Magic Resistance. The Akkdalkhu has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The Akkdalkhu's weapon attacks are magical.
Necromantic Empowerment. Unless the Akkdalkhu is incapacitated, it, fiends, and undead creatures of its choice within 60 feet of it have advantage on saving throws against features that turn fiends and undead. In addition, these creatures gain a bonus to attack rolls equal to the Akkdalkhu's Charisma modifier (+5) and have resistance to necrotic damage.
Innate Spellcasting. The Akkdalkhu’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18). The Akkdalkhu can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: sapping sting, ray of enfeeblement, bestow curse, darkness
3/day each: animate dead, blight, negative energy flood, shadow of moil
1/day each: eyebite, harm, aura of entropy (modified)
Aura of Entropy. Sickening energy radiates out from the Akkdalkhu in a sphere with a 60-foot radius. While the spell lasts, the sphere remains centered on the Akkdalkhu and moves with it. Each hostile creature in the sphere has disadvantage on saving throws against becoming frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, or stunned. Creatures in the sphere can’t gain temporary hit points, and any effect that restores hit points to a creature within the sphere has those hit points reduced by an amount equal to your spellcasting ability modifier (5).
Multiattack. The Akkdalkhu makes two Spine Whip attacks or casts a spell.
Spine Whip. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) slashing damage, 11 (2d10) necrotic damage.
Description
Akkdalkhu are servants of Orcus who have been deemed worthy of receiving one of his greatest blessings: transformation into a demon. They can only be created by a devoted totally submitting to the will of the Demon Lord of undeath, enacting a ritual that requires the devoted to be fully willing to sacrifice their immortal soul to him for all eternity. The devoted submerge themselves in a rancid mixture of humanoid corpses and demon blood, bathing in it for days until they die of starvation. The corpse is then entombed within the body of a live demon, which eventually bonds to and revives the devoted, transforming into an Akkdalkhu over the course of 24 excruciating hours. This is rare, however, as only a truly worthy soul can survive the process without being unmade from the immense amounts of black magic involved in the process. When the Akkdalkhu emerges, it has no memory of its life before whatsoever, and is left only with an overwhelming desire to serve the Demon Lord of undeath.
Akkdalkhu are known for their uncanny mastery over necromantic energies and channeling power from the negative energy plane in great quantities. This energy clearly suffuses their form and seeps from the cracks and crevices of their skeletal armor which grows from their flesh. They utilize this energy to both bolster their undead thralls and overwhelm their enemies to terrifying effect. The ritual, however, has left a mark on the demon. Due to the ritual requiring one to bathe in a toxic pool of gore, Akkdalkhu have a notable weakness to corrosive liquids.
Akkdalkhu tend to look slightly different depending on the personality of the devoted they were borne from. Some have ivory spikes pointing from their hunched backs, chattering skulls emerging from their chest, or rivulets of black liquid that pour from their vaccuous eye-sockets. For the most part, however, they emulate the visage of Orcus himself. This manifests in the form of a goat-like skull and legs, a powerful body with decaying skin that exposes its inner musculature, and thick, ossein armor that looks akin to the vertebrae of a humanoid spine.
Note: The Aura of Entropy spell is from the "Deep Magic 5E" Kickstarter and is not my creation. Please visit Kobold Press's website and support them, it is a fantastic supplement for hundreds of new spells and magical subclasses!
Comments