The Lost Journals Bios'
Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 7:54 pm
(Author's Note: Due to real life, this project--in fact all of them at the Café--are being put together piecemeal as I devote what time I can to them. These are mostly complete, but still need to be added to, edited, and clarified. Sorry for the inconvenience; also please redirect any comments to a devoted thread)
Alexander Dreamfire
Gestalt Soulknife-Wilder 20/Illumine Soul 5/Soulbow 10/Illithid Slayer 5 (as of BC 766)
LG Male Outsider (Extraplanar, Good, Psionic, Spirit)
Born 700 standard planar years ago, Alex displayed an aptitude for psionic power unmatched even among his own people. Some attribute this to the divine blood in his veins. But anyone who knows him would say he made his own way one arduous step at a time. After five centuries of exploring the multiverse and adventuring he's begun to approach his race's mark of middle age. As an immortal he will suffer no physical degradation and still reap the rewards of age and wisdom. Since he has yet to actually reach that point, though, he retains some of the impetuousness of youth.
In his natural form, Alex stands at an astounding 8' tall with a well-proportioned figure described as wiry with soft, almost feminine features to his face. His one good eye and hair are naturally a soft blue color and his skin is chalk-white. His right arm has been replaced by a magical mithral version and his left eye is in fact a prismatic crystal, covered by a patch made of obsidian and leather straps. He has no facial or body hair and dresses more for comfort than out of any fashion sense. His human form is a minor alteration from a hat of alteration, a magical item that allows for the spell alter self at will, standing a foot shorter but still awfully tall for the Realm of Dread, with brown hair and sallow skin that doesn't seem out of place among the Mordentish, his missing arm and seemingly normal and both hands always kept covered by gloves with blue-dyed leather bracers around his wrists. He's often seen in high boots, britches, and a shirt along with a cloak that shimmers a faint purple in direct light. Underneath his clothing he wears gold colored armor of the celestial battalion that has been matter manipulated into adamantine (stats are changed as follows: DR 2/-, no Arcane Spell Failure, no Max Dex limit). On his belt he carries an ornate dagger with a blade nearly a foot long ("Repose"). The blade is especially baleful to the undead and sunlight-sensitive undead in particular. If Alex didn't suppress it, the dagger would shed bright light with the intensity of the sun over a vast area. Instead it remains understated and unassuming beyond what it appears to be. Much like its owner.
Background
Alexander Dreamfire was born almost seven-hundred standard planar years ago in the Region of Dreams, part of a race of beings that call themselves komanie (koh-MA-nee), literally meaning "dreamers." The komanie were ancient when the Material Plane was born, a race of celestial beings who guarded against creatures that would use dreams to prey upon the innocent--specifically those borne of their goddess's half-sister, the succubi. In the untold millennia they grew and evolved into a race of scholars, archivists, and innovators. From the dreams of mortals and immortals alike they have collected, recorded, and even implemented ideas and technologies far beyond even what the Ken-zai have produced. At the same time they have continued to research supernatural power and the nature of the multiverse.
Alex was born to the House of Dreamfire, one of only five noble houses left from a time when a monarchy ruled. But beyond this exalted social status, Alex had the blood of their creator goddess, Detriana, in him. Five generations back the goddess fell in love with his ancestor, creating a divine bloodline that has produced countless heroes and legends. So it came as no surprise that Alex had a capacity for psionics above and beyond even his race's own prodigious talent. This pressure to be the best, to hold himself to higher standards than would be considered realistic, has characterized his life. Even as an adventurer he couldn't forget the voices that had goaded him along in life, forcing him to excel at whatever he did despite having no one to answer to but himself.
He adventured on countless Material worlds, taking part in everything from wars to affairs of state to a brief stint as a circus performer, before meeting the woman that would change his life. Tyriana, an elf and cleric to a benevolent sun god, captured his heart immediately. At first she didn't know what to think of the attention, but it wasn't long before she returned his affections. The next thirty years were the happiest of Alexander's life as he and Tyriana worked together to spread the word of good and fight against the darkness.
Sadly it didn't last. Tyriana's father was arrested on trumped up charges of devilry and crimes too heinous to mention. The accuser was no less than the high priest of her god. She and Alex did all they could and eventually exposed the truth. But her father committed suicide before he could be cleared. It was too much for her to take and her faith in her god was badly shaken. How could a being who claimed to be just and merciful allow her father to suffer so? How could he do that to one of his own servants? In searching for answers she found the dark, perverse whispers of Elisime, the Succubus Goddess.
Alex tried to warn her about Elisime, but his words fell on deaf ears. Within a year Tyriana had been utterly corrupted and left for the Abyss. He wanted to follow, but didn't think he could survive going into the very lair of his goddess's most hated enemy. Worse still, she had allied herself with those who would defy the natural laws of existence--the undead. Her rapport for shadows, wraiths, and all manner of incorporeal beings nearly killed him. In the end, though, she just couldn't bring herself to kill him. Thus he survived and was nursed back to full health by the clerics of her ex-god, using the time to meditate on the nature of the Positive Energy Plane until its power flowed into his body on a continual basis. Now an illumine soul, he sought to understand the undead better and hopefully turn Tyriana away from the darkness by reminding her of the light.
One of his divine traits is the ability to speak with dead at will, and from the undead themselves he came to understand the threat they posed, the twisted mind that drove them, even the unnatural urges they felt. But more importantly, he realized that many were in agony beyond comprehension. To exist as an undead creature was to throw away everything they had once enjoyed for a bitter and often depressing existence. Apathy and anhedonia seemed endemic to the undead, and those who could think on it always wanted the same thing, if their hunger for blood, flesh, and souls could ever be put aside. Each desired nothing more than to die--truly die and be released from the torment of a fate worse than death. Many described it as an emptiness inside that was never filled and drove the creatures mad with its constant need for something. More coherent undead believed it was their link to the Negative Energy Plane, the Endless Void that threatened to consume them lest they fulfill the unnatural desires that now filled their minds.
For years Alexander Dreamfire researched the Positive and Negative Energy Planes, as well as the undead and the deathless. In studying these foes he could ignore his own pain and focus on things that would benefit the multiverse at large. In time he became known as one of the leading authorities on the nature of the undead. It was a chance encounter with the demon lord Orcus, then the specter Tenebrous trying to regain his throne, that finally led to his fateful journey to the Abyss.
Word had it that Tenebrous was lurking around the his old layer of Thanatos and Alex felt he had an actual chance at destroying Orcus/Tenebrous once and for all. Yet it was for naught. He had fallen for a trap laid by the same woman who had broken his heart and turned her back on everything she once stood for. Tyriana was waiting for him when he arrived. Seeing her again opened up all the old wounds anew. But time and experience had opened his eyes to truths he had ignored and in his heart he felt none of the warmth and caring he once had for her. Instead what lurked there was cold, educated loathing of what she had become. When she tried to appeal to his feelings for her the last spark of their flames died in his heart. She wasn't the one he'd fallen in love with. Not anymore.
Tyriana claimed it didn't matter; she was there to capture him for her goddess.
That was no bluff.
Within seconds Alex was clutching his head, fighting off an attempt to utterly dominate his mind by a power that dwarfed even the mightiest psionicist. The last thing he saw before passing out was a blonde woman in a black leather brassier with both male and female genitalia. In that instant he had a horrid epiphany: he was in the presence of Elisime herself and it was she that was attacking him. His blood turned to ice and he could only imagine what horrors awaited him once he woke up again.
Much of what Alexander Dreamfire endured during a century and a half of enslavement is best left to the imagination. Elisime used him as her sexual plaything and even her prize gladiator for games in Hades, where devil and demon alike gathered peacefully to watch shows that shouldn't be described. As time went on he was given magical items to make him a better fighter. An arm of Nyr when his right arm was hacked off at the shoulder, the crystal eye when his left eye was put out by a sword, even an enchanted girdle that boosted his strength and endurance to superhuman levels. Yet it was went on inside of him that really mattered. In his slavery Alex grew, turning to the path of the soulbow just to survive the bloody matches by keeping his foes at a distance.
