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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Danva

Faceless stalkers who serve the alghollthu empire rarely gather more power, for to their underwater masters, they're little more than tools used to infiltrate the communities of air-breathers. When one ugothol fails their mission, it's simple enough to replace them with another. Those rare few who are allowed to transcend their baseline capability fall into one of two camps—those a more powerful alghollthu specifically selects for a singular mission or those who escape alghollthu control and become their own person.

The ugothol currently known as Danva is one of the latter—to an extent. Once a dutiful denizen of the Darklands charged with infiltrating cavern elf settlements beneath the ruined isles of Azlant, Danva escaped her servitude after the community to which she'd been assigned ran afoul of a serpentfolk raid. The faceless stalker avoided capture and seized her opportunity, making her way through the Darklands until she came upon the shores of a vast subterranean lake situated beneath a rift in the cavern above. Using her occult magic, Danva ascended through the rift into Underheaven, only to be captured by Nalushae's guards shortly thereafter.

Nalushae recognized Danva for what she was and, rather than eat her immediately, offered the ugothol a job. At the time, some of Underheaven's leaders had grown too curious and now threatened the stability of Nalushae's little empire. To curb this burgeoning rebellion, Nalushae proposed that Danva take the place of the previous mayor and keep watch on Underheaven from within. Danva took to her new post eagerly, and over the next few decades served as many different mayors, changing her name and personality to match those of her hand-picked replacements.

The gender-shifting ugothol has served in her current role as Danva, Underheaven's latest mayor, for several years. Had she not murdered the original Danva, her 25th birthday would be coming soon, and ugothol-Danva knows her time in this current form is running out. In response, she's groomed her clerk Kartho to take the role of mayor once Danva “ascends.” Of course, when this occurs, Danva will simply steal back into Underheaven, abduct the real Kartho, and abandon Danva's appearance for that of her former clerk. The ugothol has grown to enjoy this cycle of succession and hopes to continue as Underheaven's mayor for many years to come. Though she's not immortal, alghollthus design their minions to last, and Danva knows she has at least a dozen more changings of the guard before she'll need to consider vampiric immortality—a possibility she's not quite ready to explore.

As mayor of Underheaven, Danva's self-confidence makes her stand out among the stooped and timid villagers. Her distinctive uniform—a blue doublet with golden trim, scarlet ruff, and dark red pantaloons matched with fine boots and an elaborate cap—lend further to her appearance. Though her current form has served her well, she looks forward to her upcoming birthday, when she can upgrade to Kartho's even more handsome mien.

Danva isn't the only ugothol in En-Gokal. Another of her kind has resided in the Broken Palace for years, serving Nalushae as a personal alchemist, brewing dangerous concoctions, vital nutrients for Nalushae's prized carnivorous plants, and even an exquisite alcohol. This ugothol, Glormungost, doesn't like Danva and feels she's a newcomer who's getting far too much attention from Nalushae. For now, Glormungost is biding their time and not letting the good situation they have go to waste—unless they can find someone to get rid of Danva.

Campaign Role

Danva has a complex role in Underheaven and an equally complex role in this adventure. The point at which the PCs first encounter her varies. If they're swift and quiet about their investigations in Underheaven, they might not meet her until they infiltrate the Broken Palace, where they find her in the warden's suite (area N14).

It's more likely, though, that the PCs first encounter Danva after she returns to Underheaven during Event 3. In this case, she invites the PCs to talk as detailed in The Broken Palace. During their initial discussion, she thanks the PCs for their cooperation and asks a favor from them. Strange monsters have infested Underheaven Lake, and though she's tried to keep their presence a secret, she knows it's only a matter of time before they snatch a villager. She asks the PCs to travel to the lake (area I) to dispatch the creatures.

While she hopes the fulthrethus in the lake kill the PCs, if the party returns triumphant, Danva expertly conceals her disappointment. She asks all but one of the PCs to spread word of the monsters' defeat throughout Underheaven, requesting that the weakest-looking PC stay behind to give her a more detailed report. If the PCs cooperate, Danva tells the remaining PC that she suspects one of their companions has been possessed by the lake monsters. The possession can be cured, but only if the lone PC helps her brew an antidote.

This is all an elaborate lie, of course, but if the PC falls for it, Danva leads them to her office (area F7). Once they're alone, she uses her staff of control to cast charm on the PC so she can lure them into the cage in area F10 and assume their form. This process takes about 10 minutes, and if she's successful, Danva returns to the PCs and Lies that they've been invited to the Broken Palace to speak with Danva's superiors. If the PCs fall for this ruse, she leads them to area K1. When the vampires in that area attack, Danva reverts to her true form and fights alongside the vampires to murder the PCs.

If the PCs learn the truth about Danva, she flees to the Broken Palace to warn her mistress, Nalushae; see Nalushae's NPC entry for how she reacts to this news.

Recall Knowledge - Aberration (Occultism): DC 32
Unspecific Lore: DC 30
Specific Lore: DC 27

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

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

Weak DanvaCreature 5

Unique Medium Aberration 
Source Pathfinder #214: The Broken Palace pg. 88
Perception +11; darkvision
Languages Aklo, Alghollthu, Elven, Necril, Sakvroth, Thalassic; truespeech
Skills Acrobatics +10, Athletics +12, Deception +13, Diplomacy +11, Intimidation +11, Occultism +11, Society +11, Stealth +12
Str +4, Dex +2, Con +4, Int +3, Wis +3, Cha +5
Assume Form (concentrate, occult, polymorph) As ugothol.
Items lesser psyche salts (3), +1 mayor's uniform (treat as explorer's clothes), +1 striking staff of control, key to prison cells
AC 21; Fort +14, Ref +10, Will +11; +2 status to all saves vs. auditory and visual
HP 72; Resistances bludgeoning 5
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] staff +13 [+8/+3] (magical, monk, two-hand d8), Damage 2d4-2+6 bludgeoningMelee [one-action] claw +13 [+9/+5] (agile), Damage 2d6-2+6 slashing plus GrabOccult Innate Spells DC 22 (-4 dmg); Constant (5th) truespeech
Occult Spontaneous Spells DC 22, attack +14 (-4 dmg); 3rd clairaudience, levitate, vampiric feast; 2nd blood vendetta, illusory creature, paranoia; 1st fear, sanctuary, soothe; Cantrips (3rd) daze, figment, light, shield, telekinetic projectile
Blood Nourishment [one-action] As ugothol.Compression As ugothol.Distracting Illusion [one-action] If Danva's next action is to Cast a Spell, the spell gains the subtle trait. As part of using Distracting Spell, Danva can choose to Create a Diversion, Demoralize, or Feint. If she does so, the spell she casts must have the illusion trait in order to gain the subtle trait.Revert Form [one-action] As ugothol.Sneak Attack Danva deals 1d6 extra precision damage to off-guard creatures.