About Professor AristedesProfessor Ahkenaten Unsu Aristedes
__________________________________________________________________________ Campaign Trait- Mummy-Cursed: One of your ancestors ran afoul of a mummy’s curse while exploring an ancient tomb. This curse was passed down to later generations of your family, but over time, your line has become more resistant to curses. You’ve come to Wati to explore its untouched necropolis, and while you hope you won’t have to face a real undead mummy, at least you have some defense if you do. You gain a +2 trait bonus on saving throws against curses and curse effects (including mummy rot and spells with the curse descriptor) and a +2 trait bonus on saving throws against a mummy’s aura of despair. __________________________________________________________________________ Background- Professor Ahkenaten Unsu Aristedes was a middle-aged, respected professor at the Kitharodian Academy in Oppara; he taught young students about the history of the lower inner sea region; the continent known as Garund. His particular focus was on Osirion and he spoke the language; both modern and ancient. He was also known to be quite a dilettante enchanter; he only had a few spells mastered but there were few among his students who could resist the darkly charismatic professor's tricks. Well liked and making a tidy income in the capital, the Professor sported a proud beard and was known to be a member of a proud and old family; the Aristedes. The fact that the Aristedes had once, long ago, made their fortune in expeditions to Osirion plundering tombs was well concealed and known only to the family and those who pried hard enough into the family's background- usually quietly paid off by Ahkenaten's family. What was not known, even to those who questioned the family's sudden source of wealth those hundreds of years ago and their rapid acceptance into nobility, was that the whole family still suffered from a mummy's curse; a powerful one that had endured through the centuries, albeit weakening just a little in power every few generations. Always, it was the males of the family that were affected. It was the family's dark secret, and the reason that past middle age, the men of the family were usually seldom seen in public; if at all. They became akin to Spymaster's; acting only through agents or remotely, if not quietly phased out of the family's activities. The nature of the curse was quite debilitating- and once a male of the family had succumbed to it, it would resurge rapidly, even if magic was used to remove it. It usually started in the late twenties- tiny patches of flesh would necrotize, while not killing the sufferer it would be visually displeasing as it spread. Symptoms varied; as did the speed of the curse's spread. Ahkenaten's great grandfather was said to have lived for over thirty years with the curse; although he had also squandered much of the family's riches on desperate attempts to cure it through magical means. Nothing worked for long. It seemed the bloodline was tainted. The end result was always the same; a full transformation into a foul Ghoul upon a painful death. Ahkenaten was the first of the bloodline in which the curse had manifested itself in a different way entirely. While his flesh had been left unmarked, the curse seemed to act as some kind of crude defence against magic; any magic at all, in fact. His own body had fought off the undead transformation; but still the curse lingered in the very blood flowing through his veins. It would resist curative magic in the same manner as it would try to resist evocation, transmutation; essentially any school of magic at all. Ahkenaten's relief as he progressed into his thirties was palpable- the curse showed no signs of ever emerging in him and he sought himself some independence from his overbearing, controlling family. What he earnt as a Professor paled to his brothers and cousins going into the family business (imports and exports of rare antiquities) but he was content and satisfied with the way his life was going as he neared 40. Like with so many adventurer's, fate suddenly dealt him a cruel hand. A servant of the family witnessed a foul transformation after Ahkenaten's uncle fell down the stairs in the family home; his demise was sudden compared to the usual process and the family had no time to cover up what the servant saw; a scion of the house of Aristedes transforming into an undead before his very eyes. The servant fled- was followed into a crowded street; and was devoured in plain sight of hundreds of witnesses. Somewhat detached from his family, Ahkenaten had enough warning upon hearing of the incident to swiftly flee the city; but he did not leave before a messenger from his father found him. This messenger first informed Ahkenaten of what had become of the rest of his family. The Grand Prince Stavian the 3rd had declared the entire Aristedes family accursed and they were quarantined inside their grand mansion. The family had once been popular and were favored by many before the shocking incident- so the Grand Prince was quietly persuaded to be merciful. Servants were assigned to quietly provide small comforts to the family inside the sealed mansion that was once their favored family home. They had food and drink brought to them through a small delivery hole, as well as newspapers and other small items; but this comfort was clearly meant to simply let them eventually wallow in quarantine until all within had succumbed to the curse; or been slain by one of the family who had. Once they had lived out their natural lifespan, the sealed house would be purged of the Undead and then be reassigned to the state. The messenger relayed his father's wishes- and warned that more would follow; whether by magical sending or by more mundane means. The Aristedes had no intention of dying quietly in their grand home- and Ahkenaten was obligated, as their only family member not in custody, to attempt to break the ancient curse. His father was convinced the origins of the curse; and thus the key to truly breaking it forever- had its roots in Ancient Osirion. The half-dead city of Wati was the first place that held any promise for tomb exploration and Ahkenaten's notes on his family's past led him to believe that clues might lie there, if not the cure itself. Ahkenaten has no access to his family's resources, but his family will no doubt continue to make requests of him. He sold his possessions swiftly and garbed himself as an adventurer; armour, shield, a crossbow. Never an especially strong individual, Ahkenaten struggled with the physical weight of his possessions but persevered. His motivation to break the curse stems from his sense of family ties, obligation, guilt that he is the only one to not be sentenced to a horrific death; as well as a latent, grim fascination with the workings of an undead mind that he has only just begun to develop. Very incapable physically, the astute Professor soon realised he would need others to accompany him in these tomb raids; their skills to complement his own. His grasp of enchantment was extremely circumstantial, until he could find a way to apply his magic to the undead somehow. He knew the affinity of his curse had allowed others of his bloodline to do so, decades ago. His father always said that he reminded him of his own grandfather, a powerful enchanter. __________________________________________________________________________ Advancement Notes- Potentially Prc into Loremaster? Necromancy Spell Shortlist- Blindness/Deafness Death Knell (Witch spell list, Level 2) False Life (Level 2). Command Undead (Level 2). Spectral Hand (Level 2). Vampiric Touch (Only if Spectral Hand, Level 3) Boneshatter (Level 4)- incredibly thematic. Greater False Life (Level 4). Fear- Ticks all the boxes. Better DC's through class ability, is Mind-Affecting and can be used on Undead with Haunted Eyes. Compulsary. |
|
