Fantasy NPC: Sir Genserik, The Queen's Guard

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Sir Genserik, The Queen's Guard

A middle-aged man in the attire of a royal guardsman, his moustache slowly greying on his tired and somewhat absent face.

CR 10; 9,600 XP

LN Medium Undead (incorporeal)

Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13

Defense
AC 24, touch 16, flat-footed 21 (+8 armor, +3 deflection, +3 Dex)

hp 114 (12d10+48)
Fort +14, Ref +10, Will +10

Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, incorporeal, rejuvenation; Immune undead

Offense
Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)

Melee spectral halberd +17 (10d6 plus push, pull, or reposition, 5 ft, Fort DC 21 for half damage and no forced movement)

Special Attacks whirling halberd

Statistics
Str —, Dex 16, Con —, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 17

Base Atk +12; CMB +15; CMD 28
Feats Ability Focus (Whirling Halberd), Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lunge, Toughness

Skills Fly +26, Knowledge (nobility) +12, Perception +13

Language Common, Duc

SQ spectral armament, telekinetic manipulation

Notable Gear +2 halberd, +2 breastplate, cape of resistance +3 (the real items that were the template for their spectral copies are sunk in the moat together with sir Genserik's long-dead body)

Spectral Armament (Su) While all the elements of sir Genserik's gear are really merely an extension of his ghostly body, on any superficial observation and even a passing contact they seem and feel to be normal, if high-quality, well-maintained, and likely moderately magical pieces of equipment. Only those who carefully observe sir Genserik and have a reason to be suspicious, or engage in deliberate physical contact extending beyond accidentally bumping into him may attempt a Will saving throw (DC 24) to see past the illusory mundanity hiding his current state. The saving throw DC is Charisma-based and includes +5 racial bonus.

Telekinetic Manipulation (Su) Despite being immaterial ghost, sir Genserik can unconsciously manipulate his surroundings to a limited degree, opening and closing doors, chests and windows, lighting and extinguishing candles, and carrying small objects (though never more than one or a handful of small trinkets that could be held with a single hand) when asked to.

Whirling Halberd (Su) Sir Genserik can make an incorporeal touch attack with his spectral halberd against single opponent as a standard action or an attack of opportunity. Alternatively, as a full-round action, he can make an attack against each opponent in his reach as if using Whirlwind Attack feat. Anyone struck by sir Genserik's spectral halberd can halve the damage with a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 19). Sir Genserik can choose to push away, pull, or reposition anyone who failed that saving throw, forcing each of them to move 5 feet in direction of his choice. The saving throw DC of this psychokinetic ability is Charisma-based.

Sir Genserik was a trusted and loyal guardian of the late Queen, and it is an open secret that her untimely death had struck him deeply—turning him morose and far more more silent and distant than he was before. Some courtiers even noted in private that he seems to vanish without trace whenever he is not fulfilling his duties. The fact that the mournful Prince-Consort seems to hate his guts—never speaking to him directly to the point of avoiding contact whenever remotely possible, certainly does him no favors. While everyone knows it is unfair to blame the faithful warrior for not preventing the Queen's accidental death—it was not on his watch when she fell out of her own chamber's window, after all—few are willing to speak in his defense, afraid to join him in unjustified disgrace.

The truth is, that sir Genserik could not prevent his beloved Queen's death because he was already dead when her husband pushed her out of her tower—killed by the Prince-Consort an hour or so earlier, when he adamantly refused to reveal the identity of the Queen's lover, ignoring threats, pleas, and bargains the wronged husband offered—while his steadfast denial was dictated by his undying loyalty to the Queen, he really didn't know, or didn't care. His murdered threw his corpse into moat afterwards, where the remains of his skeleton and his attire remain hidden to this day.

He doesn't know that he is dead—he remember nothing of that night, which brings him even more pain and regret, feeling that he slept soundly through the death of the one person he was sworn to protect, his Queen. He mistook the look of terror that appeared on the Prince-Consort's face when he saw him on the next day for condemnation for not being there to save her—a feeling that gnaws at his cold heart since then. He feels shame for his self-perceived failure, his mind stuck at reimaging whatever he could do, fantasizing how he might save her, if he only was there. He has no inkling that she was murdered, though, the last moments of his own life that would made blatantly clear what followed are forever hidden from him.

The Prince-Consort doesn't really understand what happened either—he does recall  his futile attempts to get the answers from sir Genserik, killing him, and dumping his body into moat, but when he saw him the next morning he started to question his own senses, not sure if that murder was something that actually happened, a wrathful fantasy of a frenzied mind, a bout of madness, or a cruel joke of some dark power... He keeps avoiding sir Genserik because he doesn't want to think of what happened, nor does want to face what he thinks might be a sign of going mad.