First off I am very new to the world of D&D thus far my experience with this world includes playing one Ghosts of Saltmarsh one shot with IRL friends and watching countless hours of Critical Role. I have a up coming campaign (my first) with the same IRL friends and PC's and wanted some feedback on my PC's background and story. I have made a Noteable page with all of his background information and would love to hear your thoughts and feedback!
As an infant, Hannibal was abandoned on the doorsteps of a Temple to Tyr in the town of Westrun in the Silver Marches far to in the North of Faerûn. Hannibal was taken in by a holy man known as Father Tychus Hammerfell. Father Hammerfell, who was once a cleric had risen in his later years to become High Priest of Temple to Tyr. He had lost his own infant son and wife to plague many years before. Father Hammerfell saw in Hannibal a second chance at being a real father and took the child as a gift from Tyr. Hannibal grew up to respect and love Tychus as his own father and never once gave a second thought to the parents that had abandoned him. From the time Hannibal took his first steps he was immersed in the Temple's parochial academy with other young children that showed promise of one day joining one of the faith’s holy orders. However, Hannibal never had much talent in the traditional schools of healing magic, or raw martial prowess as many clerics and paladins he grew up around possessed. While he lacked the aptitude in these traditional schools, from a young age Hannibal, a very inquisitive child by nature, showed incredible wits and a mind as sharp as any blade. Hannibal spent much of his time in the expansive library of the Temple reading old tomes and manuscripts of ancient civilizations long returned to dust, wars and battles long past forgotten, and heroes of old vanquishing terrifying monsters.
At a young age Hannibal quickly created a name for himself in the small village that surrounded the Temple as being a keen hunter, marksman, and tracker. He was a quite but caring young man, who gave any and all to helping his father and his church. Hannibal's quiet and reserved demeanor combined with his propensity for spending all of his free time reading when not hunting in the forests or training, caused Hannibal to have very few close friends. Other students often mocked him for his lack of physical prowess and ineptness in holy and healing magics. At the age of 14 Hannibal befriended a young man by the name of Horace Ravenward another orphan of the temple. Horace was slightly younger than Hannibal but already almost a full head length taller and close 40lbs larger. One day the two were paired for sparring practice with sword and shield. When it came to Hannibal’s and Horace’s match other pupils watched, quietly snickering in anticipation of watching Hannibal be pummeled by Horace who was by far the strongest fighter in the class. As the match began Horrace took a running charge slamming his shield into Hannibal sending him back 5 feet flat on his back in explosion of laughter from the other students. After getting back to his feet and taking their positions for another round Hannibal noticed that Horace was keeping most of his weight on his left leg and recalled that the previous winter Horace had badly sprained his ankle after falling from a horse. As the round began Hannibal cast aside his shield and began parrying and evading Horace’s attacks being much more agile that Horace. Eventually Horace tired and with a swift riposte and strike to his weak ankle Hannibal put the best fighter in the class flat on is back. Hannibal extended a hand and helped Horace to his feet. After training for the day had ended the two spent the rest of the day talking about the book Hannibal learned that counter from. Horace remarked that even though Hannibal and got the best of him with a lucky move Hannibal would need sides made of iron to survive in a real fight without a shield. From that day forward Horace would jokingly refer to Hannibal as Ironside. Over the years the two grew so close that many in the Temple village considered them brothers, including themselves.
Over the following years under the tutelage of his adopted father Hannibal's proficiency as a scholar, marksman, and tracker grew and so did his faith, eventually becoming a devout and productive Acolyte of the faith. His faith was so strong, and his and tracking and mental skills so keen that the Ordo Hereticus of the Justiciar’s of Tyr took intrest in him and eventually recruited him to become an Inquisitor, a hunter of monsters and men. Hannibal set out in his 19th year as an Acolyte Inquisitor leaving his old life and the Temple of his father behind. Over the next years the Ordo Hereticus Honed Hannibal’s already impressive skills and knowledge into a literal bloodhound of the faith. During this time Hannibal investigated, tracked, hunted, and executed every kind of heretic, monster and practitioner of foul profane magic he ever read of as a child and more he never could have imagined. This era of Hannibal’s life was truly a transformative period and left deep scars both mentally and physically. The once gentle and kind hearted boy that grew up in the Temple was now long dead and buried. Hannibal went into the Justiciar's with the blind faith and optimism of a young man having known only good all his life, he emerges now having seen the horrors stalking humanity behind every turn.