During that time the only comfort Alex had was Kyra, Elisime's archivist and a lesser succubus that had been "born wrong." She was neither chaotic nor evil, she was weaker than her sisters, and she didn't enjoy the perverse pleasures the others did. In Kyra he found a sympathetic ear, someone he could actually talk to. In time their friendship blossomed into true love, a feeling Alex was loathe to feel after having his heart broken before. But even he couldn't deny the truth forever. They were truly star-crossed lovers, a celestial and a fiend.
Kyra's love buoyed Alex's spirit until it happened. After a century and a half of imprisonment the same woman who had helped capture him dispelled the true domination that had kept him in bondage. Tyriana had never stopped loving him, even if his feelings for her were long dead. Regret tinged her words and she refused to look him straight in the face as she helped him and Kyra to stay ahead of Elisime's guards. As her last act of love she helped Alex and Kyra flee the Abyss for all time, opening a gate to Mt. Celestia before fleeing herself to an unknown demiplane that even the gods wouldn't touch.
Alex was welcomed by the archons, but Kyra was not. He fought hard for her and her true desire to abandon her old life finally won her a chance. She was to travel the planes--alone--and visit sites of power that would tear the evil from her being and give her a fresh start. Meanwhile Alex began strict physical and mental exercises, including bathing daily in the Silver Sea. Days turned to weeks, and then months, and finally years. Kyra visited him whenever she could, but the archons kept her stay short until she had at last been reborn as a celestial herself.
Thirty years, a mere blink of the eye for two immortals, passed. In that time Alex was visited by the avatar of Detriana to tell him that he had no reason to continue the Seletar ko Danit, literally "Return To Innocence," ritual. His body bore the scars, but his soul had escaped the taint of evil. All of his efforts were unnecessary. He could go back to enjoying life once more. And he did so, travelling the Blessed Fields of Elysium with Talisid and his Five Companions, dancing with Morwen in the Court of Stars, living for the first time in almost two centuries. For a time he even managed to let go of his hatred of the undead.
But it wasn't to be. Vanatha, Elisime's favored minion, and her cohort, Caesarus, managed to steal an artifact from the Celestial Armory--one that could unmake existence itself if it fell into the wrong hands: the Sword of Darkness. For countless eons it sat inert with its sister blade, the Sword of Light, the two cancelling each other out. Because of his extensive interactions with such beings, it was only natural that Alexander Dreamfire would be chosen to get it back. Along with a solar named Manus, they pursued the two and the Sword across the multiverse--finally cornering them in a world regarded as a prison plane, Ravenloft.
In the open fields of eastern Darkon the four had their last showdown. Caesarus was first to fall, his new phylactery shattering as the Light scoured his existence from reality. Then Manus fell to the Darkness when Vanatha got in a lucky strike. Alex could only stare in horror until a rage gripped him, filling him with newfound power even as his consciousness slipped away. The last thing that he saw was the greater succubus impaled on a blade of pure light.
When Alex came to he was alone in the field. The Swords were gone, as were Manus' weapons and the dimensional tear they had entered through. At first confused, Alex felt his blood freeze as he recalled the myriad rumors of Ravenloft, especially the Unspoken Pact. Those who had entered and managed to escape reported that the gods were distant there, little more than ideals even as those of divine profession still received spells and powers. The gods themselves never spoke of why they ignored that place, either. Only a rumor of a passage hidden in Boccob's libraries said anything--an Unspoken Pact had been struck with whatever forces held sway over the demiplane. The gods were to stay out of the affairs of Ravenloft, and in turn its rulers stayed out of the gods' way--usually.
Alex had little choice but to wait for an opportunity to escape. And he cataloged his journeys in his journals along the way.
Current Sketch
Alex's current activities are continually updated in the Lost Journals. Yet there is far more to the story than he tells or will even admit to himself. In spite of all his writing about "facing down one's inner demons," he has yet to truly reconcile much of his past and the future promises only more dark things. In the past he would escape these feelings by drowning himself in a larger task or some sort of vice to ignore the pain--the most infamous is his alcoholic past and new allergen to most forms of the chemical. His body has simply grown fed up with his self-poisoning and now violently purges itself of such in a severe autoimmune reaction.
From the beginning he's felt as if Ravenloft was a world made of cardboard and if he didn't control himself he would break it. In fact Alexander Dreamfire simply doesn't belong in Ravenloft. The Land rejects his very existence as the fabric of reality begins to dissolve whenever he unleashes his reality wrinkle and it makes those around him ill, native or outlander, dead or alive. Furthermore he's faced with the truly wicked who still harm others despite their own curses, and yet he can't--or won't--move against them. His crystal eye clearly shows him the monsters that walk among men and men who are monsters at heart. His Voice of the Dead is now a cacophony made up the countless dead who talk all at once. And as he learns more about the Realm of Dread, the cold light of knowledge just makes the shadows deeper and offers no comfort.
Yet even in this darkness he's found light. Friends such as Rudolph van Richten, George Weathermay, Geniffer and Laurie, and others help remind him that even this hellish place deserves better. Thus he commits himself to hunting those threats that pose a mobile threat. Darklords aren't included for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, he's aware of Ravenloft's darklords and what it took to become one. He finds guilty pleasure in letting them exist as they are, knowing the torment they suffer is far more fitting than anything he could do to them. The second reason is that, as he's learned of Ravenloft's true nature, he fears what will happen to a domain if its darklord is ever destroyed. Would another fill the void? Or would the land cease to exist? That question terrifies him and has stayed his hand against most.
Only two have pushed him too far. Vlad Drakov is one lord he wouldn't mind killing, yet every time he has come close to killing him Fate intervenes and Drakov is spared. Sir Wilfred Godefroy has come to blows with Alex more than once after he trapped the spirit of a young Nidalan paladin named Priscilla, who swore to be his eternal servant. For the time being Godefroy has given Alex a wide berth, fearing he will make good on his threat to destroy Gryphon Manor. Alex is also one of the few living beings who knows about the secret of his wife and daughter coming to visit him nightly. The peace between them is uneasy and could easily be broken by any hint of Godefroy doing more than haunting Gryphon Manor. Godefroy's blackmail of Daniel Foxgrove and the ghost's plans to have the souls of important mortals who hopefully die at Heather House become his slaves have not (yet) reached Alex's ears. Godefroy takes great care that his foe is never alerted, even to the point of treating Alex as a superior (something the ghost finds only slightly less loathsome than his wife and daughter visiting him at night).
A possible third is Elena Faith-hold. Somehow in the twisting of planar time Alex was there to fight alongside Elena and Lady Katerie Shadowborn in the Heretic Wars and was witness to Elena's fall from grace after Ebonbane struck down Lady Katerie. His reality wrinkle shields him from her ability to sense just how much he truly reviles her when he visits Nidala. Time and again he's thought of ways to destroy her, only to reject them because her death is not what he wants. He wants to see her horrified look when she finally realizes what she's become, to hear her screams of self-hate, and watch as the truth tears her apart on the inside. He wants to know that she is all too aware of what she's become and truly loathes herself for it. Her own guilt would be the most fitting punishment.
A singular group of darklords Alex would love to see destroyed but literally cannot act against is the Nightmare Court. The Dreaming Pact used part of the power of the Pact Primeval--the quintessential essence of Law--to keep both sides in line and still does so to this day. Simply put, no komanie can act against the Court and vice versa in any manner. Neither side can send minions against the other or do anything more than persuade others to fight on their behalf. So powerful is the Dreaming Pact that both sides must divorce themselves utterly from any actions taken against the other by any party, lest they face grave consequences. Thus the Nightmare Man can't drive an asylum patient to murder Alex, and Alex can't ask friends and allies to fight for him. The two can do no more than circle each other like wolves. It is worth mentioning that the use and manipulation of dream terrain to harry or hamper the other side is well within acceptance of the Pact; dream visions or manipulation deliberately intended to bring about physical or psychological harm are not.
