Havn't updated thsi thread in a while, i figure its a bout time. I am going with a slightly different formay form here on out. Stats, relevant history and such will be there as always but I am including a short piece of fiction for each critter to add a bit more depth. So here's the first monster using the new format.
Naggarak is a celectial ogre-mage paladin. I thought I needed at least one good guy in all this mess. He could be a handy ally for open minded PC's, especially dwarves.
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Naggarak
Celestial Ogre-Mage Paladin 7
Large Giant (Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 5d8+25 plus 7d10+35 (128 hp)
Initiative: +1 (+1 Dex)
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), fly 40 ft. (good)
AC: 23 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural, +8 mithral breastplate), touch 10, flatfooted 22
Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+21
Attack: +2 holy maul +19 melee (3d6+12 plus 2d6 holy)
Full Attack: +2 holy maul +19/+14 melee (3d6+12 plus 2d6 holy)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Smite 3/day, spell-like abilities, spells
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/magic, darkvision 90 ft., low light vision, paladin abilities, regeneration 5, resistance to acid 10, cold 10, and electricity 10, SR 25
Saves: Fort +19 Ref +9, Will +12
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 12, Con 20, Int 16, Wis 18, Cha 20
Skills: Concentration +13, Diplomacy +17, Heal +9, Knowledge (religion) +17, Listen +12, Sense Motive +16, Spellcraft +11, Spot +12
Feats: Awesome Blow, Cleave, Improved Bullrush, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (maul)
Environment:The Iron Hills
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 16
Alignment: Lawful Good
Paladin Spells Prepared (3; save DC = 15 + spell level): 1st –
bless weapon, divine favor, protection from evil
Spell-Like Abilities: At will –
darkness, invisibility; 1/day –
charm person, cone of cold, gaseous form, polymorph, sleep. Caster level 16; DC = 15 + spell level.
Flight (Ex): Naggarak can cease or resume flight as a free action. While using
gaseous form he can fly at his normal speed with perfect maneuverability.
Hendar reeled under the weight of the orc’s crushing blow as the humanoids heavy axe slammed against his shield. The dwarf stumbled back narrowly avoiding tripping over the corpses of his brothers. Both Garmak and Torgrym had been slain early in the skirmish, Garmak had caught an orc hammer under the rim of his helmet smashing his face and driving splinters of bone into his brain. Torgrym had managed to slay his killer even as the orc’s spear transfixed him and had split his opponents skull with his axe before succumbing to his own wound. Now it was just Hendar, alone against six orcs.
The dwarf was no stranger to fighting orcs but he and his small party had been caught off guard by the orc raiding party as it descended upon them in howling fury from both side of a small ravine. The dwarves had been on their way to their uncle Jendakar Stoneaxe’s stronghold where the young warriors had hoped to find service under the mighty dwarf clan leader. Their path had led them though a small mountain range that eventually gave way to rolling foothills that featured many small valleys. The dwarves had expected no trouble so close to their uncle’s stronghold and had been completely unprepared for the orc ambush.
There were seven of them, and they had crashed into the dwarves with gleeful fury. The orcs were clad in untreated leathers and wielded a motley assortment of weapons, all but their apparent leader, a huge orc, battle scarred and armored in battered chainmail. This veteran had simply leaned on his greataxe and watched with a huge tusked grin as his men cut their quarry to pieces. The battle was now essentially over, but Hendar was determined to take at least one of the cursed orcs with him. He had backed up against the rock wall of the ravine to prevent the orcs from surrounding him. The young dwarf held a stout oaken shield and was armored in fine dwarven scale mail. His axe had yet to taste orc blood, a situation he planned to remedy before he died.
The orcs had broken off their attack, and had formed a rough semi-circle around the lone dwarf calling out to him in their thick guttural tongue. Hendar understood enough orc to grasp that they were insulting his family, his race and even his manhood. Finally after a few minutes of taunting one of the orcs grew bold enough to charge the young dwarf. Hendar noticed that this was the same hammer-wielding son of a cur that had killed his brother Garmak and silently thanked Moradin for the chance to avenge his brother before joining him in the great halls of the All Father. The orc had no shield of his own and simply leveled a massive two-handed blow at Hendar’s head.
The charging orc, as Hendar predicted, simply tried to hit him as hard as he could with no thought of tactics or subterfuge. The young dwarf ducked the orc’s wild swing, letting it sail harmlessly over his head and smash into the rock wall of the ravine. Then as the orc struggled to regain his balance Hendar brought his axe up in deadly underhand cut, arcing between the orcs legs and into his groin. The finely crafted dwarven axe bit deep into the orc’s pelvis removing most of his manhood in the process. With an agonized howl the stricken orc dropped to the ground writhing in torment and clutching the ruined remains of his groin. Hendar hawked and spat at his downed opponent cursing him in dwarvish. The remaining orcs looked on stunned as Hendar stepped back against the ravine wall and raised his axe. “Come on you inbred dogs! Even old one eye himself must be shamed by lot!” Hendar cried in broken orcish.
