Fabius the Vile

### **The Legend of Fabius the Vile**

There was once a man, no a monster, named Fabius the Vile. With ink black hair, a scarred visage, yellow teeth, and brilliant green eyes he was a monster to look upon.  He was a warlord of great repute and a terror in the immediate wake of the Fall. Formerly a prisoner of Isilsolar, he was made free to terrorize and plunder as he saw fit. Granted boons by a dark god, he quickly became a great power in a far away land.

However, his evil was the end of him. He so mistreated his people that even his most loyal of guards saw that he must be dethroned. No one was safe from an execution order. This was made apparent when he had his many wives executed. The reason, he said, was to he them all scream in unison.

A plot to assassinate Fabius the Vile was cooked up by his lords and generals. A knife in the dark, quiet enough to put him down without fear of retribution and to not give him time to give orders to his royal guard. However, Fabius only awoke when he was stabbed. Rumor has it that his wrath was so great, he would not allow death to deny him his vengeance. Grabbing his greatsword, Passus, he carved a path of blood through his own palace. Despite the wounds he suffered, he saw that every soul fell to his blade that night. However, the architect of the plot, a general named Ivan Utwell, escaped with his family.

Fabius ordered his royal guard to cull the city and raze the countryside. Leaving them to their knife work, Fabius went after Ivan. He chased his former servant far and wide. Finally arriving in the back in the Old Realm, he cornered his compatriot in the Valley of the Northern Tribes. However, Ivan had set a trap.

He made an appeal to Celine. He would reform his ways and devote his life to justice. As a gift, he told Celine where this former prisoner would be. Confronted by holy paladins under Celine’s command, Fabius fought valiantly, but fell to their weapons.

They smote his body with holy light, burned it, buried the ashes, and built a tower over his resting place. Designed to keep all from his body, it has no door. His blade, Passus, was too vile to be touched by their hands. They left it inside the tower over the grave of its master.

Centuries have passed and legend speaks of the power of Passus. Whoever possesses the weapon will gain power great enough to forge a kingdom and slay any opponent, even Celine herself.

### **Wielding Passus**

Passus is a +3 Vorpal Greatsword that deals 3d10 Necrotic damage in addition to other damage it would deal. As an action, the wielder of Passus may use Hellstrike. This is a ranged attack with a 120 ft. range made as though with a +3 weapon. It deal 2d6+3 plus 3d10 Necrotic damage.

Twice a day, the wielder of Passus may cast Hellfire Orb (2/day)- 120 ft. range, 20 ft. radius from point must make a Dex DC 18 save or take 35 (10d6) fire and 35 (10d6) necrotic damage. Success on the save halves the damage.

### **Curse of the Vicious Reaver**

It is truth that Passus now carries a dark power. But no man can truly control it. Passus causes a bloodthirst that will turn its wielder into a Reaver. Anyone who carries Passus, but does not use it, must make a Wisdom save DC 16 every day. A failed save indicates that they will use the weapon for that day. The save may be reattempted at dawn.

As the wielder uses Passus, over the months their hair will turn black, their teeth will yellow, their eyes turn green, or their skin becomes scarred. Using Passus requires a Wisdom save DC 1. This save is unique for every individual who uses it. If user A has a save of 15, it will not transfer that save number to a new user. If user A regains it, the save is still 15 and will continue to grow.

Every time damage is dealt with Passus, the save increases by 1.  If the save is failed, the wielder recognizes all targets as hostile for the next hour. If the wielder slays a friend, the transformation is complete. The wielder’s features twist and contort and Passus attaches to their arm, taking the place of their hand. They become the spinning image of Fabius (though races remain the same. I.e. an elf cannot become human in this way, but will look like an elf-like Fabius.) Their alignment becomes Chaotic Evil and their only thoughts are to destroy all that exists. If a PC becomes this way, they become an NPC under the DM’s control.

The sword may only be separated by severing where the hand used to be. Seperating the turned individual from Passus for 1 week will revert the change. However, they will bare a scar across their throat for the rest of their life and their lost hand will not return. Should they ever touch Passus again, they will immediately change back to the Fabius creature they once were.

There is no known way of destroying Passus.