House Sulescu

## Lord Zemiros Sulescu: Ruler of Sulescu

The Sulescus have ruled their estate for over 300 years, and save
for his modern dress and manner, the current lord is the very
model of his ancestor. He has sworn fealty to the king, but has
also sent notice that royal meddling in his small territory will not
be tolerated. The crown has responded that, as long as Sulescu
keeps his lands and people under control, there will be no problem.
The line of Sulescu is in reality a single undead creature known
as a nosferatu, a variant of the vampire with magical abilities, resistances
to vampiric banes such as sunglight, and a neutral demeanor.
The nosferatu has masqueraded as his own sons and
grandsons over the years, adopting young men to play the part of
him and sending them off to Glantri and Thyatis for schooling
(actually giving them a large sum of money and telling them
never to return to Karameikos). When the time comes, the present
Lord Sulescu “dies” and the new one is sent for, whereupon
the nosferatur returns as his own descendent and picks up where
he left off.

Sulescu lives off the blood of beasts, both as drink and baked
into foods. He drains the blood of invaders and criminals, and often
those condemned to die are kept alive for months in his dungeon
as a larder. Sulescu doesn’t want to create additional nosferatu
– an experiment early in his unlife soured him on such
companionship.

Personality: The nosferatu Sulescu has a strong devotion to his
people and will not act to harm them. He considers it his obligation
as an undying (if not Immortal) being to aid the short-lived.
He brooks no interference in his rulership, and outside forces often
meet with mysterious disasters. While Sulescu did not join
the Marilenev Rebellion, a detachment of troops assigned to capture
the village disappeared during the initial Thyatian invasion,
and it was never found.

What He Says: “It’s a quiet little town. We like it that
way” (commonly attributed to him).

What Others Say: “Zemiros Sulescu could be on another plane
for all the attention he pays to the Traladarans beyond his borders”
(Lady Magda Marilenev, who has yet to forgive the Lord’s
lack of support in the earlier rebellion).

Appearance: Tall and imposing, Sulescu is thin, but he lacks the
pale, desiccated look of a vampire. He has brown hair, worn long
and swept back from his face in a leonine cut, and brown eyes.
While he has magical abilities, he prefers to dress in modern
Karameikan court styles rather than in wizard’s robes. His current
incarnation admits to “dabbling” in magic, but he has always
been a powerful wizard.

Using Sulescu: Sulescu is undead, and if the player characters
realize that, they might storm his castle with stakes and mallets
in hand. But Sulescu is a beneficent individual who seeks to protect
his people, a better ruler than some of the others in
Karameikos.

When playing Sulescu, avoid the vampire cliches used in the old
movies. Sulescu is urbane, intelligent, and friendly. He only becomes
a potential foe when the adventurers start snooping about
his background. Tools the DM can use include a 300-year-old diary
of the Sulescus (all in the same handwriting), a dusty master
bedroom (Sulescu sleeps in a crypt), well-equipped butcher shop,
and the dungeon/larder. Unless the PCs start looking, Sulescu

should appear to be a typical lord, and an enlightened
one at that.

Combat: The Nosferatu has many weaknesses: He
does not cast a reflection, is harmed by running water,
and can by killed by a stake through the heart.
He flinches when presented with a holy symbol, but
isn’t repelled by it. Most importantly, he can move
about normally in bright sunlight, experiencing no
harm, and he commonly greets newcomers to his
home in the central courtyard by day – confounding
those who suspect he’s a vampire.

Note that, if caught in the act of performing some
vampiric ability (flying, changing shape, or charming
someone), he can brush this off by admitting his
wizardly nature. He does not know the fly spell,
however.

Zemiros Sulescu (9th-level mage/nosferatu vampire):
THAC0 11; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4 (bite) or +2
(Strength bonus); AC 2; HD 9; hp 53; MV 12, Fl 18
(B); SA: animal form, charm, regeneration (1 point/
round), spells; SD: immune to nonmagical weapons
as well as sleep, charm, and hold spells; ML fanatic
(17); AL N.
Str 18, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 17.
Languages: Alphatian, elvish (Callarii dialect),
dwarvish, Thyatian, Traladaran.
Proficiencies: Ancient history, heraldry, local history,
spellcraft.
Spellbook:
1st level – Alarm, burning hands, detect magic,
feather fall, light\*, magic missile\*, phantasmal
force\*, read magic, sleep\*, unseen servant, ventriloquism.
2nd level – Detect evil/good, fog cloud\*, knock, locate
object\*, scare\*, wizard lock .
3rd level – Blink, clairvoyance, dispel magic\*, lightning
bolt\*, protection from normal missiles\*, slow.
4th level – Charm monster, minor creation\*, minor
globe of invulnerability\*, polymorph other, wall of
ice.
5th level – Cloudkill, cone of cold, contact other
plane, feeblemind, transmute rock to mud\*.