I, Tyrant

I, Tyrant is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

Contents

I, Tyrant expands on the information given about beholders primarily in the Monstrous Manual through details of the race's history, religion, culture, settlements and psychology, as well as statistics on further true beholder deviants. The book also provides rules for psionics and magic items available to beholders.

Publication history

I, Tyrant was published by TSR in 1996 as a 93-page book. It was designed by Aaron Allston, and featured cover illustrations by Dana Knutson, and interior illustrations by Arnie Swekel, David Martin, Glen Michael Angus, William O'Connor, and Randy Post.

I, Tyrant and the module Eye of Pain mark the first volumes in TSR's "Monstrous Arcana" series, which focuses on the most popular monsters in the AD&D game.

Reception

David Comford reviewed I, Tyrant for Arcane magazine, rating it an 8 out of 10 overall. He comments: "As if these multi-eyed nightmares weren't deadly enough, now they can have magical items and psionics too." He notes that through I, Tyrant, "the amazing versatility of the race is depicted in great detail, raising them from merely a collection of interesting monsters to a curious and powerful civilisation. The results give referees a myriad of encounter opportunities and possibilities for inserting beholder NPCs into existing campaigns for that extra punch of spice." Comford concludes his review by stating: "The Monstrous Manual will still suffice for brief encounters with these creatures, but through expanded details on the creatures' behavior, powers, driving forces and tips on how to defeat them, I, Tyrant is useful to referees or players planning to embark upon a beholder-heavy adventure."

Tyrant

A tyrant (Greek τύραννος, tyrannos), in its modern English usage, is an absolute ruler unrestrained by law or constitution, or one who has usurped legitimate sovereignty. Often described as a cruel character, a tyrant defends his position by oppressive means, tending to control almost everything in the state. The original Greek term, however, merely meant an authoritarian sovereign without reference to character, bearing no pejorative connotation during the Archaic and early Classical periods. However, it was clearly a negative word to Plato, and on account of the decisive influence of philosophy on politics, its negative connotations only increased, continuing into the Hellenistic period.

Plato and Aristotle define a tyrant as "one who rules without law, and uses extreme and cruel tactics—against his own people as well as others". It is defined further in the Encyclopédie as a usurper of sovereign power who makes his subjects the victims of his passions and unjust desires, which he substitutes for laws. During the seventh and sixth centuries BC, tyranny was often looked upon as an intermediate stage between narrow oligarchy and more democratic forms of polity. However, in the late fifth and fourth centuries BC, a new kind of tyrant, the military dictator, arose, specifically in Sicily.

Sad Wings of Destiny

Sad Wings of Destiny is the second album by the English heavy metal group Judas Priest, released in 1976. It is considered the album on which Judas Priest consolidated their sound and image, and songs from it such as "Victim of Changes" and "The Ripper" have since become live standards. It is the only album to feature drummer Alan Moore.

Noted for its riff-driven heavy metal sound and the wide range of Rob Halford's vocals, the album displays a wide variety of styles, moods, and textures, inspired by an array of groups such as Queen, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. The centrepiece "Victim of Changes" is an eight-minute track featuring heavy riffing trading off with high-pitched vocals, extended guitar leads, and a slow, moody breakdown toward the end. "Tyrant" and "The Ripper" are short, dense, high-powered rockers with many parts and changes. Riffs and solos dominate "Genocide", "Island of Domination", and "Deceiver", and the band finds more laid-back moments in the crooning piano-backed "Epitaph" and the moody "Dreamer Deceiver".

Tyrant (Circle album)

Tyrant is the twenty-fourth album by the Finnish experimental rock band Circle.

It was issued as a limited edition CD by Southern Records as part of their Latitudes series in 2006, and re-issued as a double-vinyl LP in 2008. Like other releases in the Latitudes series, it was recorded and mixed in one day. It comprises three long improvised tracks.

Track listing

Personnel