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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Seldeg Bhedlis

The tale of Seldeg Bhedlis is one of bitterness and failure. Once a proud Knight of Ozem, Seldeg fought alongside Arazni, then still the herald of Aroden, during the Shining Crusade. He rose quickly through the ranks, and in 3889 ar, he was one of six knights handpicked to infiltrate the city of Mechitar to take down the nation of Geb from within.

This appointment proved to be Seldeg's undoing. Until this point, Seldeg's life had been one of strict military regimen. Once freed from the shackles of morality imposed upon him by his upbringing, Seldeg found the pleasures of Geb too tempting to resist. He eventually fell into the arms of a vampire lover, who was herself a secret thrall to one of that nation's Blood Lords. Over the following weeks, Seldeg revealed to his new lover everything he knew about the Knights of Ozem, dealing irreparable damage to his former order. Recognizing that his actions would be viewed harshly by both Aroden and Pharasma, Seldeg assented to becoming a graveknight rather than face the judgment of the gods.

Seldeg's first task as a graveknight was to steal Arazni's body from Vigil, where it had been laid to rest after her defeat at the hands of the Whispering Tyrant. In this, at least, Seldeg succeeded. Upon the graveknight's return, Geb transformed Arazni into a lich and assigned Seldeg and his fellow fallen knights, now known as the Council Libertine, to serve as both her personal bodyguards and captors.

Seldeg provided centuries of faithful service to the Ghost King, but eventually the graveknight failed again. In 4719 ar, spurred by a premonition of Tar-Baphon's return, Arazni escaped the Council Libertine, fled the nation of Geb, and returned to Lastwall. Weeks later, she was killed fighting the Whispering Tyrant alongside a group of mortal heroes and, as a consequence, was granted godhood. As punishment for allowing Arazni to escape, Geb appointed Seldeg with the unenviable task of covering up this failure. Despite the graveknight's best efforts, however, hiding Arazni's ascension proved impossible. When Seldeg learned that Geb planned to destroy his graveknight armor, the embittered graveknight fled to the Gravelands and pledged his service to a new master, Tar-Baphon.

Still haunted by his failures, Seldeg has since become fixated on Arazni, whose history he believes mirrors his own. Like Arazni, Seldeg became undead largely against his will, then was forced to commit atrocities he would've otherwise abhorred had fate not set him down a grim path. The fallen knight now intends to repair Arazni's fate, along with his own, once and for all. To do so, he's devised a ritual that will swap Arazni's story with that of another goddess, Iomedae. If successful, Seldeg believes he'll rewrite history such that Iomedae, and not Arazni, will have died at the hands of Tar-Baphon.

Campaign Role

Seldeg Bhedlis previously appeared in the Blood Lords Adventure Path, where the Ghost King Geb proposed killing the graveknight and destroying his cursed armor. Despite these machinations, Seldeg managed to survive, though his iconic armor was damaged during his escape. Geb's betrayal, along with Seldeg's growing discontent with his role as the Ghost King's spymaster, inspired the graveknight to defect from Geb and travel to the Gravelands to pledge his service to the Whispering Tyrant.

While the characters might not realize it, Seldeg Bhedlis drives the story of all three adventures presented in Claws of the Tyrant. In each adventure, Seldeg's actions arise from his desperate (and arguably delusional) belief that by undoing Arazni's fate, he'll somehow change his own. Seldeg's bitterness, however, blinds him to the fact that his attempts to rewrite history lead him even further away from the redemption he so desperately seeks.

In “Gravelands Survivors,” Seldeg sends one of his agents to the ruined village of Yua's Hope to retrieve one of the Bloodstones of Arazni, an artifact Seldeg believes is vital to powering his ritual. The heroes are among a group of refugees who must deliver the Bloodstone into safe hands.

In “Ashes for Ozem,” Seldeg tasks the characters with stealing another relic, the Chalice of Ozem, from Fort Ozem, a former Knights of Ozem stronghold now under the stewardship of the Chernasardo Rangers. Though the Chalice isn't required to enact his ritual, Seldeg believes an artifact so tied to the histories of Arazni and Iomedae will lend power to his magic. The book's final adventure, “Of Blood and Faith,” sees Seldeg undertaking the ritual to swap the fates of Arazni and Iomedae. In this adventure, the heroes race Seldeg's minions to recover the two still-missing Bloodstones. At the adventure's climax, the characters finally have the chance to confront Seldeg face-to-face and put an end to the graveknight's machinations once and for all.

