Magnus, as he was most often known in my games, is not just an awesome reoccurring bad guy, he was my testbed for all sorts of evil, death-priest, warlock style characters.
Anytime a new version of D&D would come around I would roll up a new Johan Werper as the son of the previous one, either as a LG Cleric or Paladin. I'd attempt to make a version of Larina. And I would make a version of Magnus. But unlike Johan, who is a different character each time but always a LG holy warrior, or Larina who was a reincarnation of her previous version and always a witch, Magnus was always something different. I would always go with the class that would give me the best evil traits. In Basic he was a evil Cleric. In AD&D1 a Death Master, in 2nd Ed he started out as a Druid and then became a Necromancer. When I switch over to 100% Ravenloft in my college years the cover of Ship of Horror and the evil necromancer Meredoth also had a huge influence on me. As it turns out Meredoth would be revealed as an expatriate of the Mystaran country of Alphatia.
In 3rd Ed...well there were some many choices that I eventually made 6 different versions. You can see some of that in my Buffy adventures The Dark Druid and The Dead of Night. In 4e I used him as a test of the Death Pact Warlock that never saw the light of day under 4e. It did, however, affect the writing I did for my warlock books.
Magnus Ulslime became my poster boy for warlocks soon after I got a copy of 4e.
I tried him out in several different ways mixing in bits of cleric, wizard, and especially necromancer.
In my Strange Brew: Warlock book for Pathfinder I introduce both Cthonic and Death Pact warlocks. I expand on those ideas from a different point of view in my more recent book, The Warlock for Old-School Essentials. In both cases, I made Magnus a Death Pact warlock. It was a much better representation of how I saw the character. He made a trade to Death for more power in the mortal world.
Magnus for BECMI
If I rerun Death's Ride again for any version of the game I'd like to replace Ulslime the Cleric with Magnus Ulslime the Warlock. For 3rd to 5th Edition of D&D this is not a big deal. But BECMI does not have a warlock.
No. But Old-School Essentials and Swords & Wizardry do.
My warlock for Old-School Essentials is a B/X style warlock with Death Pacts. But it only goes to 14th level. My warlock for Swords & Wizardry goes to 20th level (the level I want Magnus at) but it doesn't have Death pacts. No problem. I designed the books to work together like this. By combining them I can get the exact warlock I want. If I need more death or necromancy themed spells
Magnus Ulslime, the Chaotic
20th level Death Pact Warlock
Lodge: Sixth Circle, Masters of the Undying
Str: 10
Int: 18
Wis: 16
Dex: 10
Con: 15
Cha: 18
HP: 66
AC: 2 (mage armor, phantom shield, ring +2)
Invocations (10)
Arcane Blast, Agonizing Blast, Armor of Shadows, Aura of Fear, Claws of the Ghoul, Eldritch Sight, Form of the Undead Horror, Mask of Many Faces, The Wasting, Whispers of the Grave
Spells
Cantrips (6): Aura Reading, Daze, Detect Curse, Mend, Message, Object Reading
1st level (7): Arcane Dart, Corpse Servent, Häxen Talons, Feel My Pain, Mage Armor, Phantom Shield, Taint
2nd level (7): Augury, Aura of Chaos, Corpse Walking, Death Knell, Grasp of the Endless War, Speak with the Dead, Ward of Harm
3rd level (6): Bestow Curse, Black Lightning, Cackling Skull, Corpse Candle, Lifesteal, Rage
4th level (6): Animate Dead, Crystal Visions, Extend Spell (Lesser), Fear, Spell Storing, Undead Compulsion
5th level (6): Bad Luck (Run of Bad Luck), Death Candle, Death Curse, Dreadful Bloodletting, Song of the Night, Winds of Limbo
Magic items: Amulet of Chaos, Pentacle Rod, Ring of Protection +2, Staff of the Warlock,
Not too bad really. I might have to go more "BECMI" and raise him to 25th or 36th level!
While I am playing around, here is a 5th Edition version to use in my 5e Converted Death's Ride.
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