Death Throes. When the Cinder Lord dies, it explodes. Each creature within 35ft of it must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw, taking 70(20d6) force damage plus 27(5d10) fire damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one.
Fire Aura. Any creature that moves within 5ft of the Cinder lord or hits it with a melee attack while within 5ft of it takes 10(3d6) fire damage. Flammable objects that aren't being worn or carried ignite.
Legendary Resistance(2/day). If the Cinder Lord fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. The Cinder Lord has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Multiattack: The Cinder Lord makes three attacks, one with its Lunging Grab and two with its Smoldering Blade.
Smoldering Blade: Melee weapon attack, +14 to hit, reach 10ft, one target. Hit 25(5d6+7) slashing damage plus 10(3d6) fire damage.
Lunging Grab: Melee weapon attack, +14 to hit, reach 50ft, one target. Hit: the target must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 38(7d10) fire damage plus 27(5d10) force damage. The Cinder Lord then teleports to a space adjacent to the target.
The Cinder Lord can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The Cinder Lord regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn:
Fiery Boon: The Cinder Lord covers itself in flames. For the next three of the Cinder Lord's turns, it adds 36(8d8) fire damage to all of its attacks. It also regains 17 hit points when it damages a creature with Fire Aura.
Description
Flames may be able to burn the body, but they can never burn the soul. When fire ravages someone's body and they survive, they become a member of the Ash'Teck, mindless, near formless, and meandering. If one can bear the pain of the fire and keep their mind intact, they become a Charred Guard. If a powerful being's soul and body can keep themselves through the raze of the fire, they become a Cinder Lord, a fiend of extreme power and might. However, as strong as they might be, their minds are still warped, losing their ability to speak and their memory of time before the fire. These fiends inhabit the Molten Caves of Rhymorra, and they are one of the rarest fiends to encounter while down there.
There are only two known Cinder Lords known to exist currently, with the others being hunted down. The first and youngest still being a few hundred years old. He used to be a great king of his very own kingdom, surrounded by all he could want after a lifetime of struggle to get it. Then, his whole life ended at the claws of a Red Fire Dragon, ending his entire kingdom in a blaze of red fire. Many of his citizens survived as Ash'Teck, a few of his knights survived as Charred Guards, and of his royal court, only he survived as a Cinder Lord, looking over his burnt kingdom forever, now sunk below the surface into the Molten Caves.
The second is one that is older than the legend of him. Buried deep within the Molten Caves is a creature that is easily thousands of years old and as you traverse down this cave system, everything slowly becomes a charred black and you will find hundreds upon hundreds of charred corpses. No one knows who he was or what event caused him to be burnt alive and become so isolated in the Molten Caves. The only hints are dragon skeletons, charred bodies, and decrepit buildings spread around the giant cavern.
Strange Intelligence. Despite their lack of speech and indiscriminately hostile nature, Cinder Lords seem to have an unusually high level of intelligence. They have been found to understand what other people are saying, identify battle strategies, attack people when they're open, and even recognize certain spells.
Mysterious Nature. A Cinder Lord's behavior is extremely hard to monitor, as all attempts to sneak up on one have been met with little to no success, as the fiery creature always seems to be ready for a fight. However, it is noted that they will do nothing to protect Ash'Teck or Charred Guards and only become hostile once you make any move on their lair.
Wanderer. The few times that they have been observed from afar, they are seen making very inconsistent daily habits, whether it is browsing the area, touching statues of old, or even praying. This is suspected to be remnants of their old self.
Smoldering Heart. When a Cinder Lord is defeated, its ashen body will collapse, leaving behind a Stone Heart with intense fire blazing from its seams. If left for more than a day, its body will regenerate and become anew. The power of this heart can also be harvested for extreme magical power.
Subordinates. The second and younger Cinder Lord is a part of the inner circle of Sala, ruler of the Molten Caves. He answers to her and serves her will when she wishes him to. Cinder Lords consider themselves subordinate to Sala, but they are shown to be much stronger in combat than Sala, meaning that if one would challenge her for the leadership of the Molten Caves, the Cinder Lord would come out on top. It is strange why they serve her, but some say that when a Cinder Lord's kingdom is destroyed and sinks into the Molten Caves, it is the price to pay for tresspassing on Sala's domain.
Lair and Lair Actions
A Cinder Lord's lair is charred by the fire that burns them, and as they reside in their lair, their fire burns the very walls over time and even strong metals will be reduced to ash and charcoal, leaving them with powerful control over the region.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20(losing initiative ties), the Cinder Lord takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the Cinder Lord can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Royal Guard: The Cinder Lord plunges its sword into the ground, and 7(1d8+2) Charred Guards will awaken within 5ft of the Cinder Lord and aid the Cinder Lord in combat. They act directly after the Cinder Lord in combat on the same initiative count. Killing the Cinder Lord will also kill its Charred Guards summoned in this way.
- Ash Pit: The Cinder Lord pushes its hands into the ash around it, making a field of sinking ash that lasts until the Cinder Lord is defeated. The Ash Pit has an 80ft diameter. When moving through it, your speed is halved and you have disadvantage on saving throws for the Cinder Lord's Death Throes and its Lunging Grab.
- Blazing Ash Pit: The Cinder Lord creates a large fire pit in the ash. Moving into the area of the Ash Pit will deal 10(1d20) fire damage every turn you are in the pit. A creature under 100 hit points dies instantly and the Cinder Lord regains hit points equal to the maximum number a creature could roll on its hit dice.
Regional Effects
The region containing a Cinder Lord’s lair is pronouncedly affected by its magical flames, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- No vegetation can grow within 5 miles of the lair, leaving the ground barren and dry. Any vegetation that was there before the Cinder Lord's transformation is now blackened and charred.
- No water can be found within 2 miles of the lair. Additionally, when a creature moves within 1 mile of the lair, the temperatures become unnaturally hot, causing any exposed water to slowly evaporate.
- There will be mounds of ash and charcoal everywhere, from which Charred Guards and Ash'Teck will spawn and attack anything that is not native to the Molten Caves.
If the Cinder Lord dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d4 days.
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