Imholtaep
Conqueror of the South, Lord of the Dunes
Holy Books & Codes
A holy text called Imholtaep's Will was in widespread use during the glory days of his cult.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
His cultists used a stylized brass symbol shaped like the skull of a brown dragon.
Physical Description
Special abilities
Imholtaep boasts that no blade or spell is capable of harming him. In addition, he is a powerful wizard with great command over the school of necromancy.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Imholtaep hatched in a ruined nest buried deep under the ground. His parents had been slain by adventurers prior to his brood's hatching, and thus he and his siblings were not given food or other necessities. Being brown dragons, they tried to dig out but they wouldn't be able to reach the surface in time without eating a hearty meal. To survive, Imholtaep killed and ate his siblings before clawing his way to the surface of the dunes of Sahrajha.
The majority of his life's details between his birth and the time after he became a great wyrm are mostly unknown. What is known, however, is that at some point he became a powerful wizard with a fixation on necromancy, undead, and undeath. Who or what trained him is not known either, but the vast amount of lore he received and learned himself took up an entire library's worth of books. Also during this time, Imholtaep founded a cult of necromancers that worshipped him as a god. Together they raised a vast army of undead warriors and strengthened their cult's power over death.
After raising a massive army of not only undead but necromancers and cultists too. Leading from the head, Imholtaep razed the armies of the various sultanates and sheikdoms of Sahrajha, uniting the continent under his draconic rule. Imholtaep's reign ushered in the necromantic practices that are still prevalent in some parts of the continent to this day. Only those who were distinguished and powerful in the art of necromancy would be given positions of power. Eventually, he became obsessed with preventing his own death. Imholtaep began to be extremely paranoid and even executed a majority of his high command and powerful nobility. He had a gargantuan and sprawling tomb created where he would live and work. During his time in the tomb, he discovered the location of the Brown Dragon Mask and seized it from its resting place to gain its power. Then, with the help of his advisor Samman Sadar, Imholtaep crafted a phylactery to house his soul so that he would be invincible. The ritual to become a lich, already modified by Imholtaep in order to make his body untouchable by blades and spells, was further modified by Samman in an attempt to kill the dragon. While his modifications were unsuccessful in the assassination attempt, they were successful in forcing Imholtaep off the throne. Imholtaep's physical form was eradicated, leaving behind nothing but dust and sand. His soul was put into a diamond orb, which had been corrupted with a spell relating to sand by Samman, and took the form of a swirling brown energy.
For thousands of years, Imholtaep's mask and phylactery had laid undisturbed in his tomb. This was until an explorer accidentally found the tomb and opened it. Word spread and eventually many adventurers, monsters, and other spelunkers descended into the tomb to seek out treasure, fame, and power. One such party was Varahosst's Host. They had come for the mask, though they would reawaken the spirit of Imholtaep in the process. The orb which made up his phylactery formed a body of sand around it and broke up onto the surface of Sahrajha to terrorize the land once more.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Failures & Embarrassments
Social
Religious Views
Imholtaep believed that he was destined to be the undying god-king of Sahrajha and managed to build a powerful cult that was well-versed in the art of necromancy.
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