Fantasy NPC: Baron Voohrsk, The Shadow Of A Vampire

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Baron Voohrsk, The Shadow Of A Vampire

A shadow silhouette creeps across the wall.

CR 11; 12,800 XP

LE Medium Undead (incorporeal)

Init +12; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense (whole castle); Perception +14

Defense
AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 10 (+6 deflection, +8 Dex, +1 dodge)

hp 126 (12d8+72); fast healing 5
Fort +10, Ref +12, Will +12

Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, incorporeal, shadow body; Immune undead

Weakness sunlight

Offense
Speed 40 ft.

Melee 2 shadow touches +17 incorporeal touch (6d6 plus 2d6 bleed)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks haunt dreams

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th, concentration +18)

At will—telekinesis (single target at a time)

Statistics
Str —, Dex 26, Con —, Int 17, Wis 15, Cha 23

Base Atk +9; CMB +17; CMD 37
Feats Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Defensive Combat Training, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will

Skills Diplomacy +18, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (arcana) +15, Knowledge (local) +15, Knowledge (nature) +15, Perception +14, Stealth +23

Language Common, Duc, Infernal, Sylvan

Haunt Dreams (Su) Baron Voohrsk can sense anyone sleeping within his castle, and can touch their dreams, sapping their vitality. He can focus on single creature at a time, dealing 1 point of Strength damage per hour of sleep. Creatures that are trained in lucid dreaming or are otherwise in control of their dreams can recognize what is happening (though they can't exactly identify the source of effect beyond it being channeled through the castle itself) and wake up after the first hour. Other creatures can make a Wisdom check after each hour (DC 15) to wake up and realize they feel weaker. Creatures that suffer total Strength damage equal to their Strength score die and become vampire spawn under baron's control. Protection from evil, death ward, thaumaturgic circle, and anything that would prevent nightmare or possession protects from the effect, as does resting within consecrated, hallowed, or an extradimensional space, such as rope trick or magnificent mansion.

Shadow Body (Su) Baron Voohrsk is a shadow. For all effects and purposes he can be treated as an incorporeal being, but unlike truly incorporeal beings he can't move through objects or fly. Instead, he slithers along any surfaces convenient to him, often weirdly distorted, ignoring difficult terrain, and can move around obstacles or slip through the smallest openings, lacking substance that he would need to squeeze through. When reduced to 0 hit points he dissolves into the walls of his castle and reforms after the next sunset somewhere in the crypts beneath. He can't leave the boundary of the castle, but he has little wish to do so anyway.

Sunlight Weakness Baron Voohrsk can be permanently destroyed by exposure to sunlight—losing a third of his hit points per full round, and being finally destroyed after the fourth round. It will be hard to achieve, though, because his insubstantial form is almost impossible to pin down or immobilize giving him plenty of opportunity to retreat from sunlight. Magical sunlight effects injury and hamper him as if he was a vampire.

Baron Voohrsk is a shadow of what he was. Literally. He was a strict and heartless man, obsessed with discipline and obedience in life, and became a real monster after (his first) death. His second death deprived him of most means of achieving his goals but did little to change his shriveled cold heart.

Even in life, he was obsessed by imposing his ideas of order and civilization on the wild lands he was granted as a fief—and as both the land itself and its denizens resisted him, he resorted to more cruel and ruthless methods. The slowness of the progress only made him dream of methods of extending his reign as he vowed that he will not rest until he sees the wild vale reshaped according to his will.

He made a deal with a dark fey mistress—the contender to the dryad queen that was a focal point of the opposition to his efforts, learning many secrets and gaining command over many of her servants in the process, but as the time passed, he recognized that his consort was merely playing war, enjoying the struggle itself instead of wanting to actually help him achieve his overarching goal. He killed her, tearing her heart out, and burned her body in their throne room. With her dying whisper she turned him into a vampire—though even he wasn't sure if it was to be a punishment, or reward for his action.

That transformation gave him all the time he though he would need to subjugate the land and its people. And he had a plenty of time, and now wielded more personal power than ever—allowing him to spread his (then still metaphorical) shadow even further from his castle. He ruled for over a century, but the tales of his cruelty and the signs of dark presence involved slowly cut the inflow of the settlers, and led many of his subjects to flee for brighter lands, perish from the many threats, or go native. Even as his reach extended to its farthest, his support dwindled until a group of murderous thugs (a party of adventurers, aligned with the druids and fey that formed the core of the opposition to the baron) reached him in the heart of his castle and put him down for good. His shadow remained behind, still bound by his vow, lingering in castle, now only inhabited by his monstrous minions—undead, evil fey, and more abominable things that came later.