Maddened Maven

Maddened Maven (CR 25)

True Chaotic - Medium - Aberration

Lore:	K. (Dungeoneer)
50		65
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

42

Perception:
52	+42
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Mindsense 120 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 50 ft.
• Lesser Teleport 60 ft.

Defense

AC

52

Man Def

53

Monster Health
1,961	980	48
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+22
Refl:	+27
Will:	+22

Strong Against:

Weak Against:

• Vulnerable (1.5x damage): Interstice damage

Offense

Size:	Medium
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+35

Man Off

+41

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Destroying Nails +35 (5d8+40/19-20 x2)
  as laceration (physical, rare)
  plus Horrible Transformation

Full Attack (Melee):

• 3x Destroying Nails +35 (5d8+40/19-20 x2)
  as laceration (physical, rare)
  plus Horrible Transformation

Standard Attack (Ranged):

Full Attack (Ranged):

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

22

STR

30

DEX

36

CON

24

INT

12

WIS

28

CHA

Skills:

• Diplomacy: 42
• Knowledge (Local): 42
• Knowledge (Planes): 42
• Perception: 42
• Sense Motive: 42
• All other skills: 37 (no ranks)

Languages: Common, Abyssal, Djöfulleg, F'thaghu'fhalma, Gőbhach, Primal

Feats:

• Mobility (EFFECT: +4 AC against attacks of opportunity from movement)

Special Abilities

Fanatical Vengeance (Ex) Immediate action when Maddened ally killed

Whenever any Maddened creature is killed by enemy actions, any Maddened Maven who has line of sight and line of effect to the attacker who made the killing blow may choose to make an immediate action attack against that creature using their Rigid Mind ability. They must target the creature who laid the killing blow, but they may then choose other targets they can legally effect as they wish. They must take all normal modifiers for such attacks as normal.

Horrible Transformation (Su) Free Action, After Successful Attack

Up to once per round, after a successful Destroying Nails attack, the Maven may choose to apply Horrible Transformation. The struck target must make a Will saving throw against a DC of 35. If they fail this saving throw, the Maven's deadly-sharp nails rend their body into fragments, while leaving them horribly alive and suffering as a pile of bloody meat. They gain the Incapacitated condition. If they make the saving throw, the wound is merely grievous, and they 'only' suffer the Impaired condition.

Rigid Mind (Su) Standard Action

The Maven may choose to impose their vicious, rigid, dogmatic world-view directly upon the minds of their foes. They may choose up to four living, thinking, enemies within 600 feet, to whom they have line of sight and line of effect, all of whom must be within 50 feet of each other. All of the chosen enemies take 5d10+60 of psychic (energy, uncommon) damage. Affected creatures may make a Will save against a DC of 35 in order to take half damage.

Warp Space (Sp) Standard Action

Concentration: 1d20 + 30 vs. a DC of 41 (11 needed on the die) The Maddened Maven may perform an incantation as a standard action which provokes, drawing upon the power of the Madness to shatter reality and toss her enemies through space via teleports to where she wishes them to be. This power affects a 9x9x9 square space that must be centered within 300 feet of the Maven's space. All creatures wholly or partially within this space suffer 5d6+26 as obliteration (physical, rare) damage, then the Maven may slide them to any unblocked, unoccupied space that is also within the area of effect, and which they can safely use for with a Walk, Fly, or Climb move, and they gain the Quelled condition in their new space. Note that since the amount of this teleport slide has no numeric amount, it automatically overcomes any amount of movement resistance. This ability allows a Fort saving throw against a DC of 35 to reduce the amount of forced movement to three squares, which can then be resisted as normal. In all cases, affected targets may throw themselves prone in their origin square to resist the movement.

Maddened Maven

It is widely accepted among most intelligent creatures, at a very general level, that the world we all live in is balanced upon the surface of a much larger, darker, and far more terrible reality called the Outer Madness. Most people have little understanding of Planes, and in the minds of most people, Demons, Devils, Aberrations, and most 'weird' monsters are part of this terrifying background reality.

However, there are always those who think that 'larger and more terrible' means, 'a convenient way to get power'. As a result, all over the world, in every race, creed, and culture, civilized or not, there are those with far too much greed and far too little wisdom who seek out this Deep Darkness and pledge themselves to it. The Creeping Madness is easy to access, easy to draw upon...and insanely dangerous. A fair number of those who attempt this foolish act are consumed utterly by their very first sup of that dark well, their lives, essence, souls, and flesh consumed entire.