Early during his travel's Hannibal was tracking cult of warlocks near the dwarven fortress of Felbarr. During his investigations he met a group of dwarven merchants and craftsman who gave him a demonstration of a rare type of black powder weapon made by the dwarves called a boom stick. Impressed and seeing the potential power and precision of this relatively rudimentary but rare weapon design Hannibal put his mind and now vast resources to work refining and distilling the original prototype. After many iterations Hannibal eventually perfected three weapon designs that perfectly suit his needs as Holy instrument of death in close, medium, and very long ranges. Initially fellow members of the Justiciar questioned Hannibal as to why he would be so foolish to waste his time with such folly when the ways of the sword and the hammer had been practiced with so much success within the order for so long. However, after having seen the effectiveness of Hannibal's machinations come to fruition in the field none ever questioned the young Inquisitor again. After witnessing Hannibal put down a fleeing werewolf from 200 yards a cleric among the order chuckled and remarked that with that weapon that he carries on his hip he has truly earned the name “Ironside”.
At the age of 28, Hannibal had truly come into his own becoming a feared and respected Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus . He was known well for relentless investigation, pursuit and execution of heretics, abominations, monsters, and practitioners of profane magics that threaten the mortal plane. Later that year in the growing cold of autumn, word reached Hannibal of a fell curse that was laid upon his town of Westrun. Given his position as an Inquisitor Hannibal was unable to resist the urge to help. He ignored the warnings of his comrades telling him not to go that he was most needed here in theri current mission. In the dead of night, he mounted upon his horse, and set off for the home he had not seen in so many years.
Upon arriving to Westrun, he found his town decrepit and rotting. corpses walking among the living, buildings in ruins, the very ground and plants growing there seemed to be a decayed twisted perversion of nature. These corpses however, were not unfamiliar to him. These undead were the people of his village, slain and resurrected into a blasphemous horde of undead abominations. Hannibal seeing this cruel treatment of the dead, and most importantly the faithful servants of Tyr, sent him in to and uncontrollable rage. Having no other choice but to condemn the whole town to Exterminatus and purge those he held most dear and to root out the cause of this heresy. He killed each and every one of the undead until he finally came to his home, The Temple of Tyr. As he entered, Hannibal realized to his horror that this was the true source of the corruption in his village. As he entered the inner scantum at the other end of the chapel standing behind the podium, mouthing incantations of a language unknown stood Horace, his childhood best friend, his brother. To his horror Horace had been seduced and twisted by the corruption of some unspoken necromancer from a distant land. When asked why, Horace merely pointed towards the now strung up, decaying, and flayed corpse of Father Tuchus Hammerfell. Hammerfell had died from the same plague that took his wife and son sometime after Hannibal had left to join the Justiciar's. Unable to cure him despite his un-ending prayers to Tyr. Desperate with all hope lost, Horace went into a dark and twisted depression, wanting only to bring back the man that had raised them both. Even so far as to beseech the power of an evil master of the undeath. However, the necromancer had tricked Horace, and corrupted him into killing his entire village and raising them in undeath.
