TL;DR: There is a god eater who gains the power of whatever it eats that wiped the pantheon of this world out and then was crippled and imprisoned. How to handle its stats?
For context, in this universe the ‘Gods’ are actually a superhuman alien semi omnipotent race called The Angelic, and each world has its own ‘pantheon’ which are overseen by a council of gods that oversee the Good Planes. Then one day, a group of fiends, monstrosities etc were corrupted by the Far Realm and turned into the Servants of Shadow, (which serve an archdevil turned aberration who is named Shadow) corrupted the Flying Empire of Shau Khav to turn against their planet’s gods. This worked until the Shau Khavians enslaved Ligatou K’sh’rhovv The God and World Devourer(Rovv for short), who consumed the gods. With each god he ate, he gained their powers until only one god was left. Seven Warrior mages and the last god confronted it with the Seven Worldly Weapons (The seventh betrayed them,btw).The God-Devourer was crippled forever and imprisoned in the skull of the last god who died in the battle, and the Empire of Shau Khav was destroyed.
My pcs (there are 6 of ‘em) are the reincarnated souls of the Six Warrior Mages (they all have some variant of dunmancy) and are destined to finish this God Devourer off, which will be at the campaigns end. Even though we’re super far away from the final face off, I’m worried that this BBEG is too strong for them, and on top of that I have no idea how to handle its stat block. Please help!
There are options but basically those he absorbed just need to be visible some how
They could summoned as shadows to support
The devourer could have an ability for each absorbed character
The devourer could have multiple forms, one for each absorbed character
the devourer could have general power in discrete chunks that can be added or subtracted. For example 7 gems that need to be destroyed and after each is destroyed they lose power.
Some examples
Tromokratis has several heats that have to all be destroyed to kill it. A similar mechanic could be used where the hearts are the imprisoned gods
Hearts of the Kraken (Mythic Trait; Recharges after a Short or Long Rest). When Tromokratis is reduced to 0 hit points, it doesn’t die or fall unconscious. Instead, the damage creates cracks in its carapace, revealing its hearts. Tromokratis has four hearts: two on its chest, one on its back, and one at the base of its tail. A heart has an AC of 22 and 100 hit points. It is immune to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks, and it is immune to all conditions. If it is forced to make a saving throw, treat its ability scores as 10 (+0). If it finishes a short or long rest, the carapace heals, any destroyed hearts regenerate, and the hearts are covered again. Tromokratis dies when all the hearts are destroyed.
The god Auril has 3 forms Auril (First Form), Auril (Second Form) and Auril (Third Form) each represents an aspect the god embodies. Similarly a god that consumed a whole pantheon could embody that entire pantheon and have a form for each.
Divine Rejuvenation. When Auril drops to 0 hit points, her body turns to slush and melts away. Auril instantly reappears in her second form, in an unoccupied space within 60 feet of where her first form disappeared. Her initiative count doesn’t change.
Divine Rejuvenation. When Auril drops to 0 hit points, her body collapses into shards of ice, whereupon Auril instantly reappears in her third form, in an unoccupied space within 60 feet of where her second form was destroyed. Her initiative count doesn’t change.
the Adult Oblex can consume creatures to gain their knowledge and then create copies of them. Your devourer could do the same but you can also just give them god shadows as minions without a trait.
Sulfurous Impersonation. The oblex extrudes a piece of itself that assumes the appearance of one Medium or smaller creature whose memories it has stolen. This simulacrum appears, feels, and sounds exactly like the creature it impersonates, though it smells faintly of sulfur. The oblex can impersonate 1d4 + 1 different creatures, each one tethered to its body by a strand of slime that can extend up to 120 feet away. The simulacrum is an extension of the oblex, meaning that the oblex occupies its space and the simulacrum’s space simultaneously. The tether is immune to damage, but it is severed if there is no opening at least 1 inch wide between the oblex and the simulacrum. The simulacrum disappears if the tether is severed.
I’m worried that this BBEG is too strong for them, and on top of that I have no idea how to handle its stat block.
Sorry but those two things are in contradiction. You as the DM have total control over how powerful or not powerful any creature / monster is in your world. You could have this "god devourer" reduced to a CR 1/2 Shadow by it's previous defeat if you want to, or have it true polymorphed into a hamster if you want to.
Even though we’re super far away from the final face off
Don't worry about it then! Most campaigns to not reach the final face off, so don't worry about working out it's statblock until 2-3 sessions before that final encounter or you'll just be disappointed when one of your players leaves the group for whatever reason.
TL;DR: There is a god eater who gains the power of whatever it eats that wiped the pantheon of this world out and then was crippled and imprisoned. How to handle its stats?
For context, in this universe the ‘Gods’ are actually a superhuman alien semi omnipotent race called The Angelic, and each world has its own ‘pantheon’ which are overseen by a council of gods that oversee the Good Planes. Then one day, a group of fiends, monstrosities etc were corrupted by the Far Realm and turned into the Servants of Shadow, (which serve an archdevil turned aberration who is named Shadow) corrupted the Flying Empire of Shau Khav to turn against their planet’s gods. This worked until the Shau Khavians enslaved Ligatou K’sh’rhovv The God and World Devourer(Rovv for short), who consumed the gods. With each god he ate, he gained their powers until only one god was left. Seven Warrior mages and the last god confronted it with the Seven Worldly Weapons (The seventh betrayed them,btw).The God-Devourer was crippled forever and imprisoned in the skull of the last god who died in the battle, and the Empire of Shau Khav was destroyed.
My pcs (there are 6 of ‘em) are the reincarnated souls of the Six Warrior Mages (they all have some variant of dunmancy) and are destined to finish this God Devourer off, which will be at the campaigns end. Even though we’re super far away from the final face off, I’m worried that this BBEG is too strong for them, and on top of that I have no idea how to handle its stat block. Please help!
There are options but basically those he absorbed just need to be visible some how
Some examples
Tromokratis has several heats that have to all be destroyed to kill it. A similar mechanic could be used where the hearts are the imprisoned gods
The god Auril has 3 forms Auril (First Form), Auril (Second Form) and Auril (Third Form) each represents an aspect the god embodies. Similarly a god that consumed a whole pantheon could embody that entire pantheon and have a form for each.
the Adult Oblex can consume creatures to gain their knowledge and then create copies of them. Your devourer could do the same but you can also just give them god shadows as minions without a trait.
Thank you! I wasn’t very sure where to start but I’m sure this’ll be a super nice starting point!
What if one of the characters dies? Destinies can be tricky to pull off when the dice decide a random goblin shanks someone at 1st level.
Sorry but those two things are in contradiction. You as the DM have total control over how powerful or not powerful any creature / monster is in your world. You could have this "god devourer" reduced to a CR 1/2 Shadow by it's previous defeat if you want to, or have it true polymorphed into a hamster if you want to.
Don't worry about it then! Most campaigns to not reach the final face off, so don't worry about working out it's statblock until 2-3 sessions before that final encounter or you'll just be disappointed when one of your players leaves the group for whatever reason.