Mystery Man
First Post
I was reading my Monster Manual III and came across the death giant, pretty cool monster really and after reading the “Death Giants in Eberron” section I began to wonder what would happen if a particularly bitter and exceptionally talented death giant decided to try to get out of the whole selling of the soul deal and become a lich, and ultimately become a deity. For the most part this whole thing turned into an exercise in becoming familiar with the Eberron cosmology and some of its ancient history. I wanted to explore what would happen if a particularly powerful and bitter piece of that history survived into the present time. Original events were taken from approximately -39000 to -37000.
Utter blackness where no light shines fills the plane of Mabar, the Endless Night. The starless night lasts forever, its gloom never diminishing in the least. The darkness literally devours the life of visitors to this plane, extinguishing every spark of light that dares intrude upon the Endless Night. This is where The Shûrzóg makes his home.
After the events of the Quori invasion Shûrzóg and his tribe struck a bargain, and traded their souls to become Death Giants, as a side effect, their souls are bound for the Mabar plane and servitude. (I can’t find any resource that states with who or what the deal was made, so I’m making it an extremely powerful Ultraloth.) *shrug*
Saddened and angered that his kind had slid so low. Shûrzóg took steps to ensure this would not happen to him. And to release the rest of his people from the prison of Mabar in his madness he sought to become a God. To this end, he cast the spells and performed the rituals necessary to become a lich. Shûrzóg was old before he became a lich, he extended his life through magic and now free of the limitations of life he was able to bend his will toward achieving his ends. He gathered to him legions of undead, and dwelt in a basalt keep in northern Xen’drik where he enjoyed a long reign of domination. Centuries went by and the very earth became corrupt where he dwelt and eventually he was forced to flee after a concentrated invasion of aligned forces of good, who sought to rid Eberron of his vile existence. (Again all of this was centuries ago.) Shûrzóg fled to the plane of Mabar where he had a dwelling prepared. The plane suited his temperament well, its ever present blackness a mirror of his corrupted soul. He is now and Demilich (having learned the secret to making soul gems) and is known as The Shûrzóg. He has many souls swirling about his gem encrusted skull (that could be seen if any light were necessary to penetrate the darkness of his lair) and many lich servants and necropolitan thralls.
The Shûrzóg’s fortress is massive. It is a trap filled, undead riddled, black as pitch, maze of death. Somewhere in his lair is the last aborted attempt at godhood, an atropal scion serves him now, bitter and hateful.
Another of The Shûrzóg many goals is to destroy the Ultraloth to which the bargain was made in an attempt at freeing his race. He intends then, to enslave his race for himself.
For now he wanders the planes bending his will over the eons gaining the knowledge and resources necessary to become a god. He will accept nothing less than godhood the return of giankind to their rightful place as the supreme rulers of Eberron.
Check him out, (first demilich) most likely riddled with small errors here and there. I did my best to make sure everything was correct.
The Shûrzo’g
Death Giant Demilich (Necromancer Specialist)
Small Undead
Hit Dice: 49d12 (318 HP)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 180 ft. fly (perfect)
Armor Class: 83 when touch attacking 40 regular (+2 size, +2 Dex, +14 natural,+6 bracers, +49 insight bonus when touch attacking, amulet of protection +6), touch 9, flat-footed 30
Base Attack/Grapple: +30/+50
Attack: Touch +89 melee (1d8+5 negative energy) Will save DC 42
Full Attack: Touch +89 melee (1d8+5 negative energy) Will save DC 42
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Fear Aura, Frightful Keening, Paralyzing Touch, spell-like abilities, steal soul, Spells, Trap the soul
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., guardian souls, immunity to fear and energy drain, low-light vision, rock catching, sold soul, soul healing, turn resistance, DR 30/-(ignore vorpal), Turn resistance +20, Magic Immunity, Immune to cold, electricity, polymorph, and mind affecting attacks, Immune to poison, paralysis, stunning, disease, death, effects, necromantic effects, mind affecting effects, and effect requiring a Fort save unless it also works on objects, Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, ability drain, energy drain, Negative energy heals, not at risk from massive damage (death) but destroyed at 0 hit points, perfect automatic still spell, phylactery transference, Acid, fire, and sonic resistance 20
