I'd like him to be Darl Quethos. Or, for Darl to be the "real" Faceless One, with the earlier a simulacrum. So maybe Darl could be a mystic theurge instead of a straight cleric? And be faceless (explaining why he wears that silly hood all the time)?Actually this is what I am gonna do.
COOL!
I really really like the idea of the Faceless One being a simulacrum. Perhaps that snow/ice he's formed from came from the Black Pool. What side effects might occur from the mixing of arcane magic with eldritch power? Perhaps some sort of wraith or spectre might arise from the pool later on with some vestige of the Faceless One's memory.
It would be a great one-off adventure to run after your Age of Worms campaign is long over with. Just for the nostalgia.
I heavily modified this adventure for my Eberron AoW campaign. I mostly redesigned the entire dungeon, making in slightly more linear, but larger, and updating it for my 5th level party. The cave complex of the grimlocks (now dolgaunts) was the first section from the mines, which then led to an underground gatehouse into the Hextorite halls (now a detachment of Emerald Claw soldiers)
The Faceless One was a disciple of Erandis d'Vol, so the kenkus were replaced with a pack of Hooded Pupil rogues and adepts (from Libris Mortis). I remapped the dungeon to include a network of drains and grooves that included a powerful necromantic effect I called exsanguination - essentially, any living creature bleeding out in the Dark Cathedral would do so twice as fast, and afterwards the blood would be magically pulled from their body, through the drainage system, and collect into the pool, which was now the Faceless One's chamber - essentially the Vecna wing was reversed. My party was quite alarmed as all the blood of Emerald Claw soldiers began to sink away though...
When they encountered the Faceless One, his ritual at the blood pool had been completed (they still don't know this) The only remaining component is to place a recently dead body in the pool, and allow it time to absorb the blood's ebon energy. Of course... this was the Faceless One. Instead of having the Ebon Aspect arise, the Faceless One was boosted up to more of a climatic encounter. He was made into an 8th level Master Specialist Conjurer - with that stupid Abrupt Jaunt alternate ability.
Shortly after the Diamond Lake garrison used explosives to seal the Dark Cathedral forever, the Faceless One is reborn and emerges from the pool as a short of shade/ half-fiend - achieving the "divinity within" goals of the Cult of Vol. With his followers dead, his only recourse is to take the passages left by the dolgaunt into the Underdark of Khyber. When the PCs explore the Tomb of Isociol, they'll find the new, more powerful Faceless One instead of Moreto - along with a few nasty new allies of his.
If I decide to give him one more appearance, he'll become a lichfiend and replace Darl later.
If you're going to use the simulacrum version of the Faceless One I thing an ideal place to have the real deal pop up is in the Prince of Redhand. Ilthane's Lair makes a good spot and is less obvious than the Well of Triptych Knowledge. Perhaps the true Faceless One is in league with Ilthane's brood to plunder her hoard. Or maybe he's made an ally of the acidwraith. Perhaps he's learned the truth behind the Ebon Triad and has thrown his lot in with Lashonna.
So many choices. So few PCs to kill off...uhh...I mean challenge.
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Why is his face blank and featureless?
Too much daytime TV?
Why is he a skinny toothless albino?
He's not an albino, he just spends too much time in his bedroom, with the curtains drawn, listening to emo music, and feeling 'misunderstood'.
And he doesn't brush between meals.Considering the dungeon is full of other freaks, why does he wear this mask?
So you, the DM, can have fun, by dressing up lots of mooks and prisoners as decoys, and messing with the PC's heads?
The Faceless One is way too interesting to be killed off in one encounter!
I've already posted about him in another forum post, but what the heck...
He escaped the black cathedral by a dimension door just before getting killed by the players, who got overwhelmed by zombies, cultists and worse during the ritual. In the end the ebon aspect awakened and made them run for their lives... The ebon aspect made its way up and terrorised the town until slayed by the players (in Dourstone's manor moments before killing the dwarf).
EDIT: the reason why HE wasn't killed during the ritual is because he got a subsitute to sacrifice: Amariss, high priestess of the Boneyard cult! Had the players rescued her (they got a small chance which they blew!) then the Faceless One would have been consumed instead. So actually it's all the players fault. :-)
The Faceless One is masquerading als the Mayor in his mansion... Players have ignored hints and evidence that strange things are afoot in there. So when part 6 (Gathering of Winds) takes place, they are in for a nasty surprise!
I'm thinking of evolving him into a Worm That Walks as a climatic encounter late in the AP... having been granted near divine (epic encounter) power by Kyuss himself for his devotion and bringing about the Age of Worms...
EDIT2: I REALLY like the Darl Quethos idea as well... might add that into the campaign, adding continuity.
EDIT3: As an added detail; the miniature I'm using is the Unique Dr Doom from the Fantastic Forces expansion of Heroclix.
Why is his face blank and featureless? Why is he a skinny toothless albino?
Considering the dungeon is full of other freaks, why does he wear this mask?
Where did he come from? Did he ever have a name? Who is the man behind the mask?
Anybody come up with an interesting backstory?
If you check out the Monster Manual V (2007), there's something called a "god-blooded" template. The Vecna example sounds a LOT like TFO.