Victor Valentin von Cicero

Art by Loarfy

> *"Victor Valentin von Cicero, former lord of Cicero Manor. I was born somewhere between five and seven hundred years ago, I think."*
>
>

> *"An immortal?"*
>
>

> *"No. Just an escapist of death."*
>
>

> -Victor von Cicero and Dr. Oshi
>
>

**Victor Valentin von Cicero** is a former member of the *Deadbeats* party. An enigmatic aristocrat from a bygone age, Victor von Cicero's immense knowledge and arcane skill made him too valuable to dispose of. Instead, this dangerous individual was confined within the most secure prison the XDF could devise for centuries. Victor was consulted during the Façade Murders some twenty year prior, an act that saw him enlisted once again by Logan Horn upon the supposed reemergence of the killer. Though under heavy surveillance, Victor von Cicero walks the earth once more, ready to drink in this new world and its occupants... He is played by JoeFudge.

## Description

### Appearance

Victor von Cicero takes the appearance of a tall slender Human man with deathly pale skin and straight shoulder-length black hair. His facial features are gaunt, with hollow cheeks, sunken black eyes and an angular face. When Victor bears his teeth, a set of elongated fangs can be seen, identical to that of other vampiric creatures.

Victor wears very fine clothing that matches the style he grew up with some 600 years ago. His suit consists of a dark green shirt and dark green trousers. His trousers are tucked into a pair of calf-high grey stockings which cover his feet along with a part of black boots tied with a green ribbon. A white frilled cravat hangs from his neck. Over this ensemble, he wears a ankle-length frock coat of the same green color, with dull golden patterns embroidered around the hem and white ruffles around the wrists. Victor also possesses a voluminous dark red cape that flows behind him.

When adopting his Form of Dread, Victor is transfigured into a horrific form. His skin becomes an ashen grey while his face becomes even more gaunt and ghoulish. His hair also goes grey and stands up on end, looking almost like mist flowing from his head. His eyes become pitch black and his fangs elongate past his lips. The most drastic change happens around his abdomen, which becomes hollow and glows with a pale blue light, illuminating the now exposed ribs. From this hollow, a horde of spectral grasping arms emerge, reaching out to consume whatever fear Victor might inspire. While in this form, Victor typically unbuttons his shirt fully to expose this cavity.

## History

### Early Life

Victor Valentin von Cicero was born into the noble house of Cicero about 400 years after the War of Shadows. His family hailed from the Prialor Region of Southern Ishtar, occupying a large estate called Cicero Manor. It is unknown if the Cicero family was beholden to the Kingdom of Brisbane or some other kingdom, but the family patriarch Lord von Cicero appeared to be a decorated military commander and much of the surrounding area paid tribute to him as their resident liege. Victor's early life was primarily spent within the manor, where he was educated in a manner befitting his noble status.

### Transformation

However, this quiet isolation would give way to horror and death that would mark the young Victor for the rest of his days. Much of the details surrounding this turn of events is unclear, especially in what led to them occurring in the first place. It appears that one of the catalysts behind this was the death of an older man in Lord von Cicero's chambers, his face frozen in terror. Whatever happened changed the fate of Victor forever, as that very same day his life ended, and his unlife began. Both Victor and his father became vampires, parasitic creatures with intimate connections to the Shadow Veil, both a place of torment and a wellspring for necromancy. However, unlike most vampires, who have an insatiable thirst for blood, Victor had a different hunger: fear. Another difference was that this transformation was not limited to the Cicero family. The energies of undeath began to permeate all throughout the region, raising the dead and cursing the living with a similar fate. Shortly after this, Cicero's father vanished, leaving his son as the de facto lord of Cicero Manor.

