Warduke: a Retrospective; How the Mighty warrior fell.....

WARDUKE: A name that struck fear in all plastic warriors. A figure that was the champion of all young children. His record and legend are well known, but one day he fell from grace in a match that most bloggers felt he would be the easy victor.

How can a warrior so feared and seemingly unbeatable be defeated by The Black Knight from Dragonriders of the Styx? See:  dragonriders-of-styx-black-knight.

Many factors led to this tragic tale:

His long time trainer Kelek died unexpectedly. Kelek was the father figure Warduke needed in his life, and when the wizard passed away, Warduke had no grounding influence.

His marriage to Skylla was by most peoples accounts the beginning of the end. Her domineering ways and her penchant for spending his treasure at an alarming rate was weighing down his psyche and forcing him to Dungeon Delve at an alarming rate.

Then enter his new advisor: Ogre King. By most accounts he was only using Warduke for his profit, taking most in fees and high percentages. The people Ogre King surrounded Warduke were only their to prop him up so "The King of all D&D" could reap in the profit. His catchphrase "Only in Blackmoor" summed up this greedy promoter: only an ogre like this could run rampant in a setting like this!

We know what happens next....... see: warduke-vs.-black knight

Warduke fell in a match that should have propelled him to Immortal status. But instead his demons and the people he surrounded himself with drug him down.

We can only hope he doesn't continue to spiral out of control. Maybe "Get back to Basics." See if Ringlerun would take him in and reshape his career. Only time will tell.....

UPDATE: Warduke spotted with a new tribal facial tattoo. This new move doesn't look good for the once mighty champion getting his life back together......

:)