Due to many inquiries about Artemis Thorne, I have created a stat block and will describe how I used him in my Tyranny of Dragons, Decent into Avernus, and Curse of Strahd campaigns.

First I will share his backstory:

Artemis Thorne was born in Silverymoon to a moon elf mother and a human father. His father was a lone Vistani traveler who had a passion for moon elf women.

Artemis grew to become a capable warrior and had so much promise he became a paladin and a defender of Silverymoon even at his youthful age. He was given powers by his patron, the goddess of the night and moon, Selûne.

When he was eighteen disaster came at the life he built. Eight blue dragons and an army of mercenaries attacked the city. They were led by Galvan the Blue, the most strategic and calculating Wearer of Purple in Severin’s council.

Galvan outmaneuvered the Spellguard, who were ripped to shreds by the commander’s flight of dragons. Artemis’ fellow knights stood no chance against the superior numbers of bandits and brigands that made up Galvan’s mercenary army.

As his fellows in arms were slain around him, Artemis fled, knowing that they stood no chance. He went home to find his mother lying on the floor in a pool of her own gore.

The dwarves of Mithral Hall arrived with their army of shield dwarves to drive the Cult of the Dragon’s army out of the city. Artemis made up a small portion of surviving elven knights and rangers that made up the moon elf army.

Selûne, Artemis’ patron, told him that she would give him the strength he needed for revenge if he became her crusader, her avatar on the material plane. Artemis readily accepted, letting his necessity for revenge cloud his better judgement.

He confronted Galvan at his stronghold in the Anarouch desert and slew him and his lieutenants there. Mounted on a silver dragon, a follower of the moon goddess, he also brought down Galvan’s blue dragon, Lennithon.

Even with the blue Wyrmspeaker’s head in his hands, Artemis’ need for justice still survived. He needed to murder Severin and the rest of his council of mask bearers.

He joined the attack on the Well of Dragons, leading the Knights of the Crescent Moon, Selûne’s crusaders. He killed Varram in the initial bloodshed and cleaved off Severin’s head before the ritual to summon Tiamat was completed.

The vengeance still heaved within his veins and would never be sedated. No matter how many nobles in league with the cult he assassinated or cultists he gutted, it was still there.

Artemis renounced Selûne when she told him to stop the evil he had become. He murdered the Knights of the Crescent moon that night in a state of supreme calm. He used midnight tears, the deadliest of poisons in their drinks. And watched them bleed from their eye sockets as midnight struck.

Artemis sought the teachings of Malar, the beastlord, the most savage god of them all. The one who would uncover what he needed to accomplish to sedate his craving of death.

Malar loved watching the good boy slowly dip into an insane evil. He gave Artemis poisons that he could use against his enemies and began corrupting the young man’s mind, making it weaker and more beastial.

Artemis completed assassination after assassination, each one given by the manipulative hand of the beastlord. Artemis became little more than a puppet, a feral dog in service of his master. His mind had been completely corrupted by the evil god who slowly was inhabiting the half-elf’s body.

Malar took Artemis to Elturel, where he would kill Grand Duke Ulder Ravenguard. Doing so would create a brutal conflict between the Flaming Fist and the Order of the Gauntlet that would leave mass casualties on both sides.

Artemis confronted the Duke in the highest point of Elturel, in its grand palace beneath the shining light of the Companion. Ulder Ravenguard and his troops put up a fight but couldn’t match the venomous might of Artemis.

As the Duke lay gurgling on the ground with a sword held deep within his stomach, Elturel shook and dissipated, appearing in Avernus, the first layer of the hell. Artemis was thrown off his feet as the palace was ripped to in half, and he slid to the enormous rupture that would send him thousands of feet and onto the boiling surface of this plane of existence.

Ravenguard, used the sword imbedded within his abdomen to slice Artemis’ hand off and send him tumbling off the side of the palace with a hard shove. Artemis plummeted to his death.

He woke up, in a dilapidated citadel, looking into the glassy, serpentine gaze of Bel. Artemis still was being corrupted by the bestial nature of Malar and was quick to succumb to Bel’s charismatic nature. Artemis was alive, but would have to serve Bel as his champion, and he would start with killing on the material plane.

Years passed, all he would remember is that these years carried the bloodshed of innocents that he couldn’t stop himself from murdering, because he wasn’t himself any longer he was lost. He was confined by the thoughts and emotions of his three minds, his three jailers.

