Basileus of the Empire
Basileus, Equal of the Apostles Flavius Claudius Iulianus Augustus (a.k.a. Julian)
The Empire stretches around the Mare Nostrum, from Ravenna to the Balkans along the Mare Nostrum coast to Anatolia, then south to Africa and westward to the Pillars of Hercules where it turns north to the Via Aquitania. The basileus resides in Antakya, mostly, though His Attention is drawn wherever the Imperial Legions need to be. Khemet is His Private Property, including His Library at Alexandria, holding a copy of every book ever written and full Imperial authority to garner more.
At Byzantium, the basileus maintains His Psychomanteum Holy Wisdom, where the Silentium performs it’s auguries in the morning prior to it’s official meetings. The Palace of Constantine is there, and serves to house the Council of Kings should it meet there as well as serve as forum for the Silentium. Most of the ministries save the Bureau of Barbarians report to Byzantium, while the Legions, the Admiralty, and the Bureau convene at Antakya where the basileus dwells.
The Empire straddles three continents, and all rests on the basileus. Born Flavius Claudius Iulianus Augustus, it was raised in the Arian heresy before converting to worship of Helios and abandoning Christianity as worthless before the traditions of the Empire, which it fully advocates. The Empire maintains a glass ceiling that limits Christians to the lowest levels of the bureaucracy, where they are allowed only due to the Tolerances of various predecessor emperors and the basileus’s belief that they are harmless if worthless.
The basileus is known for speaking to all men as equals, widely criticized as a lack of discernment and a failure to behave in an Imperial manner, and for its ascetic lifestyle, only grown more modest as its needs have lessened in death, also a subject of criticism as unbecoming in an emperor.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Freshly dead, with the death blows still open, albeit no longer draining. The field conditions when it died did not allow for embalming prior to reanimation, but the preservative properties of lichdom allow it to pass as living yet.
Body Features
Skin somewhat bluish tinged and pale
Facial Features
The basileus has a full head of auburn hair it wears long, with a moustache and neat trimmed beard. It's somewhat blocky features are not unattractive, but neither are they paragons of male beauty.
Identifying Characteristics
The basileus was stabbed with poisoned daggers, and while the wounds were stitched, the scars remain, discolored by the poison. These death marks are generally hidden beneath it's robes but are revealed to verify identity.
Special abilities
Damage Reduction(Su) The basileus enjoys a damage reduction of 15/ bludgeoning and magic. Its natural weapons are considered magical for purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Fast Healing(Ex) The basileus heals five points of damage every round. The flow of energies renewing it is believed to be generated by the basileus’s psychomanteum in Byzantium, but is innate to the basileus. This healing will not restore hit points lost to thirst, hunger, or deprivation, not that the basileus is subject to damage from those sources.
Fear Aura(Su) Any creature of 5HD or fewer that comes within 60 feet of the basileus must make a WILL save vs. DC 21 or be struck with fear as if cast by an 18th level sorcerer. If it should make the save, it cannot be affected again by the basileus’s fear aura for 24 hours.
Immunities(Ex) The basileus is immune to cold, electricity, polymorph, and any mind-affecting effects. It can still polymorph itself if it desires.
Lich Sight(Ex) The basileus has 60 foot darkvision, but further, it ignores conditions of light or dark entirely, not being affected by flare or other blinding effects nor magical darkness. It is as if light and dark do not exist for the basileus.
Life-drain Touch(Su) The basileus’s touch attack inflicts 1d8+5 points of negative energy, but this can be halved by a successful FORT check against DC 21(round down).
Mastery of Counterspelling(Su) When the basileus attempts to counterspell an opponent, a success has the effect of spell-turning rather than mere negation of the spell.
Paralyzing Touch(Su)The basileus’s touch does more than merely inflict damage-once the damage has been determined, the recipient must roll a FORT check against DC 21 or be paralyzed. Paralyzed victims appear dead unless magic is used to detect life.
Rejuvenation(Su) The basileus will reincarnate as a mouse if reduced to zero hit points. As a mouse, it must kill a rat and devour it, by this action transforming into a rat. As a rat it must slay and devour a cat, thereby becoming a cat. As a cat it must slay and devour a dog, as a dog it must slay and devour a tiger, and as a tiger, it must slay and devour a man, whereupon it is fully restored to full power. If it is slain during this cycle, it is destroyed permanently, but otherwise renews as any lich.
