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View Full Version : All-Lycanthrope Campagin BBEG: Erebin Pullusia (PEACH)



Leliel
2007-12-14, 04:54 PM
This guy is, as the title would suggest, the main baddie for the campaign I plan to run in 4th edition, where the party are non-evil afflicted lycans. So...In the Giants own format(WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD):

Erebin Pullusia, The Moon-Sorcerer aka Stellan Lumanis, the Knightmage

Race: Afflicted Human Werefox

Class: Wizard, with a few levels in Fighter.

Motivations: Anger, Sorrow, and Loss.

Intended Reaction: Initially Hatred (I assume the PCs are going to initially despise their "curse", and his machinations are what give it to them), eventually Pity and Sympathy.

Story: Stellan Lumanis was born to a family of peasants. From a young age, the young boy displayed a talent for learning, and he was eventually sent to a local boarding school. There, he was known as the "little shaman" by his professors, due to his fascination with magic, and his aloof but mature demeanor. What he really was enthralled with were the paladins. He had always loved stories and myths of yore, and thought of the paladins as modern-day mythic heroes. After his graduation, he joined a prestigious order of Pelor, and although he never actually became a paladin, he became famous throughout the world as a noble and wise warrior who would defend all, regardless of race, creed, or class.

Inwardly though, the newly-christened Knightmage was troubled. His experience as a farmboy had taught him that all beings were created equal, but he saw things within his order that were inherently discriminatory. Particularly troubling to him was the priesthood's treatment of lycanthropes. They seemed to believe that somehow, being a werebeast, afflicted or not, made you inherently evil (Author's note: It is a house rule of mine that says that lycanthropy does not corrupt your original nature). And thus, he then unknowingly sowed the seeds of his downfall.

It was a clear night when he met Ellia.

On his way to his tower, Stellan came to a group of men assaulting a young dark-haired woman, who strangely did not put up any sort of protest. As he rushed to defend her, he saw that the men's weapons glimmered strangely in the twilight. Fighting off the men, he teleported both himself and the woman to safety. Patching up her wounds, he gently asked her why she did not fight them. The lady opened her mouth, but in horror and then to release a scream of pain as the full moon came over the horizon. She fell to all fours as her spine arched and her body grew. Her clothes ripped as her teeth became fangs and her nails grew out. Grey fur began to sprout as her ears became pointed and her feet and hands became paws. Her moans became animal whimpers as a tail grew out and her nose became black. Finally her face lengthened into a muzzle, and Stellan found himself looking at a beautiful shewolf. The hybrid sank to her knees as she tearfully explained that she had become a lycanthrope after eating a strange plant for food, and that the men who attacked he had been hunters sent by her village. Sobbing, she exposed her neck and begged the Knightmage to finish the job, and end her misery. After getting over his initial shock at her transformation, Lumanis simply smiled and helped the werewolf to her feet, and asked, "Why is it a curse to you? You are still human, just with a...somwhat hard to control ability." The werebeast looked up in surprise. "You don't...hate me?" "How can I hate someone whose identity I didn't know until a second ago? Here, let me give you a place to stay." And so, Ellia (whose name he learned while escorting her to his tower) and Lumanis became inseparable, and then, the stories spoke of his companion as well. Within time their friendship blossomed into love, and they became married, though Ellia kept her lycanthropy a secret, for fear of disgracing her husband. But their relationship, while beautiful, was to end tragically. For Stellan had enemies in the order, ones who objected to a member who seemed more interested in forgiving and redeeming their enemies then fighting them, let alone one who wasn't even a paladin. Although most kept their objections to themselves, there was one, a ruthless cardinal named Caelum, who had both the means and the motive to destroy the Knightmage. For Caelum knew that Ellia, the woman his enemy loved more then anything else in the world, was a werewolf, having obtained that knowledge from a contact in the priesthood of the god of secrets (justified, in Caelum's eyes).

And so, Caelum hatched a plot.

(To be continued...)

EDIT: Added the PEACH part.

Leliel
2007-12-15, 03:06 PM
There was a crescent moon that fateful night. Stellan was in his study, researching a new spell, while Ellia was the tower's bedroom, newly expectant of the couple's first child. Suddenly, the Knightmage heard his young wife shriek. Rushing to the bedroom, he saw Ellia, in hybrid form, desperately fighting off a group of attackers. Attackers with silver weapons. Lumanis fought valiantly, flinging arcane magics left and right, and following up each volley with a mighty strike from his sword. But these attackers were well organized, and unbeknown to Stellan, he had been poisoned with a powerful drug. Within time, it worked its effect, and even the Knightmage's famed resolve could not hold off one of the attackers from getting past his defense of his wife, and so a silver sword met Ellia's heart. Dropping his weapons instantly, Lumanis rushed to her side and attempted to heal her, but by then, not one of his magics could save her. Ellia survived only long enough to tell her husband that she loved him, and she died in his arms. Enraged, Stellan lashed out with a newfound strength, and by the time he was done, only the leader of the murderers survived, and that was only because he had stayed outside the window of the tower while this was all going on. He looked at the exhausted Knightmage straight in the eye. "So always to monsters.", he said, and made the holy symbol of Pelor in the air. Stellan gathered up his remaining strength for one final spell, but by then, the attacker had disappeared. Defeated, distraught, and grieving, Lumanis fell to the floor, the reality of Ellia's death slowly sinking in.

