Keraptis

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Revision as of 12:18, 17 November 2007 by Rip (talk | contribs) (The false Keraptises: The First False Keraptis didn't come into being until after the Brotherhood of the Tome's raid. Bruce Cordell uses the plural "Kerapti" rather than "Keraptises.")
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Greyhawk Character
Keraptis
General info
Home:White Plume Mountain
Alignment:Evil
Gender:Male
Species:Human
Class:Wizard
Dates
Age:2000+

Keraptis is an evil wizard of the Flanaess, and the main antagonist of the module White Plume Mountain.

History

Little is known of the early life of Keraptis. Perhaps as early as circa -1500 CY, he established himself as protector of the Flan enclave of Tostenhca in the Griff Mountains. By circa -1100 CY, the wizard was driven out of the settlement. Circa -800 CY, Keraptis took over White Plume Mountain, near Rift Canyon, with an army of gnomish warriors, personally slaying the previous guardian of the mountain, the druid Aegwareth. Keraptis dwelt in White Plume Mountain for nearly nine centuries afterward, finally abandoning his lair sometime in the 90s CY to further his research.

The false Kerapti

By the late fifth century CY, a band of adventurers known as the Brotherhood of the Tome stole the magical weapons Blackrazor, Frostrazor, Wave, and Whelm from White Plume Mountain. Realizing they needed protection from further such raids, the gnomes of the mountain opened up Keraptis' old laboratory, deploying magic that rewrote the personalities of those who read it with partial copies of Keraptis' own. The result was the first False Keraptis, a gnome who truly believed itself to be the original. Though this False Keraptis eventually died, further ones came into being: Nightfear, Spatterdock, Killjoy, Mossmutter, and Zhawar Orlysse all believe themselves to be the one true Keraptis.

Writings

Keraptis is known to have authored the following works:

  • Pyronomicon

Bibliography

  • Miller, Andy. "Ex Keraptis Cum Amore." Dungeon #77. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.
  • Mullin, Robert S. "Arcane Lore: Greyhawk Grimoires II." Dragon #241. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.