Pactal is a minor antagonist in the Heroes of Might and Magic III: Horn of the Abyss campaign Forged in Fire. He is the chief of a lizardmen tribe called the Nightcrawlers.
Biography[]
Pactal was the descendant of Tepotl Hollow Eye, the leader of an army opposing the lizardmen tribe known as the Stone Children. Tepotl started a tradition in which on his deathbed, he would imbue his son's weapon of choice with destructive power from a black liquid, and the son would personally finish off his wounded warriors to add to it. In Pactal's case, he inherited the Great Woe of the Crawlers through the Fang of the Last Scream, the battleclaw that belonged to his grandfather. Unwilling to wait a few dozen more turns to take the chief's seat, he killed his father and uncles by siccing a herd of frenzied gorgons on them during a hunt. After becoming chief, Pactal poured the powerful liquid from the battleclaw into a spyglass that he bought from a pirate captain, naming the artifact the Hollow Eye after his ancestor. With it, he was able to see hidden objects and scry through the ground, and thus find and ravage caves with clutches and young Bloodied Feathers, the remnants of the Stone Children. Whenever he did, Pactal sucked out the eggs and devoured the young lizardfolk, which earned him the sobriquet Pactal Child Eater.
As leader of the Nightcrawlers, Pactal expanded his armies to include other creatures such as gnolls and wyverns. His ambition was to take over the Couatl Islands for himself, or possibly his son. Pactal and his tribe conquered most of the islands and hunted the native couatls to near extinction, driving the surviving creatures into the underground. To solidify his claim on the islands, he stole the clutch laid by the fifth wife of the Bloodied Feathers' old chieftain, but contrary to his custom, he left some of the eggs uneaten. He began raising one of the girls, whom he intended to marry as her children would be his key to unlimited power over all the lizardmen of the Couatl Islands. When battling Bloodied Feathers, Pactal sometimes refused to kill them and sold them as slaves. At some point, when a lizardmen tribe from the Dagger Wound Islands sent ambassadors to the Couatl Islands, Pactal and his tribe attacked them, forcing the survivors to flee his territory. Pactal resided in his own lair, which he allowed entry to only the commanders of his guard and the pirate who sold him the Hollow Eye.
A few years after Pactal assumed leadership of his tribe, Henrietta, Wynona and their party set out on an expedition. As they flew by the Couatl Islands, their airships were attacked by Pactal's lizardmen army and wyverns. Leading their surviving forces, Henrietta and Wynona fought the Nightcrawlers and defeated Pactal after penetrating into his lair. Afterward, one of Pactal's ears was used as a key to pass a gate.
Personality[]
Pactal was a bloodthirsty, vicious conqueror that would seize every opportunity to move himself into a more powerful position. He was very proud of his "Child Eater" nickname, as demonstrated in his cruel acts of violence. Pactal treated everyone except his own tribe as enemies; he ruthlessly slaughtered Bloodied Feathers, cannibalized their children, and when he spared them he forced them into slavery. He was completely hostile to outsiders as well and attacked them without hesitation whenever they approached his domain.
Powers and abilities[]
Aside from his physical strength, Pactal was a highly capable leader. He was receptive to all ideas that might benefit his tribe. He trained other creatures, even cowardly gnolls, into becoming powerful fighters that composed a formidable army. Pactal was an expert strategist in battle and could correctly predict his enemies' plans two steps ahead. He taught his warriors many skills including sailing between islands to give them the advantage, fighting in formation and using weapons and tools that not many have heard of. He also never slept in the same field camp two nights in a row.