Beginning in 750 BC, Alexander begins losing his literal connection to the reality of the Realms of Dread as his reality disruption exceeds what the demiplane can withstand. In game terms, he loses 5% of his corporeality for every year that passes. Signs were evident as early as 739 but the full impact only begins that year. In time he will no longer be able to interact with anyone or anything that hasn't been anointed with a drop of his blood and eventually he'll be able to push past the demiplane's boundaries like they were warm gelatin, allowing him to leave but being unable to take anyone else with him. As a result he begins a frantic search for the fabled Scroll of Return, a magic item that can open a portal out of Ravenloft. This will allow him to fulfill his promises to aid others in escaping the Land of Mists once and for all as well as flee the demiplane himself without having to wait.
A side effect of his increasing "fading" is the ability to see into and interact with layers of reality normally imperceptible and untouchable by those not of the Mists. This results in an increased number of attacks by Mist creatures and a limited capacity to alter his surroundings. Including but not limited to strengthening or weakening objects, minor environmental alterations (adding or removing small bodies of water, changing stone to clay or sand or vice versa, and creating or controlling minor fires). This control is imperfect and immediately causes the manipulated object to degrade and dissipate into vapor as if exposed to his reality disruption.
Personality
Those closest to him would describe Alexander Dreamfire as quiet, asocial, even emotionally distant. Many come away with the opposite idea given his raw charisma and skill with words. He's mastered how to get others to go on at length about themselves without saying a thing about himself that even the most persuasive Mordentish bard would be hard pressed to match. Only those who spend more than a few hours around him realize he rarely actually reveals anything. This attitude of "playing his cards tight to his chest" extends well beyond the social arena (see Combat, below). In part it's borne of the practice of never using all of his abilities until needed so foes can't accurately gauge his true capability. But it's also due to the fact that he's terrified of letting others into his heart, for fears that he'll be hurt yet again. He tries to keep people at arm's length, but has let more than a few get close and will undoubtedly continue to do so.
Largely due to nurture--but certainly helped by nature--is Alex's skills in the amorous arts. He comes from a culture that exalts healthy sexuality and has never understood prudish attitudes about it. This is another source of antipathy between the komanie and succubi; the former temper love and sex with respect for others, while the latter debase what should be the most beautiful thing shared between people. In a sense, the two are polar opposites of one another. Alex is not promiscuous, however, and has had very few partners for someone who's seven centuries old. Aside from a few flings, true relationships he's had have always been quite passionate and equally long. He politely omits most details from his journals but does admit when they happen. His skills come more from attempts to ensure his partners are always satisfied and enjoy their time with him.
Despite not needing to eat or drink thanks to the Amulet of Detriana, he still does so simply because it's pleasurable (and due to phantom hunger and thirst; he is unaware of the Amulet's power of nourishment).
Combat
In the past Alex was known to make ample use of psionic powers in a fight, even using Surging Euphoria and Euphoric Reduction. But as time passed he saw how such things made him a target above all others. Instead he came to rely more and more upon his soulknife abilities while lulling his foes into a complacent confidence about his true powers. Such a style was refined in the Lower Planes. In Ravenloft, where his powers are so misunderstood as to be completely alien, he's formed the bad habit of not fighting as well as he could just to avoid notice--from other people and especially the darklords. This paranoid fear is one of the key factors keeping him from pursuing any active agendas against the darklords, including Drakov and Godefroy. In some instances this hesitation has actually cost him far more than victory against an opponent (as his initial encounter with a dread flesh golem details). When not around witnesses, though, he's willing to cut loose and go all in.
Dreamwalk (Su): All komanie possess the ability to enter the dreams of others just by making physical contact or having something tied to their target and making a Concentration (DC 10) check. While dreamwalking Alex is treated as if he were physically there, though charges expended from items while in the dream do not count (but spent power points do). His stats remain the same and will die if his dream self is killed. His powers and abilities are not affected by the dream world and always function normally.
Komanie can also project their dream selves into a given sleeper's dreams or the dreamscapes of the Nightmare Lands from any distance with a Concentration (DC 14) check.
Despite being mental contact, using this power does not require Madness saves regardless of who (or what) it's used on.
Improved Lucid Dreaming (Ex): Alex has the Improved Lucid Dreaming feat (see p. 203, MotP) as a bonus feat. He is immune to all sleep-inducing and dream-affecting abilities and always controls his own dreams. In the Nightmare Lands he automatically controls the land around him out to twenty feet, though this can be overridden by the Nightmare Court at will.
Reality Wrinkle (Ex): Alex possesses a reality wrinkle out to 40,000 feet in diameter. Unlike a fiend's wrinkle, his is disruptive to the reality of Ravenloft. Unless suppressed by a free action it's impossible for natural healing to occur while inside his wrinkle and native materials slowly turn to hideous forms before disappearing into vapor over the course of hours, not days. Normally he keeps his wrinkle to a mere five feet and doesn't let any of the disruptions occur. People and objects anointed with a drop of his blood are forever immune to the ill effects of his reality wrinkle, a fact he discovered quite by accident. Darklords cannot be made immune to his reality wrinkle; in fact his blood subjects them to the effects of golden ice and raging desire (see below), regardless of any immunities to disease and/or poison. Evil-aligned characters can be made immune, but are subject to the ravage and affliction.
While technically possible to ensnare darklords in his wrinkle, Alex refuses to do so. Any darklord caught inside his reality wrinkle is free of their curse and can wander freely. They're also cut off from any powers gained from being darklords. Unless he's suppressed his reality disruption as well, they find the experience agonizing and are subject to 1d10 damage every round (no save) and are effectively paralyzed. This overcomes any sort of immunity to paralysis or damage reduction.
Because the Nightmare Lands are so closely connected to the Region of Dreams, Alex loses both his reality wrinkle and Extraplanar subtype in that realm and gains the Native subtype while there.
Celestial Fury (Ex and Su): From time to time Alex loses control of the raw hate and anger still pent up inside. In game terms whenever he rolls the Rage Horror effect. This is accompanied by bizarre feats of supernatural power. These "celestial furies" manifest as a barbarian's rage and a lesser aspect of the deity spell (effectively just a +4 Charisma bonus) combined. He is automatically Exhausted after such.
Very rarely this goes even further (only when a Madness save results in Moderate Horror and that result is Rage; mighty rage plus greater aspect of the deity (gaining the powers and ability bonuses of the half-celestial template). Alex immediately becomes Unconscious afterwards but can easily be woken up; treat as Staggered unless magical healing is applied or an hour is allowed to pass.
In every case Ethereal Resonance is left at the spot. These are not Sinkholes of Evil but still carry the Taint of Rage, making those in its boundaries more likely to succumb to effects that generate anger but not penalizing anything else. For lesser rages the rank of the ethereal resonance is two while the rank for a greater rage is three. Theoretically it's possible for a greater celestial fury to create a rank four or five resonance, but that would take a bit longer than his modified Constitution can sustain.
The rage effects are extraordinary, but the celestial powers are supernatural and are subject to antimagic zones or other areas of dead magic.
See the Other Side (Su): Alex is constantly aware of the Near Ethereal and its denizens. He effectively has the Ethereal Empathy and Ghostsight feats for free. In Ravenloft he cannot turn this ability off or tell if someone is a ghost or incorporeal unless they're obviously such.
Touch the Other Side (Su): Alex can freely touch and interact with incorporeal and ethereal beings and objects and never suffers a miss chance in combat against them. This applies to all attacks but not psionic powers or any magical effects triggered by him unless they have the Force descriptor. He is treated as a magnitude five ghost for the purposes of being able to ignore ethereal resonance. He is fully subject to attacks from ethereal and incorporeal beings without a miss chance and attacks using spells or other supernatural powers from the Ethereal Plane.
Given his necrophobia he finds actually touching undead ghosts directly to be loathsome and will not do so unless he absolutely has to. Deathless and disembodied living beings in incorporeal form do not trigger this revulsion as they lack the cold feel of a creature linked to the Negative Energy Plane.
