Amphibious Paladin. Axayacatl can breathe air and water. Furthermore, he has resistance to Cold and Radiant damage and a swimming speed equal to his walking speed + 10 feet.
Exalted. Whenever this creature makes an attack roll, it gains a temporary +X bonus to that attack roll, where X is equal to the amount of allied creatures fighting alongside it in combat.
Spellcasting. Axayacatl's spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 12). He can cast the following Paladin spells:
1st level (3 slots): Create or Destroy Water, Expeditious Retreat, Bless, Shield of Faith
Divine Smite. When Axayacatl hits a creature with a melee weapon attack, he can expend one spell slot to deal 9 (2d8) radiant damage to the target.
Glaive, +1. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) slashing damage.
Trident. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage, or 8 (1d10 + 3) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.
Radiant Wave (Recharge 5–6). As an action, Axayacatl can swing a melee weapon in a sweeping motion, releasing a wave of searing radiant light that travels forward and hits all creatures standing in its way. The wave originates from Axayacatl, is 15 ft. wide, and 20 ft. long. Creatures caught in its radius make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw. On failure, a creature takes 10 (3d6) radiant damage and is pushed back 15 feet. On success, a creature takes only half as much damage and isn't pushed.
Marine Layer (1 use/long rest). As an action, Axayacatl channel the sea to create a thick cloud of fog that surrounds him for 20 feet in all directions. The fog moves with Axayacatl, remaining centered on him and making its area heavily obscured. Axayacatl and each creature within 5 feet of him instead treat the area as lightly obscured. This fog lasts for 10 minutes, spreads around corners, and cannot be dispersed unless Axayacatl chooses to end this effect as a free action.
Swift Swim. While submerged in water, Axayacatl can Dash as a bonus action.
Fury of the Tides (1 use/long rest). As a bonus action, Axayacatl channels the powerful might of the waves to bolster his attacks for 1 minute. Once per turn for the duration, when Axayacatl hits a creature with a weapon attack, he can choose to push the target 10 feet away from him. If pushed into an obstacle or another creature, the target takes 2 bludgeoning damage.
Description
Axayacatl (a-sha-yah-catl) is an axolotl merfolk and the chieftain of the Jadefin merfolk tribe. Though strict and unrelenting, he leads his people to prosperity and provides them with a peaceful existence on the shores of the Kingdom of Randwynn, which he achieves by ensuring that no unauthorised merchants, pirates, or adventurers ever stumble upon the village of Chalchiutlan. In case any intruders come knocking, Axayacatl can always rely on his trusted pet, the giant axolotl guardian of the Jadefin tribe: Xolatoyac (sho-la-toh-yac), the Smiling Flood. Because Xolatoyac is a gentle creature, however, it seldom ever actually harms intruders beyond wrecking their ships. It is up to the village guards to fish out any stranded survivors, interrogate them, and then have the chieftain decide their fate.
Axayacatl is not just a chieftain, however. He is a holy warrior who wields a magical glaive in combat—a paladin with an oath sworn to protect his people and their little corner of the sea; an oath that serves as the compass guiding his moral principles, centered entirely on the values of family, tradition, and duty. Any slight against Axayacatl, his family, or his culture can prove to be fatal in consequences, depending on his temper that day.
Usually, the only people Chieftain Axayacatl shows mercy to are his own kin: the axolotl merfolk. Things changed ever since he adopted a little catfish merfolk girl that his wife had given her life to save from a giant snapping turtle attack. Although Axayacatl has been known to detest merfolk of other fish species, he has shown remarkable tolerance of the catfish girl, allowing her to live in Chalchiutlan as an honorary member of the Jadefin tribe.
The girl proved to be far too eccentric for the standards of their society, however, and so Axayacatl intends on sending her out into the world once she finishes her Freshwater Rite: a rite of passage for Jadefin merfolk coming into adulthood that allows them to leave the confines of the village and its surroundings.
Comments