The Serpent-Tounged Man

1st level Aristocrat, Lawful Evil

2nd edition stats :
Lugor, the serpent-tounged man (0-lvl hm): AC 10; MV 12; HD 1; hp 6; Str 8, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 18, Wis 9, Cha 18; # AT 1; Dmg 1; AL LE; SA Poison, Lie; SD Lie; THAC0 20;

For a few moments he stands there, glaring at the audience. Finally he bows to the audience. "Greetingsss seekersss of the bizarre! Today you shall come face to scaly face, with the greatest liar of them all. My name issss Lugor, the Serpent-Tounged Man."

The crowd stands silent, gazing up at the man, waiting for his next move.

"Asss I said, I am the greatest liar in the Land. Why? Because of a single gift, bestowed to me by forces unknown."

The man opens his mouth. At first nothing happens, but gasps from the audience herald the appearance of a small, black and silver snake issuing from the mouth of the man. The snake slowly rears its head, using its muscles to keep it rigid. It is then that all realise that this is the man's tongue. As the man smiles, the snake begins to speak.

"Now you know why I am the greatest liar in all of the Land! Of course, I wasss not alwaysss like thisss. If you have time, I shall tell you the story of how I was "rewarded" with this tongue."

The snake makes its way further out of the man's mouth, until it is finally out as far as possible. Now about fifteen inches outside of the man's mouth, the snake begins its spiel.

"Many yearsss ago, I wasss a simple gentleman. I lived in Paridon and wasss a favourite at every party. I had a certain charm and wit that drew everyone in, my tongue was a great asset at such occasionsss. However, I had what one of greater moralsss would call a nasty streak. It seemed that I could never refrain from lying. Eversince I wasss a little boy I have been lying, creating verbal alternate realities at a momentsss notice. What wasss so amazing wasss that everyone believed me! I would alwaysss get away with what I did. However, one day my luck ran out. My brother and I were walking through the streetsss of Paridon when five cloaked men walked up to us. I noticed that each one had a crossbow as well as an assortment of viciousss daggersss. They asked of us who wasss the one known as Lugor. I realised immediately that if I were to tell the truth I would die. So before my brother could reply, I told them that my brother wasss the one known as Lugor. Poor Oswald, they set upon quite viciously. I myself made my way home. There I comforted mother and Oswald's greiving fiancee, telling them how he had been dealing with less than savoury charactersss and that Oswald had been killed. They were shocked, yet they took my word - for asss they knew, Lugor alwaysss spoke the truth, it wasss just that sometimesss he had been given the wrong information.
But someone else had seen what had gone on that night and had not been fooled by my lie. The butler, Archibald, had been out that night on some fool errand and had spotted Oswald and I walking through the streetsss. He had seen the entire episode and wasss appalled at my indifference. That next day he told my mother what had happened. She confronted me immediately and I denied it.
But for some strange reason she did not believe me! I began to panick, realising that I was no longer welcome in my home. When no one wasss looking, I set fire to the house and fled.
Not knowing where to go I ran as fast as I could. Finally I found an abandoned warehouse where I made my bed. I awoke later in the night. Confused I stumbled through the fog, trying to discern where I wasss. Suddenly I tripped over and fell into a river. A river? Yesss, I too wasss confused at first, even more so when I found out that I wasss now in a forest. What wasss worse was the fact that my head was cut badly and my tongue was throbbing. Strange, I thought, why would my tongue be sore if it wasss my head that I hit? I later discovered the reason when I tried to drink some of the river water, only to see a snake dart out. Since then I have been roaming around thisss new land, learning about it. Isolde found me and took me in, for no one else would despite my liesss. And thusss ends the tale of how I became the Serpent-Tongued man. Before I leave you, I pose you one final question. If I alwaysss lie, wasss that just the truth?

Lugor is a man in his late twenties. He has a hunched back due to a birth defect. His face is very pale and sports a neatly trimmed brown goatee. Cold blue eyes stare out from his face, laced heavily with a mixture of intelligence and sinister intentions. Lugor dresses in a victorian gentleman's dinner suit, betraying his Paridon roots. The only thing slightly out of place on him is his tongue. Instead of a normal human tongue, Lugor has a fifteen-inch, black and silver serpent that extends from his mouth. It is this abnormality that speaks for him, giving Lugor an unsettling hiss to his speech.

Lugor carries with him an ebony cane, three changes of his dinner suit, a chest full of stolen items in his trailer and a kit that enables him to milk his tongue for its special poison. He can then either sell the poison, or use it to poison the food and drinks of his enemies or victims.