Voice of the Dead (Su): Alex is treated as though he had a permanent speak with dead spell. In Ravenloft using this power does not require a powers check but cannot be turned off. Most times this is not a major problem, but whenever he nears a mass grave, a hidden body, battlefields, or other places where the dead aren't at rest he must make Concentration checks to perform any action. Near one or two restless souls he needs only a 5 or better on a d20 roll (a Will save); near larger groups this will increase to 10, 15, or even a natural 20.
Areas can be "cleansed" either by a cleric casting hallow over all of the ground containing the dead or by setting things right for the souls. The latter could take the form of simple funerary rites or a quest to resolve the matter keeping the dead from passing on.
Alcohol Bane (Ex): Ethyl and methyl alcohol functions as a poison with an onset of Immediate: 1d6 Con damage/2d6 Con damage (no save) when if it is ever introduced into Alex's bloodstream--by injection, ingestion, or even magic that introduces it directly. For several minutes after exposure he is incapacitated by vomiting and can take no actions. Repeated exposure will only lengthen the duration, not increase the damage. Alex must also make a Fort save using his reduced Con to avoid unconsciousness after exposure.
Evil Vulnerability (Ex): Damaging spells with the Evil descriptor, unholy weapons, and vile damage deal double damage.
Necrophobia: Even before Tyriana's betrayal, Alex has harbored an irrational fear of the dead. Not death, but the dead themselves. This fear is what drove him to pursue the path of the illumine soul. Around corpses or actual undead he must make a Fear save (numbers depending on what the DM wants, though he has a 50/50 chance of failure). On a successful save he is merely Shaken, but on a failed save he is Frightened. On a natural 1 he is Panicked. But on a natural 20 he suffers no penalties and in fact gains a +1 Morale bonus to Attack and Damage Rolls against any undead nearby at the time of the roll.
In places associated with the dead--graveyards, morgues, mortuaries, etc.--and around plain corpses of any kind he is automatically Shaken (no save) unless a true undead appears and he rolls a natural 20 as described above. After the undead are defeated he is automatically Shaken again until subjected to a remove fear or similar spell or effect, or he leaves the area.
Touch of Golden Ice (Su): Alex's body is suffused with a supernatural poison called golden ice that affects only those of evil alignment, even creatures normally immune to poison, if they fail a Fort save at DC 14. Damage is 1d6 Dex + evil creature's Cha modifier (if positive)/2d6 + Cha modifier (if positive); undead and evil elementals take an additional +1 point of damage, while evil outsiders and clerics of evil deities take +2 additional damage. Darklords take +3 damage. This poison afflicts any evil creature who touches any exposed skin (such as his face or hands) or else comes into contact with his blood (the toxin remains active even in the oldest, driest bit of blood unless neutralized by supernatural means). Symptoms are numbing cold spreading through the body. He can will the toxin dormant, but it becomes active again in blood shed from his body.
Piercing and slashing attacks against him may expose foes to his blood and thus this poison. A Reflex save (DC = damage dealt) must be made by the attacker and anyone within five feet or they are splattered by his blood and potentially subject them to golden ice. Attacks with ranged or reach weapons can still cause anyone adjacent to be exposed. Successful unarmed attacks and melee touch attacks of any kind expose the attacker automatically.
Raging Desire (Su): During his time in the Abyss, Alex was "gifted" as a carrier of this supernatural disease that affects only evil creatures. It follows all the rules for golden ice, save that the damage is 1d3 Con (creatures without a Con score take Cha damage instead), it can only be spread by intimate contact or by exposure to his blood, and the Fort save DC is 15 (unlike the poison, this disease lasts for one day in blood spilled from his body before going inert). Incubation is one day. Symptoms are intense, overwhelming carnal desires that cannot be sated save by his touch. As stated above, attacks can potentially expose others to this. Those infected reduced to 0 Con or Cha do not die, but are instead left in a state of endless need and are Helpless (such beings suffer an appropriate ability score modifier of -6); unless tended to they will starve to death (if possible) even as they constantly plead for sexual release. While this could be used as an incentive for villains to redeem themselves, he views such as a form of coercion and uses his psionic powers to neutralize it if he detects it. Plus the implications of certain creatures being subject to its symptoms (and their possible subsequent actions) are just too horrid to leave to chance.
Unlike golden ice, he has no control over this dubious ability. A cure disease spell or other effect cast on him will neutralize this for one day. Effects of sixth to eighth level or higher neutralize it for three days, while those ninth level can do so for a full week. Only a true god can permanently remove it (and in Ravenloft, that's unlikely to happen). Alex often uses ninth-level healing psionics to neutralize himself weekly for reasons given above. It's possible an epic level effect could remove it altogether.
Crystal Eye: Alex lost his left eye two centuries ago to a babau during a gladiatorial match in Hades. In its place the Succubus Goddess put the crystal eye, the remains of a planetar who chose death over betraying his masters by lying, in the empty socket. The eye is a minor artifact and has all the powers of a gem of seeing. In Ravenloft it supersedes the normal obscuring of moral alignment and shows creatures' true form even when they're extraordinary or supernatural, not just spells or spell-like abilities. It also grants a +20 bonus to Spot checks to see through disguises or other attempts at mundane camouflage. This same bonus applies to Sense Motive checks when attempting to discern lies and others true intentions. Finally, once per day, the eye can project a prismatic spray (Caster Level 20th).
The eye is commonly hidden under illusions or an obsidian eye patch while in his true form. Its powers function normally through the patch.
Arm of Nyr: The arm of Nyr is a mithral replica of an arm that can be attached to the shoulder of any good-aligned character that has lost their original. It grants a +2 bonus to Strength and Dexterity as well as a +2 deflection bonus to AC.
Amulet of Detriana: Granted to Alex by Detriana's avatar after finally escaping the Abyss, the Amulet a major artifact of immense power in the shape of a stylized heart with crisscrossed swords superimposed on it. The amulet appears made of glass or crystal and is filled with a viscous red fluid with a stopper on top. Only its chosen wearer can remove the stopper and attempts to take the amulet without permission causes 10d6 points of damage to the would-be thief.
Save for its ability to regenerate its chosen wearer (like a ring of regeneration), a ring of nourishment, and a double-strength magic circle against evil, its greater powers remain dormant until "the appropriate time." These are a continual death ward and a localized version of the psionic power celestial conduit that only affects negative energy-based beings (undead, Entropic creatures, grim reapers, etc.), causing 10d6+20 points of positive energy damage if the creature comes in physical contact with the wearer, even with weapons with reach. These effects cannot be dispelled but can be suppressed by the wearer as a Free Action.
But the amulet's true power lies in the liquid inside--literally the blood of Detriana, a primeval goddess of Good. A single drop touched to, ingested by, or applied to a weapon as a poison and that succeeds on a touch attack, greatly harms negative-energy based creatures and fiends (30d10 damage, no save and no resistances or immunities apply). Drops applied to the phylacteries of such creatures inflict the same damage on the item (Hardness is ignored). The blood also effects darklords of any type in the same way, though they receive a Fort save (DC 30) with a +1 bonus for every decade they've been a darklord and suffer only half damage on a failed save (none on a successful one; the Mettle ability reduces this to one-quarter damage on a failed save).
Splashing the blood (which consumes one-fourth of the total [10 drops worth]) on said creatures utterly destroys them; ghost can't rejuvenate, liches' and fiends' phylacteries are destroyed along with the creature, and any other means of returning are nullified. Darklords may or may not be destroyed (DM's choice) and can still make a Fort save as above. The blood regenerates at a rate of ten drops per day until the amulet is fully refilled.
A drop can also be applied to the base of any physically defined spaces (walls, fences, ritual drawings or carvings) to create a barrier that prevents the aforementioned creatures from passing through. The barrier covers any gaps in the area (windows, doors, gates) and spreads to match the full dimensions of said area, but applies to only one geometric angle at a time. A house with four walls would need six drops--one for each wall and one each for the floor and roof--to fully ward, for example. Applicable creatures that run into or are forced through the ward suffer damage as if they had touched a drop. The wards do not block spells or ranged attacks, but the wards cannot be dispelled short of wiping away the drop of blood that created it. Wards cease to exist if the wearer leaves the current plane (including leaving a domain in Ravenloft).
