Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Witch 12-28-07, 08:02 AM	Vile though any soul may be, there is always a chance, however minute, at redemption. Many creatures have succesfully taken this opportunity, even though many more continue their depravities to this day. Contrary to popular belief, redemption is not the most difficult path, for there is a third path: one can walk the thin line in between. Rare is the individual that treads carefully enough to maintain such a way of life, as hazards litter its way. Many decades ago, a young orc named Zuabmar apprenticed himself to his tribe's clergy: the priests of Gruumsh. Over the course of a few years, suspicions about his nature grew. Though the tribe's most recent adept eagerly participated into its bloody ceremonies, Gruumsh' other commands seemed to hold little if any authority over him. Eager with the knife, Zuabmar was far less willing to wield sword or axe. While his motives were initially unclear, through subtle differences in behavior and little details about his sacrificial practice, his superiors were able to discern them more clearly. Their apprentice did not seem to be entirely devoted to the One-Eyed God. While Zuabmar's practice was ritualistically entirely correct, going far enough even to have his eye cut out during his clerical annointment, his lack of sincerity grew ever more apparent. Only during monthly sacrificial rites were his actions truly sincere - even inspired. Blood was what stirred the young orc's spirituality: its sight, its smell, its taste, even its anticipation. Zuabmar cared naught for Gruumsh' cult, except as a means to a goal: the spiritual handling of blood, the fluid that held the energies of life itself, the substance whose very presence stirred within him a deep feeling of ecstacy. After a few years, this became apparent to even the most oblivious of the One-Eyed God's clergy. Zuabmar's punishment came unexpectedly to him, as did its proportions: the mere charge of heresy sufficed in ensuring the lowly priest's gruesome end. While his former masters cut out his heart, blood poured all across his body, enveloping chest and filling his mouth and lungs. To anyone else, it would have been torture. To Zuabmar, it was pure ecstacy. Nonetheless, the heretic's ritual sacrifice did not prove to be his final end. In an act of pure malice, the tribe's chief priest of Yurtrus raised the young blasphemer from his untimely end, believing one that takes such joy in slicing the hearts of living creatures to be a great instrument of death. Having had far less association with the former priest, Yurtrus' cultist did not see beyond what was apparent to any tribesmember. By resurrecting the slaughtered Zuabmar, he had thought to please his god and weaken that god's overlord, the reviled Gruumsh. Unfortunately, the priest was disappointed. While reports of how exactly the unwise cleric addressed the heretic are missing, there is no doubt about the results: when the sun rose anew the next day, Zuabmar had disappeared, and his “benefactor” lay dead in his tent, his heart carved out of his chest. For years, the former priest of Gruumsh disappeared from history. Though this time played a great role in his personal development, its importance for the rest of reality lies only in the type of man that resulted from this period. Filling his time with study, meditation and shamanistic rituals, Zuabmar wandered the planes, carrying almost nothing with him but for a few memories and relics of his past days, among them a battered spellbook, written on the skins of his sacrificial victims, a few talismans and the blade used in Gruumsh' ceremonies. After roughly a decade of self-inforced exile, the orc once again established himself as a religious figure, now no longer as a priest of the One-Eyed God, but clearly assuming the name of Zuabmar the Apostate. Subtly investigating orc tribes across many worlds, the orc mage sought out figures unhappy with Orcish racial division, or with their brutality. To those who were willing to listen, he acted as a prophet, spreading a tendency of spiritualistic worship of life. Rather than denying religiosity, the Apostate denied the Orcish gods are worth being worshipped, given their tendency of promoting hatred within even the own group, and inflicting unjust punishment. Upon Zuabmar's advice, many orcish groups estabished fruitful relationships with others of their kind, and even different races altogether. Nonetheless, all of the prophet's subtlety did not suffice to keep his enterprises secret from the furious Orcish gods; whenever any group of the Apostate's grew significant enough to be noticed, it did not take long for a zealous worshipper of traditional gods to head a vicious crusade against his unorthodox brethren. Nonetheless, the Reformer's teachings appealed to a great many orcs, half-orcs