Brugdus Crippleskull

"Ohohoho. Of course I can aid you, my dear suppliant. It should go without saying that my counsel comes at cost. So what trinkets could you add to my vast hoard?"—Brugdus to seekers of knowledge.

Overview
A crawling head teleported from the blacksand desert by adventurers long ago, Brugdus barely survived the marshy waters of Dalahas. His melted tentacles fused with rock leaving unable to move outside of the cave he managed to drag himself to.

A stranger in a strange land, Brugdus managed to raise the many undead of Dalas for his own purposes, and establish himself as a major force within the marsh while never leaving his cave. Immensely intelligent and with a vast knowledge of history, nature, and magic, Brugdus advises the people of the swamp and provides protection in the form of forced vassalage with his legions of undead.

Appearance
Brugdus is a crawling head—the vast, corpulent undead skull of giant, bloated with decay and gas with a jaw full of teeth and tentacles formed from the network of veins and offal from his lost body. Most of the tentacles have decayed and fused with the rocks upon which he sits, but he still retains enough to manipulate his environment and attack if necessary.

His skin is swollen and sloughs in places, and a thick, pale tongue squirms behind his blunt, millstone-like teeth. One of his eyes is long jellified and a tattered lid flutters over an empty socket in its place. The other is a terrible, piercing chartreuse surrounded by a pink, bloodshot sclera.

Divine Mission
Brugdus' only goal is personal power. He seeks control over whatever domain he finds himself in. Unable to remove himself from Dalahas, he has made do with a legion of undead of varying power and the intimidated loyalty of some of the inhabitants.

He has a mutual enemy with Hoinlitranvizadriak; both terrors seek to rule the swamp and the people within it, and have stabbed each other in the back enough times that peace is impossible. Their habits make them even more incompataible—Hoinlitranvizadriak consumes the dead, and Brugdus commands them. Even further, the aboleth is a creature of water, an element that Brudgus loathes in any and every form.

Notable Followers
Aetas follows Brugdus willingly, granting his warrior skills and fortification expertise in exchange for freedom of will and limited independence. Still at his beck and call, Aetas is nevertheless able to work for the greater good of Dalahas while following the orders of his master.

Religion
While Brugdus has no major cult of following, he fancies himself the ruler of Dalahas, and all the people in it under his rule. They come to him for advice, guidance, and information, which he gladly divulges when traded with new knowledge.

Most of Brugdus' followers have no life or free will. Instead, Brugdus exercises enormous telepathic control over the bodies of creatures and humanoids in the swamp, reanimating them and turning them to his will. Over the years he has amassed a vast army of miscelleneous beings, who secretly protect any living sentient who approaches him.

Knowing that aiding humans will increase their faith in him and thus enhance his own powers, Brugdus guards supplicants carefully, and answers their questions with genuine helpfulness.

Divine Appearances
Brugdus resides in a cave system southeast of the middle of Dalahas, carried on a rock litter by a cadre of undead. While never appearing in direct light or venturing outside for fear of disintegration, he nevertheless arrives to all callers he deems worthy of his presence.

Afterlife
As a false god, Brugdus has no afterlife or demiplane under his control.

Magic Properties
While he has no current clerics acting as conduits of his power, Brugdus' own magic is pure necrotic. Black, roiling masses of flesh that grow in an instant and decay as soon as the spell dissipates appear every time he casts a spell.

Combat Stats
Brugdus lacks the movements speed of a regular crawling head. When the skeletons are carrying his litter of rock his speed is 15 feet and the skeletons act on his initiative. Without them, his movement speed is 5 feet. In both forms his crawling speed is 5 feet.