Master Pizentios (CBN)

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Master Pizentios of the Ghoul's Skin, Shadowmaster
11th-level Human Necromancer (Archetype)
Str: 15
Dex: 11
Con: 15
Int: 18
Wis: 16
Cha: 10
Armor Class: 1 (with spirit armor) or 7
THAC0: 17
Movement: 12
Hit Points: 58 (including Ifrit's hit points) or 40
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Dark Gifts: Enhanced night vision (and wizard sight (TOM)), turn/command undead as 6th-level cleric.
Special Attacks: By spell or magical item; opponents save at –1 against his necromantic spells.
Special Defenses: Telepathic link with Ifrit, Ifrit's ability to regenerate (1 hp/round), and Ifrit's 25% magic resistance.
Saving Throws: PPDM 11; RSW 7; PP 9; BW 11; S 8.
+3 on all saves (magic robes), +1 bonus on saves against necromantic attacks, +2 magical attack adj. (Wisdom).
Size: 5'6”
WP: scimitar, staff. NWP: ancient languages (Kadari, 18), ancient history (17), brewing (18), herbalism (16), necrology (16), netherworld knowledge (14), reading/writing (19), religion (16), spellcraft (16), spirit lore (6), venom handling (14).
Spells: corpse visage (WH), corpse link, chill touch, grease, magic missile; choke (WH), spectral hand, stinking cloud, vocalize (WH), web; blink, dispel magic, non-detection, spirit armor (TOM), vampiric touch; Beltyn's burning blood (FOR), dimension door, minor globe of invulnerability, polymorph self; animate dead, cloudkill, summon shadow, wall of bones (WH).
Equipment: shadowblade scimitar, staff of skulls (20 ch.), robes of protection +3, gold signet ring (150 gp, engraved with the wheel symbol of the Necromancer Kings), heavy black robes imbued with deeppockets, filled with miscellaneous spell components, adventuring gear, 14 garnets (500 gp each), three pots of ghast salve, potions of vitality, gaseous form, and undead control, scroll of wizard spells (cast at 11th level): chill touch, vampiric touch, mummy touch (FOR), and animate dead, a protection from fire scroll, and four packets of dust of coagulation (TOM).
Appearance: Pizentios's most distinguishing feature is his clammy blue-gray skin. His fingernails and lips are an even darker shade of blue, lending him the appearance of a fresh corpse. When he smiles, his blue-black gums contrast hideously with his pearl white teeth. Pizentios is otherwise a dumpy, short, middle-aged man with a protruding round belly. Most of his hair has fallen out, leaving him partially bald, except for a thin fuzzy band of whitish strands clustered above his ears and around the back of his head. He has intense, dark eyes and a cold, emotionless voice that sends shivers up the spines of weak-hearted listeners.
Background: Pizentios was hand-picked as an apprentice by the infamous necromancer Nebt Bhakau. When Pizentios was a youth, Bhakau sent him to explore Sahu and learn the secrets of the Necromancer Kings. Before Pizentios could return, however, he learned of his master's imprisonment and demise. Fearing a similar fate should he return, Pizentios remained on Sahu.
One day, Pizentios encountered a group of ghouls and joined their pack by using ghast salve. The ghouls led him to the Garden of Eternity, where he met the imprisoned Vermissa (see her NPC sheet). The lich had once been Bhakau's patron, and she embraced Pizentios as an exiled son. The necromancer swore an oath of fealty to Vermissa and her evil god, Thasmudyan, gaining the ability to perceive hidden auras (enhanced vision) and command undead. Pizentios also gained the service of an infernal familiar, Ifrit.
Ifrit is an unusual imp. Although he can take any of the normal forms, his preferred shape is that of a man-sized shadow, with tiny horns and vestigial wings. In this form, he is 90% undetectable in shadowy surroundings and completely invisible in deep shadows (or darkness). Unlike an undead shadow, however, Ifrit is not harmed or deterred by light. The fiend delights in terrorizing Pizentios' apprentices, and requires one blood sacrifice per week to assure his loyalty. If so appeased, the imp follows his master's orders obediently.
Pizentios was too young and inexperienced to contain the new powers bestowed on him. The initiation nearly killed him, leaving him hideously disfigured. Pizentios recovered and founded a small school for necromancers outside the entrance of Vermissa's Garden. He is currently training new skilled followers for her cult. These apprentices naturally have no idea of what transpires in Pizentios's “secret garden.”
Role-Playing Notes: Pizentios is smug and arrogant, confident in the knowledge that he is Vermissa's favorite pet. His power has grown considerably in the past few years, and he yearns to learn all of his former master's great secrets. In many ways, he is like a spoiled child who has been given too much, too soon. No matter how much he learns or gains, he always wants more. This insatiable ambition, combined with his genius intellect, makes Pizentios a deadly opponent.
In battle, he will first surround himself in a wall of bones, and then summon shadows to distract his enemy. He will next prepare minor globe of invulnerability and spirit armor as quickly as possible. Depending upon the wind conditions, he will hit his foes with cloudkill or Beltyn's burning blood (his favorites). Should he be pressed into melee, he can fight with either his shadowblade or his enchanted staff. Finally, if an encounter goes poorly, he will call in Ifrit for a distraction and either dimension door himself away or polymorph into a gargoyle to escape.