Many of those luckless fools do not quietly disappear, however.

Maddened Mavens are those creatures, with the Spark or without, who have reached out to the Madness, and not only survived, they have grown exalted. Mavens are truly utter abominations, even though their physical forms are only slightly altered from a human 'norm'. Indeed, for the fiendish cadres of the Maddened, the Mavens are positively...comely. But their relatively fair form hides a broken soul more awful than most would dare to believe.

Unlike many lesser Maddened, Mavens are almost always created new and whole, as foolish mortals seek eternal youth and power in the embrace of the Great Insanity. If there is some guiding principal in the Deep Dark, its most clear expression is in the choosing of those wicked souls who become Mavens.

Mavens are exclusively female, just as Magnates are male, and they seem to serve as the fairly palatable faces of the Maddened. This is not to say they aren't terrible, because they are, and their insane desire to kill and destroy makes them difficult to deal with, no matter how they look.

Maddened Mavens are the absolute foes of everything else in existence, and they use their less terrible appearance to set up alliances and develop schemes. Mavens are not great thinkers, but they have truly impressive amounts of cunning and duplicity. They will frequently have Travesties nearby as muscle, and Aberrants are always useful allies. Mavens often work with Magnates, as well.

Maddened Mavens are almost always drawn from the Civilized Races, people who should have known better, but sometimes 'monstrous' races are also sources for Mavens. It is possible for Hags and Giants, among others, to be subsumed by the Eternal Black Night, and thus become Maddened Mavens.

Maddened Mavens, like all of the Maddened, are united in their allegiance to the Endless Night, the Dark Sweet Depths that lie Outside. They are schemers and plotters, they always seem to have a few sister Mavens to aid them, and some Travesties for expendable muscle. They frequently seek out Magnates for deeper plans, but even on their own, they always act, vaguely or cleverly, to tear down civilization, destroy all the structures of the world, material and social, for good and for ill.

Mavens seek to kill and destroy everything in the world, just like every Maddened, but they are willing to take a longer, slower approach then many of their Maddened brethren. Mavens are startlingly petite for such powerhouse destroyers, but they will quickly demonstrate their power if their insane plans are threatened.

Combat Tactics

Maddened Mavens are not physical powerhouses, but their Destroying Nails ability more than makes up for that. If they land a hit, their Horrible Transformation ability can tear a foe to fragments in an instant, and unlike regular damage, the status condition must be removed to get the victim back in the fight. Even if they make a save, this is a heavy cost for getting into scratching distance of a Maven.

At a distance, they will attack primarily with their Rigid Mind ability, hammering out heavy Psychic damage. If foes are resistant to that, they can use Warp Space to toss their foes away, or set it up so they can attempt a Destroying Nails/Horrible Transformation combo by moving a delicate target close by with the tough guys farther away. Warp Space is a spell-like ability, so it provokes, but getting close to a Maven puts you at risk of her Destroying Nails.....

Mavens, unlike most of the Maddened, will seek to flee a battle that is going badly, abandoning their fellows without a thought.

Out of Combat

Maddened Mavens, along with Maddened Magnates, provide most of the 'behind the scenes planning' for the Maddened Cult...although dignifying such a rabble as a cult is probably too grandiose. Mavens are powerful, capable, and far more charismatic than most of the Maddened, and their insane plans are scaled far bigger and deeper than most.

It is possible to find Maddened Mavens in a myriad of places, from lairs in deep labyrinths, to skulking the dimensions, to leading the slaughter of a small town...or country. Other monsters tend to steer clear of Maddened Mavens, because they are just a little too dedicated to the whole 'destroy all reality' thing to be reliable allies.

Maddened mavens view Vampire Thralls as useful pawns at best, although there are persistent rumors at the highest levels that the Mavens may have ties to dark forces, even to the likes of Demons, the Crool, or even, possibly, the Atropals and even mightier things out In The Dark.

The truth of these rumors? It is impossible to know.

Rewards

XP: 1,640,000

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 351,417 gp.

Weight: 250 lbs.     Volume: 10 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)