The Blood Lord
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The Blood Lord, also known as the Sangorlair,
is a vampire variant, created by powerful magic which binds the creature more
tightly to the negative energy plane. This creature is truly horrible.
The first Blood Lord was created by the lich,
Lord Zanatose Everhate, when he infected an attacking enemy with a powerful
artifact which replaced the attacker's heart. This attacker, named Hannible
Holmes, succumbed to the destructive energy of the Sangorlair's Heart and lost
all hope when the lich crushed his real, ice crusted heart, beneath a iron
soled boot.
The heart connected the newly created vampire
lord's soul to an object called a Totem. This structure which floats in the
negative energy plane protects the vampire's life force and provides that extra
power which fuel's it's abilities. Similar to a lich's phylactery, it is the
Blood Lord's main weakness, but remains largely an obscure fact about the creature
and only the most dedicated hunter or necromancer would know of such magic.
The Blood Lord is the lord of all normal
vampires because of it's enhanced supernatural abilities and it's ability to
control it's lesser kin. Many will be found to lead entire clans of such
creatures and others will be likely to become solitary creatures wanting only
to search for the perfect thrill or the most powerful of magic. Despite it's
enhanced abilities, the Blood Lord actually requires less blood than a normal
vampire does, but must feed from the blood of it's own spawn in order to
survive. Normal blood does provide a good substitute if the Blood Lord can find
a large enough source, but their decrepit spirit craves the blood of it's lower
kin, as it is stronger in magic. A Blood Lord who does not feed on the blood of
other vampires will find their body becoming insubstantial as they lose the
magic which holds their form on the Prime Material Plane. Blood Lords who do
not feed and completely dissipate return to their totem on the Negative Energy
Plane and become imprisoned in the magical spire/statue until someone sets them
free.
Blood Lords appear as they did in life, with
the exception that they are more feral in appearance, as if in a rage
constantly, their eyes are always like molten rubies with faces of pale angles
and planes. Despite their wild looking nature, they are a commanding creature,
full of charisma and even some semblance of the former life they used to live.
When they feel like performing such actions that is.
Creating a Blood Lord
"Blood Lord" is a template which can
be added to any humanoid creature type (referred to hereafter as the "base
creature"). It uses all of the base creatures statistics and base
abilities except as noted here.
Hit Dice: Increase to d12
Special Attacks: A Blood Lord retains all the
special attacks of the base creature and also gains the abilities described
below.
Slam Attack (Ex): If they don't already have
some unarmed attack, the Blood Lord gains 2 slam attacks a round with it's
hands at +20 melee.
Mass Charm (Sp): At will, a vampire can force
all those living beings within 60 ft. of it to roll a will saving throw (DC =
10 + half blood lord's hit dice + Chr modifier) or become enamored with the
creature, doing as it wishes as long as that wish doesn't mean the charmed
individual's death. This effect mimics the Charm Monster spell in duration and
when it comes to what it can effect.
Energy Drain (Sp): Like it's lesser kin, the
Blood Lord can bestow 2d4 negative levels on any creature which it strikes with
a bare part of it's body. Such levels can be regained 24 hours later with a
successful fortitude save per level lost (DC = 10 + Half Blood Lord's Hit Dice
+ Wis modifier). A failure means the victim has permanently lost that level.
Commanding Aura (Sp): At will, The Blood Lord
can attempt to control any undead which does not exceed it's own hit dice that
come within 30 ft. of it and can be seen by the undead lord. This works similar
to the evil cleric's control undead abilities but involves negative energy
granted to the blood lord through it's own connection with the plane and is not
granted by a divine source.
Special Qualities: The Blood Lord retains all
the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the undead qualities
below.
Fast Healing (Ex): The Blood Lord heals 8 hit
points per round as long as it is not being exposed to direct sunlight or
spells involving positive energy. Damage from positive energy spells are not
healed back and must be healed using negative energy.
Damage Reduction (Ex): A Blood Lord has a
damage reduction of 20/+3.
Turn Resistance: A Blood Lord has a hefty turn
resistance of +4
Spell Resistance: A Blood Lord has spell
resistance equal to 10 + half the blood lord's hit dice.
Spawn (Su): Any and all humanoid victims who
are killed by a Blood Lord animate 1d4 days later if buried as a vampire of the
normal type under control of the Blood Lord which created them.
Alternate Form (Su): The Blood Lord can adopt
a number of animal forms which they can take at will. The number of forms is
equal to the undead creature's Charisma modifier. These forms must be
associated with death or the undead in some way (Raven, Rat, Wolf, and Bat are
a few examples). The Blood Lord can take his or her animal forms once per night
per point of wisdom modifier. Changing back and forth from one form to another
is a full round action during which the undead must concentrate completely on
the magic warping his or her body and cannot take any other action other than
trying to defend themselves (but not attacking). Changing back to their
humanoid form does not count against their number of transformations per night.
from their opponents. (Hannible has a Wisdom of 22 and has a +6 modifier. That
would allow him to pick 6 animal forms associated with death which he can
transform into 6 times per night.)
Undead: The Blood Lord is immune to all mind
influencing effects, poison, paralysis, stunning, and disease. Not subject to
critical hits, energy drain, subdual damage, ability damage, or death from
massive damage.
Abilities: A Blood Lord gains +2 to it's Chr,
+6 to it's Str and +4 to it's Dex score when created.
Climate/Terrain: Any
Organization: Solitary or Clan (Blood Lord +
1d20 lesser vampires)
Challenge Rating: Base creature +8
Alignment: Always evil
Advancement: by character class
Creating a Totem: This large statue is created
by the creator of the Blood Lord in order to trap the vampire's soul in it and
to set it afloat in the negative energy plane. They can appear as anything,
from a saintly statue of a pious cleric to a horrid mass of tortured faces. All
Totems have a hardness of 100 and have hit points equal to the blood lord's x
three. It takes materials costing about 2,000,000 gps to create a totem and a
number of XP equaling the blood lord's hit dice x 100 to enchant it with the
necessary magic. The creator must have the Create Wondrous Item feat.