Ellia's funeral was one of the most tragic, yet beautiful, events in the order of Pelor's history. Many admirers of Stellan had come, and all felt the pain of their hero. Friends of Lumanis came as well, and they were brought to tears by the sheer amount of loss that he felt. Even a few enemies of the Knightmage had come, and even they were moved by his sorrow. Yet none could match the sheer agony of the widower himself, who did not cry himself, but all who saw him knew instantly that that was only because he was so numb from his own grief. When the wake ended, Stellan slowly got up and left. Caelum, the only one not to be touched by his nemesis' suffering, inwardly smirked. The so-called Knightmage had lost his will to live, he thought, and all because of a disgusting shewolf. But Stellan had other plans in mind. For he had recognized the prodigy of one of his enemies at the funeral as the assassin who had escaped him. And in a dark epiphany, he realized who and what had killed his bride.

Moreover, he knew exactly how to enact his revenge.

It was raining when the cloaked man came to the village where Ellia once lived.

By then, the town had long since gotten over it's hatred of lycanthropes, long having known of the stories of the werewolf they had once run off their land as a heroine. So that was why no one was suspicious when the cloaked man asked for the identity of the mysterious herb that had given her lycanthropy in the first place. He did say he was a druid after all, and it would be natural for one to wonder about such things. So an elder brought him into the woods, and showed him a flower not unlike a lily that grew on land.
It was this plant, the elder explained, that would cause the man who ate it to become a werebeast corresponding to his "totem animal", the beast that his soul was most like in nature (When the cloaked man asked how he knew this if Ellia was the only one to eat it, the elder replied that after his village had gotten over it's fear of lycanthropy, some of the villagers decided to "give themselves a boost" to their hunting skills). The cloaked man thanked him, and left.

That evening, Lumanis, now without his cloak, went back to that same spot in the woods. He took of a sample of the Moon Lily, as he had come to call it, and crushed it into a powder. Right before the full moon came up over the horizon, he swallowed it in one gulp.

The pain was excruciating. Although Stellan had expected the first transformation, willing or not, to be the most painful, even he was not prepared for this. For those few, agonizing minutes, it was as if the world went white. When he did come to, Lumanis looked at the world as never before. New eyes picked out every detail of the world with but a glance, including the luxurious silver fur that now coated him. An enhanced sense of smell allowed him to pick out details of the conversation he had had with the elder hours before hand. Conical ears swiveled unconsciously around the new lycanthrope's head, easily hearing the sounds of the woodland creatures in the area, curious about this newcomer into their midst. A vulpine tail swished serenely about the hybrid's feet, allowing him to easily keep balance on his new, black-furred feet. Quickly using his abilities to find more Moon Lilies, the werefox that had once been the Knightmage went under the cover of darkness to his tower, where he decided he would need a new identity in the shadowy world of conspiracy.

And so, from the depths of darkness and despair, Erebin Pullusia was born.

(To be continued...)

PhallicWarrior
2007-12-15, 10:31 PM
Interesting. Will the PC's ever get this knowledge? If so, they might not want to fight him. I know I wouldn't.

Leliel
2007-12-17, 06:11 PM
Interesting. Will the PC's ever get this knowledge? If so, they might not want to fight him. I know I wouldn't.

(They'll find out. He was intended to be sympathetic. Still, he's capable of some pretty horrible things-even if he hates himself for them afterward. Read on...)

Comfortable in his new identity, Pullusia, who now called himself the Moon-Sorcerer, began to formulate his plan. Erebin set about first to recruit the dregs of society, the minorities, the misunderstood, the scapegoats. Wooed by his dream of a world where they could be accepted by society, they joined him in his vision. Calling themselves the Moonlords, they used their quickly growing influence to take control of a small city. Taking a bit of his wife's DNA (Did I mention that the world that this villain lives in is relatively advanced in science, if not technology?), and mixing it with his own, he then created a "daughter", Edena. Although dismayed to learn that Edena was a completely different person then that of Ellia, she was loyal to her father, a necessary requirement for his plot. His preparations complete, he ordered the Moonlords to stage a small, and utterly faux, rebellion. With the power of their master's Moon Lilies on their side, they easily succeeded, and Pullusia's ex-order moved to defeat the guerrillas. After being secretly allowed to do so by them, the order had a feast in celebration of an apparently hard-won victory, to which Erebin made sure all of his unknowing enemies, including Caelum, were invited. They dined, unaware of their vengeful rival watching in fox form from the bushes outside, nor of the powdered Moon Lily that Edena, in the guise of a maid, had put in their food, or that the Moonlords had specifically manipulated the feast into taking place on the day of the full moon.

Then, the celestial object inevitably rose...

It was utter and complete havoc. The order, now confused and upset lycanthropes, tried to escape the feast hall, only to run into the magical entrapments that the Moonlords had secretly placed around the exits. Unaware of the outside influence on their condition, the guests turned on each other, believing one of them to be responsible for their fate. All this was watched with vindictive pleasure. Finally, he thought, they will now know what being a werebeast is like! Then one of the guests, an ally of the man who became the Moon-Sorcerer, unknowingly made eye contact with his former friend.

It was like a blow to the face for the once-Knightmage.

