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Pitiless_Interfector 08-26-07, 05:18 PM

I've had a story arc building in my head for some time now, and decided to run it by you to see if there's anything that needs changing. If you don't feel comfortable giving constructive criticism on the story behind it, I wouldn't say no to suggestions on a CR for the stats. This originally came from an effort to create a demon lord who could compete with the Baatezu for a share of the fiendish warlock demographic. Then I got the idea of tying in Tulket nor Ahm somehow. It gradually expanded until I had a small novel on my hands (which I might post if you promise not to pirate it! J.K.) If anything I've written conflicts with Planescape or Greyhawk canon [even the novels], be sure to let me know so I can change my story to better fit your vision. VIRAXA Before you is a terrifying entity of spines and chitin. The upper half of his body resembles an armored humanoid torso as tall as an ordinary man, while the lower half resembles an ebony crab the size of a small wagon, with chitin the color of obsidian and flecked with pulsing crimson veins. Its head is encased in a helmet of cold iron, while a silver mask in the shape of a leering skull covers its face. The eye holes are gaping black pits. In its gauntleted fist, it clenches a black blade with serrated edges the color of blood. Vile runes carved along the haft glow with a hellish red light. Easily two yards long and two hand-spans wide, the weapon radiates malign power like heat waves from molten rock. Viraxa, The Seeker of the Scrolls CE Large outsider (chaotic, evil, extraplanar, tanar'ri) Init +13; Senses darkvision 60 ft., scent, prescience; Listen +40, Spot +40 Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Infernal; tongues, telepathy 300 ft. ________________________________________ AC 50, touch 20, flat-footed 39 (never surprised while prescience is active); Dodge, Mobility (-1 size, +9 Dex, +17 natural, +13 armor [+5 full plate], +2 insight [prescience]) hp 403 (26 HD); fast healing 10; DR 20/cold iron and good Immune critical hits, death effects, disease, electricity, energy drain, exhaustion, fatigue, massive damage, mind-affecting effects, necromantic or negative energy effects, petrification, poison, polymorphing Resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10; SR 34 Fort +26, Ref +26, Will +26 ________________________________________ Speed 40 ft. (8 squares) in full plate; base 60 ft. (12 squares); fly 40 ft. (good) [fly]; demonwalk Melee Carnifex +43/+43/+38/+33/+28 (2d8+24/17-20 plus 2d6 unholy plus 1 temporary Con) and 2 claws +43 (1d6+17 plus 2d6 unholy plus improved grab) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Base Atk +26; Grp +38 Atk Options Combat Reflexes, Improved Combat Expertise, Whirlwind Attack, improved grab (claws), constrict 1d6+19 plus 2d6 unholy Special Actions Extraordinary Concentration, Mobile Spellcasting, summon tanar'ri, roar, prescience Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20th): At will--astral projection, blacklight (DC 23), damning darkness (DC 24), darkbolt (+34 ranged touch, DC 25), desecrate, detect good, detect law, detect thoughts (DC 22), Drawmij's instant summons (Carnifex only), enervation (+34 ranged touch, DC 24), finger of agony (DC 24), fly (self only), ghostform, greater bestow curse (+38 melee touch, DC 28), greater dispel magic, greater invisibility (self only), greater teleport (DC 27), polymorph (self only), resounding voice (self only), shatter (DC 22), suggestion (DC 23), telekinesis (+30 for maneuvers, DC 25), tongues (self only), touch of Vecna (+38 melee touch, DC 25), unhallow, unholy blight (DC 24), wrack (DC 25) 3/day--blackfire (+34 ranged touch, DC 28), ravage (DC 27) 1/day--utterdark ________________________________________ Abilities Str 37, Dex 29, Con 32, Int 28, Wis 33, Cha 30 SQ inscrutable, prescience, tanar'ri traits Feats Bounding Assault, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes*, Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (fullblade)*, Extraordinary Concentration*, Improved Combat Expertise, Improved Initiative*, Mobile Spellcasting, Mobility, Spring Attack, Rapid Blitz, Whirlwind Attack (*Bonus feats) Skills Bluff +39, Concentration +40, Craft (alchemy) +38, Craft (blacksmithing) +38, Diplomacy +47, Disguise +39 (+43 acting), Intimidate +43, Knowledge (arcana) +38, Knowledge (history) +38, Knowledge (religion) +38, Knowledge (the planes) +38, Listen +40, Search +38, Sense Motive +40, Spellcraft +42 (+46 scrolls), Spot +40, Use Magic Device +39 (+43 scrolls) Possessions +5 heavily-fortified transmutation-proof mithral fullplate, Carnifex (major artifact, +6 unholy wounding keen Abyssal bloodiron fullblade of speed) ________________________________________ Demonwalk (Su) Once per round as a free action, Viraxa can teleport himself and all he is wearing or carrying to any point within line of sight. He cannot bring other creatures with him. Eldritch Pact (Su) By performing an hour-long ritual, Viraxa can infuse a willing humanoid with a portion of his power. He can share his power with up to 9 individuals at once. The recipient of an eldritch pact gains supernatural powers, which manifest as a ray of magical energy that functions identically to the eldritch blast of a 1st-level warlock. This ray can be used a number of times per day equal to 3 + the recipient's Charisma modifier (minimum 1). With practice, the ability can become usable at will (by advancing in the warlock class). This ability is of no benefit to those who are already warlocks. Inscrutable (Su) Viraxa is continuously warded against divination effects, as if under the effects of mind blank (effective caster level 20th). He can extend this protection to anyone and anything within 300 feet. Prescience (Su) Viraxa possesses supernatural powers of perception and prediction. Though not infallible, they far outstrip those of any mortal [and many immortal] entities. He is constantly under the effects of foresight, greater anticipate teleportation, greater arcane sight, and true seeing (as the spells, effective caster level 20th). He can use analyze dweomer (DC 33), augury, discern location, divination, find the path, hindsight, identify transgressor, and vision (as the spells, effective caster level 20th) without spending an action (taking the same amount of time as a Knowledge check). Roar (Su) As a standard action, Viraxa can release an earth-shaking roar that duplicates the effects of fear and shout simultaneously (DC 33, effective caster level 20th). After using this ability, Viraxa must wait 1d4 rounds before using it again. Summon Tanar'ri (Sp) Once per day, Viraxa can automatically summon 1d8 vrocks, 1d6 hezrous, 1d4 glabrezus, 1d3 nalfeshnees, 1d2 mariliths, or 1 molydeus. This is the equivalent of a 9th-level spell (CL 20th). Viraxa is the patron of warlocks and all those who seek to gain quick and easy power through black magic. STRATEGY AND TACTICS Viraxa is a terror in combat, but prefers to use ghostform and greater invisibility to become a virtual phantom, hiding inside solid objects and using Mobile Spellcasting to pop out, fire off a spell-like ability, and pop back into another object before foes can retaliate. If his foes come prepared to deal with invisible, incorporeal, ubiquitous foes (such as by carrying rings of X-ray vision, mighty composite longbows with the binding, ethereal reaver, and force properties, and Improved Heightened scrolls of spell vulnerability), Viraxa will usually attempt to retreat. In fact, only when he is certain of his prescient visions and has had time to prepare will he be willing to take even the slightest risk. When straight-up melee is inevitable, he will use demonwalk and Whirlwind Attack to strike as many foes as possible. If enemies are scattered about, he will use Rapid Blitz to cover up to 40 feet of ground at a time, then demonwalk back to his starting point. SERVANTS, ENEMIES, AND GOALS Viraxa's rise from obscurity to magical and temporal power seems meteoric in retrospect, and all the more remarkable considering that he became a demon without dying first. In truth, Viraxa is the confluence of three individuals. In his first life, he was Tulket nor Ahm, the son of a librarian who grew up with a love of research, reading and bookkeeping, which he translated into a clerical job with a merchant guild in a nearby city. Ahm's new home was a trading hub, for it sat on the banks of a large river that had carved a pass into the coastal mountain range, allowing access to the eastern sea and the exotic lands beyond. Ahm's skill at recordkeeping and accounting ensured his eventual promotion to the post of head manager. Under Ahm's direction, the guild prospered, eventually turning the river basin into one of the most heavily urbanized regions in the world. Eventually, their commercial empire grew into a true hegemony, with Ahm as its Emperor, nominally controlling