Spell-like Ability(Su) The basileus can determine one of its memorized spells is instead a spell-like ability usable twice a day, selected when it memorizes it’s spells. (Generally, the basileus will place it’s create greater undead spell for this role, paying only the XP cost of the material component). If the basileus elects to place the spell in a prepared slot three levels higher than required, the spell-like ability may be used four times a day rather than two, and if placed in a slot six levels above that required, it may use the spell-like ability six times a day.
Spells(Su) The basileus possesses the spellcasting ability of a 13th level archivist and 15th level wizard. As an archivist, it may prepare 4/6/5/5/5/4/4/3 spells from it’s prayer books, and as a wizard, it may prepare 4/6/5/5/5/4/3/1/1 spells. As one of the basileus’s holdings is the fabled Library of Alexandria, it may conceivably cast any divine or arcane spell generally available. The DM should determine spells and selection. Note that some of the basileus’s abilities have been altered due to it’s archmage levels, and it’s bonus spells have been added to it’s totals. The basileus requires eight hours inert to renew it's spells as any spellcaster.
Turn Resistance(Su) The basileus is considered a 22 HD monster for purposes of turning/rebuking.
Undead Control(Su) The basileus can force any undead within 18,000 feet to make a WILL check against DC 21 or fall under it’s control. The basileus may force any undead of up to 9 HD to make this check, and may use this ability to control up to 54 HD of undead without straining this ability.
Undead Mastery(Su) When the basileus focuses upon it’s Undead Control power, it may exert Undead Mastery, controlling up to 210 HD of undead in a general manner within 21,000 feet. This control is not as precise, only allowing the basileus to direct movement and attacks, but a zombie apocalypse is a zombie apocalypse…
Undead Qualities(Su) As an undead, the basileus is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects. It is not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. It is immune to damage to it’s physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, the last of which it does not possess) as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects. It is immune to any effect requiring a Fortitude save unless the effect works on objects or is harmless, and uses it's Charisma modifier for all Constitution-based skill checks. The basileus is not at risk of death from massive damage but when reduced to 0 hp or less is destroyed(though it will begin it's strange rejuvenation cycle within 1d10 days). The basileus is not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells and abilities, though resurrection and true resurrection could turn it into the person it was before becoming undead. The basileus does not need to breathe, eat, or sleep, though it must rest before preparing spells.
Apparel & Accessories
It wears beautiful white robes while holding court, but has an army of outfitters who see it appropriately attired for every occasion.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Julian was raised in the Arian Heresy, but abandoned that for the titan Helios. He shouldered military responsibility early on, distinguishing himself with victories over the jotuns that brought the support of the legions. His ascension to the purple was more of a last man standing deal than personal elevation through will to power, and he performed various purification rites in preparation for his ascension that paid off when he was slain by Iranshar assassins who did not expect it's vengeance to fall so soon nor from the hand of a corpse.
Gender Identity
Male
Sexuality
Largely nonexistant. It was celibate in life and death didn't change that
Education
Best money could buy considering the Flavians invested in conquering and consolidating the Empire at the time. Highly educated and intellectual ascetic
Accomplishments & Achievements
Subdued the jotuns outnumbered and outgunned in Gaul while alive, has a strategic and tactical mind equal to Hannibal or Napoleon
Failures & Embarrassments
Golgotha was it overreaching
Mental Trauma
Lichdom took it by surprise, but it recovered well. Fanatical about the old Imperial values over softer, more modern beliefs
Intellectual Characteristics
It's very forthright and egalitarian with a sardonic, subdued wit.
Morality & Philosophy
Totally dedicated to the ideal of the Empire and pragmatic enough to realize the best thing for the Empire is free trade and ease of travel. Holds to the administrative philosophy "Less is more"
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
The basileus dreams of restoring the iron traditions that built the Empire, while maintaining the Empire as a bulwark against barbarism.