Erebin had convinced himself that the only people who would attend the doomed feast would be racists, or at least, people who needed an experience from the "other side of the fence", as it were. And yet here was an innocent-a friend, no less-who had been caught in the crossfire of his scheme. And even then, Pullusia realized, what was the point? He had told himself it was to further the cause of the lycanthropes, but what was it really? An act of petty vengeance-a vendetta that, ultimately, was more about his dead wife more then anything noble. He had put the Moonlords-people who trusted him, people who loved him-in danger for a selfish plan that would hurt more than it would help. As it turned out, Erebin Pullusia-Erebin Pullusia, the Moon-Sorcerer, who was once Stellan Lumanis, the Knightmage-was, in a sense, exactly like the men who had murdered his beloved Ellia. Erebin sank to the ground in horror, bitterly weeping for his lost innocence. But his pleas for forgiveness were too late. For the Mists of Ravenloft had felt the magnitude of his deed, and self-pity and regret for a deed already means nothing to them. They took Pullusia, his daughter, and his most loyal Moonlords were drawn into that accursed land...

But their impisonment was not to last...

(To be continued...)

PhallicWarrior
2007-12-17, 10:34 PM
Wow, being forcibly transfered to Ravenloft? Can the plane even do that?

Leliel
2007-12-18, 01:16 PM
Wow, being forcibly transfered to Ravenloft? Can the plane even do that?

Yes, it can. How else do you think Strhad (Am I spelling that correctly?) ended up there? Or most other "outlander" darklords, for that matter?

I can't update him right now (not enough time), but I'll do it as soon as I am able.

Lady Tialait
2007-12-18, 01:20 PM
Yeah, Ravenloft is just good at that kinda stuff...ya know...evil kinda...goes there

Leliel
2007-12-19, 03:10 PM
In the the that dark, sad dimension, Erebin was made Darklord of Fastidio, a nation divided by bitter and secret conflict, as it's master was divided in turn by his own inner demons. But Pullusia was not like other Darklords. For one, he was unable to seal his land in any manner, even to the point that even after other Darklords sealed their domains, passages to Moon-Sorcerer's sorrowful land still appeared. Second, Erebin himself was not bound by the borders of his domain, although he was only able to enter other lands in an ephemeral form, unable to do anything other then further his manipulations. Thirdly, and most importantly, he was able to perceive the bonds holding him to the Demiplane, and was even able to touch them at times. Although this last power gave him no amount of grief, being an eternal reminder of his punishment, it gave him hope...A hope for freedom...

And a plan to make dream reality.

Using Edena as an intermediary, Pullusia set up cells of the Moonlords throughout the strange Oubliette of Despair (Author's note: My personal name for Ravenloft. Kind of fitting, don't you think?). In Paridon, their message wooed an outcast doppleganger named Neko, whose mastery of the protean art of Via Stannum (Alchemical Shapeshifting: Basically, one of the Fraternity of Shadows' (the fansite) versions of a doppleganger super-human (Read their netbook on doppleganger, its nice)) was second to none. In Sourgane, a voodoo sorcerer called Jacob Bok answered the call of the Moon-Sorcerer, and his skills in the ancient mystical path served the Moonlords well. In Kartakass, the words of Erebin even recruited a wolfwere who gave his name as Adolf Abendroth, who had grown tired of his species constant campaign against werebeasts, and wished for an age without the constant warring. These three would later become part of Pullusia's inner circle, and along with Edena, would become his most valued minions.

Satisfied with his charges, Erebin, through Edena, commissioned a moonblade to be made in the secret forges of Verbrek. Unknown to the smith that made it, however, the "werewolf huntress" who had the sword made had added a trace of Moon Lily to the kild where the metal for the blade was being made, which caused the moonblade it spawned to cause any humanoid it struck to be as affected by the Moon Lilies inside of it as if he had eaten them, as well as tripling the sword's original power. Once presented with the blade, her father set about to bring the bonds that held him to the fabric of Ravenloft into true physical form. Using the darkest and most powerful of magics, he finally succeeded, and then, using all of his arcane and physical might, along with assistance from his minions, he brought the corrupted moonblade, Antumbra, down upon it.

At first, there was nothing. Then the first tear appeared.

It was small-no longer than a child's arm-but it was enough. String theory being what it was, it corrected this by turning the anomaly into a small, but stable, wormhole. Energy began to surge through it in the space it had created-and sought to expand. It was more then the weakened fabric of physical space and time around the wound could handle, and the space-along with the wormhole-widened. Soon, the forces were channeled through the now corporeal essence of the bonds ran into a new obstacle: the very fabric of space of the Demiplane of Dread. Eldrich forces tried desperately to mend the wound before it became a gate through which their plaything could escape, but even the Dark Powers couldn't cheat a force that existed before the Old Ones, creators of our universe, did. Soon, the force of the expanding quantum bubble became too strong for the Oubliette to contain, and it burst through-turning the wormhole into a portal, and consuming what was left of the bonds holding the Moon-Sorcerer. Although the Dark Powers moved desperately to fix the gap, by then its intended purpose was accomplished-Erebin and his followers had long since escaped through the gate.

Now, the Moon-Sorcerer has returned to finish what he started...

And woe to anyone who tries to get in his way.

(Coming up-Personality and Powers)

puppyavenger
2007-12-20, 11:26 AM
That is...AWSOME
seriosly that's a truly excelent background.