and even other races. Though those who shared his faith remained a minority in every sense of the word, it was, and still is, a vastly large minority, consisting of millions upon millions of believers, spread across over a hundred worlds, most of whom have never even seen the Apostate, and a significant minority of which has not even heard of him. Blood, from both sentient creatures and animals, takes a significant part in this spirituality, being the symbol of life itself. Unlike traditional sacrifices, Zuabmar's newfound spiritualism eschews the slaughter of innocent sentient creatures. Instead, it involves animal sacrifice (particularly rams and bulls), along with the ritual consumation of its blood, in hope of not only acquiring more of the beast's characteristics, but also of increasing one's vitality. Humanoid blood, or rather sentient blood in general, tends to be used in less extreme degrees. The Apostate preaches against all sentient sacrifice, but stimulates using blood as representation of one's kinship, maturity or development. For example, a common initiation rite for adolescents involves drinking the blood of one of the tribe's adults, symbolically infusing them with this maturity. One can find similarly sanguine rituals for purposes of marriage, adopted brotherhood, leadership, and many other phenomena as well. Loathe to permanently establish himself among any of his tribes, fearing to endanger them in particular through his vicinity, Zuabmar has based his, and the majority of his direct associates in Sigil, where he has built the Hrash Vang Trohr, a large academy for study of the tradition of Orcish culture, both in past, present and future. Though study of the old gods is tolerated and even encouraged in this academy, their worship is not – even though worship of neutrally or good aligned gods is considered acceptable. Beyond seeking simple understanding of what is currently the case or can be expected to occur, the Hrash Vang Thror is concerned with seeking to establish a theory of how Orcs can act as accepted beings without abandoning all of their ancient traditions, and regularly attempts to spread these ideas towards their lesser learned kin. Beyond this, the academy desires to be the living disproof of common stereotyping orcs as mere malevolent, ignorant and stupid barbarians. Members of the academy, and Zuabmar's religion as a whole, attempt to combine what they consider morally and politically acceptable with their ancient traditions, placing them in a somewhat unique position among their kin: not radically changed, but, in the eyes of many other races, improved. It should be said, however, that many members of the Hrash Vang Trohr have adapted a less tribal culture than most members of their spiritualistic religion. Even the Apostate himself could be argued to have at least partially grown beyond the limitations of Orcish tradition, possibly having diverged far more strongly from traditional Orcish culture than his adherents or even he himself may believe. From his position in Sigil, Zuabmar is easy to reach for most Orcish tribes with access to planar portals or magicks that can span beyond single worlds. Those tribes that lack this type of access are sent emissaries on a regular basis; how often this occurs generally depends on a tribe's specific situation, particularly on the amount of hazards it has to deal with and its size. For safety, the Apostate requests blood samples from any clan chief that converts to his faith, allowing him to monitor and locate a tribe easily should it be necessary. Though some tribal leaders have refused to donate their blood in this way, fearing for their independence, the great majority have fulfilled Zuabmar's request, and though some of them are more closely connected to the Reformer's commands than others, to such an extent that one could call him a chief of chiefs, others have largely maintained their independence, while still heeding their prophet's advice. The Apostate's practices have angered almost the entirety of the Orcish pantheon, though Gruumsh above all. The One-Eyed God regularly instigates wars against those who have abandoned him, but sees many of his efforts twarted by his former subjects' newfound allies among more civilized peoples. Beyond that, he has demanded the permanent execution of Zuabmar himself, but none of his minions have so far managed to handle this task succesfully – some rumors state the Apostate has been killed before, but was resurrected by his associates or his own contingencies. To this day, the Reformer continues his efforts to drive his people away from hatred, eternal war and the old gods, and into the arms of unity and a reformed tradition. Sometimes, however, peace cannot be maintained, and war is forced upon even the most peaceful people. Zuabmar regularly aids those associated with him personally, particularly