Last Guard

Last Guard Creature20

Uncommon LN Gargantuan Incorporeal Spirit Troop Undead

Perception +33; darkvision, lifesense 60 feet

Languages Common, Elven, Necril

Skills Acrobatics +38, Stealth +38, Warfare Lore +35

Str -5, Dex +10, Con +10, Int +7, Wis +7, Cha +6

Battlefield Bound Without a call to war, a last guard can stray only a short distance from the location they failed to defend, typically 120 feet. Some last guards are instead bound to a province, kingdom, or nation, rather than a specific location.

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AC 45; Fort +34, Ref +36, Will +31

HP 330, negative healing, rejuvenation; Thresholds 220 (12 squares), 110 (8 squares); Immunities death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, precision, unconscious; Weaknesses area damage 20, splash damage 10; Resistances all damage 10 (except force, ghost touch, or positive; double resistance vs. non-magical)

Rejuvenation (divine, necromancy) When a last guard is destroyed, they re-form after 2d4 days within the location they’re bound to, fully healed. A last guard can be permanently destroyed and move on to the afterlife only if they successfully defend the location they’re bound to from large-scale attack, or fulfill a call to war.

Troop Defenses Troops are composed of many individuals, and over the course of enough attacks and downed comrades, troops shrink in size. Most troops start with 16 squares (4 by 4), and their Hit Points have two listed thresholds, typically the first is at 2/3 their maximum Hit Points and the second is at 1/3 their maximum Hit Points. Once the troop drops below the first threshold, it loses 4 squares, leaving 12 squares remaining, and the first threshold becomes the troop’s new maximum Hit Points. Once the troop falls below the second threshold, it loses another 4 squares, leaving 8 squares remaining, and the second threshold becomes the troop’s new maximum Hit Points. In order to restore its size and maximum Hit Points, a troop needs to spend downtime to use long-term treatment on casualties or recruit new members to replace the fallen. At 0 Hit Points, the troop is reduced down to 4 squares, which is too few to sustain the troop, so it disperses entirely, with the few remaining members surrendering, fleeing, or easily dispatched, depending on their nature.

A damaging single-target effect, such as a Strike, can’t force a troop to pass through more than one threshold at once. For instance, if a troop had 60 Hit Points, with thresholds at 40 and 20, a Strike for 50 damage would leave the troop at 21 Hit Points, just above the second threshold. A damaging area effect or multi-target effect can cross multiple thresholds at once and could potentially destroy the entire troop in one shot. Non-damaging effects with an area or that target all creatures in a certain proximity affect a troop normally if they affect the entire area occupied by the troop. If an effect has a smaller area or numbers of targets, it typically has no effect on the troop. However, if the effect can target at least four creatures or cover at least four squares in the troop, and if it would prevent its targets from acting, cause them to flee, or otherwise make them unable to function as part of the troop for a round or more, the troop loses a number of Hit Points equal to the amount required to bring it to the next threshold, removing 4 squares. If an effect would both deal damage and automatically cross a threshold due to incapacitating some of the creatures in the troop, apply the damage first. If the damage wasn’t enough to cross a threshold on its own, then reduce the Hit Points to cross the threshold for the incapacitating effect.

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Speed fly 40 feet; troop movement

Form Up [one-action] The troop chooses one of the squares it currently occupies and redistributes its squares to any configuration in which all squares are contiguous and within 15 feet of the chosen square. The troop can’t share its space with other creatures.

Frightful Battle Cry [two-actions] (auditory, divine, emotion, enchantment, fear, mental, sonic) The last guards unleash a soul-shaking bellow in unison. All creatures in a 60-foot cone take 7d6 sonic damage (DC 42 basic Will save). Any creature that fails its save is also frightened 3 (or frightened 4 on a critical failure). If the troop occupies 8 or fewer squares, this area decreases to a 30-foot cone.

Ghostly Blades [one-action] to [three-actions] Frequency once per round; Effect The last guards engage in a coordinated attack with their spectral curve blades against each enemy within 5 feet (DC 40 basic Reflex save). The damage depends on the number of actions.

[one-action] 1d8+2 slashing and 1d8 negative damage

[two-actions] 2d8+14 slashing and 2d8 negative damage

[three-actions] 3d8+14 slashing and 3d8 negative damage

Spectral Charge [three-actions] The last guards charge, swarming through their foes. The troop Flies up to double its Speed, dealing 4d8 negative damage to each creature whose space it moves through (DC 40 basic Reflex save). Any creature that fails its save is also drained 1 (or drained 2 on a critical failure). The troop can affect each creature only once in a single use of Spectral Charge.

Troop Movement Whenever the troop Strides, they first Form Up as a free action to condense into a 20-foot-by-20-foot area (minus any missing squares), then move up to their Speed. This works just like a Gargantuan creature moving.

About

Honor and broken oaths bind a last guard to a location they failed to defend in life. There they must keep watch until their duties are fulfilled or they are swayed by a compelling call to war, departing to march to battle.