Burning rage as he had never known burned inside of Hannibal now left with only one choice, he fought against Horace, eventually striking down slaying his now corrupted brother. As Hannibal stood over the broken body of his once brother, he leveled his weapon at the pitted and pox marked forehead of Horace. Horace with the last bit of life left in him, muttered one last incantation, that froze Hannibal in place. Unable to move, Hannibal, for the first time realized he had made the one mistake he had trained his entire life to never make... he hesitated in the face of evil. With one last surge of unholy energy Horace lurched up and sunk his fangs into Hannibal's hand. Suddenly a cold deep black mark formed on his palm, and Hannibal's flesh began to putrefy and slough with decay. In soul shattering pain and wrecked with grief, Hannibal willed his body to move through sheer strength of will. With a blood curdling cry of pure agony Hannibal unloaded round after round in his weapon in to the skull of his fallen brother that was now no more that pulp and scattered viscera. Hannibal stood now left with only empty silence, the clicking of empty chambers, and the moans of dammned outside that had been attracted by the gunshots and screams. The cold black ichor in his hand slowly worked its way up his arm marbling his veins, decaying and scarring his flesh, leaving only cold stinking putrid rot in its wake. His vision faded to black and he felt the life leaving his body. In that moment a beam of holy light rained down upon him from the heavens and a voice like the sound of a raging inferno spoke out. For the first time in Hannibal's life he heard the voice of the god Tyr speak to him and say. “Mortal, the flames of holy vengeance burn brightly in your heart, I will grant you but one chance for the justice that you seek, you shall go forth from this place as my wrath made manifest, my hammer. You shall slay the damned and purge wicked and profane from this world in holy fire. A doom is coming upon the horizon and the twilight of the gods draws near. Now Mortal, steel your heart and accept my gift.”Writhing in pain and wracked with grief Hannibal could only get out three words “PURGE THEM ALL”. At that moment, there was a flash of blinding light that poured forth from his eyes and mouth. Suddenly, the cold numbing darkness in Hannibal's arm and body was replaced with searing pain that brought Hannibal to the edge of losing conciseness before slowly fading with the light around him. As the light faded from his eyes, where were once were steel blue eyes,they had now turned a bright faintly glowing yellow. Hannibal stood and looked at his arm, it was still marbled and decayed, as though it were the arm of one of the countless undead he slew outside the temple stitched to his torso. Now there was something new, a still smoking brand, that looked like a chain, from his palm to his upper shoulder that wrapped around and around up to the base of his neck. The chain was lined with runic marks that Hannibal had no knowledge of what their meaning was. The curse seemed to have receded but had left his arm cracked, marbled, and scarred, but strangely just as strong and as functional as if nothing had happened.
Upon returning to his order and his comrades seeing the foul mark of undeath upon his arm and his unnatural glowing yellow eyes Hannibal was placed in fetters and brought before the High Lord Abbot of the Justiciar, Gregor Eisenhorn. Hannibal recounted to High Lord Eisenhorn all of what had transpired, the hordes of undead, the desecration of the temple, the fate of his father, the unholy pact his traitorous brother had made, and the voice like raging fire speaking to him bringing him back from the edge of death. His words fell upon deaf ears as the High Lord Abbot disgusted by the fact that one of their own who was now tainted by the mark of undeath dared to suggest that he had been chosen by Tyr himself for redemption was unthinkable if not heretical. How were they to know if he had been colluding with unholy forces this entire time. The High Lord ordered that the Justiciar's would collect every facet of evidence and he would be judged accordingly before a tribunal. Hannibal was placed in a cell beneath the Halls of Justice while the Justiciar’s we sent out to determine the truth of what had transpired in Westrun. A week passed and finally Hannibal was brought before High Lord Eisenhorn and the tribunal. Before passing down judgment, High Lord Esienhorn presented the findings and evidence his Justiciar’s had brought back. To Hannibal's surprise much the evidence presented before the Tribunal was told true to what had happened. Decayed corpses of the undead torn asunder with bullet wounds, the temple of Tyr desecrated by unholy rituals, the body of High Priest Tychus Hammerfell strung up and flayed living, and what appeared to have been signs of an explosive force radiating out from the temple that had toppled buildings and trees. However contrary to Hannibal's initial recount the body of Horace Ravenward was nowhere to be found among the ruins of the temple or the town. Upon hearing these words, the searing pain of the brand around Hannibal's arm returned and his eyes sharply flared brighter for just a moment. Hannibal swallowed the burning rage of this revelation remained silent. After the High Lord finished presenting the findings to the tribunal the justices briefly deliberated before returning a vote of 3 guilty to 3 not guilty. Since the guilt or innocence of Hannibal could not be proved or disproved by the Tribunal the decision defaulted to High Lord Esienhorn himself who made the following ruling:
“After collecting and examining the evidence it is without question now that you, Hannibal Ironside, carried out the holy rite of Exterminatus upon the town of Westrun that had been lost and overrun to the undead and a yet unknown necromantic cult. However, despite how just or pure your intentions may or may not have been it is also clear that you now bear the taint of unholy magics. As High Lord and protector of our faith I cannot in good conscience permit you to remain as a member of this holy order. You are hereby excommunicated from the Church of Tyr and the holy orders of the Justiciar. Furthermore, because your station as an Inquisitor is a sacred ordainment from our lord on high, I cannot go above our lord and strip you of that title or keep you from preforming the holy duties you have sworn to carry out. Also, given your actions in containing these undead abominations in our land, for the time being, I judge your will to still be your own and your intentions just. From this day forth you will be known to the peoples of our faith as an Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus a Daemonhunter, faithless and alone. I pray that Tyr one day leads you back to his light and you purge yourself of this taint that has infected your soul. But hear me now Ironside if it comes to light that you have indeed turned from the path of our lord and seek to harm this faith or its peoples you will be branded a heretic and our holy retribution will fall on you swift and without mercy.”
