Roger Adler

*“Hard lives begat hard laws, not just in the necessities of living, but also in those of believing.”*

-Roger Adler

## History

Born to a poor family in the Reich, Roger Adler distinguished himself at a young age joined the Hexenjägers out of a sense of ambition and desire for social advancement. Affable, genteel, and capable, he was deployed to Nadezhda, where he racked up an impressive kill count of mages and lost an eye in a friendly fire incident. Some accused him of a certain over-zealousness, an unethical predilection for self-promotion over duty, but this did not stop his rise through the ranks. In time he became the Gauletier of Nadezhda, the youngest man to hold the rank in the short history of the Reich. He would demonstrate keen political instincts, making a web of connections throughout his province and establishing himself as a tireless advocate for the interests and needs of the Nadezhdan people.

## Personality

Ambitious and talented, Roger Adler was a man with a great deal of confidence in his own abilities. He was not groundless in feeling this way. It would never have occurred to him to pass up an opportunity to advance himself in the world or merely in the eyes of others. Nonetheless, Adler by and large had the best interests of his countrymen at heart, and possessed numerous good ideas.

Adler liked to tell stories about how he lost his eye, priding himself on telling a different account each time he was asked. In reality, an allied marksman aiming for an enemy hit him instead.

## Great Awakening

The Hexenjägers of Nadezhda, led by Roger Adler, would petition for the right to return to the Reich. Marshal Malrog permitted them the right to do so, knowing that he would have to choose to retain them or retain his new State Mages. The Marshal was ready to bet on the mages every time. He did not permit them to take the null magic golems with them, choosing instead to lock them away.

Upon his return Adler would find himself an object of scorn, ridiculed as the man who lost Nadezhda. The men loyal to him were quickly conscripted and split up between various companies, to dilute his power. Sidelined in the new government, Roger Adler could only watch and seethe as the Reich for which he had worked so hard to preserve fell apart before his eyes.

After its fall at the hands of the Nadezhdans, the Reich would be colonized, with Roger Adler installed as Count. The Hexenjäger Corps would be disbanded, with the exception of the Golem Division, which would be retained to fight in the Long War. Roger Adler would distinguish himself in battle against the hobgoblins and their patron god, Gobegeg, but quietly began to succumb to madness and resentment. In particular, he hated Arthur Ramander and the vampires of World's End, who he saw as the ancient enemy of his people. After the death of Marshal Malrog, he and General Khariton Markov would found the "New Riech," better known as the Separatist Enclaves, with the great old one Quachil Uttaus as their patron and weapon against World's End. The two traitors would strike at the very heart of their ally, killing Arthur Ramander and setting back the cause of mankind by several years. Eventually, Roger Adler would turn on Khariton Markov and feed him to Quachil Uttaus, before himself falling in battle to the Godhunter.