Saves: Fort +34, Ref +30, Will +38
Abilities: Str 34, Dex 14, Con -, Int 38, Wis 22, Cha 37
Skills: Craft +22,Concentration +79, Decipher Script +34, Hide +30, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (arcana) +73, Knowledge (religion) +48, Listen +50, Move Silently +30, Profession +42, Search +42, Sense Motive +34, Spellcraft +66, Spot +50, Survival +6
Feats: Ability Focus (frightful keening), Ability Focus (steal soul), Automatic Quicken, Blinding Speed, Cleave, Corpse Crafter, Craft Wondrous Item, Deadly Chill, Empower Spell (Meta), Enervate Spell (meta LM), Epic Spell Focus (necromancy), Fell Drain (meta LM), Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Heighten Spell (meta), Improved Initiative, Improved Metamagic, Improved Spell Capacity, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Multispell, Necromantic Might (LM), Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quicken Spell (meta), Spell Focus (necromancy), Spell Penetration, Tenacious Magic
Environment: Temperate Mountains
Organization: Solitary, pair, or gang (3-8)
Challenge Rating: 50
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: -
Possessions – headband of intellect +6, Bracers of armor +4, cloak of resistance +1, amulet of protection +6
Fear Aura (Su): Will save DC 72
Frightful Keening (Su): As a standard action, a death giant can trigger the guardian souls that waft around its body to wail in frightful anguish. Living creatures within 100 ft. that hear this keening must make a DC 41 Will save. Success indicates that the creature is shaken until it can no longer hear the keening or moves out of range. Failure causes the creature to be panicked for as long as it can hear the keening and remains within range, and shaken for 24 hours afterward.
Ending the Frightful Keening is a standard action. This is a sonic, mind-affecting fear ability. The save is Charisma-based.
Paralyzing Touch (Su): Fort save DC 72
Rock Throwing (Ex): Death giants are accomplished rock throwers and gian a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls when throwing rocks. A death giant can hurl rocks of 60 to 80 pounds (Medium objects) up to five range increments. The range increment is 120 ft. for a death giant's rocks.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will – alter self, astral projection, create greater undead, create undead, death knell (Will DC 32), enervation, greater dispel magic, harm (Fort DC 36), summon monster I-IX; telekinesis (Will Dc 29), weird (Ref DC 33) 3/day - greater dispel magic, inflict critical wounds (+37 melee touch, DC 34), unholy blight (DC 34); 2/day – greater planar ally; 1/day - flame strike (DC 30). Caster level 42nd
Steal Soul (Su): Any living creature with 10 or fewer hit points within 15 feet of a death giant must succeed on a DC 36 Fort save each round or die instantly. This is a death effect. The save DC is Charisma based.
Any creature that dies within 15 feet of a death giant has its spirit sucked up into the swirling guardian should that protect the death giant. Such creatures cannot be raised, resurrected, or reincarnated so long as the death giant lives. Killing the death giant release the souls.
If a living death giant is within 15 feet of a death giant that dies, the souls are not released and are instead transferred to the nearby death giant due to its seal soul ability.
Under extraordinary circumstances, a living death giant may release a soul it has captured.
Guardian Souls (Su): A death giant's victims become its guardians in death. Each death giant is surrounded by a constantly swirling cloud of intangible spirits.
These spirits provide the death giant with warning and protection, granting the creature a bonus on imitative rolls, saves, Listen checks, and Spot checks equal to its charisma modifier.
A death giant's will binds its guardian souls to it. They are not ghosts or undead in the usual sense and cannot be damaged, dispelled, or separated from the death giant. Only a successful turning attempt can quell these spirits for a time. If the turning attempt would turn or rebuke an undead with HD equal to the death giant's, the guardian souls vanish for 1d10 rounds, and the death giant loses the benefits of its guardian souls, frightful keening, soul healing, and steal soul abilities until the souls return.
Sold Soul (Ex): A death giant cannot be raised, resurrected, or reincarnated. If a death giant's soul is not taken as a guardian should by another death giant or kept from departing b some other means (such as soul bind), it is utterly destroyed 1 round after the giant's death.
Soul Healing (Su): When a death giant is protected by its guardian souls, hit point damage due to negative energy (such as from an inflict spell) heals rather than harms a death giant. Death giants are healed by positive energy (such as from cure spells) normally.
