[Balanor]

Yes! I'm giving it to Willow since you got it half right. Al Swearengen was indeed the inspiration for the half-orc tavern owner Sworingin. Go check him out in the Watering Hole of Umratharos (yes, yes - I know some people will blanche at the idea of leaving the southern cities...but do it anyway!):
The Watering Hole is run by this thoroughly despicable and conniving half-orc. Sworingin's saloon is the most rough-and-tumble place in a rough-and-tumble part of Umratharos. Seldom a day goes by without someone being carted out of his establishment, destined for a pig's trough.

And as far as why the TV show Swearengen swore so much, I think the general consensus was they did it pretty much for the shock/controversy factor. So if you ever want to get jaded to the 'F' word quickly, just watch a couple episodes of it, and before long you won't hardly even notice it anymore. 63 times in less than an hour. Impressive. ;)
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/tele...sing_x.htm

[Balanor]

Here we go for Round #3 -

*spoken in a super-cool accent* I was portrayed in a movie almost two decades ago to which Thayan went to in the movie theater when he was in high school (damn he's old), and it became one of his favorite movies at the time. I am based on a real-life individual from the UK, even though the movie greatly exaggerated who I was and what I did. I was a freedom fighter, and now a tribute to me in Thay has my exact name and the result of my doomed struggle to free the people of Thay. It didn't end as bad for me in Thay as it did for me in real life, surprisingly. Who am I, and where am I located in Thay?

[WillowWhite]

Ok, promise I'll let someone else answer the next one..... I'm not sure if there is an NPC for him running around, but I'm fairly sure you're talking about William Wallace... Ser William Wallace, the founder of the House of the Hand in Thralgard. His statue is upstairs.

[Sundraoi]

I knew it was William Wallace just not where he was in Thay. I would have had it half right. hahaha

[Balanor]

Willow is two-for-two! Well done. You can't quit now. ;)

Statue of Ser William Wallace
William Wallace is considered the founder of the House of the Hand. He was a devoted paladin of Torm who came to Thay on a penance decades before his death with grand ambitions to free Thay from the grip of its Red Wizard masters. It took Wallace only a short time to come to terms with the cold, hard truth - that he was not the man who would be able to turn the Thayans away from the evil to which they had become so accustomed.

But rather than leave Thay in shame at having failed in his sworn duty, he instead proved to be a skilled diplomat (rare for a Tormtar) and convinced the Red Wizards to allow him to establish a temple to Torm in the heavily fortified Thralgard Keep. He argued that the legionnaires there needed to thoroughly understand and embrace Torm's teachings of duty, loyalty, and obedience in order to properly carry out their primary duty of guarding High Thay.

The years after the formation of the House of the Hand proved a moderate success for Wallace as the temple he founded has slowly gathered more faithful both from within Thay, and from without. Perhaps in time, Wallace's dream may indeed be realized...


Might be a few days as I come up with the next one. Or, as a bit of a twist to the game, if anyone is fairly certain you know the inspiration for something/someone in game and you want to provide your own clues - go for it. Just one person/thing at a time though, please. :)

[Bertram Anders]

I am based off a character from literature. I was born the eldest of four siblings into a noble house. As the eldest female in my family great responsibilities were placed on my shoulders this made me a very vicious woman. This lead to disdain from my brother who left the house as soon as possible. He eventually cut a few of my fingers off years later in a confrontation. Who am I, and where am I located in Thay?