The hammer-wielding orc had dragged his bleeding body back towards his brethren who looked down on him with complete disgust. Their leader pushed them aside to stand over his fallen comrade and then with little fan-fare brought his huge axe up and over his head and then down with all the strength his mighty arms could muster. The injured orc’s cries and pleadings were cut short by the meaty thud of the leader’s axe as it clove the mortally wounded humanoid nearly in two.
Hendar watched all this with stoic fascination knowing full well that he would likely die beneath that same axe.
Oh well, at least I took one with me, Hendar thought with quiet resignation and brought his shield up in a futile effort to fend of the charge that was sure to come.
The orc leader had had enough of dwarves for the day and strode forward swinging his great axe from side to side with casual relish. The remaining orcs had regained their cruel sense of humor in a burst of savage jeers and catcalls, as it was evident that their leader would put an end to this troublesome dwarf.
The orc leader came on like an avalanche raining jaw-rattling blows down upon Hendar’s shield. So fearsome were the orc’s strikes, and so great was his strength that each swing sent Hendar reeling away, his shield arm lighting up with bright scarlet pain. He was sorely out matched and knew it, but the dwarf warrior focused all his energy into one last desperate gambit. When the next heavy two handed blow came whistling in towards his head, he ducked beneath it and rolled forward hoping to surprise the orc with his display of agility and get in at least on cut with his axe. The tactic might have surprised the rank and file but the orc veteran was not fooled, and quickly changed the direction of his weapon as Hendar rolled, bringing the double bitted great axe back in a savage reverse cut. Hendar managed to bring the remains of his shield up to ward of the blow but the orc’s mighty axe smashed through the top of the wooden bulwark and slammed against the dwarf’s helm. The blow was lessened some by its encounter with the shield but still contained enough of force to crumple in the side of Hendar’s helm and lay him out senseless in the dirt.
Thanks to the fine craftsmanship of the dwarves the orc leader’s axe had not pierced Hendar’s helm, but it mattered little as it had cracked the skull beneath the iron headpiece. Hendar lay on his back as blood streamed down his face and into his eyes, he clung to conciseness with the typical stubbornness of dwarf-kind but he knew that he was gravely injured. The jarring noise of orc triumph filled his ears as the orcs cheered for their leader to finish his opponent and soon the towering figure of the orc commander loomed over the stricken dwarf.
A cruel grin creased the orc’s savage features as he stared down upon his helpless opponent. “Well stunty, I oughtta gut you slow for all the trouble you caused me.” The orc leader grunted in surprisingly good dwarfish. “But, as much as I’d like to ring every last scream outta your carcass I’ve got more pressing things to attend to.” The orc leader finished with a chuckle and Hendar watched that cruel axe ascend into the sky.
Hendar kept his eyes open, he would not face his end in the dark, but as the axe reached the apex of its ascent and Hendar steeled himself for death a huge shadow loomed over both orc and dwarf. The orc whirled around in time to meet the massive down stroke of a hammer so massive that it blotted out the sun on its way down. It struck the orc leader flush on the top oh his hairy scalp and his head exploded like a ripe melon under the tread of an elephant. Hendar watched the twitching corpse of his opponent fall to the ground with and undignified thud and then all was chaos and pain.
Hendar wounds prevented him from moving so he was unable to see his savior, but he heard well enough as the remaining orcs met their end beneath that mighty hammer. Silence followed the short battle and Hendar heard the heavy tread of something big moving towards where he lay inert. The looming shadow returned and was followed by the tusked-mouthed flame eyed face of a demon as whatever beast had rescued him bent down over Hendar’s battered from.
“Whaa… nooo!.” Was all Hendar could manage as he attempted to writhe away from the apparition hovering over him. But his body was simply overmatched and he felt the numbing grasp of unconsciousness drag him down into suffocating darkness.
***
“Yes Uncle, an ogre paladin.” Hendar said again, for what seemed the tenth time that afternoon. His statement was met by the confused and disbelieving stares of his Uncle and the clan elders that had followed each and every statement that contained the words ogre and paladin.
“You must forgive us nephew, we are glad for your safety, but you must understand that what you say is highly unusual. Perhaps your blow to the head addled your wits some and caused you to mistake your rescuer for an ogre.” Jendakar Stoneaxe was an old dwarf and he was trying to be open minded, an incredibly difficult state of mind for a dwarf. “ Perhaps if this ogre had seen fit to accompany you to the gates, this would be much simpler.”
