Cleric of Iuz

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

dmstue

Mar 08, 2005 4:14:30
Hello Folks,

Myself and a friend are making a guest appearance at another DM's game as Evil NPC's trying to capture the party.

He has already rolled up a 12th Lvl assassin and I want to roll up a 12th Lvl Cleric of Iuz.

Unfortunately I have no idea how to go about making him look and feel like a Cleric of Iuz. I have read the small section on Iuz in the back of the LG Gazetteer so I know which Domains to choose from, but I want to know more about Iuzso that I can really ham him up.

Whilst I think about it your thoughts on the following would be appreciated .... we will be coming up against 5 10th Lvl Characters, are two 12th lvl characters going to be too much for them?

We have a roving brief and will be striking from ambush which means that the assassin and my cleric will be buffed with spells. My aim is to really make the players hate my character, to set him up as a long standing villain, any ideas on how to do that would be great too...

Many thanks

DMS
#2

crag

Mar 08, 2005 16:13:04
Iuz is the Demi-god of Pain, Deceit and Oppression so his priests are not nice people, think of his priesthood as a shark tank at feeding time.

Tend to be four types:
Sychophant: He survived the priesthood by being "useful or yes man" to superiors but the tension and brutalization has left psychological damage.
Psychopathic: These simply enjoy killing and inflicting pain they revel in combat, used mostly as frontline priest advisors or commanders to keep the less motivated troops in line.
Sociopath: These are mostly the brains of the priesthood, cold blooded and driven to succeed this type has no moral qualms about their actions provided it brings them more position, they are the planners and plotters seldom doing anything rash.
Bullies: For lack of the better phrase, these are the bulk of the members, simply they don't acknowledge there weakness like the Sychophant, nor are they blood-crazed revelers like the Psychopaths or developed the intellect of the Sociopath, the bully simply sees the priesthood as a means of power and a position too indulge his sadistic instincts by tormenting his inferiors within and without the priesthood.

Whatever you choose to do make it memberable, flaws are good, quirks something unique...They needn't be horrible or detrimental, only noticeable, making your character stand out in the other player's minds, like he hates the color red, and with the blood flowing in his priesthood, it was amusing the things he would do to keep clean and avoid staining his clothing. He'd often even carry several cloaks with him, just in case one became spattered, and I swear he spent a great deal of time in clothing shops in every hamlet and village we went through, always having special outfits made to order or minor vows (he swears he will never eat fish) to compulsive disorders (he was constantly humming during combat). Anything you can imagine may be used as a quirk. Assuming a "He" but it can easily be a "She".

Remember Iuz priest are essentially cowards, they aren't going too die for any cause, if they can help it, great believers in fighting another day.

Most priest wear black robes and holy symbol however this is not suicidal if outside Iuz empire they will be disguised (deceit remember).

A juicy tidbit, Iuz priest get praise from the order for bring back the severed heads of opponents or better yet the entire corpse, so your priest would plan his ambush hopefully too preserve his "trophies" assuming the party is good alignment...did I mention not nice people.

have fun
#3

Amaril

Mar 08, 2005 16:23:11
This is actually covered in Dragon #294.

http://paizo.com/dragon/products/issues/2002/v5748btpy72w7
#4

scoti_garbidis

Mar 09, 2005 9:40:44
This is actually covered in Dragon #294.

This issue makes mention of a group known as "The Boneshadow" has any stats or NPC information been released for this group or even "The Boneheart" for that matter.

Thanks ahead of time for everyone's answers. :D
#5

Amaril

Mar 09, 2005 10:14:54
Maybe in Iuz the Evil?
#6

crag

Mar 09, 2005 11:13:32
The Boneheart is a cabal of spellcasters in the service of Iuz. Together, they are some of the best villians within GH. The stats for them were originally set forth in Carl Sargent's accessory "Iuz the Evil".

There are two levels to the Boneheart - Greater and Lesser (6 each). These individuals rule over portions of Iuz's new territory, though some divide their time between their newly granted lands and Dorakaa.

Their membership and location at the end of the Greyhawk Wars:

The Greater Boneheart consists of:
Althea, 18th level Priestess, rules Horned Lands
Halga, 18th level Priestess, rules the part of the Vesve that Iuz conquered
Null, 18th level Mage, Iuz's primary magical experimenter
Jumper, 18th level Illusionist, rules the Barren Plains and Bluff Hills
Kermin Mind-Bender, 18th level Mage, Iuz's primary trainer of wizards
The last slot in the Greater Boneheart is unfilled, one of the Lesser Boneheart is likely to be promoted into the vacant position

The Lesser Boneheart is:
Cranzer, 14th level Mage, rules Riftcrag
Marynnek, 13th level Priest, rules Molag
Maskaleyne, 12th level Mage-Vampire, rules Grabford
Panshazek, 14th level Priest, commands the Vesve armies from Izen
Vayne, 16th level Mage, rules the Shield Lands (recently demoted from Greater Boneheart)
Xenvelen, 14th level Priest, rules Crockport

After the Flight of Fiends and the Great Northern Crusade, some of these positions and rulerships were changed.

In the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, some had their levels raised, or were moved:
Maskaleyne, 12th level Mage-Vampire, rules western horned lands from Delaquenn
Xenvelen, 14th level Priest, no mention (assume recalled to Dorakaa)
The "wildly insane" Earl Aundurach, a 13th level priest, has been added to the Lesser Boneheart as the ruler of the Tangles.

The Boneshadow is a collection of six individuals of varying races that serve Iuz as master spies and agents in foreign lands. These individuals were only sketchily described in Iuz the Evil, and include:
Lord Ombi - Dwarven 11 lvl Fighter
Keak - Grey Elf 9/12 lvl Fighter/Mage
Gleed - Gnome 10/10 lvl Thief/Illusionist
Sunifarel Brightrobe - Half-Elf 13 lvl Mage
Griswald Hairhand - Halfling 15 lvl Thief
Lord Dorag - Human 15 lvl Fighter

Boneshadow members are quite powerful characters and they operate alone collecting political, military and economic information in the lands where they reside awaiting an assignment. When the command comes from Iuz to kidnap, sabotage, kill, or travel to a new location they are ready.

At any rate, this collection of NPCs are major level opponents for any Greyhawk campaign player and should be treated with utmost caution by player and GM alike.