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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Drustan, Tyrannical Chelaxian Noble In Exile

Devil worshippers took control of Cheliax in the Thrune Rebellion, but diabolists are just as duplicitous with each other as they are to their enemies. Thirty years ago, when he was a child, Drustan's family was exiled from Cheliax on charges of “insufficient loyalty to her Infernal Majestrix Abrogail Thrune” and stripped of their holdings and possessions. Instead of enduring the punishment, his family fled to Molthune, taking a significant portion of their valuables and living as nobles-in-exile. Drustan's family never forsook their infernal loyalties, hoping to return to Cheliax some day after the rule of House Thrune had ended.

Drustan was raised with a strong sense of familial pride and diabolism, a combination that fed his narcissism and cruelty. He was able to abuse those around him just because of his wealth, and when his parents couldn't protect him from consequences, he turned to summoning devils to enforce his will. He became well known in certain infernal circles for inspiring terror and hopelessness in others. Devils gleefully aided him, not because they hoped to acquire his soul—it was already as good as theirs, anyway— but to perpetuate the evil he was enacting in the world.

When Drustan heard about the Harbingers of Fate, he was quick to join, using his family's history with the society's founder, Lord Garron, as leverage to bypass the normally lengthy process of proving oneself in the Band of Blades before ascending to the secret heart of the organization. Privately, Drustan believed that bringing back Aroden would mean that the once-dead god would owe him, and what better way to demonstrate domination over the universe than to have a god beneath your heel? Drustan played the part of a devoted, even unctuous member, rising to become one of Lady Arodeth's trusted lieutenants.

When the Harbingers of Fate failed and the group disbanded, Drustan insisted he would let the past go and focus on the Band of Blades, where Arodeth badly needed him. He also agreed that, like others in the Harbingers of Fate, he would destroy his copy of the Book of 1,000 Whispers as penance and to symbolize a new beginning. This was yet another smooth lie, and he destroyed a cleverly constructed decoy of the book instead. Drustan never intended to give up his efforts to bend fate to his whim and had increasingly become obsessed with an even more ancient tool of prophecy than the book—the harrow.

After selling Arodeth on a mission to Varisia to recruit fresh Blades and scout out new opportunities, Drustan used the task as a cover to delve into the mysteries of the harrow. During this time, he had his first fateful encounter with the harrower Raven Nicoletta, and from her, the efforts of the Harrowing Three to create the Deck of Destiny. He joined her and helped to found the Unmatched, then convinced Arodeth to join him in Varisia, where she and the Band of Blades took up residence in the Storval Stairs; he hoped to take command of the mercenary group to aid his true goal. Then disaster struck, and the Deck of Destiny was scattered after a failed attempt to steal the cards, leaving Drustan with the single card he managed to swipe—The Fiend—before the Unmatched were forced to flee the norns' wrath.

With the Deck of Destiny scattered, Drustan scrambled to recover as many of the cards as he could before the norns reclaimed them. Upon learning that three other cards manifested among his previous allies in the Band of Blades, Drustan only grew more convinced of the divine mandate of his goal. Working with clues provided to him by Raven (who continued to seek the cards as well), he sent one of his agents to Absalom to follow up on rumors of a small concentration of cards found there while he investigated a bounty hunter in the Kodar Mountains, who Raven believed had discovered The Mountain Man. Drustan succeeded in this quest and is currently on his way back to the Storval Stairs, where he expects to meet with his agent Vharnev before attempting a coup to seize control of the Band of Blades.

Drustan is a tall, striking man, with straight black hair and an arresting gaze. He accents his armor with pentagrams, spikes, and expensive furs to try to “infernally rededicate” the armor, which only creates a more terrifying look. Apart from his intimidating appearance on the battlefield, Drustan is a pleasant and talented conversationalist with a natural gift toward music. Yet, he deploys this personality only rarely, as he prefers to use his brutish minions and cunning devils to advance his plans.

Campaign Use

Drustan is one of the Unmatched. While he pursues one card, his agent Vharnev confronts the PCs at the start of this adventure. Drustan's confidence in his own abilities and those of his minions is a critical flaw— one that grants the PCs a chance to gather far more cards from the Deck of Destiny than him—but once he realizes his error at the end of “The Choosing,” he convinces himself that he planned this situation all along—to dupe a band of adventurers into gathering several cards so that he could take them for himself.

Drustan isn't likely to survive his confrontation with the PCs in this adventure, but if he does, his wounded ego drives him to vengeance at any cost.

Recall Knowledge - Humanoid (Society): DC 42
Unspecific Lore: DC 40
Specific Lore: DC 37

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Changes from being Elite are marked in red below.
NOTE: The +2 damage bonus to non-strike offensive abilities (+4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.

Elite DrustanCreature 15

Legacy Content

Unique LE Medium Human Humanoid 
Source Pathfinder #190: The Choosing pg. 93
Male human tyrant
Perception +27
Languages Common, Infernal, Varisian
Skills Athletics +29 (+31 to Force Open; Grapple; Shove; or Trip), Deception +27, Intimidation +29, Performance +27, Religion +25, Society +25
Str +5, Dex +1, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +3, Cha +5
Items +1 resilient full plate, +1 striking composite longbow (20 arrows), moderate sturdy shield (Hardness 13, HP 104, BT 52), potions of flying (3), The Fiend, The Mountain Man, virtuoso musical instrument (lyre), +2 greater striking wounding bastard sword
AC 38 (30 with shield raised); Fort +28, Ref +24 (+25 vs. damaging effects), Will +26
HP 275
Iron Command [reaction] (divine, emotion, enchantment, mental) Trigger An enemy within 15 feet damages Drustan; Effect Drustan commands the triggering enemy to kneel before him in obedience. If they dare to refuse, they must pay the price in pain and anguish. The triggering enemy and each other enemy within 15 feet of Drustan must choose one of the following options.
  • The enemy kneels, dropping prone as a free action.
  • The enemy refuses, and Drustan deals 4 mental damage to the enemy (the triggering enemy instead takes 4d6 mental damage and 5 persistent evil damage).
Drustan also deals an additional 2 evil damage with his Strikes against the triggering enemy until the end of Drustan's next turn.
Speed 20 feet
Melee [one-action] bastard sword +31 [+26/+21] (magical, two-hand d12), Damage 3d8+2+11 slashing plus 1d6 persistent bleed and 1d6 fireChampion Devotion Spells DC 33, 2 Focus Points (+4 dmg); 7th litany of depravity, touch of corruption
Divine Ally Drustan's divine ally is his bastard sword. He gains its critical specialization effect, and the weapon gains the flaming property rune.Smite Good [one-action] Drustan selects one enemy he can see. Until the start of his next turn, his bastard sword Strikes against that foe deal an additional 6 evil damage. If the chosen enemy attacks Drustan before the start of his next turn, the duration extends to the end of that enemy's next turn.