Ygorl, the Lord of Entropy
Ygorl, Lord of Entropy
Unique Large Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 35d8 + 420 (700 hp)
Initiative: +10
Speed: 60’/fly 120’ (poor)
AC: 47 (-1 size, +6 Dex, +8 deflection, +24 natural armor) touch 23, flatfooted 41
Base Attack/Grapple: +27/+43
Attack: +5 Large Scythe +44 melee (2d6+25 + destruction, 19-20/x4) or claw +38 melee (2d8+12)
Full Attack: +5 Large Scythe +44/+39/+34/+29 (2d6+25 + destruction, 19-20/x4) or 2 claw +38 melee (2d8+12), bite +33 melee (2d8+6)
Space/Reach: 5’/10’ ft.
Special Attacks: Death scythe, lord of chaos, slowing touch, rebuke undead, spell-like abilities, summon aid
Special Qualities: Change shape, fast healing 15, damage reduction 35/epic and lawful, dark vision (infinite), immune to ability drain, death magic, energy drain, mind effecting spells, polymorph, and petrification, immune to sonic, resistance acid 20, cold 20, electricity 20, and fire resistance 20, spell resistance 35
Saves: Fort +31, Ref +26, Will +31
Abilities: Str 34, Dex 23, Con 34, Int 27, Wis 26, Chr 26
Skills: Bluff +46, Concentration +50, Diplomacy +46, Jump +50, Knowledge (Arcana) +46, Knowledge (Planes) +46, Knowledge (Religion) +46, Hide +44, Intimidate +46, Listen +46, Move Silently +44, Search +46, Spellcraft +46, Spot +46, Survival +46, Tumble +44
Feats: Cleave, combat reflexes, dodge, great cleave, epic spellcasting, epic will, improved critical (scythe), improved initiative, mobility, power attack, weapon focus (scythe), weapon specialization (scythe)
Environment: Limbo
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 27
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic neutral
Few if any slaad are more famous than Ygorl the Lord of Entropy. Students or the arcane will know of the Lord Ygorl if they no nothing else about the slaad and can name no other their Lords. There are doubtless several reasons for this. First, Ygorl is among the most ancient and potent of all Slaad Lords. Secondly, Ygorl is one of the few Slaad Lords of the first rank which is regularly found outside of the plane of Limbo, and has any interest at all in mortal affairs. And lastly, of all the Slaad Lords none have been more influential over the history of the slaad than Ygorl the Ender. For all his familiarity to the average student of the planes, no Slaad Lord is more enigmatic and difficult to understand. His motives beyond those of mere self-preservation remain inscrutable. He is rivaled only by Haskismet in being atypical for a Slaad Lord for he is on examination quite exceptional in many ways for a Slaad Lord, and not only in power alone.
In appearance Ygorl always presents himself as a very tall black skeletal being, having the bones of perhaps a toad like slaad, with small black leathery wings upon his back. Some sages have suggested that Ygorl is flightless, but the truth is that he's simply a poor flier and seldom takes to the air. His natural form is said to be that of a huge black slaad, but if this is true no one has ever lived to bring the report so you must make of this rumor what you would.
Ygorl is most famous for his great and deadly scythe, upon which it is said is written the word ‘Death’ in the language of the slaad. But this is in fact a mistranslation. The slaad language has no word for ‘death’, for to have a word for death implies that you are able to imagine a universe which continues without you or at least that there are other beings beside yourself in the universe. The slaad are however in their self-centeredness unable to imagine either of these things. In fact, the runes written on the blade of Ygorl’s deadly scythe read ‘Stop’ – which is the closest thing that the slaad know to death. While there are other Slaad Lords which bear weapons, no other Slaad Lord is so closely associated with an artifact as Ygorl. The reason for this remains unknown.
Ygorl is also famous for his great steed and companion, the rouge brass dragon known as Shkiv. The origin of this relationship and the reasons for it remain unknown to mortal lore, for it is strange and unique indeed that a slaad Lord – those very incarnations of individuality - should have a companion, or that a brass dragon should willingly serve and submit itself to such a strange and destructive being as Ygorl.
Likewise, alone of the Slaad Lords, Ygorl is associated with and does not destroy undead. And further, alone of the Slaad Lords, Ygorl never appears in his natural form, nor does he ever give audience to any mortal on the plane of Limbo.
All these exceptions and mysteries have led some scholars to speculate that Ygorl is not a slaad at all, but some other sort of being disguised as a slaad lord. For example, they frequently site the famous case of Orcus-Tenebrous as evidence of this hypothesis, but I think it rather not evidence but mere inspiration. Other learned sages have suggested that Ygorl is in the midst of a decent toward the demonic, as is said to have happened with other Slaad Lords. For my part though, while I doubt not that Ygorl is driven by and incarnates one of the more destructive impulses of chaos, I think this explanation for his behavior is far too simple and answers nothing.
