Baneful was a former emperor-claimant of Praes. He became a Claimant for the Name of Dread Emperor during the War of Thirteen Tyrants and One. He never succeeded at claiming either the Name, nor throne though he managed to hang on until nearly the end with only a string of mitigated defeats to his name.
Since, he's become the traditional protagonist of Praesi comedy plays. In particular he's a star of The Long Road to Ater, where he accidently poisoned his cousin instead of his husband – only to later find out that she’d been about to betray him. He also avoided his own assassination but only at the price of a feud with his distinctly unimpressed warlock brother-in-law, who promptly cursed him.[1]