Alexander Dreamfire
Gestalt Soulknife-Wilder 20/Illumine Soul 5/Soulbow 10/Illithid Slayer 5 (as of BC 766)
LG Male Outsider (Extraplanar, Good, Psionic, Spirit)
Born 700 standard planar years ago, Alex displayed an aptitude for psionic power unmatched even among his own people. Some attribute this to the divine blood in his veins. But anyone who knows him would say he made his own way one arduous step at a time. After five centuries of exploring the multiverse and adventuring he's begun to approach his race's mark of middle age. As an immortal he will suffer no physical degradation and still reap the rewards of age and wisdom. Since he has yet to actually reach that point, though, he retains some of the impetuousness of youth.
In his natural form, Alex stands at an astounding 8' tall with a well-proportioned figure described as wiry with soft, almost feminine features to his face. His one good eye and hair are naturally a soft blue color and his skin is chalk-white. His right arm has been replaced by a magical mithral version and his left eye is in fact a prismatic crystal, covered by a patch made of obsidian and leather straps. He has no facial or body hair and dresses more for comfort than out of any fashion sense. His human form is a minor alteration from a hat of alteration, a magical item that allows for the spell alter self at will, standing a foot shorter but still awfully tall for the Realm of Dread, with brown hair and sallow skin that doesn't seem out of place among the Mordentish, his missing arm and seemingly normal and both hands always kept covered by gloves with blue-dyed leather bracers around his wrists. He's often seen in high boots, britches, and a shirt along with a cloak that shimmers a faint purple in direct light. Underneath his clothing he wears gold colored armor of the celestial battalion that has been matter manipulated into adamantine (stats are changed as follows: DR 2/-, no Arcane Spell Failure, no Max Dex limit). On his belt he carries an ornate dagger with a blade nearly a foot long ("Repose"). The blade is especially baleful to the undead and sunlight-sensitive undead in particular. If Alex didn't suppress it, the dagger would shed bright light with the intensity of the sun over a vast area. Instead it remains understated and unassuming beyond what it appears to be. Much like its owner.
Background
Alexander Dreamfire was born almost seven-hundred standard planar years ago in the Region of Dreams, part of a race of beings that call themselves komanie (koh-MA-nee), literally meaning "dreamers." The komanie were ancient when the Material Plane was born, a race of celestial beings who guarded against creatures that would use dreams to prey upon the innocent--specifically those borne of their goddess's half-sister, the succubi. In the untold millennia they grew and evolved into a race of scholars, archivists, and innovators. From the dreams of mortals and immortals alike they have collected, recorded, and even implemented ideas and technologies far beyond even what the Ken-zai have produced. At the same time they have continued to research supernatural power and the nature of the multiverse.
Alex was born to the House of Dreamfire, one of only five noble houses left from a time when a monarchy ruled. But beyond this exalted social status, Alex had the blood of their creator goddess, Detriana, in him. Five generations back the goddess fell in love with his ancestor, creating a divine bloodline that has produced countless heroes and legends. So it came as no surprise that Alex had a capacity for psionics above and beyond even his race's own prodigious talent. This pressure to be the best, to hold himself to higher standards than would be considered realistic, has characterized his life. Even as an adventurer he couldn't forget the voices that had goaded him along in life, forcing him to excel at whatever he did despite having no one to answer to but himself.
He adventured on countless Material worlds, taking part in everything from wars to affairs of state to a brief stint as a circus performer, before meeting the woman that would change his life. Tyriana, an elf and cleric to a benevolent sun god, captured his heart immediately. At first she didn't know what to think of the attention, but it wasn't long before she returned his affections. The next thirty years were the happiest of Alexander's life as he and Tyriana worked together to spread the word of good and fight against the darkness.
Sadly it didn't last. Tyriana's father was arrested on trumped up charges of devilry and crimes too heinous to mention. The accuser was no less than the high priest of her god. She and Alex did all they could and eventually exposed the truth. But her father committed suicide before he could be cleared. It was too much for her to take and her faith in her god was badly shaken. How could a being who claimed to be just and merciful allow her father to suffer so? How could he do that to one of his own servants? In searching for answers she found the dark, perverse whispers of Elisime, the Succubus Goddess.
Alex tried to warn her about Elisime, but his words fell on deaf ears. Within a year Tyriana had been utterly corrupted and left for the Abyss. He wanted to follow, but didn't think he could survive going into the very lair of his goddess's most hated enemy. Worse still, she had allied herself with those who would defy the natural laws of existence--the undead. Her rapport for shadows, wraiths, and all manner of incorporeal beings nearly killed him. In the end, though, she just couldn't bring herself to kill him. Thus he survived and was nursed back to full health by the clerics of her ex-god, using the time to meditate on the nature of the Positive Energy Plane until its power flowed into his body on a continual basis. Now an illumine soul, he sought to understand the undead better and hopefully turn Tyriana away from the darkness by reminding her of the light.
One of his divine traits is the ability to speak with dead at will, and from the undead themselves he came to understand the threat they posed, the twisted mind that drove them, even the unnatural urges they felt. But more importantly, he realized that many were in agony beyond comprehension. To exist as an undead creature was to throw away everything they had once enjoyed for a bitter and often depressing existence. Apathy and anhedonia seemed endemic to the undead, and those who could think on it always wanted the same thing, if their hunger for blood, flesh, and souls could ever be put aside. Each desired nothing more than to die--truly die and be released from the torment of a fate worse than death. Many described it as an emptiness inside that was never filled and drove the creatures mad with its constant need for something. More coherent undead believed it was their link to the Negative Energy Plane, the Endless Void that threatened to consume them lest they fulfill the unnatural desires that now filled their minds.
For years Alexander Dreamfire researched the Positive and Negative Energy Planes, as well as the undead and the deathless. In studying these foes he could ignore his own pain and focus on things that would benefit the multiverse at large. In time he became known as one of the leading authorities on the nature of the undead. It was a chance encounter with the demon lord Orcus, then the specter Tenebrous trying to regain his throne, that finally led to his fateful journey to the Abyss.
Word had it that Tenebrous was lurking around the his old layer of Thanatos and Alex felt he had an actual chance at destroying Orcus/Tenebrous once and for all. Yet it was for naught. He had fallen for a trap laid by the same woman who had broken his heart and turned her back on everything she once stood for. Tyriana was waiting for him when he arrived. Seeing her again opened up all the old wounds anew. But time and experience had opened his eyes to truths he had ignored and in his heart he felt none of the warmth and caring he once had for her. Instead what lurked there was cold, educated loathing of what she had become. When she tried to appeal to his feelings for her the last spark of their flames died in his heart. She wasn't the one he'd fallen in love with. Not anymore.
Tyriana claimed it didn't matter; she was there to capture him for her goddess.
That was no bluff.
Within seconds Alex was clutching his head, fighting off an attempt to utterly dominate his mind by a power that dwarfed even the mightiest psionicist. The last thing he saw before passing out was a blonde woman in a black leather brassier with both male and female genitalia. In that instant he had a horrid epiphany: he was in the presence of Elisime herself and it was she that was attacking him. His blood turned to ice and he could only imagine what horrors awaited him once he woke up again.
Much of what Alexander Dreamfire endured during a century and a half of enslavement is best left to the imagination. Elisime used him as her sexual plaything and even her prize gladiator for games in Hades, where devil and demon alike gathered peacefully to watch shows that shouldn't be described. As time went on he was given magical items to make him a better fighter. An arm of Nyr when his right arm was hacked off at the shoulder, the crystal eye when his left eye was put out by a sword, even an enchanted girdle that boosted his strength and endurance to superhuman levels. Yet it was went on inside of him that really mattered. In his slavery Alex grew, turning to the path of the soulbow just to survive the bloody matches by keeping his foes at a distance.