Leliel
2007-12-20, 12:57 PM
That is...AWSOME
seriously that's a truly excellent background.

:smalleek:
Well...thanks.:smallbiggrin: I was expecting people to complain about the uh..."esoteric" means by which he escaped Ravenloft (It refers to M-theory, in case you're wondering), but I am actually surprised you liked it so much.

Not enough time to update today, unfortunately.

Falconer
2007-12-20, 03:12 PM
Dang, I liked reading this stuff.

Really good job on this guy's backstory, you seem to have really thought it through. Abso-friggin'-lutely awesome stuff, here.

GimliFett
2007-12-20, 04:23 PM
Wow! Really nice background. Definitely someone to be respected and feared, if you get on his wrong side.

Only thing of note was this:

There was a crescent moon that faithful night.
Emphasis mine. I think you mean fateful. Editing issue, I know, and I may be over-analyzing. If so, I apologize.

Regardless, I love what you've got.

Leliel
2007-12-21, 12:28 PM
Wow! Really nice background. Definitely someone to be respected and feared, if you get on his wrong side.

Only thing of note was this:

Emphasis mine. I think you mean fateful. Editing issue, I know, and I may be over-analyzing. If so, I apologize.

Regardless, I love what you've got.

Oh. :smallredface:

I'll fix it.

Need a little more time to work on his powers.

Volug
2007-12-21, 01:16 PM
It appears I'm not the only one making an all lycanthrope campaign.

Keep it up!:smallbiggrin:

Leliel
2007-12-21, 06:44 PM
Really?

Please explain. I might be able to use some ideas.

Volug
2007-12-21, 06:50 PM
Really?

Please explain. I might be able to use some ideas.

It's just a simple one... Not terribly plot happy. Though, it is different then most...

Give me some time and I'll type it up.
((It MIGHT be able to shed some ideas:smalltongue: ))

Volug
2007-12-21, 07:43 PM
((This is more of a nuetral campaign. Also, I'll just give the main Idea and won't go much into detail.))

Lycanthropes are nearing extinction. Most are in hiding at the moment trying to get by with their lives in peace. The PC's need to work together to survive humans, elfs, and just about every humaniod in the land from killing them. Their main goal is to find other lycanthropes and find a way that they can live without being killed and live peacefully. They find a powerful Were-Wolf that aids them. Overtime, when they are about to acomplish their goal, the Were-Wolf kills the king. Explaining that the only way for their kind to truly get peace, was for everyone to become the same. ((This can go two ways, either the PC's try to accomplish peace between humans and Lycanthropes. Or join with the Were-Wolf again and try to infect or kill every non-lyacanthropic humanoid.

((I'll leave it at that. Thats the basic Idea and I'm stil trying to sort things out. I still need to do some crunch on most of the begining... And then get the last part done. Hope I gave some ideas:smalltongue: ))

Leliel
2007-12-22, 06:24 PM
Well, that's interesting. You see, Pullusia was originally that kind of villain, but he, after I brooded over his personality for a bit, I decided it would be much better if he wanted equality for all "misunderstood monsters". Obviously, you can't turn a human into a doppleganger, so his goal became well...Read on.

Personality: Erebin is a sad, lonely, and bitter man who has never truly gotten over the death of his wife-if he did, he'd probably be Stellan again, not to mention a powerful ally of the PCs who they could probably confide their afflicted lycanthropy in. As it is, Pullusia's demeanor has done a 180 degree shift from his former identity. For the most part, he spends his time in his tower's study, either brooding over the various materials the Moonlords have gathered over the years, or presiding over his various experiments. When he needs to, however, he can almost instantly reach any location where he is needed via the mists that seem to perpetually surround him, having learned how to use these as a means of transport during his time in Ravenloft. Lacking anything that could be called a true "family", he seems to have adopted his closest henchmen as a (dysfunctional) one, with himself playing the role of the emotionally distant and neglectful father. He knows perfectly well he is evil, a fact that he is bitterly reminded of every day. He hasn't lost his conscience however, a trait that comes out with his overly-forgiving personality and his unwillingness to consider anyone close to him expendable, often going to personally save one of them, even if he knows that this will cause unrepairable damage to one of his plots. He has also been known, when angered, to strike normal people with Antumbra (now an intelligent weapon), in order to infect people with lycanthropy and thus force them to see things from "his" side of the fence, as it were. It should be noted though that he feels no emotional attachment to these unfortunates and will quite willingly kill them if they get too much in the way.

Powers: Pullusia retains all the powers he had as a darklord-now intensified due to his escape-, as well as his normal ones.

Normal:

-Cunning strategist and experienced psychologist.

-Master manipulator.

-Skilled scientist and alchemist.

-Afflicted werefox powers and increased lifespan.

-Patience.

-Gargantuan library of spells and magic.

-Well-versed in eldritch lore and legends.

-Incantative ability.

-Intelligent sword.

-Fencer.

Darklord:

-Version of Immortal Soul. If the Moon-Sorcerer is not killed with Antumbra specifically, his soul and mind will remain attached to the mortal coil, finding a nearby fox to posses (preferably male-he finds any amount of time spent as a vixen to be...awkward). Over a period of weeks, the fox's fur first changes colors to Pullusia's silvery-grey, then changes into his normal hybrid form (a relief if it was an aforementioned vixen), then he regains the ability to assume his human form. Originally, his weakness was any weapon which had Lumanis' mark on it, but now it applies only to Antumbra (a hard task, especially given that Antumbra is slavishly loyal to it's master, and has a high Ego score).

