Lord Downey

## Description

Lord Downey is the current Grand Assassin, the leader of the Assassin's Guild of Onkh-Morpark. It is a public secret that he is a vampire and he's actually been leading the guild for the past 300 years under different identities (and with different facial hair and glasses). Downey originates from a mysterious island far to the south-east. This has led some people to jokingly call him Lord Downunda, though none do it to his face.

It was through his efforts that the Assassin's Guild was reformed from an anarchic, illegal group of murderers for hire working in the margins into the wealthy and influential organization of consummate gentlemen professionals. His philosophy on what an assassin should be can be summed up in the following mantra: "Be Polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet." His demand for civil and discrete professionalism is in stark contrast to his personality, which can be called eccentric at best, and boorish crassness at worst.

Downey's also the most experienced and powerful of the assassins in the city, and allegedly, his preferred method of inhumation is poisoning, though no deaths have yet been attributed to him. In truth, he rarely performs assassinations himself anymore, mostly because he finds little challenge and satisfaction in the anymore.

Downey appears as a tall, slender yet well-built and pale-skinned human man with short slicked-back hair and a stern face. Like most Assassins, he dresses in all black.

## Stats

### Special Abilities

* **Alternate Form(Su)**: You can assume the shape of a bat, dire bat, wolf, or dire wolf as a standard action. You can remain in that form until you assume another or until the next sunrise.
* **Blood Drain(Ex)**: You can suck blood from a living victim with your fangs by making a successful grapple check. If you pin the foe, you drain blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained. On each such successful attack, you gain 5 temporary hit points.
* **Children of the Night(Su)**: You command the lesser creatures of the world and once per day can call forth 1d6+1 rat swarms, 1d4+1 bat swarms, or a pack of 3d6 wolves as a standard action. These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve you for up to 1 hour.
* **Create Spawn(Su)**: A humanoid or monstrous humanoid slain by your energy drain rises as a vampire spawn 1d4 days after burial.
* **Dominate(Su)**: You can crush an opponent’s will just by looking onto his or her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, except that you must use a standard action, and those merely looking at it are not affected. Anyone you target must succeed on a Will save (DC 23) or fall instantly under your influence as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 12th). The ability has a range of 30 feet.
* **Energy Drain(Su)**: Living creatures hit by your slam attack (or any other natural weapon your might possess) gain two negative levels. For each negative level bestowed, you gain 5 temporary hit points. You can use your energy drain ability once per round.
* **Fast Healing(Ex)**: You heal 5 points of damage each round so long as you have at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, you automatically assume gaseous form and attempt to escape. You must reach your coffin home within 2 hours or be utterly destroyed.
* **Gaseous Form(Su)**: As a standard action, you can assume gaseous form at will as the spell (caster level 5th), but you can remain gaseous indefinitely and you have a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability.
* **Spider Climb(Ex)**: You can climb sheer surfaces as though with a spider climb spell.
* **Vampire Weaknesses**: You recoil from garlic, mirrors, holy symbols, and are unable to cross running water or enter a building without invitation.
* **Death Attack**: If you study your victim for 3 rounds; attack that target within another 3 rounds; then make a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage; you can paralyze or kill the target if they fail a Fortitude save (DC 23).
* **Poison Use**: You do not risk accidentally poisoning yourself when applying poison to a blade.
* **Hide in Plain Sight(Su)**: You can use the Hide skill even while being observed, as long as you are within 10 feet of some sort of shadow.

### Feats

* **Fade into Violence**: Foe will strike ally instead of you if you succeed at a Bluff check.
* **Deft Opportunist**: +4 bonus on attack rolls on attacks of opportunity.
* **Improved Diversion**: Use Bluff to create a diversion, then Hide as a move action.
* **Impeding Attack**: Trade 3d6 sneak attack damage to apply -2 penalty to opponent's Str and Dex checks.
* **Spectral Skirmisher**: While you are invisible, you gain additional benefits:. Creatures unable to see you due to invisibility take a -5 penalty on all Listen checks to detect you. A creature using a melee attack against the square you occupy provokes an attack of opportunity from you. You must choose to make this attack before checking to see if the creature fi nds you. If you attack and hit, the creature automatically finds you in your square.

### Spells

**Spells known**: (CL 10)

* 1st (4/day, Save DC 14): Feather Fall, Ghost Sound, Jump, Obscuring Mist
* 2nd (4/day, Save Dc 15): Alter Self, Cat's Grace, Pass Without Trace, Undetectable Alignment
* 3rd (4/day, Save DC 16): Deep Slumber, Magic Circle Against Good, Nondetection, Vital Strike
* 4th (3/day, Save DC 17): Dimension Door, Freedom Of Movement, Greater Invisibility, Locate Creature