Demon, Vrolikai (Death Demon)

Vrolikai Creature19

Uncommon CE Large Demon Fiend

Senses Perception +33; darkvision, true seeing

Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic, Necril; telepathy 100 feet

Skills Acrobatics +37, Arcana +33, Deception +35, Intimidation +37, Religion +33, Stealth +33, Survival +33

Str +8, Dex +6, Con +9, Int +6, Wis +6, Cha +8

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AC 44; Fort +34, Ref +31, Will +31; +1 to all saves vs. magic

HP 375; Immunities death effects; Weaknesses cold iron 15, good 15

Death-Stealing Gaze (aura, divine, necromancy, visual) 30 feet. As nabasu, but with a DC 38 Fortitude save.

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Speed 35 feet, fly 50 feet

Melee [one-action] jaws +38 (evil, magical, reach 10 feet), Damage 4d12+16 piercing plus 1d6 evil

Melee [one-action] black flame knife +38 (agile, chaotic, evil, magical), Damage 3d4+16 piercing plus 2d6 negative plus 1d6 evil

Melee [one-action] stinger +38 (evil, magical, reach 15 feet), Damage 4d8+16 piercing plus 1d6 evil plus mindwarping

Divine Innate Spells DC 43; 9th massacre, power word kill, vampiric exsanguination; 7th paralyze, regenerate; 5th dimension door (at will); Constant true seeing

Rituals DC 43; Abyssal pact

Black Flame Knives A vrolikai can manifest a dagger-shaped blade of what looks like crystallized black flame in each of their four hands. These weapons function as +2 greater striking daggers, although they fade away into nothingness 1 minute after a vrolikai no longer carries them.

Consume Death [one-action] (concentrate, divine, necromancy, visual) As nabasu, but the vrolikai does not have starvation vulnerability.

Focused Flames [two-actions] The vrolikai attacks a single target with all of its black flame knives. The demon makes a black flame knife Strike. On a successful attack, the vrolikai deals the damage from a black flame knife Strike to the target, plus an additional 2d6 negative damage for every black flame knife they wield beyond the first (typically 6d6 extra damage). Even on a failed attack, the vrolikai deals the damage from one black flame knife to the target, though they still miss completely on a critical failure. On a critical hit, the victim becomes drained 2 as the focused attack drains pure life essence as well as damage. This counts toward the vrolikai’s multiple attack penalty as a number of attacks equal to the number of black flame knives the demon wields.

Mindwarping (emotion, enchantment, mental) The sting of a vrolikai is mind-warping. A creature struck must attempt a DC 44 Will save.

Critical Success The creature is unaffected.

Success The creature becomes stupefied 1 for 1 minute.

Failure The creature becomes stupefied 1. Further failed saves against mindwarping increase the condition value by 1, to a maximum of stupefied 4.

Critical Failure As failure, but the creature also becomes confused for 1 minute.

Stolen Death As nabasu.

About

Unlike other demons, the dread vrolikai doesn’t form from a sinful soul-they instead manifest from a nabasu once the nabasu finally satisfies their hunger and returns to the Abyss, and as such vrolikais suffer from no vulnerability associated with a specific sin. A vrolikai who survives this process and the period of vulnerability that follows gains great power and in time can claim large regions of the Abyss as their own domain.

Also known as death demons, these murderous monsters often serve demon lords as executioners or assassins.

When vrolikais first manifest on the Abyss, they have no base of power and are, despite their abilities, relatively defenseless from denizens even more powerful than themselves. As a result, most rely upon stealth and patience for their first few centuries while they build up a network of minions and establish their own Abyssal fortifications before they turn their attentions back to the Material Plane.