-Summon Inner Demons. Once every three combat rounds, Pullusia can summon the ghosts of his past as a full-turn action. He can only have five of these ghosts at a time, and must wait until only two of them remain until he can summon them again. Once per day, he can also summon three, more general aspects of his psyche into physical monsters to guard his current lair, but not in his actual room. Originally, this ability was more limited, but you know...

-Gather Psyche. As a desperate measure at 0 HP and below, Erebin can merge with the forms of the more powerful variety of Inner Demons described above, creating a strangely beautiful body with all of Pullusia's powers, increased Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom and Constitution, a better version of his Mist Walk ability, and full hit points. He returns to his normal form after the fight, but immediately faints and is rendered unconscious for two d4 days while his body recovers from the strain of using. He may only use this ability once per confrontation.

-Mist Walk. As a free turn action once every three rounds, Pullusia can use the mists around his body to teleport from place to place. During combat, this ability is limited to the immediate area (with a wider range and more frequent ability to use it during his Gather Psyche ability; he becomes able to use it every round), but it's range is unlimited out of it. He also uses this to escape confrontations.

-Mist-Fox. Erebin can assume an incorporeal form when not in combat. This originally limited him while outside his domain to merely being able to coordinate his schemes, but he is no longer bound by this restriction after escaping Ravenloft.

-Mirror of Fog. Erebin can scry at will on any Moonlord agent. This is how he knows when his minions are in trouble.

(Next: Goals and Obstructions)

puppyavenger
2007-12-23, 12:26 PM
by the way, where are the ruloes for werefoxes?

Leliel
2007-12-24, 11:01 AM
by the way, where are the rules for werefoxes?

I think there were a few back in 2E Ravenloft, though I don't know what they are.

Still working on the "Goals" part of him.

Leliel
2007-12-27, 12:41 PM
All right, here's his goals and what keeps him from them!

Goals: Erebin wishes to end all forms of discrimination, particularly against lycanthropes. To that end, he has decided to summon the being known as Abeos, sometimes titled as the Silver Emperor or the Bringer of Evolution. According to lore and religious text, Abeos is said to be the Old One who created lycanthropy after growing weary of mortals' constant forays against nature and the environment. Angry at their brother interfering with their creation, the other Old Ones cast him "down from the heavens and so, brought an end to his immortal life". However, since Abeos was connected to the very existence of the universe, being one of it's creators, he did not truly die, but instead "entered into the deepest of sleeps, with dreams more lucid then reality", or to put it in layman's terms, "dead but dreaming". Pullusia plans to awaken the Silver Emperor, while also opening a portal to his extradimensional palace, and thus allowing the antediluvian entity to enter the world, where he will easily conquer it. Erebin then believes from religious prophecy that the Bringer will then make the one who allowed him entry into the universe (who will be, if all goes as planned, the Moon-Sorcerer) Governor of the Planet while Abeos himself returns to his palace to once again sleep until someone else calls him, leaving Pullusia free to enforce his ideals of equality.

Obstacles: Erebin's most prominent obstacle is essentially, himself. No matter how much he tries to internally justify his actions or suppress his conscience, he still retains the moral compass he had from his days as the Knightmage, providing him no shortage of guilt. Indeed, it was his quality as a "redeemable" darklord that enabled him to escape from Ravenloft. Although he could just as easily rush forward to gather the components for the ritual needed to bring forth Abeos with no regard for other sentient beings, he instead purposely delays the Moonlords' search in order to help minimize damage from the awakening Old One's Sign. His greatest external threat is the still-living Caelum-himself now a werewolf, ironically-who rightfully blames Erebin for his lycanthropic condition. Secretly, Caelum knows perfectly well what Pullusia plans to do, and actually plans to take control of the ritual for himself, believing that if the Silver Emperor makes him Governor of the World, he will be able to create a millenia-long lasting Empire of Pelor (whether it would live up to the god's ideals is doubtful-it's somewhat telling that unlike his nemesis, Caelum makes no effort to protect innocents from the Silver Emperor's version of Twisting Life-after all, "Whats a few more lycanthropes and wretches in the world if it means the glory of Pelor?").

(Next: Relations and Alignment)

theterran
2007-12-27, 01:59 PM
Instead of making this guy the antagonist...you could run an evilish campaign with this guy as the boss man...

Either way...that's some great stuff.

puppyavenger
2007-12-27, 07:34 PM
the old ones are Elder evils I assume?

Leliel
2007-12-29, 03:51 PM
the old ones are Elder evils I assume?

Well, Abeos is. The other ones are pefectly fine with giving cryptic hints and defending against "Neglectful Precusor" charges.

