Seghulerak

Illus. by H. Lyon

Poisoner’s Breath (Su) Sertrous’s breath fi lls a 240-foot-radius spread around him. Any creature that breathes this foul air must succeed on a DC 33 Fortitude save or be sickened for 1 round. This breath suppresses any immunity to poison a victim possesses for as long as it remains within the area plus an additional 2d6 rounds after it leaves the area. Tongues (Su) As the tongues spell; continuous; caster level 20th. Impervious to the Divine (Su) Sertrous is immune to all divine spells, spell-like effects, and supernatural abilities. Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability, Sertrous must hit a Huge or smaller opponent with his bite or tail attack.

He can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. If he wins the grapple check with a tail attack, he establishes a hold and can constrict. If he wins the grapple check with a bite attack, he establishes a hold and can souldrink the victim in the following round. Souldrink (Su) If Sertrous starts a round grappling a foe with his bite and maintains his hold by making a successful grapple check, he drinks away a portion of the victim’s soul, dealing 3d6 points of Charisma drain. A creature cannot be drained below a Charisma score of 1 by this ability, but once the creature reaches that point, its alignment becomes chaotic evil and it immediately becomes dominated (as if by dominate monster at caster level 23rd) by Sertrous. Poisoned Whisper (Su) Once per round as a standard action,

Sertrous can attempt to whisper to any creature within 240 feet. Sertrous must be aware of the target creature and have line of effect. The targeted creature can negate the poisoned whisper by making a DC 28

Will save.

Failure indicates that

the whisper functions as a suggestion spell on the target (caster level 23rd). One minute later, the poisoned whisper tears through the victim’s mind, forcing a second DC 28 Will save. Failure on this save indicates that the victim is subject to a modify memory effect that erases the victim’s memory of whatever suggested action he might have just done. If the victim was unable to complete the suggestion before this effect occurs, he must still carry out the suggestion—he just believes the suggestion was his own idea. Anathematic Secrecy (Su) Sertrous is immune to all divine divination spell effects. Nondetection (Su) As the nondetection spell; continuous; caster level 20th.

“Your gods are dead, and their works are lies perpetuated by priests too timid to reveal what they know to be true. Accept the truth of Sertrous, and you may yet fi nd absolution beyond your imminent death.”

—Seghulerak, high priest of Sertrous

Although most of the elder evils are anathema to all things divine, Sertrous encourages priests to draw upon faith— provided they do not keep faith in the gods they know. Better to draw faith from the lust for murder or the desire for domination, or best of all, to draw upon the demon lord himself. Clerics of Sertrous can choose their domains freely as if they were clerics devoted to an ideal, although most choose Destruction and Trickery. The yuan-ti abomination Seghulerak is the latest fi gurehead of the Vanguard. She was forced

Seghulerak

to fl ee for her life from the temple-city of Veshlivenk due to her heretical belief that the serpent deity Merrshaulk had died and his “priests” were covering up his death to retain their positions of power. The fi rst heretic—Avamerin—found Seghulerak broken and dying in a swamp. After saving her and gaining her allegiance, he aided the yuan-ti in her triumphant return to Veshlivenk, where she slaughtered the priests and established the city as the capital of the Vanguard of Sertrous.

GOALS

Seghulerak wants to sow discord and serve Sertrous, and she has quickly come to enjoy her power as the general of the latest incarnation of the Vanguard. She is one of the few members of the group who knows that Sertrous is dead and that Avamerin is its true leader, and she takes great delight in that hidden knowledge. She wants little more than to see Sertrous resurrected from the dead and secretly hopes that for her service she might ascend to a position of power as his consort in the Abyss.

USING SEGHULERAK

The PCs shouldn’t encounter Seghulerak until late in the campaign, but they should know her name long before then. The members of the Vanguard hold her in great reverence. Many of her commanders carry small icons of her as tokens, and some fantasize that if they succeed in their missions, they’ll be selected as a consort. Vanguard members who can create golems invariably use her image as the model for their creations. By the time the PCs fi nally reach Veshlivenk and fi ght Seghulerak, she should be established as a source of yuan-ti obsession and adoration.

