Destradoloth (3.5e Monster)

Author: Eiji (talk) Date Created: 8-5-09 Status: Complete Editing: Clarity edits only please

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They desire nothing less than endless, pointless war.

The mercenary human you were traveling with flashes a wicked grin, a second row of teeth suddenly visible, and eyes burning like pits of sulfur. You watch in horror as his skeleton seems to tear out of his body, growing into a massive humanoid of metallic bone tied with taut gray-brown flesh, swept forward horns, and a menacing scythe born out of the very same bone of its body.

The Destradoloth is to the yugoloths as the Pit Fiend and Balor are to devils and demons, kings of their kind, masters of pure evil, and powerful juggernauts in their own right. While the ultroloths and other yugoloths have relocated to Gehenna, the destradoloth remains in Hades as their home, though they are often found elsewhere sowing discord and strife. Indeed rumors whisper that the yugoloths, specifically the destradoloth, are responsible for the unending battles of the blood war, as well as many a major conflict on the material plane and aboard. They are greedy warmongers, who delight in going undercover into the ranks of others, causing incidents between nations and egging them on to war. Then they approach in their true forms offering their vast combat prowess as services for absurd prices, be it material or more vile sacrifices. Thus they have produced a business working both sides, often hired by both sides at the same time. Their ultimate goal would be to create a "Blood War" upon every plane and ensure a hopeless cycle of self-perpetuating hate.

They stand a massive 12 feet tall on average, with skeletal frames made of Vilebone, granting them a +4 armor bonus in addition to their impressive natural armor. They possess a second jaw and row of teeth within the first, and their eyes are smoldering balls of sulfuric fire. Their heads are crowned with two forward sweeping horns and a dozen smaller horns arranged as if a crown fused into their skull. They usually sneak around in disguise in order to set up their complex plans into motion.

Destradoloths speak Abyssal, Infernal, and Draconic, plus whatever their massive Intelligence allows.

Combat

Destradoloths enjoy sowing a sense of hopelessness in combat, looking for high priority targets or targets of emotional value and defacing and destroying them. Even if the war is lost, it is won in the fiend's eyes if the opponent if blinded to other options through hopelessness or hatred. On the short-term scale of things, a destradoloth will wade into melee, confident in its massive armor and regeneration, until its gray aura weakens the opponent enough to be finished off by a well-timed spell like ability.

Destradoloths can be found with any weapon, although they prefer the scythe for its death-related imagery. The vilebone weapon is formed from their very bodies, and they fall apart when the destradoloth it came from is slain.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): At will— Alter Self, Bestow Curse (DC 22), Confusion (DC 22), Contagion (DC 21), Crushing Despair (DC 22), Dominate Person (DC 23), Disguise Self, Greater Dispel Magic, Invisibility, Greater Teleport; 1/day, Blasphemy (DC 25), Energy Drain. Caster level 20th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Summon Yugoloth (Sp): Once per day a destradoloth can summon 1 destradoloth, 1d4 nyacaloths, or 1d6 canoloths with a 40% success. This ability is the equivalent of an 7th-level spell.

Flight (Su): Destradoloths do not possess wings, but they may gain magical flight being carried upon a cloak of shadows at will. While their flight is active, they automatically benefit from a feather fall effect.

Gray Aura (Su): Composed of the essence of Hades, they have brought a part of the gray wasting with them. Those unfortunate souls who start within 30 ft. of the destradoloth on the fiend's turn must make a DC 30 Will save or take 1 point of Wisdom damage. Those who have already taken damage and take damage again on a future round must also make a Fort save or contract the Gray Wasting disease^{Manual of the Planes}. The save DC is Charisma based.

Regeneration (Ex): A destradoloth takes normal damage from good-aligned adamantine weapons, and from spells or effects with the good descriptor.

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