Need a little more time.

lord of pixies
2007-12-29, 04:50 PM
:smalleek: ...wow...just amazing i just read it and i hope you dont make the players kill this guy off..that would be sad... :smallfrown:

but other than the fact that he commits evil acts im curios how you will align him, sure he does evil acts but the fact that he actualy regrets them and tries to justify them(and still admits that they are evil) realy speaks thhat he is not evil, he just does evil things to get a greater good... kind of a "the end justifies the means"

Leliel
2008-01-01, 05:27 PM
Still working out a few stubborn kinks...It's hard to design a good villian!

vegetalss4
2008-01-02, 04:19 PM
this looks good.
but i got one quesstiong tough
how do you know you even can play as a lycan in 4e? or if not do you plan to homebrew?

Leliel
2008-01-03, 09:20 PM
this looks good.
but i got one quesstiong tough
how do you know you even can play as a lycan in 4e? or if not do you plan to homebrew?

Since lycanthropes are a time-honored D&D tradition, I serverly doubt they will not be updated. If not, I will update them myself.

Relations: The Moon-Sorcerer's personal relationships are...complex, to say the least.

Edena: Erebin's attitude towards his "daughter" is a strange mixture of love and hate. On one hand, she is his child, and he gives her the affection that any parent does. On the other, he had intended her to be identical to her mother in personality, and the fact that she has developed a completely different one constantly reminds her of her absence. For the most part, he ignores her, only giving her any praise when she manages to suceed in her endevors. Edena herself is motivated mainly by her want for affection from her father and out of jealousy for Bok, which is twinged by sexual tension from her desperately repressed attraction for the young voodun.

Jacob Bok: Pullusia regards the Sourgainian pirate-mage (Yes, you read that right) as both an apprentence and a surrogate son. He recives the bulk of attention from the Moom-Sorcerer, and is given an ample supply of the Moonlords' resourses. Bok himself fights for the signifigant amount of arcane knowlege and material treasure involved in the Moonlords' misson, and to impress Edena, who he is madly in love with.

Neko: Erebin is honestly unsure what to make of the exiled doppleganger, who seems to be both a vulnerable, sad young woman and an unrepentant, strangely cheerful sadist. She is often the subject of her master's experiments due to her mutable physiology, and has gained a few "abberant abilities" beacuse of it. Neko is completely loyal to Pullusia, and would follow him to the ends of the earth if need be. She also finds herself becoming strangely affectionate towards Abendroth, despite being a being that isn't supposed to feel sexual urges, let alone love.

Adolf Abendroth: The relshonship between Erebin and Abendroth is that of master and servant, nothing more. Even so, Abendroth often finds himself being Pullusia's moral voice, often dissuading him from otherwise questionable courses of action. In the wolfwere's case, he seems to be motivated both by a genuine desire for peace and the thrill of battle. He also finds himself forming a "special" bond with Neko, both having been oucast by their respective societies for much the same reason (Having a conscience, in case you're wondering).

Caelum: Erebin's relationship with his arch-nemesis could be defined as "mutual loathing". Pullusia knows perfectly well who gave the order to kill Ellia, although he belives that the plot to kill her was a more general conspiracy, headed by the cardinal. The cardinal himself has figured out that Erebin is behind his status as an afflicted lycanthrope (through his contact in the clergy of secrets), an injury that is blown out of proportion by his racism against werebeasts.

Darklords: Having a basic moral compass, Erebin is understandably digusted by other Ravenloft darklords, a universal image that applies to all except Strahd von Zarovich, whose wish for lost love he understands all too well, and Jacqueline Reiner, for much the same reasons, in addition to her constantly being misunderstood for her lycanthropy. He himself is regarded in much the same way by the afromentioned darklords, with Azalin's hatred being intensified after Pullusia managed to escape, being rather envious of the fact that the Moon-Sorcerer doing in one try what he has tried to do for eons.

The Moonlords: Erebin's orginazation has been always unfailingly loyal to him, and he has since only gained a mystic awe about him since his escape. Officially, the Moonlords have no leader, with Pullusia and his chief henchmen all owning the title of Artemian Duke, the highest rank of Moonlord. Unofficially, he is perfectly well known to be the founder, and thus, leader. Even so, some question his actions. The Moonlords are, by writ and large, not an evil group, and thus, many wonder the wisdom of his intention to summon Abeos. Others are perfectly fine with his plan, and grow impaitient with the time-wasting steps he takes to ensure the safety of innocents. Even so, all veiw him as a good leader, and although they may move behind his back, they would rather kill themselves then betray him.

Alignment: Due to the pure, heart-renching despair that characterizes him, as well as the amoral nature of his actions, I have trouble seeing Erebin Pullusia as anything but a Neutral Evil villian, albeit one with strong Neutral Good tendancies with the capacity to become the latter alignment someday.

[Coming Up: Quirks, and Apperance]

Leliel
2008-01-07, 03:42 PM
OK, I've delayed the update long enough. So...

Appearance: Erebin spends most of his time in hybrid form, which has the unintended benefit of confusing people trying to find him via finding him when running mundane tasks (during which he is obviously in human form). While in this form, Pullusia appears to be a tall (for a human), bipedal fox with grey fur that has a silvery sheen to it. Of particular note is a strange, ornate brand that extends over the lower part of his right eye to the top of it. Upon closer inspection, this is revealed to be a particularly stylized illustration of a crescent moon with tendrils of mist rising off it, the latter seeming to move when not looked at directly. His eyes are almost emerald in their sheen, brimming with intelligence, and seeming to flash with a bright glow when he is angered. In this form, he tends to wear long, blue, flowing robes with golden runic markings that seem to suggest elegance and serenity. He also wears bejeweled clasps on his ears, and is not often seen without rings, magical or not. When trying to purposely impress someone, he has been known to adorn himself with silver jewelry, in order to show his complete lack of fear for the metal.