a considerable portion of the known human world. But soon Ahm handed most of his duties to the younger generation, and left to pursue his passion for forgotten lore. But when a dozen years had passed, a brutal warlord from a distant land assailed the kingdom. An archmage of surpassing power, he led armies of giants and other fearsome creatures, intent on capturing Ahmana. He seized the outer provinces with stunning swiftness, and choked off the flow of supplies to the Ahmanan basin in an attempt to starve them out. Just when it seemed all hope was lost, Ahm discovered something that could save his kingdom: the Liber Tenebrarum, or Book of Shadows. Within its pages, Ahm discovered depths of demonic lore that few could have even imagined. With its aid, he conjured up spirits from the deepest Abyss, and through these intermediaries he entreated with the Primal Chaos itself to preserve the empire. He asked for his people's deliverance, and in exchange, pledged his soul and those of his subjects, and their children unto the hundredth generation, to the Abyss. And lo, a great crack appeared in the earth, and an army of demons crawled forth. Laying into the enemy in a hail of claws and darkness, they obliterated the warlord and every trace of his forces. Knowing that the hordes would turn on them if he reneged on his bargain, Ahm called all the people into Plaza Imperator in celebration. From high above, he led them in a ritual that consigned their souls to the Abyss. When it was finished, the demons vanished into the earth, their task complete. Wracked with guilt at what he had done, Ahm swore to release his people from their bondage, regardless of personal cost. He scoured the earth for demonic lore, invoked potent divinations, and even journeyed beyond the Silver Sea to other worlds to uncover every last clue. Though decades passed with no clear results, Ahm believed that if he continued his work, he would eventually piece together enough to undo the ritual and free his people. Of course, the Abyss was not blind, and impeded his efforts at every turn. When it became clear that his power was growing too strong, the Abyss sought his destruction with increasing fervor. When old age drew death nigh, Ahm began to despair. Desperate, he decided to temporarily and partially lower his safeguards to conjure up demons with whom to renegotiate the bargain. Surely his incalculable riches could be bartered for some measure of respite? But the instant the web of enchantments faltered, the chaos of the Abyss seeped in and unraveled it completely. At once, the earth again tore asunder, and hordes of demons crawled forth. They annihilated Ahm and his glittering capital, turning the lush river basin into a desert of cracked glass. And when their vile work was done, they vanished into the earth, dragging a hundred thousand screaming souls with them. Ahm was brought before the Lords of Woe, and, as an ironic reward for 'services rendered,' they gave him a name and a form all his own. Ahm was obliterated, and in his place rose the demon lord Ramuthra, Seller of Souls. Setting up a realm on the 99th layer of the Abyss, where he ruled over demons that had once been his people, he became a buyer and seller of souls. His skill in business had resurfaced in his next life, and in a macabre parody of his former existence, he grew rich and powerful from the soul trade, far more influential than his modest realm would suggest. Eventually, his shrewd opportunism led him to make a daring bargain. Learning from the baatezu who furtively crept in to cover up soul shortfalls long enough to be promoted, Ramuthra decided to take an active role in the corruption of the Material Plane. Rather than set up cults of followers, he chose six violently ambitious and uncannily crafty men and made a pact with them. Ramuthra took a portion of their souls into his, and placed a portion of his essence into them, granting them eldritch powers. They would then go on to establish a conquering empire that would plunge the world into chaos, sending millions of souls hurtling into the Abyss. Ramuthra had rediscovered an Astral Conductor that Ahm built to funnel demons away from the Material Plane, and built an eldritch machine that reconfigured the enchantment to funnel new souls directly into his realm and bypassing Pazunia completely. Unknown to him, all six of his new servants were direct descendants of Ahm himself, 98 generations removed, and thus inseparably bound to the Abyss by the