Gaborchend
“Green Knight” © Malcolm Brown, accessed at his deviantArt page here
[The original Irish gaborchend was an elemental giant with the head of a goat. My artist on the original Creature Codex PDFs convinced me to change it to purely humanoid, because she thought we should have at least one pretty fey creature. So I mixed in bits of the Green Knight from the Arthurian canon. Doing the boons and banes let me emphasize that connection.]
Gaborchend CR 15 LN Fey A great man strides forth, beautiful but fierce. He is clearly a warrior, as he is clad in gleaming armor and carries an enormous axe. His eyes gleam with raw energy.
Mighty warriors of the fey race, gaborchends are relics of a bygone age, when the fey battled with one another to decide the features of the earth and the shape of the continents. Ageless and immortal, the gaborchends have since retreated from worldly affairs, waiting the time when they are again needed. Most gaborchends are solitary creatures who wander the most remote reaches of the planet, where they can be closest to nature in its purest state. A gaborchend’s body is a font of elemental energy, and they can tap into this power to unleash devastating attacks and command the forces of nature itself.
Despite their great physical power, gaborchends tend to be patient and philosophical creatures, more inclined towards discussion than violence with most creatures that intrude upon their solitude. Only in the case of great disrespect towards the natural world, or when called upon by great fey powers, do gaborchends take up arms to fight once more. In combat, gaborchends prefer to shape the battlefield with their spell-like abilities before engaging in brutal, destructive melee. They are especially fond of sundering maneuvers, and take great delight in smashing enemy fortifications beneath their mighty blades. A gaborchend stands 12 feet tall and weighs 2 tons. Gaborchends closely resemble humans, but their hair and skin are often bright primary colors.
Gaborchend Boons and Banes (9th level, CL 20, DC 25) A gaborchend is likely to bestow its boon on someone who can keep up with it in conversation, or someone who does a great service to the natural world. Their bane is often inflicted as a game, wherein a gaborchend invites foolhardy mortals to wound him, only to return the favor in time.
Boon: You gain regeneration 1. Cold iron weapons overcome this regeneration. This boon lasts for 1 day.
Bane: One year after receiving this bane, you take damage as if you had dealt a critical hit to yourself with your primary weapon. Upon taking this damage, you must succeed a Fortitude save or die, as if you were affected by a coup de grace. This bane lasts until the damage is taken or it is dispelled.
