Ok, here goes an old D&D villain I'm going to convert to the RPG...
Name: His true name remains unknown to the world and lost to the pages of time.
Known As: Acerak (he also has gained many titles in his long existance, most notable being The Lich-King, The Deathless, The Reaper, Lord of Loss, and The Whispered One)
Location: Ghestahl, a large and magically hidden castle somewhere in the Black Forest of Germany (this castle is mearly a base of operations for his activities on the Material Plane. His real home is a kingdom in Avernus, the top layer of the Nine Hells of Baator).
Side(hero/villain/unknown): Villain
Description: Acerak's natural appearance is that of a humanoid skeleton, wrapped in fine robes and adorned with many artifacts and trinkits (most which have magical properties). Despite his incredibly long life (or unlife), Acerak still has pieces of rotted muscle stuck to his bones on his face and body. He teeth are gone and have been replaced with dagger-like pieces of ebony. His eyes are like black voids of nothingness, save for the small pin-point of an eerie red light in each socket that burns with the fires of hate.
Age - Exact age is unknown, but Acerak is well over a thousand years old (some rumors in the black circles suggest that he was once a powerful Babylonian sorcerer).
Height - 6ft, 3in
Weight - 90lbs
Eyes - None save the crimson pin-points that seemingly float in his black sockets
Hair - None
History: Acerak, or the person who would become Acerak, was once a powerful mage in the great city of Babylon during the time of Hammurabi. Acerak was the great king's chief advisor and commander of the War Wizards of Babylon, a small contingent of sorcerers skilled in battle magic. Acerak, however, was well versed in most forms of spellcraft. Particularly necromancy. The black art was his particular specialty, but Acerak was forced to study in secret as the black art was forbidden in the Hammurabi's kingdom.
In Babylonian scriptures, the goddess Tiamat was killed in battle with Anu, the progenitor of the gods. Her death, though, was not as final as the scriptures made it out. Acerak had always been hungry for more power, and there was nothing he would not do to obtain it. One night in his dreams, the dead goddess came to him in the form of a great undead wyrm. She told him of an ancient temple hidden and long buried in the cave system under the city. An ancient temple devoted to her. Tiamat fed him the images necessary to allow him to find the temple, and told him to travel there. In return he would receive a great gift. Upon finding and entering the temple, Acerak was confronted by a vision of the dead goddess. The goddess charged him with the resurrection of her church, and to aid her in her vengeance against the gods. Acerak accepted, and, in return, was granted the knowledge of the dark arts of necromancy.
Slowly, under Acerak's guidance, Tiamat's church grew. The honeyed promises of wealth and power Acerak made quickly gained the allegiance of the down-trodden and the slaves. Worshipped in secret, Tiamat's influence began to grow in Babylon. Eventually though, the priests of Marduk, lord of the gods, uncovered Tiamat's cult. Through interrogation, they were able to discern the location of the goddess' hidden temple, and, with a legion of troops and the War Wizards, attacked the unholy place. A great battle unsued, and, under the combined might of all the priests and sorcerers, Acerak was defeated and killed.
He did not stay dead for very long though. Acerak was no fool, and knew it was only a matter of time before the cult was discovered and destroyed. Through his studies of the black arts, Acerak came upon an ancient and purely evil ritual in which, through a series of spells and potions, a mage could become an immortal being. Acerak prepared and executed the ritual to Lichdom mere days before the attack on the temple came. Upon his death, his spirit was sent to his phylactery, a small magical trinket that would act as a house for his spirit for eternity should his body ever be destroyed. The soldiers burned the temple to the ground and destroyed all of the magical scrolls and items they could find (Acerak hid the ancient tomes in a secret place to prevent them from being destroyed or read by others). After the final cultist was killed, the Babylonian troops returned to the surface, sealing the entranceway forever with a massive cave-in.
They made a fatal mistake though when they left the bodies of the fallen cultists down there to rot, and thus Acerak's spirit was able to possess one such body and return. Now a being of unlife, Acerak was now able to continue his quest for knowledge and power for untold ages. In his new undead form, Acerak gained unholy powers (listed below), but at a price. Never again will he know the simple joys of the living, such as the loving touch of another. But it is a price Acerak has no regrets about paying.
