The Tyrant rules with an iron, well, brass fist, with loads and loads of gruesome public executions, most of which involved broiling to death in giant brass animals, to the point where it's generally safer to be part of the army than it is to be a regular citizen. Raxxe is continually at war with Crowkeep -- the large marshy area between the kingdoms, despite being excellent farming country, is almost entirely populated with bandits and those destitute and desperate enough to live in a haunted zone of ancient battlefields and deserted fortifications, through which both armies will periodically venture before various bloody clashes force both sides back.
Occasionally, the Tyrant will lead his troops personally. While wearing his ornate and spike-encrusted brass battle regalia, his 8' tall figure is easily identifiable from a great distance -- the demonic powers residing within the suit protect him from normal attacks, as well as amplifying his commands across the battlefield. Eventually his thirst for carnage will overextend the Raxxian lines and a retreat will be forced, with the Tyrant delivering invective to those around him.
Like the neighboring Hundred Houses, political intrigue runs high in Raxxe, with multiple factions constantly jostling with each other, with plenty of double- and triple-crossing and nobody ever really sure who is controlling whom. Many of these factions are involved with revolutionary activities, both in terms of supporting and subverting the multitude of young radicals wishing to overthrow the Tyrant.
Such efforts have been successful in the past; however, after brief periods of chaos, a new Tyrant has always emerged to take control. This is because the Tyrant is a physical vessel for demonic possession. The demon in question is named Alfadgabor, who has power over those who dwell in the Tyrant's palace due to the dungeon beneath the palace being a glyph of his name. If someone were to map the dungeon and knew enough magic/about demons to read the glyph, they would summon Alfadgabor:
6 HD
AC: 5
Att: 30' radius sonic attack for 2-12 + disrupts spells cast after attack is made unless caster makes save vs. Spells, bite x5 (see below)
Alfadgabor is a toriodal (doughnut) mass of flesh with four arms and four legs that moves by rolling along the ground -- he has five heads, each double-tongued and drooling acid (1D6 continuing each round thereafter unless cleaned off (takes a round)) as well as his "True" face, a one-eyed foul visage placed directly on his doughnut of flesh -- if this face is blinded or otherwise damaged, Alfadgabor will stop moving and just howl every round -- enough damage done directly to the face (10+) will destroy this avatar.
Defeating the avatar will break the possession of the Tyrant, which will likely result in the splintering of Raxxe into something similar to the Hundred Houses, where various nobles/rich families/tranding guilds each hold regional control, although it is possible that the Senate will hold itself together and prop up a new Tyrant.
(Demon courtesy of Zak's Demonic Attribute Table)