For the second time in his life Hannibal Ironside found himself cast out and left abandoned. This time by the only real family he had ever known, the faith he had dedicated his entire existence too. His home was a twisted profane ruin, its people mindless undead abominations, his father dead and butchered, and betrayed by the only friend he ever had in this world. After having everything ripped from instead of turning to despair, Hannibal Ironside took a deep breath closed his eyes and spoke only three words before stepping forward into the unknown. Purge them all.....
This is really long and parts of it read like a bad Warhammer 40K novel (granted, I only read one 40K novel before giving up in disgust after 15 pages, so my opinion may be biased)
I’m not much of a rules person but you will need mechanics for your character’s smoke powder guns and the arm that was tainted by dark necromancy
The DM may not want to allow the gunslinger concept. Smoke powder is (I think) unique to Forgotten Realms and Spelljammer, and Barovia (the land of Curse of Strahd) is a very medieval/Gothic place that may clash with your character concept. If your DM does allow it, I would play Hannibal as more like Quincy Morris from Dracula (one of my fave Victorian books irl and the inspiration for Curse of Strahd) than some dude going around blowing away undead with his Big Gun.
You will also need your DM’s permission to change the temple of Tyr into something very closely resembling the Inquisition from Warhammer 40K.
That being said this background is otherwise really good and you’ve obviously put a lot of thought into it. I’m REALLY impressed.
Good luck 😊. You’ll love Curse of Strahd. If you have any other questions just ask.
Oh one more thing. Suggest to your DM that the necromancer who destroyed Westrun is actually Strahd and Horace is still undead as a vampire under Strahd’s control. She’ll probably go for it.
Hello all!
First off I am very new to the world of D&D thus far my experience with this world includes playing one Ghosts of Saltmarsh one shot with IRL friends and watching countless hours of Critical Role. I have a up coming campaign (my first) with the same IRL friends and PC's and wanted some feedback on my PC's background and story. I have made a Noteable page with all of his background information and would love to hear your thoughts and feedback!
Link to noteable: https://echo.notable.app/dc2354471361913b030ab9634db8826bb230d384
As an infant, Hannibal was abandoned on the doorsteps of a Temple to Tyr in the town of Westrun in the Silver Marches far to in the North of Faerûn. Hannibal was taken in by a holy man known as Father Tychus Hammerfell. Father Hammerfell, who was once a cleric had risen in his later years to become High Priest of Temple to Tyr. He had lost his own infant son and wife to plague many years before. Father Hammerfell saw in Hannibal a second chance at being a real father and took the child as a gift from Tyr. Hannibal grew up to respect and love Tychus as his own father and never once gave a second thought to the parents that had abandoned him. From the time Hannibal took his first steps he was immersed in the Temple's parochial academy with other young children that showed promise of one day joining one of the faith’s holy orders. However, Hannibal never had much talent in the traditional schools of healing magic, or raw martial prowess as many clerics and paladins he grew up around possessed. While he lacked the aptitude in these traditional schools, from a young age Hannibal, a very inquisitive child by nature, showed incredible wits and a mind as sharp as any blade. Hannibal spent much of his time in the expansive library of the Temple reading old tomes and manuscripts of ancient civilizations long returned to dust, wars and battles long past forgotten, and heroes of old vanquishing terrifying monsters.