when opponents have supernatural support as well. His personal commitment to aiding his people has caused some of his peoples to view him in soteriological light: while some may view the orcish reformer as a blasphemer, others see him as a savior. Most known of all these interventions is his battle of wills with one of Gruumsh' champions, in order to buy his people sufficient time to escape elsewhere. Though those who associate themselves with the Reformer argue that it was an actual proxy of Gruumsh that was stopped temporarily, their enemies deny this; it remains uncertain to this day whether or not Gruumsh' power was directly involved in this battle. Though one may get the impression Zuabmar's enemies are limited to the orcish pantheon, this is a faulty one. While it is true that other races are generally more tolerant of the Apostate's reformed orcs, there are still a number of exceptions that remain sceptical, or even refuse to acknowledge the possibility of orcs changing away from their depraved ways, and stubbornly cling to a racist ideology. This latter category is dominated by elves and dwarves, two species that harbor an ancient rivalry with orcs, and have often been taught to think of them only in terms of evil. While initially, the Apostate attempts to resolve issues diplomatically, he does not shun the use of reasonable amounts of violence in self-defence. Particularly when intolerance is stirred by supernatural sources, Zuabmar is eager to resort to force. The devil Rhalik is known for his ability to dominate through intolerance of differences; it is no wonder that his personal involvement with the orc tribes lead to a situation sufficiently desperate to call the Reformer's attentions. Though the origins of the sudden feelings of racial and religious animosity were initially unclear, the eventual discovery of the Bigot explained a lot. In combination with a number of elven high mages, dwarven thanes and a number of his own initiates, Zuabmar banished the vile devil back towards his prison. Beyond intolerance, the Reformer's movement holds a focus on actively combating and defending against vampires, as well as pestilences. Due to the reformed orcs' rituals, the danger of pestilences is obvious: if one were to become ill, it would be easy to infect one another. As such, they take great care in avoiding such dangers, and in combating the servants of those who spread disease. Zuabmar's issues with vampires are less incidental, however, and closer to internal to his entire ideology. Given his reverence of blood as a symbol for life, vampirism stands as a clear perversion of all he considers pure. Though this may be true of all undeath, as its negation of all life, vampires raise it to an entirely different level through removing the blood of the living in order to fuel their state of unliving. As such, an entire department of the Hrash Vang Trohr investigates the location of specific vampires, details about their existence and identity, as well as new ways to combat them. Some of the Apostate's minions involve themselves in actively tracking down the weaker vampires, while the greater are left to Zuabmar himself. Generally, these consist of elder vampires; however, in a few rare cases, he has been required to deal with eminent vampires, and a single time, with an ancient vampire – though very little is known about the latter case, it is suspected he received help. Zuabmar appears as a middle-aged orc, though he is older than he seems, having used vitalistic rituals that lengthen his lifespan. His skin is a dark green mottled with blotches of brown, while his hair is almost black, except for a few streaks of gray in it. Dressed elaborately in a colorful robe, decorated with intricate Orcish traditional symbols and vivid depictions of Orcish life, his arms are nonetheless left bare, revealing dozens of scars on both of them. To the top of them, near his elbows, the scarification fades, revealing that this area is filled with other mutilation: magical runes readable by those trained in doing so are tattood into his skin. Similar tattoos can be seen on his sandaled feet, as well as below his neck, around which a boney amulet is draped. At his side hangs a spellbook of dread origins, recognisable by a bare few for the humanoid skins it consists of, and a curved ritual dagger. The Apostate carries a stave in his hands at nearly all times, though he does not lean on it. Atop it stands the symbol for his religion, a heart held high by a half-open hand; its sides are, like his dagger and parts of his skin, covered with magical runes. ZUABMAR THE APOSTATE (CR 28) Wizard 10/Blood Magus 26 NN Medium Humanoid (Orc) Init +0; Senses arcane sight*, darkvision 60 ft., see invisibility*, Listen +10, Spot +10 Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Orc, Undercommon *: these spells have been rendered