Bites-the-Rattlesnake

Biography

ites-the-Rattlesnake is a rare example of a powerful accidental mummy. A sadistic Amerindian chieftain in life, the coming of the Red Death stirred his uniquely preserved flesh to walk again. In undeath, he seeks the only thing that brought him pleasure in life: wanton destruction and murder.

Appearance

Bites-the-Rattlesnake looks much as he did when interred in the Black Warrior Caverns. He is a human male of early middle age, standing five feet seven inches tall. Though of average stature, his athletic build is thickly muscled. He has a strong, handsome brow and dark, full lips. His cold, black eyes burn with manic bloodlust. Innumerable swirling tattoos cover his bronzed skin. His sleek, jet-black hair is trimmed into a narrow mohawk, except for a long braid which falls down the center of his back.

Bites-the-Rattlesnake's dress reflects his aboriginal culture, though his garb is perhaps a bit mundane for a chieftain. He wears a simple breechcloth, colorfully decorated with painting and quillwork. He is bare-chested, save a woven blanket draped across his shoulder and wrapped around his waist. His earlobes are distended with large bone plugs, and a plume of owl feathers is pinned to his braided hair.

Upon close inspection, Bites-the-Rattlesnake's undead nature become evident. His mottled flesh is slightly puffy and seeps dank water at the slightest pressure. He carries the vague odor of minerals and dried fish.

Bites-the-Rattlesnake
Cave Mummy, Chaotic Evil

Armor Class Movement Level/Hit Dice Hit Points THAC0 Morale No. of Attacks	2 12 9+3 70 13 19 3/2 or 2	Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha XP	18/00 15 17 15 10 8 7,000
Damage/Attack:	2d8 (unarmed) or 1d6+6 (club) or 1d4+6 (dagger)
Special Abilities:	Crippling touch, fear aura, command undead, summon 3d4 snakes, weapon specialization
Special Defenses:	Rejuvenation, +1 weapons to hit, immune to cold attacks, resistant to fire attacks, undead immunities
Special Vulnerabilities:	Electrical attacks, holy water, aversion to elderly bones, warded by fluid from a pregnant woman, controlled by owl feather
Magic Resistance:	Nil

Background

Over four centuries ago, Bites-the-Rattlesnake was born in the region that would become central Tennessee. The proud Indian village where he lived was nestled in the curl of the Tennessee River, near the base of the Cumberland Mountains. The name of his tribe has been lost to the mists of time, as they vanished long before Spanish and French explorers penetrated beyond the Appalachians. By the 1890's, a secluded collection of mounds is all that remains of the place they called home.

Bites-the-Rattlesnake was disturbed even as a child. His mother and the other village women were appalled at the boy's preoccupation with killing small animals in the cruelest manner possible. As he grew, Bites-the-Rattlesnake discovered that only larger prey would satisfy him. Although sedentary, pre-Columbian tribes in the southeast warred constantly with one another for territory and resources, and Bites-the-Rattlesnake distinguished himself as a particularly fearless warrior. He delighted in the suffering of his enemies, and became renowned for never taking prisoners alive, much to the disdain of his elders.

Such was Bites-the-Rattlesnake's love of mayhem that he set his sights on a mighty goal: the chiefhood of his village. Once he secured this lofty position, he reasoned, he might wage war for war's sake. Despite the great glory Bites-the-Rattlesnake had acquired, the village elders refused him this honor. He was too young, they said. His mother was not of sufficient noble status. He had not acquired enough wealth to secure the holy insignias that all chieftains must possess. But the elders also recognized the young warrior's soul as one of terrible darkness. The deranged brave responded by murdering the old men in their sleep and having a power-hungry shaman declare their deaths as the predations of unholy spirits. His own people were too shocked and terrified to respond when Bites-the-Rattlesnake declared himself chief. The bloody clubs of his loyal warriors and the blessing of the shaman quieted dissenting voices. He allayed their fears by promising great glory and plunder for their tribe.

Bites-the-Rattlesnake led his village on a grisly campaign of conquest that lasted nearly a decade. And indeed, his people acquired much territory, riches, and slaves. For a brief period, they expanded into the surrounding regions, absorbing other villages and pressing on with their burgeoning war bands. But for Bites-the-Rattlesnake's people, the price was too great: countless sons and husbands were slaughtered all for one man's vanity and psychotic urges. When an enemy's knife finally claimed Bites-the-Rattlesnake, his people breathed a sigh of relief. Though he had brought them glory, it was glory smeared in senseless blood.