Recall Knowledge - Undead (Religion): DC 50
Unspecific Lore: DC 48
Specific Lore: DC 45

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 Seldeg Bhedlis (Claws of the Tyrant)Creature 21

Unique Medium Graveknight Undead Unholy 
Source Claws of the Tyrant pg. 125
Perception +34; darkvision
Languages Chthonian, Common, Diabolic, Kelish, Necril, Osiriani
Skills Arazni Lore +40, Athletics +40, Diplomacy +36, Intimidation +36, Religion +34, Society +36, Warfare Lore +36
Str +10, Dex +6, Con +10, Int +7, Wis +4, Cha +7
Items supreme sturdy shield (Hardness 20, HP 160, BT 80), +2 resilient standard-grade adamantine full plate, javelin (4), longsword
AC 48 (50 with shield raised); Fort +38, Ref +34, Will +35
HP 495 (rejuvenation, void healing); Immunities bleed, death effects, disease, fire, paralyzed, poison, unconscious
Sacrilegious Aura (aura, divine, void) 30 feet. Counteract modifier +31Iron Command [reaction] Trigger An enemy within 15 feet damages Seldeg; Effect Seldeg puts an impertinent foe who dared harm him in their proper place. He commands the enemy to kneel in obedience. If they refuse, they must pay the price in pain and anguish. The triggering creature must choose one of the following options: the enemy kneels, dropping prone as a free action, or the enemy refuses and takes 6d6 mental damage. In addition, Seldeg's Strikes against the triggering creature deal an additional 3 damage until the end of his next turn. Seldeg chooses whether the additional damage is spirit or void each time he uses this reaction.Reactive Strike [reaction] Shield Block [reaction]
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] flaming longsword +40 [+35/+30] (fire, magical, versatile P), Damage 6d8+2+18 slashing plus 2d10 fireMelee [one-action] fist +41 [+37/+33] (agile, finesse, fire, magical), Damage 5d8+2+18 bludgeoning plus 2d10 fireRanged [one-action] flaming javelin +36 [+31/+26] (fire, magical, thrown 30 feet), Damage 6d6+2+18 piercing plus 2d10 fireChampion Devotion Spells 1 Focus Point, DC 41 (+4 dmg); 10th touch of the void
Devastating Blast [two-actions] (arcane, fire 11d12 fire) Graveknight's Curse This curse affects anyone who wears Seldeg's armor for at least 1 hour. Saving Throw DC 41 Will save; Onset 1 hour; Stage 1 doomed 1, and the wearer can't remove the armor (1 day); Stage 2 doomed 2, –10-foot status penalty to Speeds, and the wearer can't remove the armor (1 day); Stage 3 the wearer dies and transforms into Seldeg.Phantom Mount [three-actions] (arcane) Seldeg summons a supernatural mount as per marvelous mount (10th rank). Unlike marvelous mount, the mount's AC and saving throw bonuses are all 4 levels lower than Seldeg's, and the mount has one-third of Seldeg's Hit Points (rounded down). If the mount is destroyed, Seldeg must wait 1 hour before using this ability again.
HP 155; AC 42; Fort +32, Ref +28, Will +29Ruinous Weapons Any weapon or unarmed attack Seldeg uses gains the effects of the +1 greater striking and greater flaming runes.Swap Fates [one-action] (divine, teleportation) Frequency once per round; Effect Seldeg switches the fates of two creatures within 500 feet. The two creatures teleport into each other's spaces. Each creature then attempts a DC 41 Will save.
Critical Success The target becomes temporarily immune to Swap Fates for 24 hours.
Success The target takes 3d6 mental damage.
Failure The target takes 6d6 mental damage and is stunned 1.
Critical Failure The target takes 12d6 mental damage and is stunned 4.Unyielding Block At the start of each of Seldeg's turns, he gains two additional reactions he can use only to perform a Shield Block.Weapon Master Seldeg has access to the critical specialization effects of any weapon he wields.

All Monsters in "Graveknight"

NameLevel
Graveknight10
Graveknight Captain6
Graveknight Champion15
Graveknight Warmaster14
Seldeg Bhedlis20

Graveknight

Source Monster Core pg. 178 1.1
Graveknights are undead warriors granted unlife by a cursed suit of armor.

Creating Graveknights

You can turn an existing, living creature into a graveknight by completing the following steps. It's best to build a graveknight from scratch, but if you don't have the time, simply apply the following template. A creature should be at least level 5 before being converted to a graveknight.
  • Increase the creature's level by 1.
  • Increase its attack rolls, AC, saving throws, Perception, and skills by 1, its HP by 5, and its Strike damage by 1.

Graveknight Abilities

A graveknight gains the graveknight, undead, and unholy traits. They lose any abilities that come from being a living creature and any traits that represent their life, such as human and humanoid.

