Hosadus
by James MishlerAnd here, for those interested at home, is the quick almanac version of my campaign's "Hosadus"...
Hosadus. Master of Great Hule, King of Kings of the Nine Realms. Hosadus is actually Zhigros Khasar, an ancient Taymoran Mummy whose power is only slightly short of that of the Exalted. He is an ancient disciple of Thanatos and now a prospective Immortal under the Patronage of Loki. He ruled the ancient Taymoran city of Khasramun from 2800 through 2128 BC, and was deposed and Mummified after turning from the way of Nyx and the Eternal Emperor and becoming a follower of Thanatos. He was released from his magical prison in 572 AC on the Isle of Ierendi, where he attempted to recreate his kingdom. His kingdom fell and he was nearly destroyed after an invasion by Thyatis in 586 AC, and he was shortly thereafter recruited by Loki to act as the "reincarnated" Hosadus, and rule the empire of Great Hule. He has done so for over four centuries now, and has waxed greatly in power, personally and politically. He is well along the way to completing the Path of the Destroyer in order to reach Immortality in the Sphere of Death. He will let no one and nothing get in his way, but having lived more than a dozen dozen lifetimes he is more than willing to take a long-term approach to his quest.
The Master has two forms... his true, ancient body, which now acts as little more than a phylactery for what passes as his soul; and his Avatar, his chosen form, a Nosferatu created by Loki which the Master Magic Jarred into (the form of a Nosferatu was chosen over that of a Vampire due to the necessities of running a mortal kingdom). Should his true form be destroyed the Avatar would immediately disintegrate into stinking, rotting goo. If the Avatar is killed (extremely difficult to accomplish), the True Body will awaken and he will seek to destroy those who killed his Avatar. NOTE: The Master has never truly fully explored his "modern" undead nature as such; he did so for hundreds of years long ages ago during the height of Taymor, and now revels in his current form of quasi-life. He will never overtly use his more spectacular Nosferatu powers unless hard- pressed. He does, however, have his own secret dedicated cult following of Nosferatu, which he uses as a spy and assassin ring throughout the Savage Coast and Known World. The rumours circulating Darokin that the Master imbibes the blood of babes are also, unfortunately, quite true...
Avatar of the Master
Hair: Black. Eyes: Brown. Height: 6'3". Dusky-skinned; wears black
cloak, robes, and ceremonial armour. Combat Notes: AL CE; AC - - 3
(+3 or better magic weapon needed to hit); MV 18; Ancient Nosferatu
C28; hp 96; THAC0 9; #AT 1 bite or war hammer or spell or special;
Dmg 1d4 or 1d4+4 or by spell or special; Save C28; S19 D18 C18 I18
W18 C18; ML16. Possesses all the abilities of an Ancient Nosferatu.
Regenerates 4 hit points per round. Magical Items (at hand): plate
mail +5, war hammer +3/+5 vs. lawful good, ring of spell turning,
amulet of finding, house of Zebulon. He has the treasury of an
empire from which to draw any number of scrolls and other minor
magical items he may wish to use.
True Body of the Master
Hair: None. Eyes: Rotted out. Height: 5'7". Badly-scarred mummified
body with tattered bandages. Combat Notes: AL CE; AC -4 (+3 or
better magic weapons needed to hit; only takes damage from the
magical bonus of weapons unless Taymoran in origin; immune to cold
and electricity, resistant to fire); MV 15; Taymoran Mummy (RL
Eminent- rank Vampire & Fifth-rank Ancient Undead) C28; hp 50
(permanently wounded in past battles); THAC0 7; #AT 1 claw or spell
or special; Dmg 3d8 + 2 levels + Disease or spell or special; Save
C28; S20 D10 C10 I13 W18 C1; ML20. Possesses all the abilities of
an Eminent-rank Vampire AND a fifth-rank Ancient Dead! His touch
causes 3d8 damage in addition to a double life- level drain AND a
special form of mummy-rot. This mummy-rot causes the afflicted to
lose 1 point EACH of Strength, Constitution and Charisma every HOUR
until DEAD; only a cure disease spell cast by a 14th level or
greater cleric can cure the rot! Afflicted characters will be in
convulsions from the moment of onset, which imposes a -2 penalty to
all actions and makes natural healing, spellcasting and spell
memorisation impossible. When a character dies of this rot, he will
rise again after three nights as a Bhut under the Master's control.
Those slain through life-level drain are immediately returned to
unlife as Ju-ju Zombies.