The serrated edge and savage thoughts of Malar. The charismatic and manipulative nature of Bel. And a little sliver of what he used to be, the kind caring intent of Selûne.

Zariel was freed from Asmodeus’ shackles and became an angel once again. In her escape she was confronted by Bel who she slew in a gruesome battle. As Bel’s essence was shattered in a wave of pure goodness Artemis was able to control his mind once again.

Malar also left Artemis’ crumbling mind for a new, more powerful husk that he could control easier. A replacement that would put in forth the rise of the Beastlord.

It took an entire year for Artemis’ mind to fully heal. And he finally knew who he needed to kill to feel whole, to be who he once was again. He needed his father’s to die. His Vistani father that left him those years ago.

He found his prey after stalking for months. He used the magic of divination to find where his father was. It took months for Artemis to reach him, but at last he found his prey. He killed the rest of his renounced father’s traveling companions and hung the man himself.

In the Vistani’s dying breath, he murmured: “Son, I have waited these years to see you. In Barovia, you will sedate your love of death and your need for vengeance.” His body slumped and a cloud of mist grabbed ahold of the half-elf, pulling him into the fell realm of Ravenloft.

As he wandered through the mists he found Castle Vallaki, which became his home. An ever shifting structure that would move wherever Artemis needed it. There he was his own dark ruler, hunting members of Barovia to sedate his thirst.

How I used Artemis:

Tyranny of Dragons: The characters first met Artemis in Tyranny of Dragons. I created an attack on Silverymoon by Galvan the Blue. They met Artemis there, and that was how his story grew. They forged a close tie to this NPC who they met again in the Anarouch desert and again at the Well of the Dragons. At this point he was a force of good, not one of evil.

Storm King’s Thunder: Artemis was still seeking revenge and they met him as he killed Khaspere Drylund who I had working with the Cult of the Dragon before he joined the Kraken Society. He even contributed to the death of one of the PC’s as they attempted to bar his escape.

Waterdeep: Dragon Heist: I used Artemis again, but at this point he was in the throes of being taken over by Malar the Beastlord. He was hunting Laeral Silverhand. The characters thwarted him as he began to get the upper hand in the encounter.

Baulder’s Gate: Decent into Avernus: This is a little different from what I wrote in the backstory, but they found him fighting Grand Duke Ulder Ravenguard and they fought in a cinematic battle that ended with them hurling him off the side of the building.

Curse of Strahd: The characters formed such strong relationships with this NPC that they even had parts of their backstories tied to him. I decided to make him an even more complicated individual that was fighting for control, revenge, and completeness. He became not only the final boss of the adventure, but he also helped them kill Strahd. The characters were so into this NPC’s story that it became more like Curse of Thorne than anything else.

Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft: I used this book to create Artemis’ own domain of dread. This domain of dread was full of people that he just hunted relentlessly to kill.

Let me know if you like him, and I hope he can become a character in your campaigns too. Because he is a dear one to me. Let him fuel your nightmares, or those of your players’.

Artemis Thorne lives in the once-abandoned Castle Vallaki. When Selûne banished him into the fell mists of Ravenloft he found this castle. The castle called out to him, almost like a living being. It became an extension of Artemis and would always be there for him. The fortress is in the Ethereal plane and moves around Barovia constantly, always there when Artemis needs it to be. While in the building Artemis Thorne has a challenge rating of 15 (13,000 XP).

Corridor of Castle Vallaki: Artemis can summon a doorway (like that of a dimension door spell) that leads into the entryway of Castle Vallaki. Only Artemis can go through this door, anyone else who does so is transported 50 feet away in a random direction.

While in the keep, Artemis has the following abilities in addition to what he can already do:

Multiattack: While in the castle Artemis can make two melee or ranged attacks instead of one.

Moonlight Movement. Artemis can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. He takes 5 (1d10) force damage if he ends his turn inside an object.

Sunlight Sensitivity: While in the castle Artemis has disadvantage when in direct sunlight and any radiant damage dealt to him is doubled.

Spellcasting: While in the fortress Artemis has access to magic from Castle Vallaki. Treat him as a 5th-level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). He regains his expended spell slots when he reenters the castle and after at least a day has passed.

Cantrips (at will): poison spray, eldritch blast, shocking grasp

1st - 3rd level (2 3rd-level slots): invisibility, spider climb, lightning bolt, see invisibility