Set
by James Mishler(Patron of Unholy Revenge, Master of the Wastes, The Great Serpent, The Usurper, Lord of Snakes, Father of Treason)
D&D Characteristics
Game Statistics: Empyreal, Sphere of Entropy. 23rd level Immortal; AC -21; hp 420; HD 37; MV 150'(50'); #AT 3; D 3d6+8 (Punch) or 2d6+13 (Spear); AM 70%; Save IM23; AL C; Str 37, Int 70, Wis 33, Dex 70, Con 50, Cha 65. Powers: Control Undead, Groan (Hiss, actually), Poison Bite (or sting), Spit Poison. Weapons: /Spear +5 of Draining/.
Follower's Alignment: Chaotics and Neutrals. Clerics must be Chaotic.
Special Cleric Powers: At 1st level, Set's clerics can cast /Snake Charm/ once per day; they may use this ability twice a day at 4th level and three times a day at 7th level. This is a special power in addition to their normal complement of spells. They also possess the ability to /Speak with Snakes/, and may use this ability as often as desired. Both of these abilities also work with Scorpions, though the /Charm/ abilities can only be used on either Scorpions or Snakes, not both at once. Set's clerics can also use the regular /Snake Charm/ spell on either Snakes or Scorpions, but again, not both at once.
History: Set was a Necromancer-King of the ancient Empire of Taymor, and was one of the few to survive the destruction of that land. He went on to join forces with Thanatos, and became a Vampire, after which he eventually slew his brother, usurped his kingdom, and became a major force for chaos and evil during his reign. The Resurrected Orisis returned, however, and cast Set out of his kingdom. Set was later "slain" by his nephew, Horon Ausar (now the Immortal Ausar) in 1700 BC. Set was rescued by his allies and later went on to achieve Immortality under the tutelage of Thanatos. He was part and parcel of Thanatos and Ranivorus' plan to destroy the Nithian Empire, and has done his best to corrupt any descendants of the Nithian peoples.
Set continued to be active in the region of the old Nithian Empire, and was considered a Fiend by the early Alasiyani nomads; he still figures prominently in their folklore. He is revered by the Manacapuru of the Jungle Coast of Davania, and has been a major mover and shaker in the region to the south of that land, Arypt, where he helped in the downfall of the Aryptian Nithians centuries ago. He is currently most active in the Lost Valley of southern Davania (where lies Eskarnak, a successor state of Nithia that was founded by Eskar, another native Nithian Immortal) and on the Savage Coast, in Hule, where he is known as Ireyelan, the Patron of Traitors and Rebels (he is *NOT* well liked by the Hulean Hagiarchy, members of whom are often the target of his Order of Assassins). He is revered by the Snake Cult of the Temple of the Serpent in the cities of the fallen Milenian Empire and the Aryptian Kingdom. He has an active cult in the HW Nithian Empire, and various cells of Vampires throughout the Known World pay him homage.
Personality: Set is perhaps one of the most thoroughly EVIL Immortals of the Sphere of Entropy, and that says a lot (the only Immortal more purely evil is perhaps Demogorgon). He is much more the protege to Thanatos than Alphaks will ever be, as he is much more subtle and cunning. Still, he enjoys allowing his more bestial aspect out now and again, and he is not above corrupting a city or kingdom for the sheer pleasure of it. He allows no slight to himself or his temples to go unpunished. To his loyal followers, Set seems a "Father Figure"; a cruel, harsh father perhaps, but a father nonetheless. Set repays their devotion with a loyalty of his own, as he has learned in the past that loyal servants are to be valued; however, he will not hesitate to sacrifice them if necessary. This loyalty to his own is a strange dichotomy in the Father of Treason, but Set is not a simple or shallow being by any means.
Allies: Set has a few Immortal allies. Thanatos is one of the few Immortals who he will work with without the thought of treason, as Set still regards him to be an excellent teacher. He will often work with Ranivorus on various plots in the HW Nithian Empire. He and Loki worked together on the destruction of Elder Nithia, but haven't cooperated overly much since, and developments in Hule continue to drive a wedge between them. He gets along well with Masauwu, as they share a common goal in the corruption of mortals to Entropy. Sometimes he will work with Demogorgon, but usually their alliances fall apart, as neither truly trusts the other.
Enemies: Set's greatest enemy, of course, is Orisis, who was his brother in mortal life, but he isn't actively hunting Set or his minions down. He will eliminate them if they try to corrupt or interfere with his followers or projects, but not otherwise. Ausar, the Holy Avenger, the son of Orisis, is much more active in opposing Set, as is Eskar, the Holy Light, the descendant of Ausar and Orisis, also now an Immortal. Those two cause Set no end of trouble, and Set returns the favour tenfold. Rathanos and Pflarr also actively dislike Set and will oppose him as the opportunity permits, but they don't go out of their way to cause him grief as do Ausar and Eskar. He has an ongoing rivalry with Alphaks and Orcus, though as yet this hasn't spilled out of the region of the Savage Coast.
Appearance: Set most often appears as a tall, well figured, dusky skinned man with the head of a serpent. He favours the garb of the Pharaohs of the ancient Nithian Empire, wearing it mostly in mockery of his brother and his followers (as Set himself was never actually a Pharaoh). Sometimes he will appear in his Human form with the head of an ass, or a jackal, in mockery of Pflarr. He also favours the form of an absolutely huge (20' long) scorpion, which is one of the forms best known to the Alasiyani nomads.
Symbol: A coiled serpent; or a snake in a figure eight (infinity) swallowing it's own tail (Great Hule); or any one of a number of snake motifs.
Now, there are a fair number of adventure hooks here, as well. For
example, now we all have something to do with White Isle from GAZ4, otherwise
pretty unremarkable... eh? [Not that I left Ierendi that way (who did???), by
any means! IMC Ierendi is more like England taken straight from the Graham
Chapman movie "Yellowbeard", with Pirates and all] .What would happen in your
campaign if Set started shaking things up on the mainland? The Monks from
White Isle might well be the only force in position to know anything about
it! [IMC, White Isle is the centre of the Church of Ierendi, which reveres a
modern trinity of Orisis, Ausar and Eskar; it is also the centre of the
Silver Council, a union of Wizards who work for Good (sort of a Mystaran
Istari, only not Immortals like Gandalf and such; or would the Istari be
Exalted?)]. Of course, your players will think you're a little silly when you
have this odd priest start hanging around with them, until he's the only one
who can help them against the Minions of Set... heh, heh, heh...