In human form, Erebin is still tall, but slightly less so. He also consciously suppresses his eyes normal color, causing them to to return to their original hazel, though they tend to flare green when he is agitated. He also has his original ash-blond hair, but due to his lycanthropy, it has become longer and pure white in some places (a discrepencey he attributes to age when concealing his identity). Close inspection will reveal a patch of extremely pale skin underneath his right eye-the shadow of his tattoo-the finding of which is made harder by the fact that he had caucasian skin to begin with, and it has only grown whiter since he originally developed lycanthropy. In this form, he also wears silver jewelry, but this time to conceal his nature.

He assumes fox form only rarely, but when he does, he appears to be a normal grey fox, albeit one with a rather strange marking under it's right eye, not to mention unusal intelligence.

Quirks: Despite having honest and even rather heroic motivations, Pullusia is actually rather cynical about them, often causing to designate himself as more villainous then he actually is. He also posses a scientific side, and grows somtimes disturbingly attached when writing about his experiments. He also becomes upset when exposed to scenes of love between couples, as this causes unwanted flashbacks to his time with Ellia.

(Coming up: Name Etymology)

Leliel
2008-01-11, 01:17 PM
Name Etymology for all characters, including those I haven't written up yet:

Erebin Pullusia: I took his name from both the Latin words for the god of shadow (Erebus) and one of the words for "dark" (Pullus). This is to show his complete attitude change from his original identity, whose name means exactly the opposite (Stellan is from Stellum, "star" Lumanis-Lumain, "light" respectively). It's also a reference to his loss of innocence.

Edena: Although there is an obvious Biblical reference in her name, in actuality I was just looking for a name similar to that of her "mother". As for Ellia herself, I just thought that it had a nice ring to it.

Jacob Bok: Bok's last name comes from bokor, a voodoo sorcerer, which, well, he is. "Jacob" is a reference to the Biblical character of the same name, in order to show the fact that the elder (The arcane lore he craves) will serve the younger (Jacob Bok).

Neko: Her name references her "chimera" (battle form), which is essentially her favored form-A blue-haired teenager-but with ocelot ears and a tail. Yes, Erebin's favorite assassin is a shapeshifting catgirl. Sue me.

Adolf Aberoth: "Aberoth" is a German name meaning, at it's root, "dusk". This, of course, is a reference to his boss. Adolf means "Name that has a cool sound when you pair it up with Aberoth". If it had any other meaning besides that, he wouldn't be fighting for the guy who wants equality.

Caelum: Means "sky" at it's root, a sense that conveys both the fact that he is a Pelorite, and that he is arrogant.

Well, that wraps him up. So...

How do you like this guy? What would you change about him? What would you do to introduce him to the PCs? How would you reveal his backstory?

One more thing: If you want me to, I'll happily write up the backstory on his minions, but it'll take some time. I am of the opinion that major NPCs should be given as much characterization as the PCs, possibly more.

Begin the Judgment! Well, you already did, but...

Leliel
2008-01-12, 04:14 PM
Hey! Humor me for a bit!

Falconer
2008-01-12, 11:00 PM
Adolf Aberoth: "Aberoth" is a German name meaning, at it's root, "dusk". This, of course, is a reference to his boss. Adolf means "Name that has a cool sound when you pair it up with Aberoth". If it had any other meaning besides that, he wouldn't be fighting for the guy who wants equality.

As an added bonus, Adolf is the modernized version of the name "Adalwulf", which roughly means noble wolf in Old German. From what I understand, this guy's a werewolf, so....now you know.


...don't ask me how I know that...just don't...:smalltongue:

Maldraugedhen
2008-01-13, 12:47 PM
Interesting. This guy is very, very, very similar to Isaac from Black Tapestries (http://blacktapestries.comicgen.com/). The same goal (end racism), the same motivation (killed lover after secret is exposed by rival members of organization), the same position (head of a 'dark' organization composed of people who by and large aren't that bad), the same origin (mage-knight of Pelor / member of the Order), the same potent ability (turn racists into what they hate)...

He is different in a few key ways, though. First of all, there are no Old Ones to reawaken in BT, so Isaac is trying to end it through different means. Isaac also thinks that what he is currently doing is good, while Erebin here thinks what he's doing is evil. Both characters have a conscience, although by the sound of it, Isaac's doesn't hinder him anywhere near as much as Erebin's.

You wrote flavorfully, just in an amazingly parallel way to something I bet you haven't read.

Leliel
2008-01-13, 04:16 PM
Thanks. I was actually inspired by Isaac Devane (read here: wanted to rip off an idea), but I applied my ingenuity, my knowledge of various, real-world lore, and my often-used connection to TV Tropes (thats where Pullusia's quartet of henchmen came from), to make what I think is a very different villain.

And Falconer: Technecally, Adolf is a wolfwere, a sentient wolf with the ability to change into a man, but, same difference.

Maldraugedhen
2008-01-14, 12:55 PM
Damn, and here I was hoping this was one of the rare cases of parallel but independently written characters.

