Hovel the Rat King

"This was quite the rabbit hole you sent me down.    I'm still not sure if this is a real person or not. There are quite a few     stories, some contradictory, some downright unbelievable, almost all     insane in one way or the other."

- Arthas Menethil

Appearance
His clothing varied wildly among different accounts but he always wore a helm fully encasing his head and hiding his face. Even his helm varies from story to story.

it is unknown what he looks like at the moment.

Personality
Not much is known about the Rat King. By all accounts, he is said to have been very theatrical and very insane.

History
According to what Arthas gathered, he was a highwayman that led his group of ruffians on a caravan robbing spree down south for a few years before being caught and killed by the Flaming Fist of Baldur's Gate…or, he was a pirate that roamed up and down the sword coast, only targeting ships carrying extremely valuable cargo, including other pirate ships, before being defeated by the ships of Luskan…or he was a ruthless assassin with links to dozens of extremely high profile deaths…or he was a warlord that led an army of marauding orcs, before being killed by his own underlings….or, there are literally dozens of accounts with wildly varying details.

Most of his activities took place in the southern region of the sword coast although he's definitely been almost everywhere in Faerun.

The last "confirmed" sighting of him was about 5 years ago, when he was 'killed by his underlings' during the sack, and subsequent destruction of a small town called Archor.

According to Arthas, There's been no credible information on him since, stating that either this person is dead or whoever was telling these stories is.

(more to be added)

The Rat Pack
A list of names that are associated with the Rat King. It is unknown whether these are his aliases or people he has worked with.


 * William Armadeus Wolfgang.
 * Johnathan Sebastian Johann.
 * George Wagner Richards.
 * Freddy Frederic Chopin.
 * Leopold B Ludwig.

Confirmed members of the rat pack include:


 * "Rider": An associate of HD, whose real name is currently unknown. It has been revealed that he and Hovel used to work together until Hovel died, after which he began working for the Zhentarim. He is shown to be very loyal to them, and kills whoever they tell him to kill. Not much is currently known about him.
 * Worvil Forkbeard, A.K.A "The Weevil" (deceased): A dwarf illusionist who used to work with Hovel, who seemed to work independently after Hovel's death. He was wanted by the authorities for being a bandit leader. He was killed by the Rider after killing Lord D'Artagnan of Mirabar on the request of Khaspere Drylud, as the Lord was under the protection of the Zhentarim.

It is currently believed that William could have been the rat king.

Grimtooth the Defiler
An ally or underling, until Grimtooth and the rest of the orcs betrayed Hovel during the sacking of the town of Archor.

The Ships of Luskan
Either Hovel or a pirate using his name targeted ships carrying goods to and from Luskan, which prompted the Ships of Luskan to clash with him, supposedly killing him.

The Flaming Fist of Baldur's Gate
They killed a man named Hovel the Rat King for robbing caravans in the south.

Toytere and The Dead Rats
In excerpt XVII, Toytere writes a letter to a 'maestro' about a mission going as planned. In the same letter, he scratches out his own writing conveying love for this 'maestro', who is confirmed to have been Hovel. This information is not known to the characters.

When Lox asked HD about The Rat King, she states that even though she doesn't know him, he is someone that people she knew used to 'look up to'.

Powers and Skills Edit
unknown

Trivia Edit

 * The name "Hovel" is used to describe a small squalid or simply constructed dwelling.
 * The "Rat King" refers to a collection of rats whose tails are intertwined and bound together by one of several possible mechanisms, such as entangling material like hair or sticky substances like sap or gum or getting tied together.
 * Lox's Player has got a mild case of PTSD for the word "rat" due to Hovel possibly being Lox's Husband.
 * The rat pack follows a theme of classical musicians.