No longer devoting himself to the dead goddess, Tiamat, Acerak persued his studies in all things arcane with earnest. Tiamat, furious in knowing that Acerak used her to get the power he wanted, sent many demons to slay the lich, but all failed. Eventually, Acerak grew tired of the constant harassment, and, with his powerful magics, formed an army of his own. Acerak sent his army to face Tiamat, whom he discovered was not trapped in the first layer of the Nine Hells (after she was slaughtered by Anu, her spirit was cast into the infernal plane). She was not a true goddess anymore. Now she was simply a demon lord of Hell, albeit a powerful one.
His armies clashed with her demonic hordes, and Acerak met the goddess in a titanic spell battle that shook all of Avernus at it's core. Eventually though, Acerak proved the better and defeated the old goddess. With her spirit gone forever, Acerak took Tiamat's domain for his own. His battle with the now dead demoness drew the attention of Lord Bel, a powerful Pit Fiend who watched over the layer for the Morning Star. Bel met with the Lich-King and they both came to an understanding. Acerak's claim on Tiamat's kingdom would not be contested. In return, Acerak would pay a tribute of human souls to Lucifer every year. Now free to study the magics of the lower planes, Acerak delved deeply into black arts never seen by mortal man.
Thousands of years passed on the mortal plane, and the name of Acerak become mostly forgotten. Until one day, in the year 1095, the mortal plane drew the lich's attention once more. The great wars that raged from said year all the way to 1260 AD were of great interest to Acerak. Why the holy wars drew the lich's attention is unknown, but Acerak created a keep magically hidden in the Black Forest to observe these events. As the Crusades ended, Acerak kept his castle on the mortal realm intact. The blind and warped devotion to the Supreme Being amused him. He spent centuries on the material plane manipulating mortals. He was the one responsible for the Spanish Inquisition in 1478. It was through Acerak's will that Hitler came to power in Germany.
The Whispered One has had a hand in almost every dark event in human history over the centuries. Whether this is for his own personal enjoyment or part of a deeper, sinister plot, no one knows. Who can fathom the dark thoughts that go through the mind of a creature such as Acerak? One thing is for certain though, Acerak has taken an interest in the mortal world again.
Let all the goodly folk of the planet beware...
Stats
Strength - n/a
Dexterity - n/a
Fortitude/Stamina - n/a
Speed - n/a
Intelligence - n/a
Skills: Acerak is one of the greatest spellcasters in existance, on any plane. Even in life he was the strongest of mortal mages, and in unlife he has grown far stronger. Thanks to his thousands of years of unlife, Acerak is a master in every school of magic, including the unknown dark magics of the Pit. Acerak is also a master manipulator and a good and charismatic leader. Due to his millenia long existance, Acerak is an incredibly intelligent being.
Power(s): When Acerak made the transformation into Lichdom, he gained abilities befiting one of the lords of the undead.
Acerak feels no pain and has a degree of superhuman strength, durability, speed, and reflexes. Acerak also has no need to eat, sleep, or breath, and is immune to cold and, thanks to his time in the Pit, fire (even hellfire). Being a lich, Acerak is also immune to transmutation, electricity, poison, paralysis, diseases, and mind-affecting attacks.
Acerak is shrouded in an aura of death and evil that can break the will of even the strongest of men. All those within a few dozen meters are seized by a uncontrolable feeling of pure fear. Acerak can surpress this ability if he so chooses.
Acerak's touch can paralyze a foe if he wills it to. Those paralyzed by his touch appear to be dead, though they are actually still alive.
Being a powerful lich, Acerak is a master of undead and evil creatures, able to dominate them to his will.
Acerak is able to alter his own form to appear as any humanoid creature he wishes.
Acerak has the undead ability to see in total darkness.
Acerak also possesses a treasure trove of magical tomes, trinkets, and artifacts. Most he keeps in his kingdom in Avernus, but he alway has on him a magical ring that allows him the ability of true-sight (see through illusions), and a staff made of the blackened spine of a demon and topped with a human skull adorned with many different gemstones. It is unclear what this staff is truly capable of, but it has been shown to be able to open dimensional gateways to the outer planes and can loose potent blasts of hellfire.
Like all liches, once Acerak's body is destroyed his spirit returns to his phylactery before taking possession of a new body. Should his phylactery be destroyed, Acerak's next death would destroy his spirit forever.