"Tsotha turned toward Conan, and the king noticed uneasily that the wizard's eyes shone in the semi-darkness, and that his teeth resembled the fangs of a wolf, gleaming whitely in the shadows."

Lean and vicious, the great Tsotha-Lanti is said to be the true ruler of Koth.  His black eyes stare out from beneath a high scholars brow and his dusky skin speaks of a southern birth.  His appearance is always dark as are the black silken robes he is always wearing.  Amused rarely, he never laughs aloud but often is seen silently chuckling at the doom of lesser men.  His library is said to house thousands of books; each bound in flayed human skin taken from the victim while still alive.  Quick of wit he is always ready to banter mocking taunts at those beneath his station.  Aloof and confident, his genius is said to come from the abyssal pits beneath his palace, where he trades living flesh for secrets dark and mysterious.  Slaves and children are terrified by thoughts of being sold or kidnapped by him.  Many beautiful woman have been taken into his grim palace and none have ever been seen again.

Strabonus, the King of Koth, bows to his will and yet only grudgingly, and with much resentment.  Tsotha-Lanti resides in the capital of Koth, the city of Khorshemish.  His scarlet citadel hovers above the city upon a high hill overlooking the palace of the king and all gesture the evil eye when their gaze should accidentally strike the fell hall of Tsotha.  It is whispered that his castle was built upon the ruins of a palace raised by the cities founder, King Khossus V.  Khossus ordered a dungeon to be build to keep traitors in and during the digging the men came to him with reports of a walled doorway.  Going to a sage, the king was told that the hill he was building on had once been the site of a previous castle, built to reign over a city three thousand years dead.  The king ordered the door broken into and beyond were found the grim dark corridors which men now name the halls of hell.  The grand vizier came to such an end that Khossus ordered the doorway walled up again in his fright. It is said the Vizier fell down a well within the catacombs.  Khossus was so terified he abandoned the castle to another he built in the suburbs, which in turn he fled from upon sight of a black mold growing in his cellars.  The city was deserted for many years then came Akkutho I, who strove to revive the splendors of lost Khorshemish.  He built up a palace upon the ruins of the former kings fortress and that ruin became the base upon which Tsotha built the scarlet citadel.  Whatever fate befell the grand vizier Tsotha avoided; he did however descend into a well he found deep within the hill.  When he came out of it he had a look in his eye that has not since left it.

Combat
Tsotha-lanti fights with spells for the most part.  His wolflike teeth enable him to use a bite attack if he chooses, or he can lash out with his claw-like hands.   In addition to his rather considerable array of spells, Tsoth also has the following powers due to his fiendish nature.

Darkness 3/day: Tsotha can radiate darkness out to a 20 foot radius.    It lasts for a maximum of 18 minutes.

Desecrate: Per the spell in PHB

Unholy blight: Unholy power that smites enemies in the form of a cold, cloying cloud of greasy darkness.  Per PHB

Poison 3/day: Per the spell in PHB.  1d10 Constitution damage immediately and another 1d10 Constitution damage 1 round later.  DC 21 Fort save to negate.

Contagion: Per the spell in PHB.  Tsotha can put a disease into anyone.

Blasphemy: He knows the unholiest of blasphemes, which can daze, weaken, paralyze, or even kill those who hear him utter one of these monstrous things.  Per the spell in PHB.

Unholy Aura 3/day: Per the spell in PHB.  It gives Tsotha a +4 deflection bonus to AC and a +4 resistance bonus to all saves against all attacks.

Unhallow: Tsotha can create unholy sites - such as his Scarlet Citadel.  Per the spell in PHB

Horrid Wilting: Per the spell in PHB

Summon Monster IX (fiends only):  Per the spell in PHB, except he can only summon fiends.

Tsotha also possesses a ring that has a retractable spike that is steeped in the poison of the purple lotus which can paralyze a victim (DC 40 to avoid)

Robert E. Howard's story, "The Scarlet Citadel," was first published in Weird Tales in January of 1933.  The story can also be found in the Ace/Lancer paperback "Conan the Usurper"; the Arkham "Skull Face and Others", and the Gnome Press collection "King Conan".

It was the second publication ever of a Conan story.  It occurred during the time when Conan was King of Aquilonia, and he had to thwart a plot to unseat him from that throne.

Another version of Tsotha Lanti can be found at http://hyboria.xoth.net/characters/tsotha-lanti.htm

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