Growing older and poring over old codices and campaign notes, I came to like origin stories that feel half-myth, half-science — and the necromancer king of the scourge fits that mold perfectly for me.
In the version I favor, he started life as a sovereign whose kingdom was drowning in pestilence and endless war. Desperate, he offered his crown to any power that could end suffering. A conclave of necromancers answered: a ritual at the crossroads of a solar eclipse, an artifact called the 'Heart of Scourge', and an oath that twisted mercy into domination. The ritual fused the king’s will with the artifact and a raw, parasitic force of undeath. Instead of saving the realm, he became a vector — a living throne that birthed the scourge, turning his compassion into a hierarchical plague. The people he wanted to save were now the raw material of his army.
I love this take because it blends tragic intent with cosmic horror; it’s not just evil for evil’s sake, it’s a cautionary tale about means and ends. Feels like something that would fit between the grim politics of 'The Witcher' and the apocalyptic scale of 'World of Warcraft', and that slow burn of tragedy still gets me every time.