During that time the only comfort Alex had was Kyra, Elisime's archivist and a lesser succubus that had been "born wrong." She was neither chaotic nor evil, she was weaker than her sisters, and she didn't enjoy the perverse pleasures the others did. In Kyra he found a sympathetic ear, someone he could actually talk to. In time their friendship blossomed into true love, a feeling Alex was loathe to feel after having his heart broken before. But even he couldn't deny the truth forever. They were truly star-crossed lovers, a celestial and a fiend.
Kyra's love buoyed Alex's spirit until it happened. After a century and a half of imprisonment the same woman who had helped capture him dispelled the true domination that had kept him in bondage. Tyriana had never stopped loving him, even if his feelings for her were long dead. Regret tinged her words and she refused to look him straight in the face as she helped him and Kyra to stay ahead of Elisime's guards. As her last act of love she helped Alex and Kyra flee the Abyss for all time, opening a gate to Mt. Celestia before fleeing herself to an unknown demiplane that even the gods wouldn't touch.
Alex was welcomed by the archons, but Kyra was not. He fought hard for her and her true desire to abandon her old life finally won her a chance. She was to travel the planes--alone--and visit sites of power that would tear the evil from her being and give her a fresh start. Meanwhile Alex began strict physical and mental exercises, including bathing daily in the Silver Sea. Days turned to weeks, and then months, and finally years. Kyra visited him whenever she could, but the archons kept her stay short until she had at last been reborn as a celestial herself.
Thirty years, a mere blink of the eye for two immortals, passed. In that time Alex was visited by the avatar of Detriana to tell him that he had no reason to continue the Seletar ko Danit, literally "Return To Innocence," ritual. His body bore the scars, but his soul had escaped the taint of evil. All of his efforts were unnecessary. He could go back to enjoying life once more. And he did so, travelling the Blessed Fields of Elysium with Talisid and his Five Companions, dancing with Morwen in the Court of Stars, living for the first time in almost two centuries. For a time he even managed to let go of his hatred of the undead.
But it wasn't to be. Vanatha, Elisime's favored minion, and her cohort, Caesarus, managed to steal an artifact from the Celestial Armory--one that could unmake existence itself if it fell into the wrong hands: the Sword of Darkness. For countless eons it sat inert with its sister blade, the Sword of Light, the two cancelling each other out. Because of his extensive interactions with such beings, it was only natural that Alexander Dreamfire would be chosen to get it back. Along with a solar named Manus, they pursued the two and the Sword across the multiverse--finally cornering them in a world regarded as a prison plane, Ravenloft.
In the open fields of eastern Darkon the four had their last showdown. Caesarus was first to fall, his new phylactery shattering as the Light scoured his existence from reality. Then Manus fell to the Darkness when Vanatha got in a lucky strike. Alex could only stare in horror until a rage gripped him, filling him with newfound power even as his consciousness slipped away. The last thing that he saw was the greater succubus impaled on a blade of pure light.
When Alex came to he was alone in the field. The Swords were gone, as were Manus' weapons and the dimensional tear they had entered through. At first confused, Alex felt his blood freeze as he recalled the myriad rumors of Ravenloft, especially the Unspoken Pact. Those who had entered and managed to escape reported that the gods were distant there, little more than ideals even as those of divine profession still received spells and powers. The gods themselves never spoke of why they ignored that place, either. Only a rumor of a passage hidden in Boccob's libraries said anything--an Unspoken Pact had been struck with whatever forces held sway over the demiplane. The gods were to stay out of the affairs of Ravenloft, and in turn its rulers stayed out of the gods' way--usually.
Alex had little choice but to wait for an opportunity to escape. And he cataloged his journeys in his journals along the way.
Current Sketch
Alex's current activities are continually updated in the Lost Journals. Yet there is far more to the story than he tells or will even admit to himself. In spite of all his writing about "facing down one's inner demons," he has yet to truly reconcile much of his past and the future promises only more dark things. In the past he would escape these feelings by drowning himself in a larger task or some sort of vice to ignore the pain--the most infamous is his alcoholic past and new allergen to most forms of the chemical. His body has simply grown fed up with his self-poisoning and now violently purges itself of such in a severe autoimmune reaction.
From the beginning he's felt as if Ravenloft was a world made of cardboard and if he didn't control himself he would break it. In fact Alexander Dreamfire simply doesn't belong in Ravenloft. The Land rejects his very existence as the fabric of reality begins to dissolve whenever he unleashes his reality wrinkle and it makes those around him ill, native or outlander, dead or alive. Furthermore he's faced with the truly wicked who still harm others despite their own curses, and yet he can't--or won't--move against them. His crystal eye clearly shows him the monsters that walk among men and men who are monsters at heart. His Voice of the Dead is now a cacophony made up the countless dead who talk all at once. And as he learns more about the Realm of Dread, the cold light of knowledge just makes the shadows deeper and offers no comfort.
Yet even in this darkness he's found light. Friends such as Rudolph van Richten, George Weathermay, Geniffer and Laurie, and others help remind him that even this hellish place deserves better. Thus he commits himself to hunting those threats that pose a mobile threat. Darklords aren't included for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, he's aware of Ravenloft's darklords and what it took to become one. He finds guilty pleasure in letting them exist as they are, knowing the torment they suffer is far more fitting than anything he could do to them. The second reason is that, as he's learned of Ravenloft's true nature, he fears what will happen to a domain if its darklord is ever destroyed. Would another fill the void? Or would the land cease to exist? That question terrifies him and has stayed his hand against most.
Only two have pushed him too far. Vlad Drakov is one lord he wouldn't mind killing, yet every time he has come close to killing him Fate intervenes and Drakov is spared. Sir Wilfred Godefroy has come to blows with Alex more than once after he trapped the spirit of a young Nidalan paladin named Priscilla, who swore to be his eternal servant. For the time being Godefroy has given Alex a wide berth, fearing he will make good on his threat to destroy Gryphon Manor. Alex is also one of the few living beings who knows about the secret of his wife and daughter coming to visit him nightly. The peace between them is uneasy and could easily be broken by any hint of Godefroy doing more than haunting Gryphon Manor. Godefroy's blackmail of Daniel Foxgrove and the ghost's plans to have the souls of important mortals who hopefully die at Heather House become his slaves have not (yet) reached Alex's ears. Godefroy takes great care that his foe is never alerted, even to the point of treating Alex as a superior (something the ghost finds only slightly less loathsome than his wife and daughter visiting him at night).
A possible third is Elena Faith-hold. Somehow in the twisting of planar time Alex was there to fight alongside Elena and Lady Katerie Shadowborn in the Heretic Wars and was witness to Elena's fall from grace after Ebonbane struck down Lady Katerie. His reality wrinkle shields him from her ability to sense just how much he truly reviles her when he visits Nidala. Time and again he's thought of ways to destroy her, only to reject them because her death is not what he wants. He wants to see her horrified look when she finally realizes what she's become, to hear her screams of self-hate, and watch as the truth tears her apart on the inside. He wants to know that she is all too aware of what she's become and truly loathes herself for it. Her own guilt would be the most fitting punishment.
A singular group of darklords Alex would love to see destroyed but literally cannot act against is the Nightmare Court. The Dreaming Pact used part of the power of the Pact Primeval--the quintessential essence of Law--to keep both sides in line and still does so to this day. Simply put, no komanie can act against the Court and vice versa in any manner. Neither side can send minions against the other or do anything more than persuade others to fight on their behalf. So powerful is the Dreaming Pact that both sides must divorce themselves utterly from any actions taken against the other by any party, lest they face grave consequences. Thus the Nightmare Man can't drive an asylum patient to murder Alex, and Alex can't ask friends and allies to fight for him. The two can do no more than circle each other like wolves. It is worth mentioning that the use and manipulation of dream terrain to harry or hamper the other side is well within acceptance of the Pact; dream visions or manipulation deliberately intended to bring about physical or psychological harm are not.