Darkvision
Void Healing
Rejuvenation (divine) When a graveknight is destroyed, their armor rebuilds their body over the course of 1d10 days—or more quickly if the armor is worn by a living host (see Graveknight Armor). If the body is destroyed before then, the process restarts. A graveknight can only be permanently destroyed by obliterating their armor (such as with disintegrate), transporting it to the Forge of Creation, or throwing it into the heart of a volcano.
Immunities bleed, death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, unconscious, plus one energy type (same type as ruinous weapons).
Sacrilegious Aura (aura, divine, void) 30 feet. When a creature in the aura uses a vitality spell or ability, the graveknight automatically attempts to counteract it, with the listed counteract modifier.
Devastating Blast [two-actions] (arcane) The graveknight unleashes a 30-foot cone of energy. Creatures in the area take limited use area damage for a creature of the graveknight's level with a basic Reflex save based on a high DC of the graveknight's level. The graveknight can use this ability once every 1d4 rounds. This energy damage is of the same type as that of their ruinous weapons, and Devastating Blast gains the associated trait.
Phantom Mount [three-actions] (arcane, summon) The graveknight summons a supernatural mount, as marvelous mount heightened to a rank equal to half the graveknight's level. Unlike marvelous mount, the steed's AC and saving throw bonuses are all 4 lower than the graveknight's, and the steed has one-third the graveknight's Hit Points (rounded down). If the steed is destroyed, the graveknight must wait 1 hour before using this ability again.
Ruinous Weapons When created, a graveknight chooses one of the following energy types that was relevant to their life or death: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. Any weapon the graveknight wields or unarmed attack the graveknight uses gains the effects of the corrosive, frost, shock, or flaming weapon rune, respectively, in addition to a +1 striking weapon rune. If the graveknight is 14th level or higher, their weapons instead gain the effects of the greater versions of both of these runes
Weapon Master The graveknight has access to the critical specialization effects of any weapons they wield.

Alternate Graveknight Abilities

Although the abilities listed above are standard for a graveknight, you can create a more unusual graveknight by substituting one of the aforementioned abilities (except for darkvision, void healing, rejuvenation, or immunities) with one of the following.

Betrayed Revivification The graveknight died after being deeply betrayed. Instead of being immune to a type of energy damage, they're immune to mental damage, their weapons deal 1d6 additional mental damage, and their Devastating Blast deals mental damage with a Will saving throw instead of Reflex.
Create Grave Squire The graveknight can gift a piece of their armor to another creature, which becomes their grave squire. The graveknight can communicate telepathically with their squire at any distance, see through the squire's senses, and cast suggestion as a divine innate spell through the telepathic link at will; the squire treats their degree of success as one step worse. If the graveknight's main armor is destroyed, the squire's piece expands to cover the squire's body over 1d10 days, after which point it becomes the graveknight's new body. The graveknight can have only one squire at a time and must recover the armor piece to create a new squire.
Dark Deliverance The graveknight has vitality resistance equal to their level.

Graveknight Armor

Wearing graveknight armor is very risky, for the graveknight's essence inevitably kills the host, transforming their flesh into the graveknight's new body. Removing the curse allows a character to remove the armor, but if they ever wear the armor again, the curse returns. If the wearer dies from another cause while wearing the armor, or if the graveknight's rejuvenation completes before the wearer dies from the curse, the wearer immediately progresses to stage 3.
Graveknight's Curse (arcane, curse) This curse affects anyone who wears a graveknight's armor for at least 1 hour; Saving Throw Will save; Onset 1 hour; Stage 1 doomed 1 and can't remove armor (1 day); Stage 2 doomed 2, –10-foot status penalty to Speeds, and can't remove armor (1 day); Stage 3 dies and transforms into the armor's graveknight.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Infamous Graveknights

Several of Golarion's most notorious villains are graveknights. The following examples are among the world's most infamous graveknights at large and may inspire or serve as villains in your own games.

Lictor Shokneir: Once the Hellknight leader of the notorious Order of the Crux, Lictor Shokneir was disgraced when he refused a royal order to disband his army of butchers. The other Hellknights surrounded him and razed his castle, Citadel Gheisteno, to the ground. However, Shokneir's determination sustains his now-undead form, and he and his undead legions have rebuilt the citadel in all its haunting glory.

The Black Prince: Although the graveknight known simply as the Black Prince was redeemed centuries ago as part of Iomedae's 11 Acts, it is said that the prince's armor remains intact—and that vile forces conspire to reclaim it. If the armor is donned by one of the Black Prince's descendants, the Inner Sea will be beset by a terrible villain indeed.