Spells: Due to his extreme age and abilities he has many spell books and access to virtually any spell. He has given up the evocation and enchantment schools to focus on necromancy. He has a +6 from epic spell focus on all Necromancy spells.
Trap the Soul (Su): Fort save DC 72
Utter blackness where no light shines fills the plane of Mabar, the Endless Night. The starless night lasts forever, its gloom never diminishing in the least. The darkness literally devours the life of visitors to this plane, extinguishing every spark of light that dares intrude upon the Endless Night. This is where The Shûrzóg makes his home.
After the events of the Quori invasion Shûrzóg and his tribe struck a bargain, and traded their souls to become Death Giants, as a side effect, their souls are bound for the Mabar plane and servitude. (I can’t find any resource that states with who or what the deal was made, so I’m making it an extremely powerful Ultraloth.) *shrug*
Saddened and angered that his kind had slid so low. Shûrzóg took steps to ensure this would not happen to him. And to release the rest of his people from the prison of Mabar in his madness he sought to become a God. To this end, he cast the spells and performed the rituals necessary to become a lich. Shûrzóg was old before he became a lich, he extended his life through magic and now free of the limitations of life he was able to bend his will toward achieving his ends. He gathered to him legions of undead, and dwelt in a basalt keep in northern Xen’drik where he enjoyed a long reign of domination. Centuries went by and the very earth became corrupt where he dwelt and eventually he was forced to flee after a concentrated invasion of aligned forces of good, who sought to rid Eberron of his vile existence. (Again all of this was centuries ago.) Shûrzóg fled to the plane of Mabar where he had a dwelling prepared. The plane suited his temperament well, its ever present blackness a mirror of his corrupted soul. He is now and Demilich (having learned the secret to making soul gems) and is known as The Shûrzóg. He has many souls swirling about his gem encrusted skull (that could be seen if any light were necessary to penetrate the darkness of his lair) and many lich servants and necropolitan thralls.
The Shûrzóg’s fortress is massive. It is a trap filled, undead riddled, black as pitch, maze of death. Somewhere in his lair is the last aborted attempt at godhood, an atropal scion serves him now, bitter and hateful.
Another of The Shûrzóg many goals is to destroy the Ultraloth to which the bargain was made in an attempt at freeing his race. He intends then, to enslave his race for himself.
For now he wanders the planes bending his will over the eons gaining the knowledge and resources necessary to become a god. He will accept nothing less than godhood the return of giankind to their rightful place as the supreme rulers of Eberron.
Check him out, (first demilich) most likely riddled with small errors here and there. I did my best to make sure everything was correct.
The Shûrzo’g
Death Giant Demilich (Necromancer Specialist)
Small Undead
Hit Dice: 49d12 (318 HP)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 180 ft. fly (perfect)
Armor Class: 83 when touch attacking 40 regular (+2 size, +2 Dex, +14 natural,+6 bracers, +49 insight bonus when touch attacking, amulet of protection +6), touch 9, flat-footed 30
Base Attack/Grapple: +30/+50
Attack: Touch +89 melee (1d8+5 negative energy) Will save DC 42
Full Attack: Touch +89 melee (1d8+5 negative energy) Will save DC 42
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Fear Aura, Frightful Keening, Paralyzing Touch, spell-like abilities, steal soul, Spells, Trap the soul
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., guardian souls, immunity to fear and energy drain, low-light vision, rock catching, sold soul, soul healing, turn resistance, DR 30/-(ignore vorpal), Turn resistance +20, Magic Immunity, Immune to cold, electricity, polymorph, and mind affecting attacks, Immune to poison, paralysis, stunning, disease, death, effects, necromantic effects, mind affecting effects, and effect requiring a Fort save unless it also works on objects, Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, ability drain, energy drain, Negative energy heals, not at risk from massive damage (death) but destroyed at 0 hit points, perfect automatic still spell, phylactery transference, Acid, fire, and sonic resistance 20
Saves: Fort +34, Ref +30, Will +38
Abilities: Str 34, Dex 14, Con -, Int 38, Wis 22, Cha 37
Skills: Craft +22,Concentration +79, Decipher Script +34, Hide +30, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (arcana) +73, Knowledge (religion) +48, Listen +50, Move Silently +30, Profession +42, Search +42, Sense Motive +34, Spellcraft +66, Spot +50, Survival +6