Beginning in 750 BC, Alexander begins losing his literal connection to the reality of the Realms of Dread as his reality disruption exceeds what the demiplane can withstand. In game terms, he loses 5% of his corporeality for every year that passes. Signs were evident as early as 739 but the full impact only begins that year. In time he will no longer be able to interact with anyone or anything that hasn't been anointed with a drop of his blood and eventually he'll be able to push past the demiplane's boundaries like they were warm gelatin, allowing him to leave but being unable to take anyone else with him. As a result he begins a frantic search for the fabled Scroll of Return, a magic item that can open a portal out of Ravenloft. This will allow him to fulfill his promises to aid others in escaping the Land of Mists once and for all as well as flee the demiplane himself without having to wait.
A side effect of his increasing "fading" is the ability to see into and interact with layers of reality normally imperceptible and untouchable by those not of the Mists. This results in an increased number of attacks by Mist creatures and a limited capacity to alter his surroundings. Including but not limited to strengthening or weakening objects, minor environmental alterations (adding or removing small bodies of water, changing stone to clay or sand or vice versa, and creating or controlling minor fires). This control is imperfect and immediately causes the manipulated object to degrade and dissipate into vapor as if exposed to his reality disruption.
Personality
Those closest to him would describe Alexander Dreamfire as quiet, asocial, even emotionally distant. Many come away with the opposite idea given his raw charisma and skill with words. He's mastered how to get others to go on at length about themselves without saying a thing about himself that even the most persuasive Mordentish bard would be hard pressed to match. Only those who spend more than a few hours around him realize he rarely actually reveals anything. This attitude of "playing his cards tight to his chest" extends well beyond the social arena (see Combat, below). In part it's borne of the practice of never using all of his abilities until needed so foes can't accurately gauge his true capability. But it's also due to the fact that he's terrified of letting others into his heart, for fears that he'll be hurt yet again. He tries to keep people at arm's length, but has let more than a few get close and will undoubtedly continue to do so.
Largely due to nurture--but certainly helped by nature--is Alex's skills in the amorous arts. He comes from a culture that exalts healthy sexuality and has never understood prudish attitudes about it. This is another source of antipathy between the komanie and succubi; the former temper love and sex with respect for others, while the latter debase what should be the most beautiful thing shared between people. In a sense, the two are polar opposites of one another. Alex is not promiscuous, however, and has had very few partners for someone who's seven centuries old. Aside from a few flings, true relationships he's had have always been quite passionate and equally long. He politely omits most details from his journals but does admit when they happen. His skills come more from attempts to ensure his partners are always satisfied and enjoy their time with him.
Despite not needing to eat or drink thanks to the Amulet of Detriana, he still does so simply because it's pleasurable (and due to phantom hunger and thirst; he is unaware of the Amulet's power of nourishment).
Combat
In the past Alex was known to make ample use of psionic powers in a fight, even using Surging Euphoria and Euphoric Reduction. But as time passed he saw how such things made him a target above all others. Instead he came to rely more and more upon his soulknife abilities while lulling his foes into a complacent confidence about his true powers. Such a style was refined in the Lower Planes. In Ravenloft, where his powers are so misunderstood as to be completely alien, he's formed the bad habit of not fighting as well as he could just to avoid notice--from other people and especially the darklords. This paranoid fear is one of the key factors keeping him from pursuing any active agendas against the darklords, including Drakov and Godefroy. In some instances this hesitation has actually cost him far more than victory against an opponent (as his initial encounter with a dread flesh golem details). When not around witnesses, though, he's willing to cut loose and go all in.
Dreamwalk (Su): All komanie possess the ability to enter the dreams of others just by making physical contact or having something tied to their target and making a Concentration (DC 10) check. While dreamwalking Alex is treated as if he were physically there, though charges expended from items while in the dream do not count (but spent power points do). His stats remain the same and will die if his dream self is killed. His powers and abilities are not affected by the dream world and always function normally.
Komanie can also project their dream selves into a given sleeper's dreams or the dreamscapes of the Nightmare Lands from any distance with a Concentration (DC 14) check.
Despite being mental contact, using this power does not require Madness saves regardless of who (or what) it's used on.
Improved Lucid Dreaming (Ex): Alex has the Improved Lucid Dreaming feat (see p. 203, MotP) as a bonus feat. He is immune to all sleep-inducing and dream-affecting abilities and always controls his own dreams. In the Nightmare Lands he automatically controls the land around him out to twenty feet, though this can be overridden by the Nightmare Court at will.
Reality Wrinkle (Ex): Alex possesses a reality wrinkle out to 40,000 feet in diameter. Unlike a fiend's wrinkle, his is disruptive to the reality of Ravenloft. Unless suppressed by a free action it's impossible for natural healing to occur while inside his wrinkle and native materials slowly turn to hideous forms before disappearing into vapor over the course of hours, not days. Normally he keeps his wrinkle to a mere five feet and doesn't let any of the disruptions occur. People and objects anointed with a drop of his blood are forever immune to the ill effects of his reality wrinkle, a fact he discovered quite by accident. Darklords cannot be made immune to his reality wrinkle; in fact his blood subjects them to the effects of golden ice and raging desire (see below), regardless of any immunities to disease and/or poison. Evil-aligned characters can be made immune, but are subject to the ravage and affliction.
While technically possible to ensnare darklords in his wrinkle, Alex refuses to do so. Any darklord caught inside his reality wrinkle is free of their curse and can wander freely. They're also cut off from any powers gained from being darklords. Unless he's suppressed his reality disruption as well, they find the experience agonizing and are subject to 1d10 damage every round (no save) and are effectively paralyzed. This overcomes any sort of immunity to paralysis or damage reduction.
Because the Nightmare Lands are so closely connected to the Region of Dreams, Alex loses both his reality wrinkle and Extraplanar subtype in that realm and gains the Native subtype while there.
Celestial Fury (Ex and Su): From time to time Alex loses control of the raw hate and anger still pent up inside. In game terms whenever he rolls the Rage Horror effect. This is accompanied by bizarre feats of supernatural power. These "celestial furies" manifest as a barbarian's rage and a lesser aspect of the deity spell (effectively just a +4 Charisma bonus) combined. He is automatically Exhausted after such.
Very rarely this goes even further (only when a Madness save results in Moderate Horror and that result is Rage; mighty rage plus greater aspect of the deity (gaining the powers and ability bonuses of the half-celestial template). Alex immediately becomes Unconscious afterwards but can easily be woken up; treat as Staggered unless magical healing is applied or an hour is allowed to pass.
In every case Ethereal Resonance is left at the spot. These are not Sinkholes of Evil but still carry the Taint of Rage, making those in its boundaries more likely to succumb to effects that generate anger but not penalizing anything else. For lesser rages the rank of the ethereal resonance is two while the rank for a greater rage is three. Theoretically it's possible for a greater celestial fury to create a rank four or five resonance, but that would take a bit longer than his modified Constitution can sustain.
The rage effects are extraordinary, but the celestial powers are supernatural and are subject to antimagic zones or other areas of dead magic.
See the Other Side (Su): Alex is constantly aware of the Near Ethereal and its denizens. He effectively has the Ethereal Empathy and Ghostsight feats for free. In Ravenloft he cannot turn this ability off or tell if someone is a ghost or incorporeal unless they're obviously such.
Touch the Other Side (Su): Alex can freely touch and interact with incorporeal and ethereal beings and objects and never suffers a miss chance in combat against them. This applies to all attacks but not psionic powers or any magical effects triggered by him unless they have the Force descriptor. He is treated as a magnitude five ghost for the purposes of being able to ignore ethereal resonance. He is fully subject to attacks from ethereal and incorporeal beings without a miss chance and attacks using spells or other supernatural powers from the Ethereal Plane.
Given his necrophobia he finds actually touching undead ghosts directly to be loathsome and will not do so unless he absolutely has to. Deathless and disembodied living beings in incorporeal form do not trigger this revulsion as they lack the cold feel of a creature linked to the Negative Energy Plane.
Voice of the Dead (Su): Alex is treated as though he had a permanent speak with dead spell. In Ravenloft using this power does not require a powers check but cannot be turned off. Most times this is not a major problem, but whenever he nears a mass grave, a hidden body, battlefields, or other places where the dead aren't at rest he must make Concentration checks to perform any action. Near one or two restless souls he needs only a 5 or better on a d20 roll (a Will save); near larger groups this will increase to 10, 15, or even a natural 20.
