Sanimus Slayn Creature 7

In the days before the cataclysm that destroyed all life on Eox, Sanimus Slayn was a happy man. He was one of the very rare elebrians who had no magical aptitude whatsoever, but he was very skilled at tinkering with arms and armor and expertly proficient in their use.

Sanimus lived on the continent of Atraskia, where he served as the captain of the guard and huntmaster for Lady Elyssiana Taliac, a member of the elebrian nobility who ruled a large fief along the coast of the Deminas Ocean.

Lady Elyssiana wasn't ever powerful enough to be counted among the planet's rulers, but as a well-loved personality, she spent much time in their company. She often invited renowned scholars and ruling nobles to arcane symposiums that were as much elite social functions as academic conferences.

Fiercely loyal and devilishly handsome, Sanimus became his lady's close confidant and, according to rumor, her primary consort, granting him power and position by association. For his part, Sanimus only cared about his lady.

Due to her connections, Elyssiana knew about the impending sarcesian attacks on Eox before they occurred, and she had the subterranean levels of her castle converted into fortified bunkers large enough for her household, staff, and hundreds of people living in the surrounding countryside. She tasked Sanimus with ensuring that the shelter was stocked with provisions and weapons and that everyone inside and outside the castle knew how to safely reach it in case of an attack.

When the Death Wail rent the planet, Elyssiana, her entourage, and a few dozen elebrians had already taken shelter along with a pack of hunting gefs. Sensing this attack was different, Sanimus urged Elyssiana to use her magic to peek outside. Horrified, they watched together as the sky burned, the sea boiled, and every creature trapped outside dropped dead. Elyssiana's psyche shattered at the sight of her world's ruination.

Shocked by witnessing the death of her home world, Elyssiana withdrew into deep depression. After months of desperation and despair, one of Elyssiana's powerful friends contacted her via sending, revealing he survived the calamity too and had devised a method for salvation. Sanimus didn't understand the complicated ritual the hooded sage transcribed, but he helped Elyssiana follow it to the letter, carefully mixing herbs and oils, reciting prayers that felt unnatural on the tongue, and preparing the needed materials.

The truth became apparent far too late to turn back—they'd dosed the rations with poison, killing everyone present, including Sanimus's beloved gefs. Then, the resulting necromantic burst from this terrible sacrifice turned into fuel for a ritual that transformed Elyssiana into a necrovite—a bone sage capable of surviving the apocalypse.

Sanimus's fury reanimated him as a corpsefolk, but only after Elyssiana had already departed or succumbed to her own despair. He has searched for centuries but has never found even a trace of her. Over time, he's forgotten who was truly to blame for the tragedy, alternating between hating himself and the bone sage who tricked Elyssiana into performing the necromantic ritual.

Now Sanimus serves Shathrava, who also feels guilt about his deeds in the ancient past and foolishly believes only he can put things right. Shathrava has manipulated Sanimus into blaming the sarcesians as the primary culprit for the cataclysm that struck Eox, therefore causing Elyssiana's death and twisted rebirth.

Now known as the Skeletal Soldier, Sanimus was among the first to swear fealty to the new Undying Admiral and wields a magic cutlass gifted to him by his new lord—but he still carries the dueling sword Elyssiana gave him long ago.

Campaign Role

Sanimus Slayn is the primary villain in Guilt of the Grave World. At the campaign's outset, Sanimus is the ranking Corpse Fleet officer stationed on Cairn, a small piece of the Diaspora asteroid belt in the Pact Worlds. This small chunk of rock isn't a permanent Corpse Fleet base. It's a way station responsible for monitoring probe networks spread throughout the Pact Worlds that Corpse Fleet vessels in the area sometimes use to resupply.

The listening post under Sanimus's command detected the mysterious signal described in the adventure's background around the same time it was registered by Ulrikka Clanholdings. Sanimus boards his warship, the Amaranth, charging full speed ahead toward the signal, then chases down the PCs as they fled.

Once the PCs arrive on Eox, Sanimus sends orders to secret fleet agents and strike teams on the planet's surface to hunt down the PCs and stop them from interfering in the Corpse Fleet's operations. Meanwhile, Sanimus heads to Barrow to pick up a gravimetric towing device that he plans to use to steal the asteroid facility.

This time, Sanimus remains behind in the auxiliary research center while the Amaranth returns to the Drift to retrieve the asteroid. Somewhere in his cold dead heart, Sanimus desperately hopes this ancient signal might have something to do with his lost lady. He wants to be the first to learn the truth of this mystery, whatever it turns out to be.

Sanimus starts off as a villain operating behind the scenes. The PCs face off against him in Chapter 5. By then, he has already received intelligence about their capabilities and tactics and is prepared to counter them as best he can. He fights with abandon, showing no mercy or quarter. Loyal to the bitter end, Sanimus fights until destroyed. As the collection of miserable bones that he once were clatter to the floor, his weapons cease to glow with unnatural ire, becoming safe for living creatures to handle.