Al Mehmed (3.5e NPC)
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| Male mummy knight 5 | |
| LN Medium undead | |
| Init/Senses | +1/darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +4, Spot +4 |
| Languages | Khabarat |
| AC | 30, touch 11, flat-footed 29; +1 shield from Shield Block (+1 Dex, +10 natural, +7 armor, +2 shield) |
| hp | 97 (13 HD) |
| Fort/Ref/Will | +5/+4/+14 |
| Speed | 20 ft. (4 squares) |
| Melee | slam +18 (1d8+12 plus 1d6 sonic plus mummy rot/19-20) |
| Base Atk/Grp | +9/+17 |
| Special Actions | despair, mummy rot, knight's challenge 5/day (fighting challenge +1, test of mettle), bulwark of defense |
| Abilities | Str 26, Dex 12, Con —, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 16 |
| SQ | damage reduction 5/-, darkvision 60 ft., undead traits, vulnerability to fire, knight's code, shield block +1, armor mastery (medium), vigilant defender |
| Feats | Ability Focus (despair), Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (slam), Improved Natural Attack (slam), Mounted Combat, Toughness, Weapon Focus (slam) |
| Skills | Diplomacy +17, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (history) +13, Knowledge (religion) +13 |
| Possessions | bracers of thunder, +2 breastplate, +1 buckler |
| Despair (Su) | At the mere sight of Al Mehmed, the viewer must succeed on a DC 21 Will save or be paralyzed with fear for 1d4 rounds. Whether or not the save is successful, that creature cannot be affected again by Al Mehmed’s despair ability for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based. |
| Mummy Rot (Su) | Supernatural disease—slam, Fortitude DC 19, incubation period 1 minute; damage 1d6 Con and 1d6 Cha. The save DC is Charisma-based. Unlike normal diseases, mummy rot continues until the victim reaches Constitution 0 (and dies) or is cured as described below. |
| Knight's Challenge (Ex) | Al Mehmed may issue a knight's challenge five times per day. See Player's Handbook II for details. |
| Knight's Code (Ex) | Al Mehmed is an honorable lord of high morals and a strict set of codes. He follows the knight's code as outlined in Player's Handbook II. |
| Shield Block +1 (Ex) | During Al Mehmed's action, he designates a single opponent as the target of this ability. His shield bonus to AC against that foe increases by 1, as he moves his shield to deflect an incoming blow, possibly providing just enough protection to turn a telling swing into a near miss. |
| Bulwark of Defense (Ex) | An opponent that begins its turn in Al Mehmed's threatened area treats all the squares he threatens as difficult terrain. |
| Vigilant Defender (Ex) | If an opponent attempts to use the Tumble skill to move through Al Mehmed's threatened area or his space without provoking attacks of opportunity, the Tumble check DC to avoid his attacks of opportunity increases by 5. |
NOTE: Al Mehmed is an NPC in the Years of Gold setting, and the entry reflects that. He should be easy enough to adapt to games and campaigns in other settings, but remember to check him over for Pansaer-exclusive content.
History
The annals of Dharuum have this to say about Al Mehmed: "Mehmed bin Khalil bin Sharaf bin Bayazid bin Mahmud bin Hassan bin Suleiman bin Blessed Ur. The seventh descendant of our most glorious Sultan Al-Ur, builder of wells and bringer of shade. Tall and handsome, dark of hair, warlike. Born 3108. Crowned Sultan Al Mehmed in 3141, sired sons Qahir (later Sultan Al Qahir), Radi and Mustafa and daughter Neferut. Died 3180, embalmed according to the ancient customs."
Such entries exist for all of the descendants of Al-Ur, the establisher of Dharuum, but unlike for the others, Al Mehmed's story does not end there. Each sultan of Dharuum is constructed a great catacomb in the Red Wastes after their death, where they are laid to their eternal rest (the harsh desert is ample protection from grave robbers). Since the catacomb is only built after the sultan's death, Al Mehmed alone has seen the inside of his.
It is not known whether it was the anubal priests who made some error in their embalming, or if it was some fleeting desert god who took delight in raising Al Mehmed as a mummy, but nonetheless the old sultan rose from his seat of stone and immediately demanded the anubals who watched over the tomb to bow and praise him. And so they did: for anubals see little difference between the alive and the dead, and a mummified sultan is as much an authority as a living one.
At first Al Mehmed was pleased with simply staying in his catacomb and counting the slow pass of years, but he eventually grew weary of the feeble praise of the anubals, and the many treasures buried with him began to bore him. Consulting the ancient law of Dharuum, written by Al Suleiman the first son of Al-Ur, he discovered that the law undeniably stated that a sultan is to rule until the day he dies, except the ancient script used the old form "seizes action". Since he was still moving, thinking and speaking, Al Mehmed decided that he had never stopped being the sultan.