Social
Contacts & Relations
The basileus has a strange relationship with the Beloved akin to marriage. The two are close even when in opposition or rivalry, even offering and accepting advice under these conditions. Rumor claims they convene regularly in the psychomanteum Holy Wisdom over a gaming table in the Hall of Gods, but this is a lie. Neither is regularly in Byzantium and the gaming table is in the Imperial quarters.
The basileus heads the Imperial Temple as well as the Legions, with staffs for both. It also heads the Council of Kings. The Magistrate of Peace is it's Personal Guard.
Family Ties
The basileus is head of the Flavius family and it's dependents, and has further enlarged it's paterfamilias to include the Council of Kings. The Flavians are a great patrician family with interests worldwide and attendant cadet and sponsorship lines it shepards.
Religious Views
The basileus is fairly devout in it's worship of the titan Helios, but it has also lured and imprisoned many of the gods of it's enemies. It has a fairly pragmatic view of religion, but has placed a glass ceiling to block those beliefs it holds as weak from attaining true power in the Empire.
Social Aptitude
Largely ascetic, the basileus addresses all as equals and is criticized for a lack of discernment because of it. It is confident and intelligent but speaks plainly and bluntly, only exercising the restraint necessary to subdue eager underlings.
Mannerisms
The basileus is cultured, but blunt. It is scholarly, well-educated, and low key. It speaks authoritatively even when guessing, and assumes it's own conclusions are obvious.
Speech
If you imagine everything it says as spoken by John Cleese, you have it's speech patterns down.
Wealth & Financial state
The Flavians were a patrician family wealthy enough to sponsor up to four candidates at one time throughout generations of Imperial dynastic successions, and the basileus's finances begin with these holdings.
It extracts a tax throughout the Empire for maintenance. Currently, this tax is capped at 10% by law, and the basileus has set it at 8%, with 5% going to local government and 3% to Imperial government. These can be changed at will by the basileus, though raising it above 10% would require a vote of approval from the Silentium to take effect.
The Silentium provides the basileus with a salary and expenses, including a wardrobe budget in the millions and maintenance of the Legions and the Admiralty. Khemet is the basileus's Personal Property and grants 20% of both harvests and the proceeds of the biannual cattle drive in addition to His Salary. Other regions and cities may have similar arrangements or bestow Gratitudes to him. Any citizen may bestow a Gratitude, and these gifts can be very expensive so are anonymous.
RPG Character sheet
Medium Undead (lich) Archivist 3/Wizard 3/Mystic Theurge 10/Archmage 2
Hit Dice: 18d12 (117 hp)
Initiative:+6
Speed: 30 feet
Armor Class: 17 (+5 natural,+2 Dex )
Base Attack/Grapple:+8/+9
Attack: +8 touch 1d8+5
Full Attack: +8/+3 touch 1d8+5/1d8+5
Face/Reach: Five feet by five feet/ Five feet
Special Attacks: fear aura, life drain touch, paralyzing touch
Special Qualities: damage reduction, fast healing, immunities, lich sight, mastery of counterspelling, rejuvenation, spell-like ability, turn resistance, undead control, undead mastery, undead qualities
Saves: FORT +7 REFL +7 WILL +17
Abilities:Str 12(+1) Dex 14(+2) Con -(-) Int 21(+5) Wis 12(+1) Cha 15(+2)
Skills:Concentration +25, Craft (alchemy) +25, Decipher Script +26, Diplomacy +8, KN(arcana) +28, KN(religion) +26, Profession(emperor) +16, Search +13, Sense Motive +20, Spellcraft +29
Feats: Augment Summoning, Combat Casting, Eschew Materials, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Spell Focus (conjuration), Spell Focus (necromancy)
Environment:any
Organization: unique
Challenge Rating: 22
Treasure: standard coins, double goods, double items
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Advancement: The basileus incurs an experience point bonus equal to the average of any group encountering it up to the 20th level of ability, which it pursues as an archmage or to pay costs for magic item construction. It will not exceed 20th level.
Church/Cult
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Basileus, Pontifex Maximus, Equal of the Apostles
Currently Held Titles
Children
Current Residence
Antioch
Gender
Male
Eyes
Emerald embers in deepset eyes
Hair
Auburn
Height
5'10"
Weight
85 lbs
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
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