Path of the Pharaoh

The Path of the Pharaoh is the Path of Corruption followed by the Krynnish Red-Robed Wizard Wick. Its name references Pharaoh Ankhtepot, who became a Darklord through his egregious blasphemies.

• 1. Deathmask: (current stage) Once a day, Wick can use Cause Fear as a spell-like ability, as a gaze attack. His caster level is equal to his effective character level. The DC is determined by his Charisma score.
  • The skin of Wick's face has become dark and shriveled, like leather left out in the desert sun. He gains OR +1.

• 2. Trapped in the Past: Wick gains a +4 bonus to all Knowledge (history) checks, as well as Linguistics checks to decipher ancient languages.
  • Wick has trouble assimilating new knowledge. When studying spells from other schools than Illusion or Transmutation, Wick must roll a Concentration check (DC 12 + highest spell's level). A failure means Wick needs twice as much time as normal to study his spells.

• 3. Hollow Husk: Once a day, Wick can use Vomit swarm as a spell-like ability, with his caster level equaling his effective character level. He can only use Vomit swarm to unleash a scarab swarm.
  • The scarabs live inside of Wick when not projected outside of his body, causing his stomach to look distented and bloated; this gives him OR +1, cumulative with other modifiers. The scarabs' squirming causes Wick discomfort, imposing a cumulative -1 modifier to Concentration per hour on every day he does not consume a pound of rotting meat.

• 4. Touch of the Grave: Twice a day, Wick can use Contagion as a spell-like ability. His caster level is equal to his effective character level, and his Charisma score determines the save DC.
  • Wick's whole skin now looks withered and shrivelled, like that of a corpse abandoned in the desert. He suffers a -4 to Dexterity and gains OR +1, cumulative with other modifiers.

• 5. Terror of the Grave: Twice a day, Wick can use Greater rebuke as a spell-like ability, as a gaze attack. His caster level equals his effective character level. His Cha. modifier determines the save DC.
  • Wick develops a strong fixation on his home, the House of the Red Moon in former Dorvinia, and becomes unwilling to leave it. Every day he spends outside the House, he must roll a Will save, starting at a DC 14 and increasing by 1 for every consecutive day. If he fails the save, he must return to the House immediately by the fastest route available to him. He will blindly attack anyone who or anything that tries to stop him.

• 6. Lord of the Manor: Wick becomes immune to the effects of critical hits and sneak attacks, and his ageing process has halted. At will, he can the House of the Red Moon to teleport to any city in the Demiplane of Dread he knows of. Local False History is immediately twisted so natives of the domain believe the House has always been there, but local Darklords can normally sense the House's arrival and departure.
  • Wick is essentially a living Mummy, his natural appearance and rigid gait inspiring terror and disgust. His internal organs have been extracted from his body, and most are scattered around the Demiplane. Wick only has the jar containing his stomach and bowel tract, allowing him to feed himself. As he can not leave the House of the Red Moon, Wick is desperate to lure people inside, turn them into his minions and use them to either to expand the house or else find his missing organs before someone else finds and destroys them - or worse, uses them to extort his obedience.