Richard is in his forties, a fact that may not be readily apparent if not for his weary face, heavy with the burden of one who has fought too many battles. His face is stern and unforgiving, the cold gaze of his only eye capable of striking fear into a seasoned warrior. His right eye is covered by a piece of soft cloth, he lost it in a battle years ago, his left eye is a clear green. His hair is short and brown, with streaks of white here and there, the same as his beard and moustache.

Richard usually wears a splint mail decorated with all sort of symbols and the kingdom's emblem edged in silver on the breastplate, with a long red cape and bastard sword sheathed on his belt. A golden medallion, identifying him as the army's commander, hangs from his neck.

Born to poor farmers in a province far from the capital, Richard lived his childhood practically in the wild, working and frightfully waiting the next attack from the gnoll tribe that inhabited the region. These gnolls were nothing but bullies, they demanded taxes from the peasants to let them live there, and constantly terrorised them.

When the crown's tax collector arrived, he wouldn't listen to the townspeople's pleas about the "extra" tax they had to pay the abusive creatures. All he cared about was getting the taxes back to the governor, a person who seemed more interested in increasing his treasure than stopping the growing humanoid tribes of the region.

After a few years, the villagers finally saw that if something had to be done, they'd have to do it themselves. They received some help from an errant paladin who happened upon the region and got interested in the gnoll's deeds, but one man could not stop an entire tribe, and so convinced the villagers to fight alongside him.

Richard was 14 at the time, and since every single man was needed in the coming battle, he hastily learned swordplay from the town's blacksmith. Armed with an old and rusty sword (a gift from the blacksmith he still keeps around) he went to battle the gnolls with his father, his older brother and the other villagers.

The creatures proved to be much fiercer foes than expected, and even though the villagers were victorious, the price for victory was too high for Richard, since both his father and brother died that day. An event that haunts to this day and made him aware that it is never wise to underestimate an opponent.

Six years later, when his younger brother became old enough to provide for his mother, Richard left the small village headed for the capital longing for adventures and new experiences. You see, he didn't like the life of "small people", he wanted something better for himself, and wanted to see new and exotic lands and experience everything he could.

When he arrived, however, he didn't find a job and was soon down to the last gold coin he had saved, a life's savings wasted in a few weeks. After he had been kicked out of his "new house" (a room on a filthy inn), Richard wandered the streets and came upon a victory parade honouring a military officer for a minor victory on an ongoing war with a neighbouring kingdom.

The youngster saw a new opportunity in this, after all, he had always loved practising with his sword, and maybe, just maybe, the crowds that now praised the officer could one day be acclaiming him.

He enlisted, and began a rigorous training that took a great toll on him; he was strong and vigorous, but the hardships of a soldier's life, being a stranger without a single friend on the city proved to be a greater test that the training itself ever was. He nearly quitted numerous times, but still he proved himself to his peers time and time again.

After a scarce four months of training, he and his unit were sent to the frontlines. Still unprepared and inexperienced, he never imagined the horrors he would have to go through in the war, a war that was being lost. Nearly his entire unit was killed in a battle with troops from the other kingdom, only a dozen or so of his peers survived the battle, among them Richard's commanding officer, whom Richard saved by carrying him for five miles or so after bravely fighting off two enemy horsemen.

The war was long and hard, and Richard earned much merit for his courage. But not everything went nicely for him, he contracted a deadly fever that nearly killed him, and was wounded in one of the last battles and lost his right eye. His career would have been over then and there were it not for the help of the officer whose life he saved at the war's start. Eventually, the invaders were repelled and the war won.

In the years that came after the war, Richard progressed through work and perseverance, and with the help of the officer whom he had helped all those years ago. Soon he became deadly with the sword and renowned for his courage and ability.

When he turned 28, another war erupted with the humanoid hordes on the northern border, and Richard, now in command of his own unit, was once again sent to the front lines. The war was short, but terrible nonetheless, but this time Richard reaped many victories and was condecorated numerous times for campaign merits.

As the years passed, Richard escalated in rank and position quickly and brilliantly, and by the time he was 36 years old, he was appointed general commander of the king's forces and a trusted advisor to the king himself.

Four years later, the king died, leaving his 10 year old son as his heir, but since the prince was still a child, a council of the king's most trusted friends and advisors was appointed to watch over the kingdom and prepare the young prince for the responsibilities to come.

The prince is now 15, and according to tradition, he will be crowned when he turns 17.

Richard is now 45, he has been hardened and embittered by the numerous battles he has fought. Now that he holds such a high position, he has come to realise that it is arrogant and insufferable politicians and court members who rule the kingdom and send good men to die for their own purposes, and never participate in the battles themselves.

He sees the soon to be king as a spoiled brat with more interest on fooling around than learning and preparing for the great responsibilities that come with the crown. In short, he sees a decadent kingdom, which will probably not survive another war, and has decided to do something about it.

He thinks that he is the only one fit to rule the kingdom and discipline the bickering lords to obedience, he believes that the nation needs a strong hand to prosper.

He is currently secretly supporting and training orc and other humanoid tribes to attack the kingdom's rural populations and later the greater cities. Knowing that when the problem becomes too big for them to handle, the council will turn to him for help, after which, on the excuse of the kingdom's safety, he can take the throne for himself until the prince becomes of age. That is, unless the prince suffers an accident and dies before that...

Richard's plan is to create a state of panic among the nobility and population with humanoid attacks, so that he may begin to concentrate all decision making (for the kingdom' security) on himself. This will not be an immediate process, he wants it to be a slow process to avoid suspicions. The PCs may fight the numerous creatures plenty of times before they realise (due to a clue or two) the presence of a sinister mastermind behind it all.

He has become cunning and careful with age, and is highly unlikely to leave traces of his role in the attacks, but he does need a certain control of events, and to this purpose he uses a shadowy organisation that trains and keeps the humanoids in check. The leader of this group is the only person who knows the general's involvement, and he is not going to talk easily (he knows he could get killed before telling the truth).

He is one of those villains the players hate; they suspect he is behind it all, they may even know it for sure, but they can't prove it or do anything about it (unless they are willing to take on a whole army). A point that Richard may enjoy being cynical about.

Richard is a harsh man, it is not easy to deal with a person that is used to barking out orders and have them obeyed. If the PCs ever interact with him, he is aloof and makes certain the interlopers are aware of his rank and authority.