curse of their forefather. They all went on to build conquering armies. Rather than cooperate, they competed. They threw all of their time and energy into attack and defense of their holdings. But one of them managed to father a child, which the mother of whom hid with her distant relatives to protect it from the monster that her husband was becoming. Following the pactmaking, barely three years passed before Ramuthra's realm was assaulted by a massive army of demons under the command of Demogorgon, who had perceived the threat Ramuthra posed to his power and decided to obliterate him. Upon hearing of the attack, Ramuthra hurried to the bowels of his fortress, seeking the eldritch machine in an attempt to convert the incoming souls into pure incarnum to fortify his powers. Mere moments from his goal, Ramuthra was struck down by Severik, Demogorgon's myrmidon. Uncontrolled, the machine began to spin out of control. Bewildered and panicked, Severik teleported away from the fortress, escaping the cataclysm by seconds. The eldritch machine, plugged as it was into the fabric of the Abyss, detonated in a blast that literally turned reality inside out. For a moment, only the purest chaos reigned, even more primal than the Abyss. The fortress was, for lack of a better word, unraveled. The arrow of time and the bounds of space became as fluid as molten glass for the briefest of moments. Within a few seconds, the wound in the plane had healed over, but the fortress and its occupants had been scattered throughout time and space. Though Ramuthra died that day, he was not destroyed. His link with the seven descendants of Ahm and the proximity of the eldritch machine made it possible for his dissolving essence to escape complete destruction by taking refuge within the souls of his descendants. Over the years, his essence began to knit, turning its possessor into an inhuman monster with a bizarre appearance. Each time a descendant died, the portion of Ramuthra's essence his soul contained flowed into the other descendants, becoming more concentrated and distinct with each death. The seventh descendant lived for more than a decade before he began to feel the presence of Ramuthra. Not long after his twelfth year, he began to have strange dreams of a world he'd never seen or heard of before, even among the books at the library where he worked as an assistant. These were Ramuthra's memories, and they became more vivid and frequent as his power waxed. When the forces of his father razed his village to the ground for harboring rebels and dissidents, the boy discovered his supernatural powers, and devoted his life to bringing down his father, who by that time had conquered much of the known world, triumphing over the other five who had made the bargain with demons. After a long, difficult struggle, he finally came face-to-face with the monster that had been his father. In an epic battle, he slew him with Carnifex, the sword Severik had used to kill Ramuthra and in so doing infuse it with a portion of Ramuthra's identity. The eldritch machine had pulled it to the Material Plane, depositing it beneath the cracked glass of the Ahmanan basin when it was still warm. Thinking that killing his father would break Ramuthra's power, he was shocked and dismayed when the missing half of the demon lord poured into his soul and a blinding flash of light sent him whirling into the space between worlds. As they spun, the demon began to wrest his identity away from him. Ramuthra attempted to consume his essence, but he was too pure for the demon to obliterate. Instead, they merged, creating something new. At that moment, there was another flash of light, and they emerged in the crater that had once been Ramuthra's fortress in the Abyss. Head still swimming with what had happened, he realized it was pointless to wonder whether he was Ramuthra who had become a man or a man who had become Ramuthra. A new identity emerged, with all the power of the old. Christening himself Viraxa, he set about immediately plotting his return to power. He needed to rebuild the Astral Conductor and the eldritch machine if he was to have any hope of overthrowing Demogorgon. So, out of desperation, Viraxa began to hunt down the Black Scrolls of Ahm in the hopes that one of them might detail the construction of the Astral Conductor. It is an impossible task, as the scrolls flee from demons, but it is only a matter of time before Viraxa realizes that the answers he seeks lie within his own mind.