permanent by use of permanency. ________________________________________ _____________________ AC 57, touch 17, flat-footed 57 (+40 armor°, +7 sacred) hp 515 (10d4 + 26d6 +399); DR 15/bludgeoning Immune death effects, energy drain, negative energy effects, mind-affecting effects, information gathering by divination spells or effects. SR 22* Weakness light sensitivity Fort +29*, Ref +16*, Will + 32* °: Every three days, Zuabmar prepares and cast greater epic mage armor. *: Zuabmar has SR 10 + 1/3 caster levels because of a magic tatoo. Another tattoo provides him with a +2 resistance bonus to all saving throws. ________________________________________ _____________________ Speed 30 ft. (6 squares) Melee +27 tauroctonic kris (1d4 + 9) Melee +21 touch Ranged +18 touch Base Atk +18; Grp +21 Special Actions awaken blood (25d10) 3x/day, blood component, blood walk 4x/day, greater bloodseeking spell Combat Gear tauroctonic kris, staff of the Orcish prophet ________________________________________ _____________________ Typical Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 37th)* *: Zuabmar receives a +1 bonus to his caster level because of a magic tattoo. Epic (3/day)— esoteric aegis° 9th (6/day)— astral projection, dominate monster, effulgent epuration, mage's disjunction, mass hold monster, meteor swarm. 8th (6/day)— maximized delayed blast fireball, mind blank°, polar ray, quickened greater dispel magic, sunburst, superior invisibility. 7th (7/day)— grasping hand, greater arcane sight, forcecage, quickened chain lightning, quickened wall of force, synostodweomer, waves of exhaustion. 6th (7/day)— greater dispel magic, imperious glare, incorporeal nova, legend lore, mass bull's strength, quickened burning blood, true seeing. 5th (7/day)— ball lightning, dream, hidden lodge, persistent disguise self, sending, telekinesis, telepathic bond. 4th (7/day)— black tentacles, bloodstar, burning blood, forcewave, orb of cold, orb of force, quickened scorching ray. 3rd (8/day)— bands of steel, gentle repose, healing touch, water breathing, wind wall, quickened magic missile (x2), suggestion. 2nd (8/day)— create magic tattoo, fireburst, life bolt (x2), magic mouth, obscure object, phantasmal assailants, spawn screen. 1st (8/day)— backbiter, cause fear, light of Lunia, mount, serene visage, true strike (x2), wall of smoke. 0th (4/day)— arcane mark, light, prestidigitation (x2). °: has been cast already. Spell-like Abilities (CL 36th) 1/day—death knell (DC 21) ________________________________________ _____________________ Abilities Str 16, Dex 11, Con 32, Int 40, Wis 30, Cha 29 SQ durable casting, esoteric aegis, mind blank, stanch Feats Brew Potion (Blood Draughts)*, Craft Contingent Spell, Cooperative Spell, Extend Spell, Great Fortitude, Maximize Spell, Persistent Spell, Practiced Spellcaster, Quicken Spell, Scribe Scroll*, Scribe Scroll (Scarification)*, Toughness Epic Feats Epic Spellcasting, Greater Blood Draughts (x2), Greater Bloodseeking, Improved Metamagic (x2), Lasting Homunculus, Multispell, Reign over Blood, Smaller Scars, Spill the Blood Skills Concentration +44, Diplomacy +20, Gather Information +20, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (arcana) +48, Knowledge (geography) +25, Knowledge (history) +48, Knowledge (religion) +48, Knowledge (the planes) +48, Spellcraft +48, Perform (oratory) +28 Possessions combat gear, amulet of the ancestors, the apostate's robe Spellbook Zuabmar has immediate access to all sorcerer/wizard spells from the Player's Handbook and the Spell Compendium up until 7th level, excepting spells that go against his nature (such as those that create undead). He can acquire access to spells of higher level within a day, should he require them. Particularly rare spells may require more time. 7th – antimagic ray, arrow of bone, banishment, bite of the werebear, control weather, delayed blast fireball, ethereal jaunt, greater dispelling screen, energy immunity, energy transformation field, grasping hand, greater arcane sight, greater scrying, grasping hand, greater teleport, forcecage, hiss of sleep, instant summons, mage's magnificent mansion, phase door, reverse gravity, sequester, symphonic nightmare, synostodweomer, transfix, vision, waves of exhaustion. 8th – antipathy, clenched fist, clone, dimensional lock, discern location, excavate, field of icy razors, ghostform, greater plane shift, greater prying eyes, greater shout, incendiary cloud, lightning ring, mind blank, polar ray, power word stun, protection from spells, screen, spell engine, sunburst, superior invisibility, sympathy. 