Note, this is Lugors true history. It shares similarities with his fake one, but there are some differences (for one it is without his biased first person view). Lugor Kensington was born in the domain of Paridon in the year 724 to the upperclass Kensington family. From an early age Lugor discovered that his talent lay in lying. Combined with his charisma, and the pity felt for his defect, no one ever questioned the boy's trustworthiness.
At the age of nine Lugor began to steal from his parent's wealth, hiding the spoils beneath his bed. Whenever someone noticed something missing, Lugor would inform them that he saw a member of the staff stealing something. As one can assume, a butler or maid did not last long in the Kensington household. This lasted up until his fifteenth birthday, when it was decided that Lugor went out and procured a job for himself.
Lugor hated having to do things himself and was appalled when he was given a job as the apprentice of a lawyer. Lugor quickly decided that it was time to get out of his job and so reported to his parents of the horrid acts that the lawyer met upon him. Lugor continued in his life of luxury until he was seventeen years of age. He began to mix with the unsavory crowds of Paridon, masking himself as a common man. He made many contacts and before too long had an amateur thieves' guild on his hands. Unfortunately for Lugor, he attracted the attention of one Seth Pollack, a doppleganger. Seth was the top thief in Paridon and was infuriated to find that a mere human had taken most of his business. So it was that one night in Lugor's twenty-third year, that he and his brother Oswald set out for a night on the town. The true reason was though that Lugor knew something was going to happen to him and had decided to bring Oswald with him in case.
It was nearing midnight when the two were approached by five cloaked figures. The figures demanded that the one known as Lugor step forward. Lugor told the men that his brother Oswald, was in fact the Lugor that they were looking for. Oswald, dizzy from a mickeyed drink that Lugor had given him, didn't have a clue what was going on when the assailants attacked him. Lugor made his way home to report the news of the attack. As he walked he made sure to tear up his clothing so that it looked like he had been attacked as well. Upon arriving home he gave the sad news to his mother as well as Oswald's fiancee, Kathryn. Secretly, Lugor wanted Kathryn for himself - another reason why he had betrayed his brother.
The two burst into tears and Lugor consoled them, secretly congratulating himself. However his lies were not going to work this time, for the current butler, Archibald, had seen what had occured. For it was that Archibald was a doppleganger placed into the Kensington family. He had secretly accompanied Oswald's killers, making sure that they carried out Seth's wishes. When he told Lugor's mother of what had truly occured she at first could not believe him. But her doubts were destroyed when he then proceeded to show her all of the stolen gold beneath Lugor's bed.
Outraged, Mrs Kensington demanded that her son leave the house and never return. Lugor tried to lie, but it seemed that it would not work. He fled from the house, only to return later that night. Anger in his face, he barred the doors and set fire to his childhood house. Those within did not survive. Continuing on, Lugor found himself lost in the fog of Paridon's night. Soon he was hopelessly lost, he had no idea where he was. At that moment he tripped and fell into a river. His surprise was even greater when he discovered that he was in the middle of the forest as the mist around he lifted. Lugor was in the domain of Valachan. Awakening the next morning, Lugor found himself still beside the river. A terrible burning sensation was occuring in his mouth so he crawled towards the river to quench it with water. As lent over the waters he opened his mouth to lap up the water, only to see a snake dart out of his mouth and into the water. Lugor's screams echoed throughout the entire forest. For his nefarious acts, the Dark Powers had rewarded him with a snake for a tongue.

Since his arrival in the Core, Lugor made his way from town to town, domain to domain, until he came across Isolde's carnival. The mistress caught him as he attempted to pilfer some of her goods but he managed to prevent any serious harm to himself by lying. Isolde was impressed with Lugor's tongue and offered him a place in her freakshow. He has been with the Carnival eversince. Each time the Carnival stops in a town, The Serpent Tongued Man astounds the entire audience with the story of his transformation. And if he has the chance, he will con a person out of their purse.

Lugor disdains fighting with a passion. This can be seen by his lack of any weapon. If he is confronted with a possible fight, Lugor will attempt to lie. The effects of his lie can take any form, from an offensive lie that causes comrade to fight comrade, or a defensive lie that makes would-be attackers best friends. Whenever someone is the target of one of Lugor's lies they must make an Intelligence check modified by the circumstances.

Anyone failing the check automatically believes the lie and will attempt to carry out deeds according to Lugor's "truth". If this truth was that a comrade had been the one who wronged them, then the victim will attack their comrade. If the truth was that Lugor had nothing to do with the misdemeanor, but is willing to help bring the felon to justic, an alliance could be formed.
Once a person fails a check against Lugor's lie, the next time they have to check they will have a modifier that is one category higher than the one they would normally check with. So if someone was acting aggresive towards Lugor, but had failed a check with him previously, they will make another check as if they knew his nature and had been wronged. If a person succeeds in their check, nothing happens.
Lugor's only other form of attack is his snake tongue. The tongue can dart out to inflict 1 point of damage. As a side effect it also injects some of its poison into the victim, causing them to make a save vs poison. If they fail, then one round later the poison takes effect. The person begins to feel dizzy and lethargic, gaining a -4 penalty to all actions made. A turn after these first effects the person will collapse into a coma for 1d4 rounds. After they wake up the poison has no further effect. If the victim suceeds in their save, they suffer no ill effects.

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