### Lord and Master

The immediate aftermath of these events is unknown, but in the long term, Victor matured into adulthood and also grew into his new immortality. With such development also came the development of his new arcane abilities, granting him the ability to transform into a horrific new form and cast powerful spells. To complement this, Victor also became interested in dark magics and the occult, much like his father before him, and began to study them in great detail. However, as his lust for power and knowledge grew, so too did his hunger. Like a wolf among a throng of lambs, Victor began to prey upon the people of Southern Ishtar, deliberately instilling them with terror to in order feast. Victor would later recall this part of his life as a dark time, fully admitting that he was a ravenous monster with no compassion for his victims and had no desire to return to such a state.

### Capture and Imprisonment

Victor's terrifying tenure as lord did not go unopposed, as law enforcement eventually coordinated their efforts to put an end to him. The details of his capture are unclear, but given that Victor had obtained incredible power at this point, it is likely the campaign against him was both long and difficult. Despite his best efforts however, Victor was eventually overwhelmed and brought into custody. While the threat Victor posed was a deadly one, it was decided that Victor should not be executed, but rather incarcerated for the rest of his days. Though it is unclear as to why, Victor's immense depth of knowledge about the occult and the minds of men probably played a part in this decision, as Victor would be occasionally consulted to assist with difficult cases. In exchange, Victor demanded certain luxuries, such as bedding, fine clothing and books. It is unknown if Victor ever attempted escape.

### The Shattering of Io

About 100 years after Victor von Cicero's birth, calamity came to Io from beyond the stars. A fleet of starships under the command of Lagos, sworn enemy of Io and its denizens, fired upon the planet using Black Star energy, causing it to break apart. Only the timely intervention of four hitherto unknown gods managed to prevent the total destruction of their home. Deceiving Lagos into thinking his work was done, the gods helped restore the planet by chaining the surviving landmasses to the planet's core and teaching them new technology. While much was lost in the Shattering, Victor von Cicero survived while still in custody. It is unclear what exactly happened in the interim, but Victor was eventually moved to a new prison in the aftermath of the Shattering. This new prison, called the Vault, was constructed under the now floating Ark of Qethos, directly below the city of Xiros. Now in the custody of the XDF, Victor continued his sentence in complete isolation from the outside world, though not without whatever luxuries he had managed to acquire.

### The Façade Murders

Victor would stay in the Vault so the next 500 years or so. Over the centuries, he became starved of his primary form of sustenance, causing his powers to greatly diminish. However, his mind remained sharp, and for that reason, the XDF would continue the tradition of consulting him on difficult cases. Some 20 years before the present day, Victor was approached by a detective by the name of Logan Horn who was leading a very challenging murder case. The city of Xiros was experiencing a plethora of killings by a serial killer called Façade, who would petrify the face of the victim and cover them in wax. However, the XDF were left with almost no leads besides this, and Logan turned to Victor for assistance. With Victor's knowledge and advice, Logan continued his investigation, coming close to reaching a breakthrough. However, the death of his son at Façade's hand completely destroyed his resolve, and Façade subsequently vanished. With no more killings taking place, Victor was informed of Façade's supposed retirement and left to languish in his cell once more.

## Mechanics

### Powers and Abilities

#### Warlock Abilities

* *Pact Magic*
* Undead Abilities
	+ *Form of Dread*
* *Eldritch Invocations*
	+ *Agonizing Blast*
	+ *Book of Ancient Secrets*
	+ *Far Scribe*
	+ ~~*Repelling Blast*~~
* *Pact of the Tome*

#### Spell List

##### Cantrips

* *Booming Blade*
* *Eldritch Blast*
* *Minor Illusion*
* *Shocking Grasp*
* *Thaumaturgy*

##### 1st Level

* *Bane*
* *Charm Person*
* *Find Familiar*
* *Hellish Rebuke*
* *Hex*

##### 3rd Level

* *Speak With Dead*
* *Summon Shadowspawn*

### Notable Items

* *Synthetic Ruby Eye*
	+ Adds +1 to hit for Cantrips.

