Bendon Mawl

Bendon Mawl, Doomlord

(Planar tiefling wizard [he/him] / Doomguard / LE) 

Without a doubt, this spellslinger is the most influential of all the Doomlords. As the factor in charge of the Armoury, he is in the best condition to influence much of what goes on in the faction’s headquarters. And, since Pentar has her home and office in Sigil, Bendon Mawl is also the best position to influence the factol. It is no accident that since she has become more and more involved with preparing the Doomguard’s battle plans for the next Great Modron March, Pentar has informally turned control of the faction over to this tiefling. Because he belongs to the Sinker fraction, Mawl has used this position of influence to limit many of Pentar’s more destructive policies. 

Little is known of Bendon Mawl’s history prior to his joining the Doomguard. He simply showed up at the Armoury one day two decades ago. In fact, it has become something of a game within the ranks of the faction to try and guess at key details in Mawl’s past. Entropy Rats of all ranks are welcome to approach the tiefling and tell him the current rumours and theories they have about him and his background. Sometimes he’ll confirm or deny a specific point; usually he’ll just smile mysteriously and say, “That’s a good guess. It might even be true.” So far, all that’s really certain is that he has spent some time in the gate-town to Baator, Ribcage, and was possibly born there. If true, this suggests that he has baatorian blood in him. But if this were the case, one would expect him to get along less well than he currently does with the tanar’ri in charge of the Armoury’s forges, Ely Cromlich. 

As the administrator of the Armory, and the de facto leader of the faction, Mawl is well aware of Pentar’s plans for stopping the March. And, like her, he thinks she has a good chance this time around. But, the Doomlord is concerned about the future of the faction after the attack on the modrons. As a member of the Sinkers, he doesn’t like the very active, and violent, turn the faction has taken under Pentar’s leadership and obsessions. So, while he faithfully serves, Mawl is also taking steps to preserve the faction—without Pentar’s presence. The tiefling is treading a careful line very near to the border of treason. He hopes to bring the faction back to its original philosophy by ensuring that the vast majority of Destroyers are at Pentar’s side when she attacks the March. The tiefling expects the losses the Doomguard suffer—victorious or not—to greatly reduce the influence that the Destroyers have in the faction. 

Bendon Mawl is a tall, slender middle-aged tiefling spellslinger of ruddy complexion and angular features. His large, pointed ears (similar to those of a bat) poke out through his dull crimson hair, while his coal black eyes peer out from his Doomlord’s mask, carefully studying everything and anticipating its eventual decay into a mass of Entropy. Mawl favors conservative dress: gray wool pants, low black leather boots, gray silk shirt, black wool vest (with the Doomguard symbol embroidered in red over the heart), tortoise shell shoulder plates, red ascot around the neck. The tiefling is never found without his Doomguard-forged broadsword of tanar’ri Red Steel or his Wand of Negation. 

Mawl is a cautious, if ardent, believer/follower of Entropy. He considers all possibilities and seeks to prevent the less desirable paths of Entropy from occurring – but encourages others. As a Sinker, the tiefling takes great enjoyment in watching the natural, unhindered progression of Entropy. In his office, he has a “living shrine” to the process—a goblet of wine and a cheese sandwich, which sit on a shelf and slowly turn to vinegar and mould. Bendon Mawl is also a student of legends and myths of items and places of power. His office is littered with papers, books, drawings, and other documents concerning these things. Currently, the tiefling is putting forth a lot of effort to locate the legendary Isle of Black Trees. 

Source: Ken Lipka