Volner Tain, the Thrice-Damned Disciple
Male Human Lich, Cleric 11/Assassin 4
Description
Volner Tain has kept his hawkish features through years of undeath, but his eyes have fallen out, leaving only ashen pits. He drapes his withered body in robes that reek of formaldehyde, and countless prayer beads and amulets jangle around his neck. Stretched and shattered before he died, his limbs bend in unnatural places seem too long for his body. Once a gifted orator, he now mangles prayers to gods both real and imagined – not even he knows which he worships.
A crusader of Iomedae in life, Volner Tain led a disastrous assault against the daemons of Abaddon, ending in his capture and the death of all his followers. Bound and tortured in the Cinder Furnace, Volner watched and despaired as his captors worked towards the world’s undoing. Three times he called on the gods for aid – to Iomedae, for justice, to Desna, for liberation, and to Pharasma, to take his soul. Perhaps he was already cursed in their eyes, for his prayers went unanswered. Though the daemons killed Volner, they bound his spirit to a fragment of stone called a thanatos shard and returned him to the world as a skulking lich. Volner promised four things in exchange for his death: a plague, a famine, a war, and a massacre.
Motivations and Goals
Volner loathes his undead state, but wants to be sure his ‘gifts’ aren’t considered too paltry to warrant his freedom. Thus he seeks artifacts and followers to bring about destruction that will feed on itself, manipulating others to evil so he needn’t spend time on each little death. He stays mobile, instigating plots as he travels, hoping some will grow into true catastrophes.
The lich saves his personal wrath for those who remind him of his former piety, but who remain uncorruptable. He spares nothing to ruin such people: he stalks them first, learning what and who they love, then either tricks his quarry into destroying these things or corrupts them beyond recognition.
Adventure Hooks
- Volner’s spells and conjured daemons turn the fields and woodlands of Andoran into wastelands of tumors and blight. The native creatures and fey go mad with pain and attack nearby villages, while starvation forces desperate townsfolk to commit terrible crimes to survive.
- Volner has captured seven nobles and dignitaries from rival nations across Golarion. He actually killed the whole lot, but has resurrected them after implanting... something inside each of their skulls. One likely contains the lich’s phylactery, as he harries those who rescue the prisoners no matter how far they flee or how often they strike him down. The others could hold anything from mundane gemstones to scrying beacons to fiendish wasp eggs. Do the PCs convince the aristocrats to die a second time for a mere chance at revenge? Can they avoid starting a war in the process?
VOLNER TAIN CR 17
NE Medium Undead (Augmented Humanoid)
Init +3 ; Senses darkvision 60 ft; Perception +32
Aura fear aura (60 ft.)
===== Defense =====
AC 32, touch 20, flat-footed 25; (+7 armor, +2 defending sword, +3 deflection, +3 Dex, +2 dodge, +5 natural)
hp 123 (15d12+29);
Fort +10 , Ref +12 , Will +16
Defenses uncanny dodge; DR 15/bludgeoning and magic; Immune alignment detection, cold, electricity, polymorph, mind-affecting, undead immunities; Resist +4 turn resistance
===== Offense =====
Spd 30 ft., air walk
Melee touch +17/+17/+9/+4 (1d8+8 negative energy plus paralysis) , or +2 defending short sword +19/+19/+14/+9 (1d6+7)
Special Attacks aura of destruction, channel negative energy, copy cat, damaging touch, death attack, destructive smite, master’s illusion, paralyzing touch, sneak attack +2d6
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 11th)
1/day--invisibility, shatter (DC 18)
5/day--disguise self, inflict light wounds (DC 17)
Spells Prepared (Cleric CL 11th; +17 touch)
6th--harm (DC 22), word of recall
5th--flame strike (DC 21), scrying, true seeing
4th--air walk, divine power, poison (DC 20), unholy blight (DC 20)
3rd--bestow curse (DC 19), deeper darkness (DC 19), dispel magic, speak with dead (DC 19), wind wall
2nd--death knell (DC 18), desecrate, enthrall (DC 18), hold person (DC 18), silence (x2, DC 18)
1st--curse water, detect good (x2), divine favor, entropic shield, shield of faith
0--bleed (DC 16), detect magic, guidance, speak resistance
===== Tactics =====
Before Combat Volner approaches his target unseen, using stealth or (if need be) invisibility. He singles out a lightly-armored target for his death attack while casting shield of faith, divine power, and air walk, in that order. His statistics reflect these spells. If he believes his target is a spellcaster he casts silence on himself just before attacking.
During Combat Volner likes to open combat from surprise, striking a lightly armored foe with a paralyzing touch that also adds sneak attack damage and his death attack. He then uses Spring Attack to leap away from reprisal, or stays close to his target if silence is in effect to disrupt spellcasting. After the first round Volner continues to dart in and out of combat (ideally upward, using air walk), making paralyzing touch attacks augmented by harm, poison, or inflict wounds spells. He tries to avoid ending his turn next to anyone with a bludgeoning weapon. He uses his short sword entirely for defense until only he can move, when he starts slitting the throats of paralyzed foes (his AC should be reduced by 2 if he uses the sword offensively. He channels negative energy to heal himself and damage enemies that group together. He relies on his two rings of counterspells to block the most effective magical attacks.
Morale Volner uses word of recall to flee if dropped below 20 hp, but only because he doesn’t want anyone stealing his equipment. If unable to flee he fights until destroyed, knowing the thanatos shard will create a new body.
