

Family

The Black Sovereign is known to have a cousin, the barbarian lord Kragreth-Kol. Kragreth-Kol bred vexgit gremlins to disrupt and undermine Kevoth-Kul and his technology-dependent Technic League allies.4

Kevoth-Kul took Kul-Inkit as his consort upon becoming Black Sovereign, but she has shown little interest in spending time with him.5 After he managed to defeat his addiction, her interest has been rekindled, and she seems to wholly support his goals.6

Associates

Since breaking free from the Technic League's hold, Kevoth-Kul has banned all Technic League ex-members (and Numerian fluids) from the premises of his palace, on pain of death, and has been known to personally execute some of them.3 At least one survivor of the Technic League, Khismar Crookchar, has managed to pretend to be one of its victims while proving himself to be an asset to Kevoth-Kul by ratting out his former colleagues and providing their petrified heads, which Kevoth-Kul keeps in a pile near his throne.7

Kevoth-Kul has welcomed androids, who also tend to hate the Technic League, into his service, and they provide a good replacement for the Technic League's technological expertise. Some are now Kevoth-Kul's bodyguards, others teach the Kellids technology, hunt for Technic League agents, or travel north to defend Numeria's borders from the demons of the Sarkoris Scar.7

Kevoth-Kul is particularly interested in keeping Chesed and Hajoth Hakados under his control, and seeks to convince the latter's ruler, Altouna, that they are better as allies.6

Several clans, particularly the anti-technology Ghost Wolves, have openly opposed Kevoth-Kul's recent edicts. Xol-Nomag, chief of the Ghost Wolves and a powerful Numerian politician, finds it revolting that Kevoth-Kul is embracing technology and cozying up to androids and outsiders. Kevoth-Kul has mostly ignored Xol-Nomag, but the situation risks escalating to outright war if tensions continue.6

Background

As a young man, Kevoth-Kul was simply one of the many Kellid tribal leaders common to the windswept plains of Numeria. He quickly distinguished himself as being one of the boldest of his kind, claiming leadership of the Black Horses clan in 4687 AR. Over the next year, he conquered most of the neighboring tribes, forging alliances at the point of his greatsword. Numerians began to believe that he would become a truly great leader and expand their land beyond its traditional borders. This changed when he declared that Starfall would be his capital and crowned himself the Black Sovereign in 4690 AR. There he allied himself with the reclusive members of the Technic League and sought to exploit the technological secrets of the Silver Mount.83

The members of the Technic League controlled Kevoth-Kul for over 20 years by addicting him to the mind-altering fluids that seeped from the walls of Silver Mount and kept him moody, erratic, and docile. They controlled him in this state with silvered words and subtle magics, de facto becoming the rulers of Numeria.3

This changed in 4716 AR when the head of the Technic League mysteriously died, throwing the organization into disarray and infighting. Freed from the League's malign influence, Kevoth-Kul broke free from his addiction. The people of Numeria now wonder if Kevoth-Kul will return to his ambitions of territorial expansion, although he faces a changed political landscape. Long left to deal with their problems themselves, the tribes and people of Numeria are content to ignore the Black Sovereign and make their own decisions. Additionally, former Technic League members have allied themselves with the numerous regional warlords and have begun supplying them with technology previously reserved only for Kevoth-Kul. This has led to an arms race that threatens to push Numeria into a very bloody civil war.910

During one of his forays into Silver Mount, Kevoth-Kul discovered the AI-turned-goddess Casandalee. Awed by her ascension and viewing her as an inspiring guide, Kevoth-Kul brought her worship to his palace, dedicating an abandoned chapel to Zyphus to Casandalee instead.11

Some believe that Kevoth-Kul's ultimate goal is the establishment of a great pan-Kellid empire that unites all clans across Golarion.6

Possessions

Kevoth-Kul is responsible for inventing sovereign steel, an alloy of cold iron and noqual. In one of his fits, Kevoth-Kul yelled that he had no use for sovereign steel shields and banned people from making them; his smiths are too afraid to ask if this is just a joke or not.11

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

  1. Dennis Baker, et al. “Combat of the Inner Sea” in Inner Sea Combat, 6. Paizo Inc., 2014
  2. Isabelle Thorne, et al. “Rules Index” in Heroes of the High Court, 3. Paizo Inc., 2017
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Ashton Sperry. Kevoth-Kul” in Legends, 74. Paizo Inc., 2020
  4. Tim Hitchcock. Gremlin” in Fey Revisited, 14. Paizo Inc., 2013
  5. Tim Hitchcock. “Palace of Fallen Stars” in Palace of Fallen Stars, 22. Paizo Inc., 2014
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Ashton Sperry. Kevoth-Kul” in Legends, 76. Paizo Inc., 2020
  7. 7.0 7.1 Ashton Sperry. Kevoth-Kul” in Legends, 75. Paizo Inc., 2020
  8. James Jacobs, et al. The Inner Sea World Guide, 143. Paizo Inc., 2011
  9. Erik Mona, et al. Broken Lands” in World Guide, 26. Paizo Inc., 2019
  10. Erik Mona, et al. Broken Lands” in World Guide, 29–30. Paizo Inc., 2019
  11. 11.0 11.1 Ashton Sperry. Kevoth-Kul” in Legends, 77. Paizo Inc., 2020