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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

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Abilities | Monsters | NPCs

Deg

Deg is an inventive engineer who is equal parts obsessed with and inspired by the Azlanti technology found throughout En-Gokal. An excellent negotiator, he's become a leader among his people, but at heart he's more concerned with the technology around him than with the well-being of his fellow deros. Luckily for Deg, these twin drives frequently align. His reign is stable and prosperous, and he's considered one of the most accomplished and innovative leaders the deros have ever had.

History

Deg is an older dero, around 150 years old. He's been exploring the ruins of Azlant his entire life. When he discovered the prison of En-Gokal 90 years ago, he returned to his home in the Darklands and recruited dozens of dero to follow him to the site and assist in plundering the ruin for useful magic and technology. Soon thereafter, Deg encountered Lady Nalushae. He agreed to help her and her court by providing them goods and supplies. In exchange, Deb received the freedom to explore En-Gokal, as well as the salvage rights to any unused magic and technology he and his followers discovered during their wandering. Prolonged exposure to the various vampires and their cults, as well as the ancient shrines dotted throughout En-Gokal, sparked Deg's faith in the gods collectively known as the Children of Night—Camazotz, Nin, Urgathoa, Yaezhing, and Zura.

Nizca joined Lady Nalushae at the Broken Palace three years ago and, in time, Deg and Nizca bonded over shared scientific curiosity, critical thinking, and thirst for knowledge. The pair became friends, and Deg introduced Nizca to a number of other residents of the prison, broadening the ancient vampire's horizons and giving them a spark of hope in the darkness of En-Gokal. Together, Nizca and Deg moved into the Ebon Tower, establishing their own realm in the place they hoped would be their salvation. They cleared the Ebon Tower of dangers, moved in Deg's fellow deros, and made space for Nizca's vampire followers. They freed select prisoners from stasis, using them as labor, supporters, or sources of food. Thus established, the pair began their next big challenge: transforming the quietus beam into a device capable of blotting out the sun throughout the region, thus freeing Nizca and enabling Deg and his people to live without fear of the sun. Deg named this modified device the shadow beacon, and its planning, creation, and calibration have consumed both his and

Nizca's lives for the past two years. Deg was injured when the shadow beacon malfunctioned—pierced by a tether of shadow that made him something slightly more than mortal. Deg has since recovered and now considers these recent setbacks with the shadow beacon as simply part of the scientific process. Unlike Nizca, he's not averse to making mistakes, regarding his errors as opportunities to learn, innovate, and adapt. Although Deg knows the equilibrium of his home and its occupants has been affected by the arrival of Jubilant and their followers, he considers the velstracs' penchant for torture no different than his own people's fondness for experimentation, and he finds their aloof and conniving attitudes akin to that of the vampires he's worked with for nearly a century. Deg trusts that, once the shadow beacon is activated and Nizca leaves to reunite with their lost love, he will find a way to live alongside his new vicious neighbors—whether this is wishful thinking on Deg's part remains to be seen!

Campaign Role

Deg is a leader among the deros and has shaped the lives of many of the people the PCs will interact with throughout the Ebon Tower. Nizca would have neither realm nor plans for the shadow beacon were it not for Deg, and the dero's importance throughout the narrative is, in many ways, more significant than that of Nizca themself. Yet, while Nizca is driven by dreams and grand ambitions, Deg values little except the fulfillment he receives from acts of creation and discovery. As a result, over time Deg has taken on a supportive role to Nizca, essentially serving as their second in command. It might be easy for the PCs to forget that Deg is an ingenious figure in his own right, as well as a leader who has kept his community of deros safe, prosperous, and stable in an ancient Azlanti ruin overrun by vampires and filled with volatile technology for nearly a century—an impressive accomplishment!

Deg's notes should give the PCs their first and most thorough account of the history of the Ebon Tower and the modifications he and Nizca have made to the shadow beacon. And, of course, in the final encounter, Deg serves as Nizca's battle partner, facing off against the PCs rather than attempting to negotiate a truce, as he might have done in the past. Ultimately, Deg subscribing to Nizca's tenets of calculated mercilessness will result in his death.

