Radovan Virholt is one of the hellspawn, mortals whose family tree includes a branch or two from Hell or some other vile plane. Sold into slavery by his own mother, Radovan grew up on the streets of Egorian as a member of the Goatherd gang. Despite his skills for burglary and picking pockets, not to mention a “copper tongue” for negotiations, Radovan served as one of the gang’s enforcers. In this pursuit he found his wicked elbow spurs and “the big smile” useful tools as well as the most obvious marks of his infernal ancestry.  In his teens, Radovan met Count Varian Jeggare and became the noble’s bodyguard. Over the years, he became Jeggare’s investigative assistant, traveling companion, and friend.

Count Varian Jeggare is one of the oldest surviving members of the Chelaxian nobility, one of the few who remembers a time before the rise of House Thrune. As the senior member of House Jeggare, he is arguably the wealthiest individual in Cheliax and surely one of the richest in all of the Inner Sea region. Due to his father’s elven blood, he appeared decades younger than his nearly 100 years, and recent events have made him appear even more youthful. A student of magic, he long suffered from a debilitating condition preventing him from casting the spells he had mastered only mentally. As a member of the celebrated Pathfinder Society, Jeggare rose to the rank of Venture Captain after many foreign expeditions.

After a scandal (detailed in “Hell’s Pawns”), Radovan and the Count embarked on a self-imposed exile from the capital city of Cheliax. They traveled to mist-shrouded Ustalav (in Prince of Wolves), distant Tian Xia (Master of Devils), the elven homeland (Queen of Thorns), and the demon-wracked lands of Sarkoris (King of Chaos). After two years fighting in the Worldwound crusade, they journey to Varisia in search of answers to Count Jeggare’s magical disability. Instead, they discover the mystery of the Lord of Runes.

If you’ve already read their adventures, you might enjoy some behind-the-scenes rumination on the stories, novellas, and novels. These aren’t your usual “Re-reads” in that I don’t summarize the stories, but they’re my remembrances of writing them. Note that they’re listed in reverse chronological order, so you’ll want to scroll down and click on the previous page to start with “Hell’s Pawns” if you want to start from the beginning.