Feats: Ability Focus (frightful keening), Ability Focus (steal soul), Automatic Quicken, Blinding Speed, Cleave, Corpse Crafter, Craft Wondrous Item, Deadly Chill, Empower Spell (Meta), Enervate Spell (meta LM), Epic Spell Focus (necromancy), Fell Drain (meta LM), Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Heighten Spell (meta), Improved Initiative, Improved Metamagic, Improved Spell Capacity, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Multispell, Necromantic Might (LM), Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quicken Spell (meta), Spell Focus (necromancy), Spell Penetration, Tenacious Magic
Environment: Temperate Mountains
Organization: Solitary, pair, or gang (3-8)
Challenge Rating: 50
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: -
Possessions – headband of intellect +6, Bracers of armor +4, cloak of resistance +1, amulet of protection +6
Fear Aura (Su): Will save DC 72
Frightful Keening (Su): As a standard action, a death giant can trigger the guardian souls that waft around its body to wail in frightful anguish. Living creatures within 100 ft. that hear this keening must make a DC 41 Will save. Success indicates that the creature is shaken until it can no longer hear the keening or moves out of range. Failure causes the creature to be panicked for as long as it can hear the keening and remains within range, and shaken for 24 hours afterward.
Ending the Frightful Keening is a standard action. This is a sonic, mind-affecting fear ability. The save is Charisma-based.
Paralyzing Touch (Su): Fort save DC 72
Rock Throwing (Ex): Death giants are accomplished rock throwers and gian a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls when throwing rocks. A death giant can hurl rocks of 60 to 80 pounds (Medium objects) up to five range increments. The range increment is 120 ft. for a death giant's rocks.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will – alter self, astral projection, create greater undead, create undead, death knell (Will DC 32), enervation, greater dispel magic, harm (Fort DC 36), summon monster I-IX; telekinesis (Will Dc 29), weird (Ref DC 33) 3/day - greater dispel magic, inflict critical wounds (+37 melee touch, DC 34), unholy blight (DC 34); 2/day – greater planar ally; 1/day - flame strike (DC 30). Caster level 42nd
Steal Soul (Su): Any living creature with 10 or fewer hit points within 15 feet of a death giant must succeed on a DC 36 Fort save each round or die instantly. This is a death effect. The save DC is Charisma based.
Any creature that dies within 15 feet of a death giant has its spirit sucked up into the swirling guardian should that protect the death giant. Such creatures cannot be raised, resurrected, or reincarnated so long as the death giant lives. Killing the death giant release the souls.
If a living death giant is within 15 feet of a death giant that dies, the souls are not released and are instead transferred to the nearby death giant due to its seal soul ability.
Under extraordinary circumstances, a living death giant may release a soul it has captured.
Guardian Souls (Su): A death giant's victims become its guardians in death. Each death giant is surrounded by a constantly swirling cloud of intangible spirits.
These spirits provide the death giant with warning and protection, granting the creature a bonus on imitative rolls, saves, Listen checks, and Spot checks equal to its charisma modifier.
A death giant's will binds its guardian souls to it. They are not ghosts or undead in the usual sense and cannot be damaged, dispelled, or separated from the death giant. Only a successful turning attempt can quell these spirits for a time. If the turning attempt would turn or rebuke an undead with HD equal to the death giant's, the guardian souls vanish for 1d10 rounds, and the death giant loses the benefits of its guardian souls, frightful keening, soul healing, and steal soul abilities until the souls return.
Sold Soul (Ex): A death giant cannot be raised, resurrected, or reincarnated. If a death giant's soul is not taken as a guardian should by another death giant or kept from departing b some other means (such as soul bind), it is utterly destroyed 1 round after the giant's death.
Soul Healing (Su): When a death giant is protected by its guardian souls, hit point damage due to negative energy (such as from an inflict spell) heals rather than harms a death giant. Death giants are healed by positive energy (such as from cure spells) normally.
Spells: Due to his extreme age and abilities he has many spell books and access to virtually any spell. He has given up the evocation and enchantment schools to focus on necromancy. He has a +6 from epic spell focus on all Necromancy spells.
Trap the Soul (Su): Fort save DC 72
