Faustus Danule

“
Vengeance is a never-ending and foolish thing. Over five millennia ago, I went an ancient evil for power that rivaled the Immortals of old so that I could utterly crush the man who destroyed my life, my family, and my hope… much like I did to you. I was told that I would never be able to die, and this turned out to be true. Nothing could truly bring me to death, and my power forever expanded. At first it was fun, being the man who could have everything. But he wanted more. Dascanoth always wants more, as does vengeance. It wasn't that I could not die, but rather I was not allowed to die. I forever felt the brink of death until it drove me mad, and the [golden] eyes did their work on me like they’ve done to everyone. They bring out in a person their deepest, darkest desires, their sins, and their putrid souls come to the forefront.
At first, they moved me in a single-minded focus on destruction, which was swiftly achieved before I wiped out his entire family. After many long millennia, guilt tore away at my soul, but the eyes did not let me stop. After a while, I begged Dascanoth to kill me, even consume my soul so I could not feel that pain any longer. He told me that I would only die if I was killed by that which cannot kill, and I’ve been on a literal suicide mission ever since.
”
— FAUST

## Overview

Before current day, the found themselves against one of the toughest foes of their lives, a man named Faust. Perhaps on par or even greater than the Emperor of Jibra’il in terms of singular power, Faust had a long history of pacts with fiends and bindings of angels, twisting of all manure creatures into aberrant forms of their former selves. He did so at the behest of his master Dascanoth, The King in Yellow. His power accrued over what amounted to three thousand years, during which time he left many powerful and very cursed artifacts in his wake, along with many pacts for devils and the like. The many supernatural beings of the universe were his servants, easy to bind with a simple touch. His influence stretches far back enough that one of the archdevils, Fierna, is actually his spawn.

## Activity and Encounter

Faust made many enemies over the years, making a hobby out of corrupting innocents into terrible deeds. One final case was Velavia Vrykul, who he’d tormented from the shadows through many slave companies and other unsavory organizations. He’d finally revealed himself years after, when the party had gone to rescue and redeem a woman who would later become Velavia’s adoptive mother. His plans seemed haphazard while he kidnapped dozens of magic users to siphon power, but to what end? Finally, he faced the Oathkeepers all at once on the Spear of the Gods, his daughter Erathis among those who came to face him. There he murdered Velavia’s newfound adoptive father and mother in front of her eyes, taunting her to come destroy him. The battle ensued, and the Oathkeepers found themselves outnumbered and outgunned while Faust could throw the highest levels of magic their way with the flick of his wrist, and had an entourage of powerful demonic spellcasters.

When they had finally brought him low, he said that only Velavia could kill him. However, the group had someone who excelled in the manipulation of curses: Erathis Rune, who put forth mystical prowess with Droshin and Nocturne Ellanher in order to break a curse of incredible power. With that, Erathis herself struck the final blow, driving her staff through the skull of the father she once respected, maybe even loved.

## Abilities

Faust was likely the most powerful mage to ever live since the time of the Immortals. He could cast any and every spell, not needing to bother preparing spells as he had every single one known to mortals at his fingertips. Some spells were his own invention, like the ability to utterly subvert special senses such as truesight. He could copy the unique abilities of those he'd encountered before, mimicking their defined magics. He boasted the intellect, insight and charisma to surpass many of the archdevils and celestials all at once, more than enough to flex mystical arts known only to the pinnacle of magecraft. Epic spells were easy to come by for him, and he is rumored to have re-discovered the Ruin spell after it was lost from the time of the Immortals.

## Legacy

Faust has left behind many artifacts of power associated with his works. His spellbooks are still sought after by the many mages of the world, and because it has only been 5 years since his death, his name is still uttered in fear among the angels, devils and demons. Many Oathkeepers vividly remember the encounters, and now the title of "most powerful mage" is left up for question.

## Ideas for DMs

"Wow, you had this cool and OP NPC once, how does this relate to me at all?"

Faust was an archmage of considerable ability, which means there's plenty of easy things to loop in for your McGuffin or villainous superweapon. When giving an enemy one of Faust's items, consider something like the Talisman of Ultimate Evil, a Staff of Power/the Magi, Robe of the Archmagi, or Book of Vile Darkness. These items should universally be cursed, and you can get some fun and creative things from an archmage with contingencies upon contingencies. Essentially, you can equate him to a more angel/fiend version of Vecna when sorting out cool stuff to put in your plotlines.