Bites-the-Rattlesnake was not cremated as most of his people were. Instead, his tribe quickly dressed his body in simple garb and took it to a cave a few miles from the village. The nameless limestone caverns were thought to be a gateway to the Underworld, and the tribe wished to ensure that their evil chieftain quickly departed from the land of the living. A handful of men carried the corpse as deep into the caverns as they dared to go, and slipped the body into a still, dark pool of water. The village returned to a more peaceful way of life, but did not easily forget the disturbed man who had led their tribe to sorrow. The caves where his mortal form was interred became known as the Black Warrior Caverns.

Bites-the-Rattlesnake might have passed into the memory of a dying race, were it not for one factor. The freezing pool into which his corpse had been placed was almost completely oxygen-depleted, and so decomposition was practically nonexistent. For over four centuries, the body of Bites-the-Rattlesnake lay in the Black Warrior Caverns. Meanwhile, the Red Death was worming its way into the untainted lands of the New World, riding the wave of European explorers who came tentatively at first, but then in droves. As its tendrils snaked across the countryside of this new land, the Red Death encountered Bites-the-Rattlesnake's corpse. It had found a kindred soul in the dead chieftain. Sensing that this spirit of elemental savagery had the potential to spread more chaos and destruction, the Red Death decided to deny the ancient warrior his rest. Tearing his soul from the bleak existence of the afterlife, the Red Death returned Bites-the-Rattlesnake to his nearly pristine shell.

In the late spring of 1891, two over-adventurous young boys skipped school one morning, and stumbled upon the Black Warrior Caverns. Their curiosity prompted them to explore the dank, cold caves for a better part of the day. Though the nooks and crannies of the Caverns were nearly endless, through some foul twist of fate the boys came across the pool where Bites-the-Rattlesnake lay slumbering. Their presence interrupted that slumber. The boys' curiosity turned to horror as a grimacing red savage rose from the water and lurched towards them. Nearly a quarter of a mile below the surface, no one could hear their screams.

Bites-the-Rattlesnake is greatly shocked at the changes time has wrought on his homeland. The green, rugged land he knew is gone. His tribe is gone, and the hills are overrun by strange pale people. He is disturbed by the gibbering white devils, with their odd magics and metal tools, but is eager to see them bleed and scream. Since awakening, he has begun to make greater use of his realized abilities. In particular, he has been utilizing his power to command undead to enslave ghouls, wights and weaker ghosts into his own unliving army. Currently, he is using the Black Warrior Caverns as a staging ground for raids on graveyards (for undead fodder) and towns (for victims) in the area around McMinnville, Tennessee. He will inevitably move on when he has amassed enough undead warriors to tackle more populated areas, such as Murfeesboro or Nashville…

Personality

In life, Bites-the-Rattlesnake was a bloodthirsty and erratic man; undeath has not improved him. Unlike many ancient dead, he has taken a keen interest in the world he awakened to. He views modern Tennessee as a landscape ripe for destruction at his cold, clammy hands. His lust for power and chilling confidence could be considered megalomania, but his pride always takes a back seat to his deep-rooted psychosis. Everything the chieftain does is directed at allowing him to spill as much blood as possible, as doing so gives him great pleasure. Although not terribly charismatic, he leads effectively through intimidation and promises of power and mayhem. Thus, he has attracted a growing group of undead who delight in the opportunity to destroy the living.

Combat

Bites-the-Rattlesnake's touch does not cause the mummy rot of most ancient dead. Instead, he inflicts a terrible crippling disease which resembles cerebral palsy. Victims of an unarmed attack lose one point of Dexterity each day as their bodies succumb to paralyzing tremors. Furthermore, every two points of Dexterity lost cause a cumulative -1 penalty to all ability checks and attacks rolls. After four days, spellcasting becomes impossible. Within 1d6+3 days, the victim becomes permanently paralyzed. Though the disease is not fatal, victims often die from neglect. Before complete paralysis, cure disease, free action, and heal can remove the symptoms. Remove paralysis has no effect. After the disease becomes permanently crippling, only heal has any effect.

Anyone who gazes upon Bites-the-Rattlesnake is overcome with irrational fear. Victims must save vs. spell at a -3 penalty or immediately flee as if they had failed a fear check (See "Flee" under "The Effects of Failure", Domains of Dread pg 143). Humans do not gain the usual +2 bonus against a mummy's fear aura, and a group must have ten individuals for its members to gain a +1 bonus.

Bites-the-Rattlesnake can command up to 18 Hit Dice of undead as a 9th-level priest. He can also summon 3d4 poisonous snakes, although his control over them is primarily limited to instructing them to attack opponents.

A deadly warrior in life, Bites-the-Rattlesnake retains his combat prowess in death. He may strike twice in a round every other round of combat. He attacks with a +3 bonus to hit and a +6 damage bonus. Due to his specialization, when wielding a club or dagger, he can attack twice a round, and his attack and damage bonuses increase to +4 and +7 respectively.