Hendar merely shrugged his shoulders and glanced around at the seated elders in his Uncle’s council chamber. “He was wary of coming this close to your stronghold for fear his appearance would cause great alarm so I have little proof to offer you beyond my word. But uncle, if you would have seen what was left of those orcs you would not doubt. There bodies were pulped beyond recognition and only a creature of great size and strength could achieve that level of carnage.”
“True, but it matters little. You are here safe and whole and our thanks go out to who ever or what ever has delivered you. I will send out a squad of warriors to recover the bodies of your brothers and to search for any sign of your benefactor.” The old dwarf smiled at his nephew with what was obviously great fondness. “Now away with you, get some rest and some food in your belly. We will discuss this later.”
Hendar bowed and left his uncle and his advisors to talk among themselves. Jendekar turned to his right where an ancient gray bearded dwarf was seated. Garhak was his most trusted advisor and endowed with a wisdom that was renown throughout the Stoneaxe clan. “What do you think, Garhak, is such a thing possible?”
The wrinkled old dwarf furrowed his brow in thought and stroked his chin whiskers. “Well, my lord I have heard of stranger things, and who knows what is possible in this wide world of ours. However I will say this; from your nephew’s description I doubt that this paladin was an ogre. Your young warrior there has probably never encountered what I think he may have described. I believe his rescuer was an
Ohrgukar.”
”An ogre mage?’ Jendekar said with wonder, translating the dwarf word into the common tongue. “That would certainly make more sense as they are rumored to possess great intellect and force of will. But even so, all the legends and tales I have heard feature them as wicked and cruel creatures, possessing only a desire for horded wealth and power.”
“Yes well, perhaps this ogre mage was merely amusing himself with your nephew. Playing on the younglings naiveté, but for what purpose I have no idea.” Garhak was silent for a moment as was the wont of the old and wizened before resuming his analysis of the situation. “Whatever the reason, my liege this
Orghukar healed the boy’s wounds and delivered him here unharmed, so perhaps there is some validity to Hendar’s tale. I think you have the right of it though, send out some men tomorrow and perhaps they will find some sign of this mysterious
Orghukar paladin.”
Jendekar patted his old friend’s hand fondly. “I thank you for your wisdom Garhak, and truthfully I hope my nephew is right. An ogre mage paladin patrolling my lands would be a gift from Moradin below, to be sure.” Jendekar added with a wry smile. “Now come old one, all this talking has created a foul mood within me and I fear only the sight of the bottom of many ale jars will put me to rights again.”
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Naggark the ogre mage, or “Shadow Smite” as the dwarves of the Stone Axe clan know him, is a singular anomaly of ogre kind. The mysterious and elusive Naggarak is a devote follower of Heironious and is a mighty paladin in the forthright god’s service. Little is known about Naggarak’s past save that he suddenly appeared in the Iron Hills nearly seventy years ago and has watched over the clan of dwarves that live there ever since. The dwarves of clan Stoneaxe although leery of their mysterious benefactor at first have embraced their guardian as a gift from Moradin himself. The powerful paladin has come to the aid of the Stoneaxe clan many times, standing beside the dwarf warriors as they battled orcs, goblins and even a Duergar incursion from below their hillside stronghold.
The dwarves have named their champion “Shadow Smite” as he nearly always appears suddenly when the dwarves are in need, smiting their foes with his great hammer and then disappearing with little more than nod and a salute to the clan chieftain. He rarely speaks and the dwarves have never pressed the mighty paladin for details regarding his past or his ultimate purpose. They are simply glad to have the holy warrior on their side and often leave kegs of their finest ale and gold where they believe he makes his lair. The gold is always found the next day near the front gates of the Stoneaxe stronghold in the empty ale keg.
Appearance & Tactics
Naggarak is in imposing figure of holy might. Standing over nine feet tall the ogre mage’s coppery skin glows with power and strength. His face is a frightening mixture of flaming red eyes and sharp ivory tusks all framed by a pair of downward curving horns of deepest onyx. Rumors abound among the Stoneaxe dwarves that the blood of celestials may even run through the veins of Naggarak and his chosen path, bizarre to say the least for one of his ilk, lends some credence to this claim.
The paladin is never seen without his hammer, a massive instrument of righteous destruction that the powerful ogre mage wields with two hands. In addition the dwarves have supplied their champion with a breastplate of finest mithral complete with the lightning and clenched fist motif of Heironious.
Naggarak prefers to face his opponents head on, trusting in his great strength and faith in his god to see him through any obstacle. He is far from dull witted, however, and will use whatever tactic is most appropriate for a situation. He has been known to suddenly appear behind a band of orcs, letting loose with his
cone of cold ability and then mopping up the survivors with his mighty hammer. Stern and unyielding, Naggarak shows no mercy to evil but is surprisingly gentle and almost fatherly with the dwarves under his care.