You might want to further distinguish Isaac and Erebin by having Erebin be more reluctant to use his magic. Where Isaac taps into the arcane at the first sign of a problem, have Erebin make it his last resort--at least, in combat. Maybe it's something he relates to his time with the Paladins. Or maybe there are a few spells he only used to cast for Ellia, like illusions to entertain her or something.

Leliel
2008-01-14, 07:56 PM
Damn, and here I was hoping this was one of the rare cases of parallel but independently written characters.

You might want to further distinguish Isaac and Erebin by having Erebin be more reluctant to use his magic. Where Isaac taps into the arcane at the first sign of a problem, have Erebin make it his last resort--at least, in combat. Maybe it's something he relates to his time with the Paladins. Or maybe there are a few spells he only used to cast for Ellia, like illusions to entertain her or something.

Yeah, I could put in that he has a code of honor in combat (Never attack an enemy from behind, only use magic against an opponent who can defend against it), but he isn't lawful, so he forgets it if he needs to. The one thing he will not use are enchantmen spells, since he considers it wrong to interfere with another being's free will, or save or die spells, since that is truly unfair.

Leliel
2008-01-19, 06:40 PM
You know, that offer to brew up his minions is still there.

Maldraugedhen
2008-01-20, 02:15 AM
I'd say Adolf and Jacob seem like they'd be the best to put that kind of work into. I assume you're eventually going to stat these guys out.

Leliel
2008-01-20, 05:46 PM
I'd say Adolf and Jacob seem like they'd be the best to put that kind of work into. I assume you're eventually going to stat these guys out.

I will stat them...when 4E comes out.

And sure, I'll begin with Jacob.

Leliel
2008-01-23, 08:28 PM
All right, here's the first part of Jacob's backstory:

Jacob Bok, the Ghost Pirate King a.k.a, the Sea-Warlock

Race: Human (Not Undead: That title name comes from his rather...Psychological tactics.)

Class: Mostly Sorcerer, with a few levels in Swashbuckler.

Driving Emotions: Greed, Love, and Addiction.

Meant to Inspire: Sympathy...off the battlefield. On it, pure Terror.

Story: The tale of the so-called Sea-Warlock actually begins a few generations before his birth in Sourgane, with a black voodoo witch named Kreyol who fell in love with a white plantation owner. Unfortunately, he had a strong mind, one that resisted any form of control, including her charms. What he did enjoy was all forms of arcane and occult subjects, however. So Kreyol decided that what she needed for him to love her was a little bit of the occult in her as well. So she petitioned the loa of the land to give her true magic, so as to woo her fancy. That they did, infusing Kreyol's very blood with arcane strength. Her plan worked, and Kreyol was wed. But that goal came at a cost: As she had grown addicted to the love of a powerful man, so too her descendants would grow addicted to the very power that she had given them by birth and blood.

Years passed. The Bok family, though never poor, grew more so as they sought out materials and artifacts to satiate their thirst for magic, forsaking their estate and wealth. This was the situation that young Jacob was born into. From an early age, he developed the Bok family powers and displayed great aptitude in them. So much aptitude in fact, that he was able to see past the short-lived needs of the curse to see the rut his family had fallen into. And so, seeking to return his family's opulence, the future Ghost Pirate set out into the world of Ravenloft, and found the land of Darkon. There, he found the magic-rich environment to his liking, and found employ as a privateer. On the seas he found a way of living that he had only dreamed about, regularly commandeering vessels and finding great treasures aboard. More then a few times he defeated great and terrible monsters, found a couple hidden caches of precious metals and items, and even once fought the terrible Darklord Peter van Rise (And survived with crew mostly intact). Soon, he had more than enough wealth amassed to return his family to prosperity.

Then, tragedy struck...

(To be continued)

Leliel
2008-01-26, 01:34 PM
Hold on, still working...

Maldraugedhen
2008-01-26, 03:58 PM
Holding on.

Leliel
2008-01-29, 06:45 PM
(OK, done delaying.)

Jacob Bok returned to Sourgane expecting to find his happy family, but instead, he found their graves. Racial tension had long been brewing towards this mulatto family, and the revalation that the latest was a much-feared pirate had given the mobs the reason they needed. Jacob was devastated. His entire family gone, and beacuse of his actions. The last he was seen in his home was during a fire that mysteriously lit at the home of the mob leader, walking off into the distance, a broken man.

Years passed. Legends that had once priased the Sea-Warlock now wispered of the mysterious and terrifying Ghost Pirate King, a ethereal captain with golden skin and a look of distant loneliness in his violet eyes. It was his appearence, they said, that heralded the doom of any ship, lost to the hands of the sea and his begotten crew. Bok, in a search for purpose, had turned his inner anguish on the innocent ships of the sea. Taking inspiration from his battles with the undead brigands known as Jolly Rogers, Jacob used his mastery over magic and the creatures known as fiyhrs to demoralize the crew of hunted ships, and then sending in his own made approprately terrifying via illusions to quickly take any vessel, though he left the crew who surrendered alive partly out of mercy. Over time, he began to become more and more like the fiyhrs himself, transforming partly into one of the dreaded fey known as the bogeymen. Purposeless, he drifted the seas, lost and alone.

Then came Edena, and with her, the Moonlords...

(More coming up)

Leliel
2008-02-02, 12:34 PM
Hold on...I need to refine the last part of his backstory.