9th – absorption, astral projection, crushing hand, dominate monster, effulgent epuration, etherealness, eye of power, freedom, foresight, gate, greater dragon ally, hindsight, instant refuge, mage's disjunction, mass hold monster, meteor swarm, obedient avalanche, planar perinarch, power word kill, reality maelstrom, reaving dispel, refuge, shapechange, summon elemental monolith, summon monster IX, teleportation circle,time stop, unbinding, undermaster, wish. Epic Spells Known esoteric aegis, greater epic mage armor, ... ________________________________________ _____________________ Scars: Zuabmar's forearms are filled with scars, which he can use like ordinary mages can use scrolls. His arms can hold 12 such scars. At the moment, he has scars for the following spells: banishment, discern location, effulgent epuration, gate, instant refuge, mage's disjunction, reaving dispel, superior invisibility, shapechange, time stop, vision, wish. Each scar is scribed at caster level 36th. Blood Draughts: Through Zuabmar's blood flow energies alike those in potions. His blood can hold 46 potions of up to 5th level spells. His blood currently contains the following potions: amorphous form, anticipate teleportation, arcane sight (x2), attune form, contingent energy resistance, deeper darkvision, detect scrying, displacement, dimension door (x2), dragonsight, duelward, familiar pocket, fly (x2), forceward, girallon's blessing, greater blink (x3), greater mage armor (x2), haste (x2), magic circle against evil (x2), mirror image, nondetection (x2), polymorph (x2), protection from acid, protection from cold, protection from electricity, protection from fire, ray deflection (x2), remove curse, reverse arrows (x2), see invisibility, shield, stoneskin (x2), tongues, tremorsense, xorn movement. The Apostate's Robe: Zuabmar's elaborate robe reflects his position as a spiritual advisor, as well as a wordly power. It provides him with a +8 enhancement bonus to Charisma, as well as a +10 bonus to social skill checks when dealing with Orcs, Half-Orcs or his spiritual adherents of other races. This latter bonus only applies when the robe is clearly visible; when this is the case, anyone that succesfully makes a Knowledge (religion) check DC 30 can recognize Zuabmar for whom he is. The DC for this check may vary in regions where Zuabmar is more widely known. Lastly, the robe increases the Apostate's damage reduction to DR 15/bludgeoning. Amulet of the Ancestors: An amulet empowered with the spirits of long dead Orcs and the life energies of slain bulls and goats, the amulet of ancestors greatly increases Zuabmar's intelligence, wisdom and vitality. As long as he wears the amulet, he gains a +10 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom, and a +8 bonus to Constitution. Staff of the Orcish Prophet (Major Artifact): This staff, topped with the hand raising a heart up high, is the symbol of Zuabmar's authority as a prophet and religious reformer. Beyond this, it also forms a significant part of his power. Like any staff, the staff of the Orcish prophet has 50 charges, and can use a number of spells. Unlike ordinary staffs, however, the spells can be accessed by whoever carries it, whether or not the spells are on the bearer's class list. The staff of the Orcish prophet contains the spells true resurrection (5 charges), resurrection (3 charges), mass cure serious wounds (3 charges), greater restoration (3 charges), heal (2 charges), raise dead (2 charges), restoration (2 charges) and cure serious wounds (1 charge). By performing a tauroctony, a ritual sacrifice of a bull, Zuabmar can replenish the charges of the staff. For every such ritual sacrifice performed, the staff regains 2d10 charges, up to a maximum of 50. However, tauroctonies require preparataion. In order to perform one, Zuabmar must abstain from eating, drinking and any other activity aside from sleeping for 2 days. Aside from these abilities, the staff supplements the Apostate's spellbook through the intricate carvings in the wooden shaft, and provides him with a +7 sacred bonus to AC. Tauroctonic Kris: A curved dagger, the tauroctonic kris is Zuabmar's tool of choice during his ritual sacrifices. Like his staff, the kris supplements his spellbook, but beyond that, it functions as a +6 dagger with a permanent death ward effect (CL 36th) attached to it.
sciborg3 12-29-07, 03:13 PM	he devil Rhalik is known for his ability to dominate through intolerance of differences; it is no wonder that his personal involvement with the orc tribes lead to a situation sufficiently desperate to call the Reformer's attentions. Though the origins of the sudden feelings of racial and religious animosity were initially unclear, the eventual discovery of the Bigot explained a lot. Interesting - any more information on this guy? I like the whole concept by the way.
Witch 12-29-07, 03:40 PM	Rhalik is in Gates of Hell Chapter 7. In Dicefreaks cosmology, he's a Duke Hell (of Intolerance) serving under Beelzebub - obviously he doesn't really like Beelzebub for not being a devil. And thanks - I was afraid this thing'd drop to the bottom of the forum without any responses :)