Recall Knowledge - Humanoid (Society): DC 36
Unspecific Lore: DC 34
Specific Lore: DC 31

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

DegCreature 9

Unique Small Dero Humanoid Shadow 
Source Pathfinder #215: To Blot Out the Sun pg. 90
Perception +15; darkvision
Languages Aklo, Azlanti, Common, Necril, Sakvroth, Shadowtongue
Skills Acrobatics +17, Arcana +20, Azlanti Lore +20, Crafting +20, Diplomacy +15, Intimidation +15, Magitech Lore +20, Occultism +20, Religion +15, Society +20, Stealth +17
Str +0, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +5, Wis +2, Cha +2
Items +1 resilient ready hide armor, +2 striking thundering gauntlet, engineer's toolkit, aerosol canister, alchemist's toolkit, crafter's eyepiece, cytillesh toolkit, greater blast boots, greater impact foam chassis
AC 27; Fort +15, Ref +21, Will +15
HP 170; Immunities confusion; Resistances poison 10, Weaknesses vulnerable to sunlight
Vulnerable to Sunlight Deg takes 18 damage for every hour he's exposed to sunlight.Gas 'Em! [reaction] (poison) Cost 1 dose of concentrated cytillesh gas; Trigger A creature ends their movement adjacent to Deg; Effect With a flick of their wrist and a sadistic cackle, Deg triggers an aerosol canister at his hip, spraying the triggering creature with concentrated cytillesh gas.
Speed 20 feet
Melee [one-action] gauntlet +19 [+15/+11] (agile, free-hand, magical), Damage 2d4+6 bludgeoning plus 1d6 sonicRanged [one-action] energy expulsor innovation +21 [+16/+11] (magical, modular [acid, cold, electricity, fire sonic], range increment 100 feet), Damage 3d8+6 modular damageOccult Innate Spells DC 28; 4th nightmare, rewrite memory; 3rd darkness, revealing light; Cantrips (5th) daze, light, read aura
Concentrated Fire [two-actions] (flourish) Deg makes two ranged Strikes with his energy expulsor innovation at a single target. Both attacks count toward his multiple attack penalty, but the penalty doesn't increase until after he's made both attacks.Concentrated Cytillesh Gas (uncommon, alchemical, inhaled, poison) Saving Throw Fortitude DC 28; Maximum Duration 4 rounds; Stage 1 4d6 poison damage (1 round); Stage 2 5d6 poison damage and stupefied 1 (1 round); Stage 3 6d6 poison damage and stupefied 2 (1 round); Stage 4 6d6 poison damage and stupefied 3 and lose all memories made in the previous 10 minutes (1 round)Dero Medicine [one-action] (healing, manipulate) Requirements Deg is wearing a cytillesh toolkit and has a hand free; Effect Deg excises damaged flesh and crudely stitches wounds shut, healing himself or an ally in reach for 3d8+18 Hit Points. For 1 hour, the target has slashing weakness 5 and is immune to Dero Medicine.Energy Expulsor Innovation Deg fights using a complex device he crafted from scavenged clockwork parts and ancient Azlanti magitech. This device, called an energy expulsor innovation, is a clockwork gun bulging with multiple glass canisters, each filled with a different, roiling magical energy. The device allows Deg to use his Concentrated Fire and Overclocked Blast abilities. It otherwise functions as a magical inventor weapon innovation with no modifications.Overclocked Blast [two-actions] Deg Interacts to set his energy expulsor innovation to the desired modular damage configuration, then overclocks his energy expulsor innovation and fires a massive blast of energy in a 100- foot line. This blast deals 8d8 damage (DC 28 basic Reflex save) of the type determined by the energy expulsor innovation's current configuration. Deg can't use Overclocked Blast again for 1d4 rounds.