At a young age Hannibal quickly created a name for himself in the small village that surrounded the Temple as being a keen hunter, marksman, and tracker. He was a quite but caring young man, who gave any and all to helping his father and his church. Hannibal's quiet and reserved demeanor combined with his propensity for spending all of his free time reading when not hunting in the forests or training, caused Hannibal to have very few close friends. Other students often mocked him for his lack of physical prowess and ineptness in holy and healing magics. At the age of 14 Hannibal befriended a young man by the name of Horace Ravenward another orphan of the temple. Horace was slightly younger than Hannibal but already almost a full head length taller and close 40lbs larger. One day the two were paired for sparring practice with sword and shield. When it came to Hannibal’s and Horace’s match other pupils watched, quietly snickering in anticipation of watching Hannibal be pummeled by Horace who was by far the strongest fighter in the class. As the match began Horrace took a running charge slamming his shield into Hannibal sending him back 5 feet flat on his back in explosion of laughter from the other students. After getting back to his feet and taking their positions for another round Hannibal noticed that Horace was keeping most of his weight on his left leg and recalled that the previous winter Horace had badly sprained his ankle after falling from a horse. As the round began Hannibal cast aside his shield and began parrying and evading Horace’s attacks being much more agile that Horace. Eventually Horace tired and with a swift riposte and strike to his weak ankle Hannibal put the best fighter in the class flat on is back. Hannibal extended a hand and helped Horace to his feet. After training for the day had ended the two spent the rest of the day talking about the book Hannibal learned that counter from. Horace remarked that even though Hannibal and got the best of him with a lucky move Hannibal would need sides made of iron to survive in a real fight without a shield. From that day forward Horace would jokingly refer to Hannibal as Ironside. Over the years the two grew so close that many in the Temple village considered them brothers, including themselves.
Over the following years under the tutelage of his adopted father Hannibal's proficiency as a scholar, marksman, and tracker grew and so did his faith, eventually becoming a devout and productive Acolyte of the faith. His faith was so strong, and his and tracking and mental skills so keen that the Ordo Hereticus of the Justiciar’s of Tyr took intrest in him and eventually recruited him to become an Inquisitor, a hunter of monsters and men. Hannibal set out in his 19th year as an Acolyte Inquisitor leaving his old life and the Temple of his father behind. Over the next years the Ordo Hereticus Honed Hannibal’s already impressive skills and knowledge into a literal bloodhound of the faith. During this time Hannibal investigated, tracked, hunted, and executed every kind of heretic, monster and practitioner of foul profane magic he ever read of as a child and more he never could have imagined. This era of Hannibal’s life was truly a transformative period and left deep scars both mentally and physically. The once gentle and kind hearted boy that grew up in the Temple was now long dead and buried. Hannibal went into the Justiciar's with the blind faith and optimism of a young man having known only good all his life, he emerges now having seen the horrors stalking humanity behind every turn.
Early during his travel's Hannibal was tracking cult of warlocks near the dwarven fortress of Felbarr. During his investigations he met a group of dwarven merchants and craftsman who gave him a demonstration of a rare type of black powder weapon made by the dwarves called a boom stick. Impressed and seeing the potential power and precision of this relatively rudimentary but rare weapon design Hannibal put his mind and now vast resources to work refining and distilling the original prototype. After many iterations Hannibal eventually perfected three weapon designs that perfectly suit his needs as Holy instrument of death in close, medium, and very long ranges. Initially fellow members of the Justiciar questioned Hannibal as to why he would be so foolish to waste his time with such folly when the ways of the sword and the hammer had been practiced with so much success within the order for so long. However, after having seen the effectiveness of Hannibal's machinations come to fruition in the field none ever questioned the young Inquisitor again. After witnessing Hannibal put down a fleeing werewolf from 200 yards a cleric among the order chuckled and remarked that with that weapon that he carries on his hip he has truly earned the name “Ironside”.
At the age of 28, Hannibal had truly come into his own becoming a feared and respected Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus . He was known well for relentless investigation, pursuit and execution of heretics, abominations, monsters, and practitioners of profane magics that threaten the mortal plane. Later that year in the growing cold of autumn, word reached Hannibal of a fell curse that was laid upon his town of Westrun. Given his position as an Inquisitor Hannibal was unable to resist the urge to help. He ignored the warnings of his comrades telling him not to go that he was most needed here in theri current mission. In the dead of night, he mounted upon his horse, and set off for the home he had not seen in so many years.
