King Kaius
CL: 20
Male Human (Vampire King) Aristocrat 2/Fighter 11
http://images.wikia.com/castlevania/images/7/73/Dracula1_small.jpg
Appearance: King Kaius Ir'Wynarn is a figure of polished white skin, black goatee, and white hair that is pretty much the archetypical vampire. He is uninterested in appearing as a human being in private but makes every effort to appear as his flush skinned grandson in public. Most of the Castle Staff are either undead or worshipers of the Blood of Vol (with him replacing Erandis as the head of the faith). They ignore their master's condition and ferry out his answers to them.
Personality: King Kaius is the man who most wants peace in the Four Nations. This is, specifically, because he's patient enough to realize that he has centuries to plot out a takeover of Galifar's remnants along with the transformation of the Mournland from the undead wasteland that it is to a suitable paradise again. He has come to embrace his vampiric form and doesn't believe that anyone else is suitable for governing his homeland. The real King Kaius the Third exists solely so the King can draw blood from him for his illusion spells and possibly to sire a replacement when he needs a new person to impersonate.
King Kaius is an imperious aristocrat who believes that Karrnath is his govern by law, the gods, and the way of the world. He, furthermore, believes the peasantry are little more than property despite the fact that he makes an occasional effort to appear to champion to their causes. This, combined with his own genius for politics is enough that he is fairly popular amongst the people despite the fact that he's an evil tyrant who lost the Last War. Unless you are a member of the Ir'Wynarn line then you are not a peer and if you're not a member of the nobility then you had best be groveling.
King Kaius is a stunning racist and has created some truly ridiculous theories in the past century. These include that human beings and elves are the same race but improper breeding has reduced humanity's age. It is hope to slowly reintroduce elven blood into the upper ranks en masse and slowly transform Karrnath into a home of a new super-race that he believes will properly resemble the giants of old. To that end, he fosters pogroms and bounties for the murder of most humanoid races in Karrnath and never employed goblins in the Last War. Dwarves are largely given a wide latitude due to the Mror Hold's importance but every other species requires papers of transit to travel across the First Kingdom. Warforged are machines and no more attention is paid to them then you would an enchanted suit of armor.
King Kaius is genuinely charismatic despite all of his many faults and easilly can persuade most that he actually has their best interests at heart. He's capable of lying his head off and portraying himself as the sole hope for peace in Galifar. He fancies himself a great warrior but he's so ridiculously garbed in the most powerful magical protections that he's practically immune to physical harm even when he does enter battle.
Magical items: Boots of Flight, Bracers of Defense +5, Broadsword Reaver (Flametongue) +3, Cape of Fireballs (functions as Wand of Fireballs but works for anyone who wears it), Crystal Ball (modified to work for the King of Karrnath), Dragonscale Armor of Karrn +5, Dragon Shield +5 (Shield Device-Young Adult Red Dragon), Ring of Human Influence, Ring of Undead Control
Vampire Powers: Charm an unlimited times per day, Can Rebuke Lycanthropes of the Rat/Wolf/Raven subtype as an evil cleric would undead, Can Rebuke Vampires as a cleric would undead, Can transform into Bat/Wolf/Bat-Man hybrid, Can transform into mist at will, Drain Constitution 5 points per round in a grapple check, Regenerates 5 HP per segment unless item is holy or fire-based, Summon Lesser Undead/Rats/Wolves/Ravens, Undead Immunities
Special: Is immune to Running Water and Sunlight. Is actually immune to turning but must make a resisted Will check to avoid fleeing when presented with a holy symbol of a Good religion. Can only be impaled by a blessed stake made from Karrnath wood. Garlic causes Kaius to wretch and become violently ill as a purely psychosomatic effect.
Background: Curiously, King Kaius' background begins many centuries before he was born with the First Vampyre in Strahd von Zharovich whom made a pact with what he believed to be a manifestation of the Keeper (in truth, it was Erandis D'Vol's Incubus King 'ally' Graazt). Strahd Von Zharovich introduced the plague of vampirism into the Kingdom of Karrnath and proceeded to curse that kingdom with undead for the next two thousand years. Many attempts were made to destroy the Lord of the Vampires but all proved to be failures.
Young Kaius was a dementedly freakish child to begin with as the campaigns of his father Jarlot were enough to permanently warp his young mind. He developed a permanent hatred of goblins, orcs, and 'monsters' from his campaigns in the borderlands of Droam and Darguun. When he ascended to the throne of Karrnath, he immediately expelled all non-humans from his uncle's former court. He spared elves when he met the beautiful Kazandra and soon 'seduced' her. Rather than disdain when she had his bastard, he pointed to young Cassius as proof of his virility.
He mostly ignored his illegitimate son for his legitimate heirs even as he framed the Queen of Cyre for the murder of Emperor Jarlot. This was the justification of the Last War and it was then that the entire matter quickly fell apart as natural disaster after natural disaster destroyed Karrnath's chance to win the war. Thus did King Kaius make an alliance with the Emerald Claw and seal his doom. However, despite his claims, this was not necessarily a purely altruistic move. He was growing old and viewed his children as weaklings.
The only one to gain his respect was Cassius who didn't break for a week under torture after he ordered the Knighthood of the Silver Chalice plundered for its wealth.
However, the progress of the Emerald Claw was hardly as much as he could have wanted. Instead, the King of Karrnath was irritated about the slow progress and broken promises by the Knighthood. After a century of failure to achieve any progress, he decided to overthrow his masters and establish his own independent state for the Good of Karrnath.
To this end, he manipulated Cassius by kidnapping his son's daughter and transforming her into a vampire. Then he placed her in the home of the Lord of All Vampires. Cassius and several close friends and allies somehow made it through the location, destroying much of the undead populous in the process. Strahd himself was defeat by the power of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and the Sunsword but at the cost of many of Cassius' companion's lives. Strahd would have taken vengeance if not for the weakened vampire king being assaulted in his crypt by King Kaius who drank the blood of the two thousand year old vampire.
Now possessing the power of the Vampire King, Kaius is even more powerful than Erandis D'Vol in some ways and no longer fears her (to his determent). Unfortunately, the nightmares have only begun and he's started to say that he IS the first of all vampires....
