#areshkagal

[madcat-world]

Book of the Damned (2 of 3) - Kez Laczin

[your-cyberqueen]

[thecreaturecodex]

Demon Lord, Areshkagal

Image © Paizo Publishing

[Commissioned by @tar-baphon​. Appropriately enough considering her portfolio of riddles, there’s something about Areshkagal I just can’t figure out. She appears as a bonus boss in the Wrath of the Righteous computer game, but there’s no information online I could find about her abilities. So even though there’s at least a quasi-canonical version of the Faceless Sphinx out there, I could find nothing to incorporate into this version.]

Demon Lord, Areshkagal CR 27 CE Outsider (extraplanar) This sphinx has midnight blue fur covering a pale body. She has six legs, each tipped with golden, scything claws. Her head is faceless, with long blonde hair and a pharaoh’s headdress. She has a tail tipped with the head of a blue-scaled viper.

Areshkagal, the Faceless Sphinx CE female demon lord of greed, magical and mundane portals, and riddles Domains Air, Chaos, Evil, Trickery Subdomains Deception, Demon, Thievery, Wind Favored Weapon sickle Unholy Symbol a faceless woman’s head decorated with a bloody pharoah’s headdress Worshipers avaricious rulers, dragons, drow Minions evil sphinxes, golems For information on Areshkagal’s obedience and boons, see the Book of the Damned.

Areshkagal is the demon lord of riddles and greed, and is something of a riddle herself. Her demonic form resembles one of the aspects of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, which might be homage, coincidence or mockery. She has been deposed from her original realm, the Sea of Whispering Sands, by her sister Aldinach, but maintains a clawhold of power by occupying the Blood Clefts. And nobody knows the answers to her 24 Riddles of the Flesh, except herself. Supposedly cracking the code reveals great universal truths and material wealth, but all who have even heard of these riddles risk their mental stability.

Areshkagal rarely fights alone, as she has cultists, golems, demons and fiendish dragons to call upon. When in combat, she opens with her maddening riddles to stun foes. Anyone who resists their call, she pounces upon and plays with like a cat with a mouse. If a creature is capable of truly harming her, she offers them the briefest glimpse of her true face—which drops some creatures dead and makes others as evil as she is. Areshkagal is nearly impossible to pin down, and readily flees a losing confrontation. 

Areshkagal   CR 27 XP 3,276,800 CE Large outsider (chaos, demon, demon lord, evil, extraplanar) Init +9; Senses blindsight 120 ft., darkvision 120 ft., Perception +36 Aura unholy (DC 28) Defense AC 44, touch 23, flat-footed 43 (-1 size, +9 Dex, +4 deflection, +1 dodge, +15 natural, +6 armor) hp 585 (33d10+462); regeneration 30 (deific or mythic) Fort +29, Ref +31, Will +32 DR 20/cold iron, good and epic; Immune ability damage, ability drain, charm effects, compulsion effects, death effects, electricity, energy drain, petrification, and poison; Resist acid 30, cold 30, fire 30; SR 38 Defensive Abilities freedom of movement, improved uncanny dodge Offense Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (good) Melee 4 claws +47 (2d8+13/19-20x3 plus grab), bite +45 (3d6+13 plus poison), 2 wings +40 (2d6+6) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks glimpse the true self, gold claws, pounce, rake (2 claws +44, 2d8+13/19-20), riddles of the flesh Spell-like Abilities CL 26th, concentration +36 Constant—freedom of movement, tongues, unholy aura (DC 28, self only) At will—astral projection, blasphemy* (DC 27), chain lightning* (DC 26), control weather*, dimension door*, greater dispel magic, greater teleport, mirror image*, unholy blight* (DC 24) 3/day—demand (DC 28), gate (planar travel only, DC 29), greater invisibility, quickened mass suggestion (DC 26), permanent image (DC 26), empowered stormbolts (DC 28), summon demons and dragons, whirlwind (DC 28) 1/day—storm of vengeance* (DC 29), time stop*, wail of the banshee (DC 29) *Areshkagal can use the mythic version of this ability in her realm Statistics Str 37, Dex 28, Con 38, Int 30, Wis 31, Cha 31 Base Atk +33; CMB +47 (+51 disarm and sunder); CMD 71 (73 vs. disarm and sunder, 75 vs. trip) Feats Combat Expertise, Dimensional Agility, Dimensional Assault, Dimensional Dervish, Dimensional Maneuvers, Dimensional Savant, Dodge, Empower SLA (stormbolts), Flyby Attack, Greater Disarm, Greater Sunder, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Disarm, Improved Feint, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (mass suggestion) Skills Acrobatics +35, Appraise +39, Bluff +39, Diplomacy +36, Disable Device +33, Fly +37, Intimidate +39, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, geography, local, nature) +36, Knowledge (planes, religion) +39, Linguistics +34, Perception +36, Sense Motive +25, Sleight of Hand +38, Spellcraft +36, Stealth +34, Use Magic Device +36 Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic, Infernal, Sphinx, 24 others, telepathy 300 ft., tongues SQ demon lord traits, dimensional mastery, no breath Ecology Environment any land or underground (Abyss) Organization unique Treasure triple standard (crown of the faceless sphinx [treat as helm of electrical radiance that grants a +6 armor bonus as bracers of armor], other treasure) Special Abilities Dimensional Mastery (Ex/Sp) Areshkagal is immune to any effect that suppresses teleportation or planar travel abilities unless it comes from a deific source. In addition, she does not need to spend uses of mythic power to use the mythic version of dimension door in her realm. Glimpse the True Self (Su) As a swift action, Areshkagal can show her face to an adjacent creature. That creature must attempt a DC 36 Fortitude save; if it fails, it dies immediately. If it succeeds, it is sickened for 1 day and must succeed a DC 35 Will save or become chaotic evil and charmed by Areshkagal for 1 week. If the creature succeeds the second save, it is instead confused for 1 minute. A creature exposed to this ability is immune for the next 24 hours, regardless of its successes or failures. A creature under the effects of dispel evil or holy aura, but not protection from evil, is immune to this ability. Creatures with the chaotic or evil subtype are immune to this ability. This is a mind-influencing, charm, death effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Gold Claws (Ex) Areshkagal’s claw attacks count as being adamantine and magic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction and hardness. She gains a +2 profane bonus to attack and damage rolls with her claws, and deals x3 damage on a successful critical hit. Poison (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 40; duration 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d6 Con drain and 1d6 Int drain; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution based. Riddles of the Flesh (Su) As a standard action, Areshkagal can whisper her maddening riddles. All creatures within 60 feet that can hear her must succeed a DC 36 Will save or be paralyzed and take 1d4 points of Wisdom drain. A creature that succeeds this save is still staggered for 1 round. Each round, a paralyzed creature can attempt another Will save to negate this effect; if they fail, they take an additional 1d4 points of Wisdom drain. A creature reduced to 0 Wisdom is permanently confused, as per an insanity spell. This is a mind-influencing compulsion effect, and demons are immune to this effect. The save DC is Charisma based. Summon Demons and Dragons (Su) When Areshkagal uses her summon demons ability, she may also call up to a CR 20 encounter worth of fiendish red dragons or rift dragons.

[golariontoday]

Quote: Above me is the Mother, below me impure blood https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Areshkagal