* *The Cicero Family Sword* (Longsword +1)
	+ Leveling: This sword gets stronger when you level up while wielding this weapon
	+ Vibrant: You may use your Charisma Modifier when wielding this weapon.
	+ Victor may wield this weapon as if he was proficient in Longswords.

## Boss Mechanics

When fought as "Victor von Cicero, The Betrayer" , Victor uses all of the features available to him as a player character. In addition, Victor also gains the following abilities.

### Powers and Abilities

* **Greater Form of Dread:** When initiative is rolled, you can transform to manifest an aspect of your patron's dread. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits:
	+ You gain temporary Hit Points equal to your maximum Hit Points.
	+ Once on each of your turns, if you hit a creature, you can force it to make a Wisdom Saving Throw (DC16). On a fail, it is Frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
	+ You are immune to the Frightened Condition.
	+ This effect can be dropped willingly, or when Victor's temporary Hit Points are removed. If dropped willingly, Victor loses his temporary Hit Points.
* **Mark of Fear:** If a creature becomes frightened of Victor, they gain one stack of a Mark of Fear. The purpose of Marks of Fear is currently unknown.
* **Secondary Concentration:** Victor can maintain concentration on two continuous spells simultaneously.

### Legendary Reactions

* **Frightening Mist (Real name unknown)**: When Victor's temporary Hit Points drops to 0, Victor dissipates into a thick magical mist that heavily obscures the area for one round. Victor and his allies become untargetable for the duration of this effect. At the start of each of their turn, a creature within the mist must make a Wisdom Saving Throw (DC16). On failure, the creature sees visons of their deepest fears and gains two Mark of Fear stacks and becomes frightened until the start of their next turn. At the end of their turn, Victor makes a melee attack against the creature. After one round has been completed, the mist clears and any characters that are Frightened must make another Wisdom Saving Throw. On failure, they take 2d6 Psychic damage and immediately fall unconscious.

## Etymology

"Victor" is a both masculine given name and a surname of Latin origin which translates to "conqueror" or "winner" . The name has become widely used across the world and has several equivalents in different languages.

"Valentin" is a masculine given name that likely comes from the Latin name *Valentinus,* which has its roots in the Latin word *valens* meaning "strong", "healthy" or "powerful". It has a relation to the name "Valentine" which shares the same origin.

The term "von" is used in German surnames as a noble particle that indicates a noble patrilineality. It can also be used to indicate the place of origin of common people, roughly translating to "of" or "from". In the modern day, the abolition of monarchies in Germany and Austria have removed the aristocratic connotations of "von" and it has become incorporated into the original surname.

"Cicero" is a surname of Latin origin that derives from the Latin word *cicer*, which means "chickpea". The name was made famous by Roman statesman, lawyer and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. Though Cicero played a Rome's transition from a republic to an empire in the first century BC, he is better known for his extensive literary works which have left a lasting impression on the Latin language and influenced many influential thinkers and scholars during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment periods.

## Trivia

* According to JoeFudge in *Deadbeats* Episode 0, Victor was partially inspired by the character of Hannibal Lector, a fictional serial killer who was consulted by the FBI while in prison in order to track down other serial killers. In-universe, Victor fulfilled a similar role during the Façade killings.
* According to JoeFudge, Victor would have been the equivalent of a 14th Level Warlock at the height of his power, making him equivalent in level to Sterling Smiles, the current record holder for highest level character in the World of Io series.
* According to SummersSalt, who has synesthesia, Victor's art evokes the scent of blackberries and wet grass.
* Victor has his measurements memorized, and recites them in session 9: 21 chest, 19.5 waist, 24.5 sleeves, 29 front length, 16 collar.
* His familiar is a bat named Clover, which is based on the Wrinkle-Faced Bat. Clover also functions as Victor's Shadowspawn, taking on a new more powerful form to serve her master.
* Victor is the second player character to be fought as a boss that is expressly controlled by that player, the first being Bronn Luxprin.

## Images

### Official Art

Victor Von Cicero's Form of Dread (Art by Loarfy)