Areas can be "cleansed" either by a cleric casting hallow over all of the ground containing the dead or by setting things right for the souls. The latter could take the form of simple funerary rites or a quest to resolve the matter keeping the dead from passing on.
Alcohol Bane (Ex): Ethyl and methyl alcohol functions as a poison with an onset of Immediate: 1d6 Con damage/2d6 Con damage (no save) when if it is ever introduced into Alex's bloodstream--by injection, ingestion, or even magic that introduces it directly. For several minutes after exposure he is incapacitated by vomiting and can take no actions. Repeated exposure will only lengthen the duration, not increase the damage. Alex must also make a Fort save using his reduced Con to avoid unconsciousness after exposure.
Evil Vulnerability (Ex): Damaging spells with the Evil descriptor, unholy weapons, and vile damage deal double damage.
Necrophobia: Even before Tyriana's betrayal, Alex has harbored an irrational fear of the dead. Not death, but the dead themselves. This fear is what drove him to pursue the path of the illumine soul. Around corpses or actual undead he must make a Fear save (numbers depending on what the DM wants, though he has a 50/50 chance of failure). On a successful save he is merely Shaken, but on a failed save he is Frightened. On a natural 1 he is Panicked. But on a natural 20 he suffers no penalties and in fact gains a +1 Morale bonus to Attack and Damage Rolls against any undead nearby at the time of the roll.
In places associated with the dead--graveyards, morgues, mortuaries, etc.--and around plain corpses of any kind he is automatically Shaken (no save) unless a true undead appears and he rolls a natural 20 as described above. After the undead are defeated he is automatically Shaken again until subjected to a remove fear or similar spell or effect, or he leaves the area.
Touch of Golden Ice (Su): Alex's body is suffused with a supernatural poison called golden ice that affects only those of evil alignment, even creatures normally immune to poison, if they fail a Fort save at DC 14. Damage is 1d6 Dex + evil creature's Cha modifier (if positive)/2d6 + Cha modifier (if positive); undead and evil elementals take an additional +1 point of damage, while evil outsiders and clerics of evil deities take +2 additional damage. Darklords take +3 damage. This poison afflicts any evil creature who touches any exposed skin (such as his face or hands) or else comes into contact with his blood (the toxin remains active even in the oldest, driest bit of blood unless neutralized by supernatural means). Symptoms are numbing cold spreading through the body. He can will the toxin dormant, but it becomes active again in blood shed from his body.
Piercing and slashing attacks against him may expose foes to his blood and thus this poison. A Reflex save (DC = damage dealt) must be made by the attacker and anyone within five feet or they are splattered by his blood and potentially subject them to golden ice. Attacks with ranged or reach weapons can still cause anyone adjacent to be exposed. Successful unarmed attacks and melee touch attacks of any kind expose the attacker automatically.
Raging Desire (Su): During his time in the Abyss, Alex was "gifted" as a carrier of this supernatural disease that affects only evil creatures. It follows all the rules for golden ice, save that the damage is 1d3 Con (creatures without a Con score take Cha damage instead), it can only be spread by intimate contact or by exposure to his blood, and the Fort save DC is 15 (unlike the poison, this disease lasts for one day in blood spilled from his body before going inert). Incubation is one day. Symptoms are intense, overwhelming carnal desires that cannot be sated save by his touch. As stated above, attacks can potentially expose others to this. Those infected reduced to 0 Con or Cha do not die, but are instead left in a state of endless need and are Helpless (such beings suffer an appropriate ability score modifier of -6); unless tended to they will starve to death (if possible) even as they constantly plead for sexual release. While this could be used as an incentive for villains to redeem themselves, he views such as a form of coercion and uses his psionic powers to neutralize it if he detects it. Plus the implications of certain creatures being subject to its symptoms (and their possible subsequent actions) are just too horrid to leave to chance.
Unlike golden ice, he has no control over this dubious ability. A cure disease spell or other effect cast on him will neutralize this for one day. Effects of sixth to eighth level or higher neutralize it for three days, while those ninth level can do so for a full week. Only a true god can permanently remove it (and in Ravenloft, that's unlikely to happen). Alex often uses ninth-level healing psionics to neutralize himself weekly for reasons given above. It's possible an epic level effect could remove it altogether.
Crystal Eye: Alex lost his left eye two centuries ago to a babau during a gladiatorial match in Hades. In its place the Succubus Goddess put the crystal eye, the remains of a planetar who chose death over betraying his masters by lying, in the empty socket. The eye is a minor artifact and has all the powers of a gem of seeing. In Ravenloft it supersedes the normal obscuring of moral alignment and shows creatures' true form even when they're extraordinary or supernatural, not just spells or spell-like abilities. It also grants a +20 bonus to Spot checks to see through disguises or other attempts at mundane camouflage. This same bonus applies to Sense Motive checks when attempting to discern lies and others true intentions. Finally, once per day, the eye can project a prismatic spray (Caster Level 20th).
The eye is commonly hidden under illusions or an obsidian eye patch while in his true form. Its powers function normally through the patch.
Arm of Nyr: The arm of Nyr is a mithral replica of an arm that can be attached to the shoulder of any good-aligned character that has lost their original. It grants a +2 bonus to Strength and Dexterity as well as a +2 deflection bonus to AC.
Amulet of Detriana: Granted to Alex by Detriana's avatar after finally escaping the Abyss, the Amulet a major artifact of immense power in the shape of a stylized heart with crisscrossed swords superimposed on it. The amulet appears made of glass or crystal and is filled with a viscous red fluid with a stopper on top. Only its chosen wearer can remove the stopper and attempts to take the amulet without permission causes 10d6 points of damage to the would-be thief.
Save for its ability to regenerate its chosen wearer (like a ring of regeneration), a ring of nourishment, and a double-strength magic circle against evil, its greater powers remain dormant until "the appropriate time." These are a continual death ward and a localized version of the psionic power celestial conduit that only affects negative energy-based beings (undead, Entropic creatures, grim reapers, etc.), causing 10d6+20 points of positive energy damage if the creature comes in physical contact with the wearer, even with weapons with reach. These effects cannot be dispelled but can be suppressed by the wearer as a Free Action.
But the amulet's true power lies in the liquid inside--literally the blood of Detriana, a primeval goddess of Good. A single drop touched to, ingested by, or applied to a weapon as a poison and that succeeds on a touch attack, greatly harms negative-energy based creatures and fiends (30d10 damage, no save and no resistances or immunities apply). Drops applied to the phylacteries of such creatures inflict the same damage on the item (Hardness is ignored). The blood also effects darklords of any type in the same way, though they receive a Fort save (DC 30) with a +1 bonus for every decade they've been a darklord and suffer only half damage on a failed save (none on a successful one; the Mettle ability reduces this to one-quarter damage on a failed save).
Splashing the blood (which consumes one-fourth of the total [10 drops worth]) on said creatures utterly destroys them; ghost can't rejuvenate, liches' and fiends' phylacteries are destroyed along with the creature, and any other means of returning are nullified. Darklords may or may not be destroyed (DM's choice) and can still make a Fort save as above. The blood regenerates at a rate of ten drops per day until the amulet is fully refilled.
A drop can also be applied to the base of any physically defined spaces (walls, fences, ritual drawings or carvings) to create a barrier that prevents the aforementioned creatures from passing through. The barrier covers any gaps in the area (windows, doors, gates) and spreads to match the full dimensions of said area, but applies to only one geometric angle at a time. A house with four walls would need six drops--one for each wall and one each for the floor and roof--to fully ward, for example. Applicable creatures that run into or are forced through the ward suffer damage as if they had touched a drop. The wards do not block spells or ranged attacks, but the wards cannot be dispelled short of wiping away the drop of blood that created it. Wards cease to exist if the wearer leaves the current plane (including leaving a domain in Ravenloft).