66
Legacy of the Dragons
Oathstalker Large Outsider Hit Dice: 20d8+180 (270 hp), dying/dead –10/–28 Initiative: +3 Speed: 50 feet AC: 32 (–1 size, +3 Dexterity, +20 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 29 Base Attack/Grapple: +20/+34 Attack: Slam +30 melee (1d8+10) Full Attack: 2 slams +30 melee (1d8+10), gore +25 melee (2d6+5), plus 20/day: Rapid Strike slam +20 melee (1d8+10) Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet (Face/Reach: 5 feet by 5 feet/10 feet) Special Attacks: Drain away speed, forcebeam, spell-like abilities Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet, immunities, find oathbreaker, fast healing 5, DR 10/chaotic (or 10/+3) Saves: Fort +21, Ref +15, Will +17 Abilities: Str 30, Dex 16, Con 28, Int 10, Wis 21, Cha 19 Skills: Climb +33, Concentration +18, Jump +34, Listen +24, Sense Motive +28, Sneak +22, Spot +24, Tumble +28, Wilderness Survival +28 Feats: Cleave, First Strike, Improved Intuitive Sense, Intuitive Sense, Power Attack, Power Charge, Rapid StrikeB, Speed Burst, Track B, Weapon Focus (slam) Environment: Any Organization: Solitary Challenge Rating: 17 Treasure: None Advancement: 21–30 HD (Large) Level Adjustment: — Oathstalkers are otherworldly creatures who come to exact retribution upon those who have broken an oath. They excel at melee combat and command fearsome magical abilities as well, many stemming from the single, dark horn that sprouts from their foreheads. Oathstalkers are shadowy figures, vaguely humanoid in appearance, eyes swirling with green menace. Random encounters with an oathstalker are virtually unheard of. When someone breaks an oath, there is a small chance that an oathstalker enters the world from whatever strange plane it normally inhabits. While here, its sole preoccupation involves enacting a just reckoning for the oathbreaker’s deed. Normally, its justice comes in the form of death. However, it can also involve destroying the oathbreaker’s property, slaying family and friends, or undoing some great accomplishment of the offender. It can also mean a combination of all these things. The retribution required is solely up to the discretion of the oathstalker, which bases its decision on the importance of the oath and the position of the offender. A commoner’s broken oath is not as serious as that of a ruler.
Likewise, the chance of an oathstalker appearing at the time of a broken oath also depends on circumstances. While this chance does vary based on the importance of the oath and the oathbreaker, it also depends on the importance of the oath to the oathbreaker and to those to whom it was sworn. For example, a high-level oathsworn’s broken oath is likely to call forth an oathstalker (since the oath was important to the oathbreaker), as is the broken oath of a giantish steward that results in hundreds of people going hungry (since the oath was important to those to whom it was sworn). As strange outsiders, oathstalkers do not seem to have a culture understandable to those from this world. They appear to be genderless, and no one has ever seen a young oathstalker— or, for that matter, a noticeably old one. They may be ageless. Some speculate that they are actually brought into existence when they come into this world to mete out justice and that they do not actually “dwell” anywhere. Oathstalkers speak only rarely and usually only to pronounce sentence (often after the punishment has been exacted). They speak Common as well as their own language. They can also telepathically understand any living creature within 30 feet as well as read its mind. Their voices are deep and resonant. Reasoning or pleading with oathstalkers usually proves fruitless, as they are almost always without mercy. Lying to an oathstalker almost certainly ensures an even more horrible enactment of retribution.
Combat Using its Speed Burst and Rapid Strike feats, plus its great speed and reach, the oathstalker can move up to a foe from 55 feet away and make three slam attacks as well as its gore attack. This is normally how it initiates combat, perhaps after it has used its forcebeam ability. If a creature has not violated an oath, an oathstalker ignores it if possible. If a creature insists on getting in the oathstalker’s way, protecting the oathbreaker or otherwise preventing it from its task, it will use force. However, unless harming the creature is a part of its overall scheme of retribution, it uses only subdual (nonlethal) attacks. It suffers no attack penalty to inflict subdual damage with its slams. Drain Away Speed (Su): The touch of an oathstalker’s horn reduces a foe’s speed to 0 for 10 rounds, unless it can make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 24), in which case the foe’s speed is reduced by 10 feet for 10 rounds. Multiple touches can result in stacking speed penalties (two touches with successful saves reduce the foe’s speed by 20 feet). Since this ability requires only a touch, the oathstalker can choose to make a touch attack rather than a normal attack with its horn. A touch attack inflicts no damage, but it does drain away speed. The saving throw is Charisma based. Forcebeam (Sp): Three times per day, the oathstalker can fire from its horn a beam of pure force that inflicts 20d6 points of force damage in a line 5 feet wide and 200 feet