Upon arriving to Westrun, he found his town decrepit and rotting. corpses walking among the living, buildings in ruins, the very ground and plants growing there seemed to be a decayed twisted perversion of nature. These corpses however, were not unfamiliar to him. These undead were the people of his village, slain and resurrected into a blasphemous horde of undead abominations. Hannibal seeing this cruel treatment of the dead, and most importantly the faithful servants of Tyr, sent him in to and uncontrollable rage. Having no other choice but to condemn the whole town to Exterminatus and purge those he held most dear and to root out the cause of this heresy. He killed each and every one of the undead until he finally came to his home, The Temple of Tyr. As he entered, Hannibal realized to his horror that this was the true source of the corruption in his village. As he entered the inner scantum at the other end of the chapel standing behind the podium, mouthing incantations of a language unknown stood Horace, his childhood best friend, his brother. To his horror Horace had been seduced and twisted by the corruption of some unspoken necromancer from a distant land. When asked why, Horace merely pointed towards the now strung up, decaying, and flayed corpse of Father Tuchus Hammerfell. Hammerfell had died from the same plague that took his wife and son sometime after Hannibal had left to join the Justiciar's. Unable to cure him despite his un-ending prayers to Tyr. Desperate with all hope lost, Horace went into a dark and twisted depression, wanting only to bring back the man that had raised them both. Even so far as to beseech the power of an evil master of the undeath. However, the necromancer had tricked Horace, and corrupted him into killing his entire village and raising them in undeath.
Burning rage as he had never known burned inside of Hannibal now left with only one choice, he fought against Horace, eventually striking down slaying his now corrupted brother. As Hannibal stood over the broken body of his once brother, he leveled his weapon at the pitted and pox marked forehead of Horace. Horace with the last bit of life left in him, muttered one last incantation, that froze Hannibal in place. Unable to move, Hannibal, for the first time realized he had made the one mistake he had trained his entire life to never make... he hesitated in the face of evil. With one last surge of unholy energy Horace lurched up and sunk his fangs into Hannibal's hand. Suddenly a cold deep black mark formed on his palm, and Hannibal's flesh began to putrefy and slough with decay. In soul shattering pain and wrecked with grief, Hannibal willed his body to move through sheer strength of will. With a blood curdling cry of pure agony Hannibal unloaded round after round in his weapon in to the skull of his fallen brother that was now no more that pulp and scattered viscera. Hannibal stood now left with only empty silence, the clicking of empty chambers, and the moans of dammned outside that had been attracted by the gunshots and screams. The cold black ichor in his hand slowly worked its way up his arm marbling his veins, decaying and scarring his flesh, leaving only cold stinking putrid rot in its wake. His vision faded to black and he felt the life leaving his body. In that moment a beam of holy light rained down upon him from the heavens and a voice like the sound of a raging inferno spoke out. For the first time in Hannibal's life he heard the voice of the god Tyr speak to him and say. “Mortal, the flames of holy vengeance burn brightly in your heart, I will grant you but one chance for the justice that you seek, you shall go forth from this place as my wrath made manifest, my hammer. You shall slay the damned and purge wicked and profane from this world in holy fire. A doom is coming upon the horizon and the twilight of the gods draws near. Now Mortal, steel your heart and accept my gift.”Writhing in pain and wracked with grief Hannibal could only get out three words “PURGE THEM ALL”. At that moment, there was a flash of blinding light that poured forth from his eyes and mouth. Suddenly, the cold numbing darkness in Hannibal's arm and body was replaced with searing pain that brought Hannibal to the edge of losing conciseness before slowly fading with the light around him. As the light faded from his eyes, where were once were steel blue eyes,they had now turned a bright faintly glowing yellow. Hannibal stood and looked at his arm, it was still marbled and decayed, as though it were the arm of one of the countless undead he slew outside the temple stitched to his torso. Now there was something new, a still smoking brand, that looked like a chain, from his palm to his upper shoulder that wrapped around and around up to the base of his neck. The chain was lined with runic marks that Hannibal had no knowledge of what their meaning was. The curse seemed to have receded but had left his arm cracked, marbled, and scarred, but strangely just as strong and as functional as if nothing had happened.