Al Mehmed rallied an army of anubals, desert creatures, dunedelver dwarves and superstitious peasants to his cause, and marched to the gates of Dharuum. There, he declared his sultanry and demanded his right to the throne. He gave the city a hundred days to consider the issue as per ancient law, and ("warlike" as ever) threatened that after the appropriate time, he'd come back to take down the walls and poison the wells until the city accepted his claims.
Appearance and personality
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| The Crimson Sultan with one of his many living wives. |
Like all mummies in Pansaer, Al Mehmed is embalmed with cloth made from the reeds brought from the northern shoreline. Mummy wrappings are anointed with the blood of the one being mummified, and the magic in the embalming keeps the blood always just a little wet, giving Pansaerian mummies a unique look. So too with Al Mehmed, which gains him his nickname "Crimson Sultan".
Al Mehmed was a tall, stout man in life, and years of combat training left him hardened and militant in both a physical and a mental way. He is 6' 3'' but weighs only 110 lb. due to desiccation and removal of internal organs. The Crimson Sultan is nonetheless unnaturally hardy and tough, thanks to both the magic woven into his embalming and his gilded, magical breastplate. His dark-brown eyes are perfectly preserved thanks to anubal ingenuity, staring out from their dry pits with a proud look in them.
Thanks to years of devising tactics, learning ancient teachings and scriptures by heart and living according to old dogma, Al Mehmed is a creature of tradition and honor, often placing these two values even before common sense and his own well-being. He was also trained as a knight while still alive, and the ruthless training has left its marks: Al Mehmed follows a tight schedule and demands the same from everyone around him.
Followers and allies
As the legitimate sultan (at least to his own interpretation), Al Mehmed has attracted many creatures and beings to his side, especially those who associated with him or his court back when he still sat on the throne, and those who stick vehemently to tradition. Ranking first among them are Mafdet, the anubal warden who led the embalming and anointing of the Crimson Sultan, and Adom bin Jibade, the centaur general of Al Mehmed's armies.
Al Mehmed has armies and followers in the Red Wastes in the form of desert monsters and spirits, but has begun to gain a following within the walls of Dharuum itself. During his reign, Al Mehmed made life easier in many ways for the lower castes, thanks to the chaste life he demanded of the Priest and Warrior castes. Thus, the Servant caste and the Untouchables have begun to root for the Crimson Sultan, hoping that he ascends to the throne and rules forever with a stern, just hand.
Recent activity and plans
All of Al Mehmed's attention is directed at regaining his status as sultan of Dharuum. He is not a schemer by nature, and intends to wait the full 100 days before his lays siege on the city, and do nothing in the meantime; he fully trusts (perhaps naively) that the city officials and the current sultan, Al Tayyib (whose grandfather Al Mehmed is), voluntarily give into his demands, since the title of sultan is clearly his by right.
This does not mean that the Crimson Sultan's followers weren't planning anything, however. Adom especially has grand dreams of conquest towards the rest of the east, which he believes do not give proper tribute to the nominal capital of the eastern kingdoms. Mafdet secretly dreams of discoering the first sultan, Blessed Ur, in his well-guarded tomb, somehow raising his embalmed body from its rest to rule as the perfect sultan. Both keep their thoughts to themselves and speak nothing of them to the sultan.
Combat
In his time as a man, Al Mehmed demanded that he be trained as a knight of the Warrior caste, unlike any sultan before or after him. This, coupled with his unnatural strength and hardiness, makes him a monster in melee. Al Mehmed used to wield Nablus, a massive khopesh (similar to a greataxe) with mysterious properties. The sultan's dead hands are unable to properly grasp the handle, and thus he makes-do with a pair of magical bracers that he pummels foes with.
Al Mehmed is a defender first and foremost, and seeks to position himself between the foe and his allies, especially the physically feeble Mafdet. He uses his abilities (especially bulwark of defense) to their full effect to halt enemy advance and to root foes to their place. When needed, he fights defensively, but that's rarely a must, thanks to the mummy's massive AC, damage reduction and hit points.
Al Mehmed doesn't enjoy escaping from a fight, but his keen understanding of tactics means he does so if it is beneficial to the bigger picture. Even when retreating, Al Mehmed seeks to keep his allies safe, falling back slightly behind them to pummel those who attempt to get too close.
Bracers of Thunder: This set of simple brass bracers, almost manacle-like in their crudeness, set off a heavy metallic echo whenever they touch something. Unarmed attacks made by the wielder of these bracers deal an extra 1d6 points of sonic damage on a successful hit.
Moderate evocation; CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, shout or sound burst; Price 3,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.
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