Atropal

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Atropal (CR 30)

All abominations are horrors. They are things which should not exist in the bright, sunny world of the Prime Plane. There are many sorts of abominations out in the Deep Dark, and of those, the Atropal are among the most terrible.

Atropal are dark, horrendous things. Eye-witnesses to Atropal incursions on the Prime are rare, but they describe them as terrible floating fiends, dead and yet still aware, with the dreadful sound of their azoic aura as it gnaws away at the fabric of our reality everywhere they go.

Atropal are powerful things, juggernauts of darkness that drift about when they are stillborn into our reality, sampling and examining. Normal creatures die in the presence of an Atropal, and their souls are nearly instantly bound in service to the abomination. An Atropal incursion is usually discovered when the army of shadows they generate simply by existing goes on a rampage. Atropal never negotiate, and only rarely try to communicate at all. Atropal are vastly intelligent, but their intelligence is of a different order from creatures.

Atropal are both undead, and constructs. Atropal are made things, you see, although the agency of their creation seems to be embodied in the very fabric of reality itself. Atropal are also dead, the aborted remains of failed gods which do not go quietly into oblivion, but persist as stains upon reality.

Atropal are very rare in the Prime Plane. Occasionally a Lich or Demi-Lich will manage to allow one into the world. The Atropal is completely beyond the power of most creatures on the Prime Plane to control, however. They make dandy weapons of terror, though, and can be summoned within a kingdom that is troublesome and left to their own devices. Demons and Devils are cuddly little housepets compared to an Atropal.

Perhaps the most frightening thing about the Atropal is their origin. The wisest scribes and sages have worked with the mightiest wizards and cleverest ciphers for thousands of years, and there is little doubt any longer. For every universe like the Prime Material that arises from the unknowable fount of creation, there are a trillion, trillion, trillion at least that never form completely. These universes trail away into the Outer Night and slowly rot and decay away, and when they have moldered to nothing their crystal spheres collapse and what is left is an Atropal.

For every man and woman and child and plant and animal and insect upon the entire world, there are a billion Atropals floating in the Deep Dark. The numbers are certain, and expeditions to the Outer Night have confirmed it. There are more Atropal than all the Demons and Devils a billion times over.

All that holds the Atropals away from our bright reality is the light and positive energy of our realms. But if you ever have to venture into the True Darkness, that mode of existence which lies behind the Hells, lies above the sky, you will find the Atropal waiting.

GENERAL

CR 30 Hit Dice 59

XP 9,840,000

LE Large Undead Construct Abomination (Lawful, Extraplanar)

Init +13; Senses <any special senses (darkvision, low-light, tremorsense, etc.)>, Perception +45

DEFENSE

AC 56, touch 31, flat-footed 35 (+21 dex, +25 armor <adjust as needed>)

hp 1,225

Fort +30, Ref +25, Will +25 <swap as needed; only one strong save>

Special Defenses <copy from source>

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft., Fly 200 (hover)

Space 10 ft. Reach 10 ft.

Single Melee <melee weapon> +46 (5d8+10/19-20x2)

or: Single Melee Bite +46 (5d8+4/x2)

Full Melee 3x <melee weapon> +46 (5d8+10/19-20x2)

or: Full Melee Bite +46 (5d8+4/x2), 2x Claws +46 (5d6+2/x2), Tail +46 (5d8+4/x2), 2x Wings +46 (5d6+2/x2)

Ranged <optional ranged attack> +46 (5d8+10/x2)

Special Attacks <copy from source; the save DC's for any such ability should be around 41. See below>

Action Points 0 <common monsters never have action points, named monsters often have one.>

STATISTICS

Str 30, Dex 14, Con 34, Int 20, Wis 20, Cha 20

Base Atk +30; CMB +54; CMD 70

Feats <pick one or two thematically relevant feats; avoid complicated ones.>

Skills <choose only if relevant, values around 1.5 x creature’s CR>

Languages <copy from source>

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Basic monsters typically have up to one special ability. Named monsters could have three to five special abilities.

Often, the converted creature's special abilities should just be carried forward, with the numeric values adjusted using the numbers above.

Be aware, however, that you don't actually need very many special abilities, even for complex uniques like Orcus. Your monsters probably won't live more than about three rounds. Some creatures you convert may have dozens of listed abilities in their source material. Just pick a few of the most interesting ones to make the fight memorable. Your named monsters should be able to do something interesting each round, though there's no rule it has to be a different interesting thing each round.

Named monsters can also have 1 or even 2 action points, even if they have no role. Note that you can never spend more than 1 action point in a single round.

Any special abilities which have a save DC should have the DC set to 41.

TREASURE

Assuming you're using the 'Medium XP' progression chart, each creature should drop loot with a sell value of approximately 6,250,000 gp at this CR.