Upon returning to his order and his comrades seeing the foul mark of undeath upon his arm and his unnatural glowing yellow eyes Hannibal was placed in fetters and brought before the High Lord Abbot of the Justiciar, Gregor Eisenhorn. Hannibal recounted to High Lord Eisenhorn all of what had transpired, the hordes of undead, the desecration of the temple, the fate of his father, the unholy pact his traitorous brother had made, and the voice like raging fire speaking to him bringing him back from the edge of death. His words fell upon deaf ears as the High Lord Abbot disgusted by the fact that one of their own who was now tainted by the mark of undeath dared to suggest that he had been chosen by Tyr himself for redemption was unthinkable if not heretical. How were they to know if he had been colluding with unholy forces this entire time. The High Lord ordered that the Justiciar's would collect every facet of evidence and he would be judged accordingly before a tribunal. Hannibal was placed in a cell beneath the Halls of Justice while the Justiciar’s we sent out to determine the truth of what had transpired in Westrun. A week passed and finally Hannibal was brought before High Lord Eisenhorn and the tribunal. Before passing down judgment, High Lord Esienhorn presented the findings and evidence his Justiciar’s had brought back. To Hannibal's surprise much the evidence presented before the Tribunal was told true to what had happened. Decayed corpses of the undead torn asunder with bullet wounds, the temple of Tyr desecrated by unholy rituals, the body of High Priest Tychus Hammerfell strung up and flayed living, and what appeared to have been signs of an explosive force radiating out from the temple that had toppled buildings and trees. However contrary to Hannibal's initial recount the body of Horace Ravenward was nowhere to be found among the ruins of the temple or the town. Upon hearing these words, the searing pain of the brand around Hannibal's arm returned and his eyes sharply flared brighter for just a moment. Hannibal swallowed the burning rage of this revelation remained silent. After the High Lord finished presenting the findings to the tribunal the justices briefly deliberated before returning a vote of 3 guilty to 3 not guilty. Since the guilt or innocence of Hannibal could not be proved or disproved by the Tribunal the decision defaulted to High Lord Esienhorn himself who made the following ruling:
“After collecting and examining the evidence it is without question now that you, Hannibal Ironside, carried out the holy rite of Exterminatus upon the town of Westrun that had been lost and overrun to the undead and a yet unknown necromantic cult. However, despite how just or pure your intentions may or may not have been it is also clear that you now bear the taint of unholy magics. As High Lord and protector of our faith I cannot in good conscience permit you to remain as a member of this holy order. You are hereby excommunicated from the Church of Tyr and the holy orders of the Justiciar. Furthermore, because your station as an Inquisitor is a sacred ordainment from our lord on high, I cannot go above our lord and strip you of that title or keep you from preforming the holy duties you have sworn to carry out. Also, given your actions in containing these undead abominations in our land, for the time being, I judge your will to still be your own and your intentions just. From this day forth you will be known to the peoples of our faith as an Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus a Daemonhunter, faithless and alone. I pray that Tyr one day leads you back to his light and you purge yourself of this taint that has infected your soul. But hear me now Ironside if it comes to light that you have indeed turned from the path of our lord and seek to harm this faith or its peoples you will be branded a heretic and our holy retribution will fall on you swift and without mercy.”
For the second time in his life Hannibal Ironside found himself cast out and left abandoned. This time by the only real family he had ever known, the faith he had dedicated his entire existence too. His home was a twisted profane ruin, its people mindless undead abominations, his father dead and butchered, and betrayed by the only friend he ever had in this world. After having everything ripped from instead of turning to despair, Hannibal Ironside took a deep breath closed his eyes and spoke only three words before stepping forward into the unknown. Purge them all.....
A few small criticisms first
This is really long and parts of it read like a bad Warhammer 40K novel (granted, I only read one 40K novel before giving up in disgust after 15 pages, so my opinion may be biased)
I’m not much of a rules person but you will need mechanics for your character’s smoke powder guns and the arm that was tainted by dark necromancy
The DM may not want to allow the gunslinger concept. Smoke powder is (I think) unique to Forgotten Realms and Spelljammer, and Barovia (the land of Curse of Strahd) is a very medieval/Gothic place that may clash with your character concept. If your DM does allow it, I would play Hannibal as more like Quincy Morris from Dracula (one of my fave Victorian books irl and the inspiration for Curse of Strahd) than some dude going around blowing away undead with his Big Gun.
You will also need your DM’s permission to change the temple of Tyr into something very closely resembling the Inquisition from Warhammer 40K.
That being said this background is otherwise really good and you’ve obviously put a lot of thought into it. I’m REALLY impressed.
Good luck 😊. You’ll love Curse of Strahd. If you have any other questions just ask.
Oh one more thing. Suggest to your DM that the necromancer who destroyed Westrun is actually Strahd and Horace is still undead as a vampire under Strahd’s control. She’ll probably go for it.