Xal'Zzatoth

XAL'ZZATOTH, THE DEVOURER OF GRAVES

Xal’Zzatoth is a creature of nightmare, born from the unsettling dreams of the Neverborn. Dreams that have now been given life. It swims through the dead soil as easily as the silver seas of the underworld, devouring corpses and using the skeletons to armor itself. Its tentacles carry the skulls of fallen drakes, spirits fear Xal’Zzatoth, for he is known to devour them just as readily as Ghosts of the dead. Only the Deathlords may walk before it with little fear. As the agents of the Neverborn they seem to always pass under its gaze.
Essence: 5; Willpower: 9; Personal: 110
Body Health Levels: -0x8/-1x8/-2x8/-4x6/Incap.
Tentacle Health Levels: -0x6/-1x3/-2x3/-4x3/Incap.
Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 8, Stamina 6, Charisma 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 5 (Hideous), Perception 5, Intelligence 3, Wits 7
Abilities: Athletics 8, Awareness 5, Brawl 7, Presence 5 (+ Intimidate), Resistance 4, Stealth 4 (+ Underground)
Skeletal Tentacles (bite)
Tags: Lethal, Brawl, Piercing, Reaching, Grappling
Accuracy: 16, Damage 24, Overwhelming 10
Kraken Mouth (bite)
Tags: Lethal, Brawl, Piercing, Reaching, Grappling (Rolls unopposed unless enemies use magic to contest)
Accuracy: 16, Damage 27, Overwhelming 10
Soak/Hardness: 23(15)/15(10) (Skeletal Carapace)
Parry/Evasion: 8/4
Legendary Size: The Devourer of Graves is of a size so great that it makes it extraordinarily difficult for human-scale enemies to engage him in combat. It takes no onslaught penalties from attacks made by smaller opponent, unless magically inflicted. Withering attacks made by smaller enemies cannot drop him below 1 Initiative unless they have a post-soak damage of 10 dice (although attackers can still gain the full amount of Initiative damage dealt). Decisive attacks made by smaller enemies cannot deal more than (3 + attacker’s Strength) levels of damage, not counting any levels of damage added by Charms or other magic.

Crushing Blows: Xal’Zzatoth maintains an overwhelming value equal to its strength value on attacks. Its true mouth gains an additional raw damage on withering and decisive attacks of +3.

Always Outnumbered: The dragon-skulled tentacles of Xal’Zzatoth seem to move as if possessing minds of their own, Xal’Zzatoth may grant each of his two tentacles an initiative of their own (Rolled into battle separately form Xal’Zzatoth, or given an initiative equal to Xal’Zzatoth if the ST would like to speed up rolls. To retain a sense of fairness, this must be decided before any initiative is rolled.) They attack with statistics of their own, but still use the same attributes and ability scores as Xal’Zzatoth. When Xal’Zzatoth moves, he may attack using his tentacles as well as its own mouth, still counting as its own turn. When a tentacle is in crash, it may take no actions, and counts its soak as being 6 instead of its usual amount, signified by having it fall to the side, its vulnerable underbelly shown to the enemies. The tentacle rerolls its join battle after 2 turns in this state. Initiative gained by the tentacles may be shared with other components, but if it is used to bring a tentacle out of crash it does not get to reroll its join battle.

Weakened Within: When Xal’Zzatoth deems to show its true face, it is that of a monstrous squid. Beak and all. This true face has extremely powerful attacks, however it cannot quickly rehide itself, and thus it has only a soak of 6 instead of its usual amount while its face is shown, and its face takes an extra level of automatic damage for every 6 raw damage on a decisive attack against it. It may rebury itself with a simple action when it deigns to.

Crushing Skeletal Coils (10m): Upon completing a withering attack that does at least 5+ levels of withering damage, Xal’Zzatoth may perform an automatic grapple attempt, with no attack roll. It gains double 8’s on the initiative roll, and may take reflexive drag actions when moving with something in its mouth. Xal’Zzatoth can maintain up to 3 simultaneous clinches at once, one with its mouth, and one in each tentacle. While clinching, Xal’Zzatoth takes no penalty to defense.

Snapping Skeletal Punishment (5m, 1wp): While an enemy is held in a clinch in one of its skulled tentacles, Xal’Zzatoth deals decisive damage equal to its strength, which bypass armored hardness this occurs as long as it has the enemy within its grasp.

