Thoughts on Almanac era Jaggar von Drachenfels
by GreenbrierI looked back at the AD&D Mystara materials (PWA III and Glantri: Kingdom of Magic), and was a little surprised to see that Jaggar's alignment under that expanded system is given as Lawful Evil. So it actually sounds like Synn's chaos should bother him much more than her entropic nature, and this perhaps is where she has him fooled. As Sturm noted, Dolores from her initial appearance works within the very structured Glantrian system to gain power and influence, and only in time does it become clear that she is working to bring chaos to the nation.
Sturm mentions Kol, and I also recalled Jaggar taking some seemingly odd political positions during the time they were a couple and decided to look back over those and see if they might make more sense than I remembered -
1010 -
Flaurmont 18 (PWA pp. 188-9) - Jaggar votes against Princess Carlotina's proposal for new taxes to fund the defense of Erewan against humanoids from the Broken Lands, with Carlotina said to be "dismayed" by Jaggar's vote. The event introduces Dolores' influence over Jaggar, and says she "used compelling arguments about the effects increased taxation would have on the already-overburdened peasants of Glantri."
This seems odd at first, for the militaristic Jaggar to choose lower taxes over greater military funding. And House Ritterburg is not especially opposed to House Erewan per Gaz 3. But I could also see Jaggar not wanting increased military funding unless HE would have control of it as Warden of the Marches, and certainly not an opportunity for one of the other Princes to build a reputation for military success. Jaggar is also Chamberlain of the Land during this time, and wrested the title away from none other than Princess Carlotina during the WotI. So there may be bad blood from that political battle, and he likely has grand plans as Chamberlain for improving roads to boost military efficiency. This could make Dolores' tax argument logical, as Jaggar knows that extra taxes dedicated to the defense of Erewan would make it less likely to get extra funding for the overall military budget or road-building projects. So this vote does not seem so strange after all.
Ambyrmont 7 (PWA p. 218) - Kol requests the Great Crater be enfeoffed as a Glantrian principality. The event states that "several of the Princes are outraged or amused by this ridiculous request, but Jaggar von Drachenfels and Henri d'Ambreville unexpectedly recommend they take it seriously."
I really don't find this so out of character. Kobolds in general are more lawful (although Kol's alignment is listed as Chaotic Neutral in PWA III, and Neutral in G:KoM) than most other humanoids. And I think Jaggar would see the potential military value of having some humanoids fully under Glantrian control. So I'm not going to list out the future events where Kol asks for enfeoffment and gets shot down, or when New Kolland is finally approved as a Principality.
1011 -
Fyrmont 27 (PWA II pg. 214) - Jaggar votes against reconsidering the succession of Nouvelle Averoigne, supporting Henri d'Ambreville over Isidore d'Ambreville.
Perhaps Jaggar has warmed to Henri since they're both friendly with Dolores, and both favored consideration of the humanoid principality. And both d'Ambrevilles are listed with Chaotic alignment, so he probably isn't personally very fond of either of them. Henri was disintegrated before the AD&D products came out and doesn't appear, but Isidore is listed in them as Chaotic Good - the diametric opposite of Jaggar's Lawful Evil. Henri's alignment was likely Chaotic Neutral or Chaotic Evil, so his personality may well have been more to Jaggar's liking.
1012 -
Felmont 21 (PWA III pp. 198-9) - Council votes to improve travel conditions, improving roads and trails throughout Glantri. Jaggar crosses Dolores for the first time here, as she wants to keep the nation isolated. The event states that "proper transportation routes are essential to efficient military operations. Jaggar comes to regret his vote, however; Princess Dolores snubs him for the remainder of the Council session."
This seems very much in keeping with Jaggar's first love, the military. Perhaps the bloom is off the rose, and Jaggar is starting to figure out that he and Dolores have very different visions of Glantri's future. Law & order vs. chaos differences, more so than good vs. evil ones. This also does not sound like charmed behavior, where Jaggar would likely have been instructed to vote with Dolores on any issue of importance to her.
And that is the extent of Jaggar taking unusual political stances during his dalliance with Dolores in canon, not as many as I thought there were and not really so odd after all. Comments in some of the sources also support our thinking that Jaggar is just smitten rather than magically charmed by Dolores -
PWA p. 189 - "Jaggar is increasingly under the influence of Dolores of Fenswick. The two are now lovers and her advice seems to be proving very sound to him."
PWA II p. 127 - "[Jaggar] is now increasingly falling under the charms of Dolores Hillsbury (the persona taken by Synn, a chaotic dragon), and has become one of her valued pawns."
PWA III p. 89 - "[Jaggar] has recently fallen under the spell of Princess Dolores Hillsbury (actually Synn, a dragon), and is one of her most valued pawns."
G:KoM p .48 - "[Dolores] has seduced Jaggar von Drachenfels, placing House Ritterburg firmly in her grasp. The charmed and mentally unstable Innocenti di Malapietra serves her as well."
In particular here I find the very different descriptions of Jaggar and then Innocenti, in the very next sentence, pretty conclusive that Dolores' hold over Jaggar is intended as romantic rather than magical in nature. This excerpt from Jaggar's description on G:KoM p. 28 though doesn't agree with my assertion that his political stances were pretty explainable for the character -
"[Jaggar] has no idea his lover is a creature of evil influencing him to help her destabilize Glantri. Already, he has aligned with the humanoids of New Kolland and turned his back on the Erewan elves - actions he never would have taken before."
So I found one final piece of evidence in G:KoM that could explain Jaggar's voting record if one doesn't find it plausible. In Innocenti di Malapietra's description on pg. 42 -
"[Innocenti] was contacted by Dolores Hillsbury, who had discovered him through a divination spell. She subtly manipulated his insanity and added a few well-placed suggestions to convince him to follow her."
My thinking is that if further explanation for Jaggar's political behavior is needed, it more likely came in the form of timely suggestions as mentioned here. This would have been easier for Dolores to pull off than succeeding at keeping a mage of Jaggar's power under the effects of a charm for the length of time that she held great influence over him.