
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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

All Creatures
Abilities | Monsters | NPCs

War Champion Kharostan

Kharostan is a half-daemon urdefhan and the primary leader of the largest urdefhan settlement in the Black Desert. The urdefhans say an astradaemon lives in the left side of his body, giving him his great strength and strange abilities.

Kharostan grew up knowing he bore the blood of daemons; he was much bigger than other young urdefhans, and his anger gave him undeniable strength. Yet he saw his potent daemonic blood as a curse. His back and limbs were plagued by terrible aches and he was often overwhelmed by rages and visions he didn't understand. No one dared mock him to his face, but behind his back, young urdefhans and adults alike called him names and questioned his competence.

Once Kharostan became an adult, he announced his intention to claim the throne of the Spear Hill cult, challenging Urserf to single combat. Much to Urserf's dismay, none of the cult's daemon-binders objected, and Urserf grudgingly accepted the challenge to save face. Kharostan was too fast and strong for the old war champion, and he quickly defeated and killed him.

Upon claiming his position as the Spear Hill cult's war champion, Kharostan made many lofty promises to his subjects—he pledged to unify the urdefhans of the desert and take the city of Shraen from the undead drow. But years have passed, few of his promises have been realized, and Kharostan now finds his position increasingly tenuous. No urdefhan is strong enough to challenge him alone, but he knows he must fulfill his promises, and quickly, to avoid unifying his foes.

Kharostan loves to fight, slaughter, and take slaves, but to him, death and destruction are only a means to an end. He dreams of a future where his people can rise above endless warfare and become something even stronger. As is traditional for many war champions, Kharostan has a trio of dominators who act as his personal advisors, though he doesn't trust them. The advisors seldom agree with one another, and while Kharostan listens to each one carefully, he usually chooses a solution that combines the best ideas of the three rather than siding with one advisor over the others. When the three advisors agree, Kharostan completely disregards their advice.

In addition to being much larger than other urdefhans, Kharostan bears a mismatched appearance. The left side of his body is clearly more muscular than the right side, which is strong but sinewy. He is blind in his right eye, and black blood constantly oozes from its corner. He wears only loose strips of cloth wrapped around his body beneath piecemeal armor, intentionally leaving much of his transparent skin exposed.

Campaign Role

Kharostan is suspicious of intruders within his territory and has instructed the Spear Hill warriors to capture any humanoids or beasts worth taking as slaves or using for food, and to kill the rest. When he learns of a group of surface-dwellers who defeat his hunters and daemons with relative ease, however, he becomes curious.

Kharostan is something of an unlikely ally for the heroes. He is willing to ally with strangers because he is desperate to gain information about the drow's interest in the Cradle of Worms. But if the heroes anger him, he goes to great lengths to obtain revenge.

Recall Knowledge - Fiend (Religion): DC 45
Recall Knowledge - Humanoid (Society): DC 45
Unspecific Lore: DC 43
Specific Lore: DC 40

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

War Champion KharostanCreature 16

Legacy Content

Unique NE Large Fiend Humanoid Urdefhan 
Source Pathfinder #155: Lord of the Black Sands pg. 88
Male urdefhan war champion
Perception +13; greater darkvision, true seeing
Languages Aklo, Common, Daemonic, Undercommon
Skills Acrobatics +12, Athletics +15, Black Desert Lore +9, Crafting +9, Intimidation +12, Religion +11, Stealth +12, Survival +13
Str +6, Dex +6, Con +4, Int +1, Wis +3, Cha +4
Items +2 greater striking rhoka sword, +1 striking composite longbow (40 arrows), studded leather armor
AC 22; Fort +12, Ref +14, Will +9
HP 280 (negative healing); Immunities death effects, disease, fear; Weaknesses positive 15
Necrotic Decay (divine, necromancy, negative) When Kharostan dies, his daemon-tainted flesh quickly rots away and sublimates into a foul-smelling gas that fills a 10-foot emanation around his body. All creatures within the area take 20d6 negative damage as their flesh curdles and rots as well (DC 21 basic Fortitude save).Attack of Opportunity [reaction]
Speed 30 feet, climb 30 feet
Melee [one-action] rhoka sword +16 [+11/+6] (fatal d10, magical, reach 10 feet, two-hand d12), Damage 3d8+12 slashingMelee [one-action] jaws +15 [+10/+5], Damage 3d8+12 piercing plus wicked biteRanged [one-action] composite longbow +16 [+11/+6] (deadly d10, magical, propulsive, range increment 100 feet, reload 0, volley 30 feet), Damage 2d8+9 piercingDivine Innate Spells DC 21; 2nd death knell; 1st feather fall (at will; self only), ray of enfeeblement; Constant (8th) true seeing
Devastating Strikes Kharostan's melee Strikes ignore 10 points of a creature's resistance to physical damage.Furious Sprint [two-actions] (rage) Kharostan Strides up to five times his Speed in a straight line. He can increase the number of actions for this activity to 3 in order to Stride up to eight times his Speed in a straight line instead.Rage [one-action] (concentrate, emotion, mental) Requirements Kharostan isn't fatigued or raging; Effect Kharostan gains 30 temporary Hit Points that last until the rage ends. While raging, he deals an additional 12 damage with melee attacks and takes a –1 penalty to AC. Kharostan can't use concentrate actions except Seek and actions with the rage trait. The rage lasts for 1 minute, until there are no enemies Kharostan can perceive, or until Kharostan falls unconscious. Once the rage ends, Kharostan can't Rage again for 1 minute.Reckless Abandon [free-action] (rage) Trigger Kharostan's turn begins and he has 140 or fewer Hit Points; Effect Kharostan throws caution to the wind to finish the fight. He gains a +2 status bonus to attack rolls, a –2 status penalty to AC, and a –1 status penalty to saves. He can also make a Wicked Bite each time he damages a creature with his jaws Strike, in addition to the usual once per round usage for a free action. These effects last until his rage ends or he has more than 140 Hit Points, whichever comes first.Wicked Bite [free-action] Trigger Kharostan damages a creature with a jaws Strike; Frequency once per round; Effect Kharostan's bite leaves the victim's flesh translucent around the site of the injury. He chooses one of the effects below, each of which requires the damaged creature to attempt a DC 21 Fortitude save. If the jaws Strike was a critical hit, the creature takes both effects, rolling the saving throw once and using the result for both effects.
  • Drain Blood Kharostan drinks some of the victim's blood. On a failed save, the victim is doomed 1 and drained 1, and Kharostan regains 20 HP (on a critical failure, the creature is doomed 2 and drained 2, and Kharostan regains 40 HP).
  • Drain Vitality (necromancy) Kharostan draws out some of the creature's vital essence. The creature becomes enfeebled 2 for 1 hour on a failed save (or enfeebled 3 for 1 hour on a critical failure).