Bites-the-Rattlesnake can only be struck by magical weapons of +1 or greater enchantment. Even then, such enchanted weapons inflict one half their base damage (including nonmagical bonuses from Strength and specialization) rounded down, plus their full magical bonus. Nonmagical and magical cold (including elemental attacks) have no effect on him, and non-magical fire is similarly ineffective. Like all undead, Bites-the-Rattlesnake is immune to sleep, charm, hold, and life-affecting spells. He may rejuvenate himself by first resting for one full day, after which he begins regaining hit points at a rate of 12 per hour of rest. After rejuvenating, he must rest for an additional hour.

The undead chieftain is not without his weaknesses, however. Bites-the-Rattlesnake is completely vulnerable to nonmagical and magical electricity, and takes +1 point of damage per die from magical electrical attacks. A vial of holy water inflicts 1d6 damage on him. Apparently due to his hatred of his own village elders in life, he has an aversion to the bones of an elderly human male (over 60 years old at death). When presented with even a single bone, he may not approach within 25 feet of the bearer. Perhaps because of its significance as a symbol of new life, the blood or amniotic fluid or a pregnant woman is a powerful ward against Bites-the-Rattlesnake's movement. He may not pass through a portal sealed with such liquid, cross a line or circle of it on the ground, or approach within 40 feet of a vial's worth. Bites-the-Rattlesnake's greatest weakness, however, is the plume of owl feathers pinned to his hair, a symbol of his royal position. Someone who wishes to control the undead chieftain must seize this insignia, just as Bites-the-Rattlesnake seized the rulership for himself centuries ago. If the feathers are removed, the bearer may command him for 2d4 turns. Bites-the-Rattlesnake remains under the bearer's control as long as they are within three miles of one another, but must be present for the bearer to issue commands.

Adventure Ideas

Bites-the-Rattlesnake can prove to be a challenging foe. PCs who are used to more lethargic, world-weary mummies may assume him to be some sort of vampire, necromancer, or aboriginal death knight. Even if the party puzzles out just what sort of creature he is, they may be shocked by the aggressive, murderous character of the ancient chieftain. Most of the initial interaction with Bites-the-Rattlesnake will be through his undead minions. However, the chieftain's bloodlust is such that he will always appear eventually to meet them face-to-face on the field of battle.

• A stretch of old Confederate railroad in the area of McMinnville is plagued by attacks from packs of ghouls and wights. The undead may be Amerindians which Bites-the-Rattlesnake commandeered from a nearby haunted burial ground, or perhaps the residents of a village cemetery not too far from the Black Warrior Caverns. Spurned by a series of recent nocturnal attacks, the PCs are brought in to investigate by a railroad baron, who is willing to pay handsomely to keep his business running smoothly. More dramatically, the PCs can be introduced to the railroad's plight when traveling on it themselves. A nocturnal battle on a screaming locomotive should rattle even the toughest soldiers and roughnecks.

• Rumors of diamonds in area saltpeter mines hits central Tennessee. As prospectors pour into the Cumberland foothills, the previously obscure Black Warrior Caverns are discovered. A series of murders and panicked sightings of a "red savage" prompts the local sheriff to enlist the help of the PCs in rooting out the trouble. This plot hook could set the stage for a thrilling and terrifying subterranean adventure, as Bites-the-Rattlesnake and his minions withdraw into the Caverns until the time is right to strike. Of course, the stories about the diamonds are probably wild speculation and hearsay... but who can say for sure?

• While traveling through backwoods country, the PCs stumble upon a deserted town, where evidence indicates a recent bloodbath. The only survivor is a minister who rambles about a legion of dead men. Bites-the-Rattlesnake's army is on the warpath, but the victims are nowhere to be found. As night falls, however, the villagers emerge from the surrounding woodlands—now undead creatures ready to follow Bites-the-Rattlesnake's commands. They join the Amerindian undead who slaughtered them, and head towards the nearest neighboring town. The party must stop this rampaging horde before it reaches a large population center.

• While battling lycanthropes or carnivorous plants in the forest , the heroes are assisted by a Chickasaw or Muskogee shaman. He remained behind when his village was relocated to Indian Territory because he sensed that a great evil had awakened in the area. Though he is a member of the Nation of Nine, the shaman does not want to see innocents (even white innocents) slaughtered, and he needs the help of courageous white folk in putting to rest an ancient undead chieftain. Unfortunately, those who would know this chieftain's weaknesses have been dead for centuries. The PCs must escort the shaman to Old Stone Fort or a similar mound formation in the area to commune with the spirit of one of Bites-the-Rattlesnake's tribesmen. Of course, they'll have to contend with wights, crypt servants, and maybe some aboriginal horror no white man has ever seen.