Ygorl’s influence over the slaad, at least in this current epoche is singular and profound. It is he that conceived of the spawning stone. It is Ygorl who has set the toad fashion in body type which prevails over almost the whole of the race. It is Ygorl that invented the Cult of the Death Slaad and taught them the rituals by which they invest themselves with power. (Now that you know something of their language, you should recognize the same mistranslation, but I will persist in it simply because the phrase has such a wide use.) The reasons for all of these things can only be guessed at, and the most common explanations are I’m sure only half truths.
Like all the Slaad Lords, Ygorl’s power has waxed and waned over the centuries. At one point, he was without doubt the greatest and most powerful of the Slaad and effectively ruler over Limbo if any being could claim that title. He remains great, but is no longer accounted the greatest at least in these past few centuries - that title having returned to Ssendam his sometimes ally and sometime enemy. Perhaps, Ygorl has become too unchanging in nature to maintain his status among a changeable race. Ygorl greatly loathes Zazashaf more than any other being, and their enmity is legendary though neither seems able to obtain a permanent advantage over the other. Ygorl is also particularly ill-disposed to Renbou for reasons that are not easily understood, but perhaps relates to Ygorl’s rumored destruction of what may have been Renbou’s predecessor – Jelicol the Lord of Flowers.
Ygorl is greatly feared by all the lesser slaad and, as much as they loathe it, none dare disobey his commands.
Of all the Slaad Lords, it is Ygorl which I must most advise caution in dealing with. He is not the most unpredictable, most impulsive, or most destructive of the Slaad Lords, but he is the most secretive and most desirous to protect his privacy. Let the trespasser beware!! For now, let us turn to other matters. The great secrets of Ygorl the Ender we will return to in their proper place, as we investigate further the nature of and enigma’s of the Slaad Lords.
Combat
Any being so foolish as to try to thwart the will of the Lord of Enthropy is dispatched without a second thought. Ygorl is a pitiless creature, and many a being has been made as nothing by the blade of his scythe.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will – Analyze dweomer, astral projection, alter self, blink, break enchantment, chaos hammer (DC 24), chill metal, circle of death (DC 24), cloak of chaos (DC 28), cone of cold (empowered, DC 23), detect law, detect magic, dimensional anchor, dispel law (DC 25), deeper darkness, detect thoughts, ethereal jaunt, greater dispelling, greater magic fang, hold monster (DC 23), invisibility, magic circle against law, misdirection, persistent image, phantasmal killer (DC 22), planeshift, shatter (DC 20), slow (heightened, DC 27), true seeing, word of chaos (DC 29) 3/day disintegrate (DC 24), implosion (DC 27), limited wish, power word (any), symbol (any); 1/day epic counterspell, peripety, ruin (DC 28), spell worm (DC 28). Caster level 25th. The save DC’s are Charisma based.
Change Shape (Su): Ygorl can assume any humanoid form as a standard action. In humanoid form, Ygorl cannot use his natural weapons. Ygorl may remain in this form until he chooses to assume a new one. The change in form may not be dispelled, but the Slaad Lord will revert to his natural form if killed. Even true seeing does not reveal Ygorl’s natural form, only that Ygorl is a disguised shapechanger.
Death Scythe (Su): Ygorl wields the great scythe ‘Stop’. ‘Stop’ strikes as a +5 large scythe, and is considered epic, chaotic, and cold iron for the purposes of overcoming damage resistance. Any being other than Ygorl which touches or is struck by this weapon is struck as by the spell destruction (DC 31) cast at 25th level of ability. ‘Stop’ is a major artifact and may be harmed only by such things as are capable of effecting major artifacts.
Lord of Chaos (Su): Any spell-like ability Ygorl employs gains the chaos descriptor. If the spell-like ability already has the chaos descriptor, the DC of saves vs. this spell is increased by +2, and it is automatically widened (when appropriate) as the metamagic feat widen spell. Three times per day as a free action, Ygorl may maximize any spell-like ability he casts as if the metamagic feat maximize spell had been applied.
Rebuke Undead (Su): Ygorl may channel negative energy to rebuke undead as a 20th level cleric.
Slowing Touch (Su): In the rare case that Ygorl forgoes his mighty scythe, the strike of Ygorl’s natural weapons slows any being so struck, as the spell (save DC 39). The save DC is Constitution based.
Summon Slaad (Sp): Ygorl may summon any lesser slaad (mud, red, blue, green, grey, or death) once per round at will. Treat this ability as a 9th level spell. Three times per day, Ygorl may attempt to summon a white slaad with a 30% chance of success. Treat this ability as a 10th level spell.
This is completely an artifact of 3rd edition mechanics as I was trying to figure out what feats to give him, and the idea just crept in. I'm happy with how it came out. In each of the SL's cases, there SLA are supposed to be not so much magic but something that they can do as a result of the aspect of the natural world they represent. For example, most of Dixtolredi's SLA's are supposed to be the literally the side effect of the noise he can create. In this case, the idea is that when Loarsraol turns something into something else he is giving it a new natural form, as if the character has really been a poodle the whole time and something else had given it the illusion of being a powerful Paladin or Wizard and he's just restoring the natural order.
