Acererak

Acererak is a figure so ancient that his stories have fallen into the realm of legend, with most binders being only passingly familiar with his works. Acererak was a cambion born to a human mother, raised with love despite his deformities and sickly nature until at the age of ten his home was burned by superstitious members of their village. Acererak, his demonic blood always burning through his veins, survived the attack but his mother did not. The boy lived as an orphan on the streets of a major city and through his own will he grew stronger. He eventually became an assistant for an aging wizard and after several months of intensive physical labor the old man offered to tutor him, which he accepted. After this apprenticeship his master sponsored him at the local university and paid his tuition, up until he suddenly passed in Acererak's last year of study. He became accomplished in every school of magic, from conjuration to abjuration and necromancy, all with the secret goal in mind of achieving his revenge over the human race. When he became old he grew to fear death, the force that had claimed everyone and everything he had loved. He was afraid of the things he had done, that the afterlife would not hold his mother in his future but always lead to the birthplace of his father, the horrid Abyss.

He completed the rituals necessary to become a Demi-lich but then, instead of completing the necessary acquisition of souls to become a full lich, he created a place of power where he could lie in wait, a place that became called the Tomb of Horrors. Adventurers and treasure seekers from all over the planes came, seeking their fortune, but their deaths were inevitable and only served to prolong his power, giving him a deep connection to the Plane of Negative Energy through their suffering. Eventually those that came included supplicants who had heard of his power, necromancers who longed for his knowledge, and so he became worshiped as a god. Eventually, a settlement called the Skull City was created around the Tomb, and his Fortress of Finality became even more hidden as a result. Eventually a band of adventurers found him, breached the tomb and defeated him in their ingenuity and his soul, bound to the Negative Energy Plane, remained tethered where it lay, becoming bound to a flagstone in the fortress (it has since been stolen) where it remains ever since.

Those who channel the vestige of Acererak are said to develop a hunger for power, since as a vestige Acererak has the immortality he sought but lacks the strength to enact his own will. The binder is said to have one of their teeth replaced with a gem for the duration of the binding.

### Terms of Binding

The Seal of Acererak must be drawn somewhere stable, then a gem the size of an eye or tooth has to be placed directly in the middle. His vestige appears as a yellowed skull inlaid with gems that shift and blink out of existence constantly, only to be replaced with gems of other colors. His voice is dry and full of hatred for his summoner, yet he very rarely refuses them.

### Abilities of Acererak's Vestige]

Detect Undead: You can use detect undead as the spell at will (caster level equals your effective binder level).

Hide from Undead: At will as a standard action, you can become undetectable to undead. This ability functions like the hide from undead spell, except that the DC for intelligent undead to ignore the effect and notice you is 10 + 1/2 your effective binder level + your Cha modifier.

Lich’s Energy Immunities: You gain immunity to cold and electricity damage.

Paralyzing Touch: As a standard action, you can make a touch attack to paralyze a living foe. The touched creature must succeed on a Fortitude save or be paralyzed for a number of rounds equal to one-half your effective binder level. Each round on its turn, the paralyzed creature can attempt a new saving throw as a full-round action, with success ending the effect immediately. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again for 5 rounds.

Speak with Dead: You can question the dead at will as though using the speak with dead spell (caster level equals your effective binder level; save DC 10 + 1/2 your effective binder level + your Cha modifier).

Undead Healing: Negative energy (such as that of an inflict spell) heals you rather than damaging you. If you are a living creature, positive energy (such as a cure spell) still heals you as well.