DESCRIPTION

Seghulerak is much more lithe and streamlined than the standard bulky yuan-ti abomination, an appearance that masks her actual strength and power. Her serpentine body is bright crimson with black coils along its length, and her underbelly glows a fi ery orange. Her head is that of a sleek mamba with large emerald eyes, and her arms are slender and decidedly feminine. She wields a spiked chain crafted to look like a barbed metallic skeletal snake with a fanged skull at both ends. Her full plate and shield likewise display snake motifs, and her crownlike helmet features fi ve snakes coiling upward in fanged array.

Seghulerak CR 18

hp 271 (24 HD) Female yuan-ti abomination cleric 10/thaumaturgist 5 CE Large monstrous humanoid Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., scent; Listen +21, Spot +21 Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Yuan-ti AC 38, touch 13, fl at-footed 38 Resist fi re 10; SR 18 Fort +18, Ref +10, Will +29; +2 against good or divine spells Speed 20 ft. (4 squares) in full plate, base speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft. Melee +31/+31/26/+21/+16 +1 speed anarchic spiked chain (2d6+14 plus 2d6 against lawful creatures) and bite +23 (2d6+7 plus poison) Ranged +22/+17/+12/+7 +3 composite longbow (2d6+12/×3) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (20 ft. with spiked chain) Base Atk +18; Grp +30 Atk Options Chosen of Evil (+6 bonus), Combat Expertise,

Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Thrall to Demon (+1 luck bonus while performing evil act 1/day), constrict 1d6+12, improved grab, poison (Fort DC 21, 1d6/1d6

Con), smite 1/day (+4 to attack roll, +10 damage) Special Actions Dark Speech, aversion, contingent conjuration, produce acid, rebuke undead 8/day (+7, 2d6+17) Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 15th): 8th—persistent bear’s endurance†, mass cure critical wounds, polymorph any objectD (DC 30), summon monster VIII 7th—disintegrateD (+17 ranged touch, DC 29), persistent divine favor†, persistent protection from evil†, persistent shield of faith†, summon monster VII 6th—antilife shell, blade barrier (DC 28), greater dispel magic, heal, misleadD (DC 28), summon monster VI 5th—extended death ward, flame strike (2) (DC 27), extended greater magic weapon (2)†, mass inflict light woundsD (DC 27), plane shift (DC 27) 4th—air walk, confusionD (DC 26), cure critical wounds (3), extended magic vestment† (2), sending 3rd—blindness/deafness (DC 25), contagionD (+25 touch, DC 25), cure serious wounds (4), dispel magic, meld into stone, searing light (+17 ranged touch) 2nd—cure moderate wounds (4), death knell (+25 touch, DC 24), hold person (DC 24), invisibilityD , resist energy, spiritual weapon 1st—command (DC 23), cure light wounds (5), disguise selfD (DC 23), endure elements, sanctuary (DC 13) 0—create water, cure minor wounds (2), guidance, mending, read magic D: Domain spell; Domains: Destruction, Trickery. † already cast Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th):

At will—animal trance (DC 17), detect poison (CL 6th), entangle (DC 16) 3/day—deeper darkness, neutralize poison (DC 19), suggestion (DC 18) 1/day—baleful polymorph (DC 20; into snake form only), fear (DC 19) Abilities Str 26, Dex 11, Con 24, Int 22, Wis 34, Cha 21 SQ alternate form, chameleon power, extended summoning, improved ally, planar cohort, spontaneous casting (infl ict spells) Feats Abyss-Bound SoulB, AlertnessB, Augment SummoningB ,

Blind-FightB, Combat Expertise, Chosen of EvilB, Dark

Speech, Evil BrandB, Exotic Weapon Profi ciency (spiked chain), Extend Spell, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Persistent Spell*, Slave to EvilB†,

Spell Focus (conjuration), Thrall to DemonB * Persistent SpellCAr increases the duration of a spell with a fi xed or personal range to 24 hours, using up a spell slot six levels higher than the spell’s actual level. † Effects vary with intensity of Sertrous’s sign; see feat description, page 14. Skills Bluff +15, Concentration +34, Diplomacy +9 (+11 against evil creatures), Disguise +5 (+7 acting), Hide +13 (+23 with chameleon power), Intimidate +7 (+9 against evil creatures), Knowledge (arcana) +28, Knowledge (religion) +33, Knowledge (the planes) +33, Listen +26, Move Silently +7, Sense Motive +32, Spellcraft +33,

Spot +26