Wave of Death (25m, 1wp): Xal’Zzatoth concentrates the dark energies dwelling within it to a beam of pure malevolent power. It makes this attack from either its tentacle mouths or its main beak. It rolls Dexterity + Brawl as a decisive attack out to short range with (Essence) automatic successes. The attack strikes all enemies in the line out to short range, extra successes and Xal’Zzatoth’s current temporary willpower are added to the attack, if using its true mouth, the attack gains an additional Essence damage to its base as well. Enemies taking 3+ levels of damage from Wave of Death are knocked back a range band and fall prone. If this attack incapacitated any non-trivial opponents, Xal’Zzatoth does not reset to base initiative yet, but instead continues the attack out to a further range band, and change the direction of the attack if it chooses, keeping the successes of the original attack, but rerolling the damage. The necrotic properties of this attack leave the ground bathed in deathly essence. It creates a dark pool with the same statistics as a lava hazard wherever it struck. This attack is useable only once per scene.

Death Orb (15m): Xal’Zzatoth echoes orbs of his dark energy as a decisive attack. This always comes from the main body and does not reset the main body to base initiative. This attack does not add Xal’Zzatoths initiative to the roll, instead it gains a damage equal to its essence. These orbs strike out to short range from Xal’Zzatoth, and gain double 10’s on the damage roll. If struck with these orbs, deathly energy acts as a magnet towards the ground. Characters who wish to make move actions away from Xal’Zzatoth must make a disengage action no matter how far they are from him. To move towards Xal’Zzatoth requires a rush action. The difficulty on these checks is 5.

Enraged (10m, 1wp): Once Xal’Zzatoth has recovered from being crashed, it may reflexively pay 10 motes and a point of willpower to activate an enraged state. This state lasts for a number of rounds equal to its essence. While in this state, the bioluminescent lights in the eye sockets of its skulled tentacles gleam scarlet, and exhibit extremely erratic movements and twirls, great waves of dark essence roil off its form. This state makes Xal’Zzatoth harder to predict, granting it an automatic 2 successes on attack rolls, and its overwhelming power allowing it to convert post-soak/hardness dice of damage to automatic successes equal to its extra successes on the attack roll. It may also move twice per turn, and need not disengage to move away from units. This also allows it to access its more deadly attacks, allowing it to ignore the ‘Once Per Scene’ effect on Wave of Death, and allowing it to access Death Orb. Finally, Xal’Zzatoth suffers no wound penaltys in this state, and after exiting this state it enters the Exhausted state.

Exhausted: After exiting its Enraged state, Xal’Zzatoth seems to weaken itself. Its movements become sluggish, and slavering drool-like slime falls from its skeletal heads and main mouth. It suffers a -2 penalty to both its DV’s, and its attacks lose 6 damage from themselves. Raw damage is counted as 3 lower for the purposes of hardness while in this state, and it takes one automatic level of postsoak withering damage from all attacks. Xal’Zzatoth may not unleash Death Wave at all in this state.

Terrifying Chase: Xal’Zzatoth is not fond of its prey leaving it, it benefits from an extra 4 dice on rush attempts and gains double 9’s on the attempt.

Carapace Tempered by Darkness: During its time in the underworld, Xal’Zzatoth has incorporated the dark whispers of the Neverborn within its psyche and its shell. It takes no penalties to defense from wounds. It gains an additional 8 soak and 5 hardness against all sources of attacks except ones that would have the holy cleansing power of the unconquered sun to aid them. Attacks that focus on harming Creatures of Darkness fizzle and pop on its skin, making the soak and hardness effect of this merit useless.

The Futile Struggle: When in the majesty of the Underworlds Sun, Xal’Zzatoth becomes even more unnerving, and reduces post-soak damage from all sources by 6, and reduces raw damage from decisive attacks by 3. This can reduce withering damage dice to 0, in which case no damage is done.

Sample gambits
Loss of Life and Limb: When a tentacle is incapacitated, it ceases gaining its turn, but the main mind of Xal’Zzatoth can still control it. This can be remedied by a difficulty 3 gambit to remove it with a weapon, or at least crush it into uselessness. Xal’Zzatoth will regenerate new limbs after a month and a day if it lives through the combat.

On the Back of a Giant: With a difficulty 2 gambit, the attack roll of which is rolled with (Dex + Athletics), allows the attackers to get onto the back of Xal’Zzatoth, allowing them to find chinks in its armor. This reduces Xal’Zzatoths soak by 8 points. Xal’Zzatoth may attempt to shake enemies from its back with a gambit of 3, which may be accomplished by any of its limbs or the main body. Falling from Xal’Zzatoth is considered falling from short range without the assistance of charms.