Base Statistics If his magic gets dispelled, Volner has the following statistics:
Hp 112 (15d12+18);
AC 29, touch 17, flat-footed 22; (+7 armor, +2 defending sword, +3 Dex, +2 dodge, +5 natural)
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +14/+9/+4 touch (1d8+5 plus paralysis), or +16/+11/+6 short sword (1d6+3)
===== Statistics =====
Str 11 , Dex 16 , Con -- , Int 14 , Wis 22 , Cha 20
Base Atk +11/+6/+1
; CMB +12
Feats Ability Focus (paralyzing touch), Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge, Improved Turning, Mobility, Lightning Reflexes, Spring Attack, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills : Acrobatics +18 , Bluff +15 , Diplomacy +12 , Disguise +12 , Knowledge (religion) +10 , Perception +32 , Sense Motive +23 , Spellcraft , Stealth +29
Languages Common, Daemonic
Special Qualities hidden weapons
Combat Gear +2 defending shortsword, rod of metamagic (silent), ring of counterspells x2 (heal, greater dispel magic); Other Gear headband of mental prowess (Wisdom and Charisma) +4, belt of incredible dexterity +2, cloak of resistance +2, mithril chain shirt +3, hand of glory, ring of mind shielding, 23 holy and unholy symbols
===== Special Abilities =====
Aura of Destruction (Su) Volner can emit a 30 ft. aura of destruction for ll rounds per day. All attacks made against targets inside this aura (including him) gain a +5 damage bonus and all critical threats are automatically confirmed. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.
Channel Negative Energy(Su) Eight times per day Volner can unleash a wave of negative energy in a 30 foot burst. Living creatures take 6d6 negative energy damage, halved on a successful Will save (DC 22) . Undead (including Volner) in the area are healed a like amount of damage. Hit points above the undead’s total are lost. Undead who are within the area of this effect must make a Will save or fall under Volner’s command. He can command any number of undead whose total Hit Dice do not exceed his level. He can relinquish control of undead to gain control of new undead. Commanding undead is a standard action that requires line of effect. Intelligent undead receive a new saving throw each day to break free from his command. If a commanded undead is subject to channeled
positive energy, it might flee, but it also receives a new saving throw to dispel the command effect.
Copy Cat (Su) Volner can create an illusory double of himself as a move action. This double functions as a single mirror image and lasts 11 rounds (unless dispelled or destroyed). He can have no more than one copy
cat at a time. This ability does not stack with mirror image.
Damaging Touch (Su) Any living creature Volner hits with his touch attack suffers 1d8+5 negative energy damage. A Will save (DC 22) halves the damage.
Death Attack If Volner studies his victim for 3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target (his choice). While studying the victim, Volner can undertake other actions so long as his attention stays focused on the target and the target does not detect Volner or recognize him as an enemy. If the victim of such an attack fails a Fortitude save (DC 16) against the kill effect, she dies. If the saving throw fails against the paralysis effect, the victim is rendered helpless and unable to act for 1d6+4 rounds. If the victim’s saving throw succeeds, the attack is just a normal sneak attack. Once Volner has completed the 3 rounds of study, he must make the death attack within the next 3 rounds. If a death attack is attempted and fails (the victim makes her save) or if Volner does not launch the attack within 3 rounds of completing the study, 3 new rounds of study are required before he can attempt another death attack.
Destructive Smite (Su) As a full-round action, Volner can make a single melee attack against an opponent with a bonus +5 damage bonus. If the attack hits, all critical threats against the target are automatically confirmed for 1 round, including this attack.
Fear Aura (Su) Volner is shrouded in an aura of death and evil. Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the lich must succeed at a Will save (DC 22) . or be affected as though by a fear spell at CL 15. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again my the lich’s aura for 24 hours.
Hidden Weapons (Ex) Volner gains a +4 bonus to all Slight of Hand checks made to conceal weapons and prevent others from noticing them.
Master’s Illusion (Su) Volner can create an illusion that hides the appearance of himself and any number of allies within 30 feet for 11 rounds per day. This ability otherwise functions like the spell veil. The rounds do not need to be consecutive.
Paralyzing Touch (Su) Any living creature Volner hits with his touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 22) . or be permanently paralyzed. Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the bestow curse spell description). The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed seems dead, though a DC 20 Perception check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex) Volner retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) regardless of being caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. (He still loses any Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.)
Thanatos Shard
Aura none; CL 17th
Slot --; Price 150,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.
===== Description =====
This fragment of oily black diamond gives the unsettling feeling of being watched whenever visible, and a soft whimpering fills one’s mind when the shard is held. Specifically crafted as an indestructible vessel for a mortal spirit, the shard allows you to cast trap the soul once per day, using the shard as the material component regardless of the target’s hit dice, until the spell has been cast successfully. Once the shard contains a soul you can communicate telepathically with spirit within as long as the shard is touched. At your command the soul can be released to dominate a nearby creature, as the magic jar spell. If you know the arcane ritual to become a lich and use the contained soul’s original body instead of a living creature, the transfer of the soul is permanent and the captured spirit becomes a lich against his will, treating the shard as his new phylactery. You can release the soul at will with a mental command.
The thanatos shard resists destruction as if it had hardness 50 and 200 hp, and is completely immune to spells and supernatural abilities except as follows. Holy weapons of at least +6 enchantment bypass the shard’s hardness, and while inside the aura of a consecrate spell the stone becomes an inert chunk of rock. If the shard is already being used as a phylactery when this occurs the bound lich is not immediately destroyed, but does become vulnerable to destruction like any other undead.
===== Construction =====
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, antimagic field, magic jar trap the soul, wall of force; Cost 75,000 gp