Hellknight

Hellknight (CR 30)

Lawful Evil - Medium - Undead (Skeleton)

Lore:	Know (Religion)
58		78
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

54

Perception:
61	+51
Passive	Active

Ambush:

13+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Darkvision 150 ft.
• Heartsight 150 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 60 ft.
• Greater Climb 60 ft.
• Brachiating 60 ft.
• Vaulting 30 ft.

Defense

AC

59

Man Def

64

Monster Health
3,466	1,733	63
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+34
Refl:	+31
Will:	+31

Strong Against:

• DR 30/Common (Bludgeoning,  Crushing,  Piercing,  Slashing,  Slime), bypassed by bludgeoning (physical, common)
• (Undead 1) Immune (no effect): diseases (infected, diseased, blighted), poisons (tainted, poisoned, blighted), ability damage (dilution, damage, drain), and essence damage (suppression, omission, destruction)
• (Undead 2) Immune (no effect): bleeds (bruised, bleed, ruptured), fatigued, exhausted
• (Undead 3) Immune (no effect): magical sleep (drowsy, sluggish, asleep), paralyzed, stunned
• (Undead 4) Immune (no effect): any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless)
• Immune (no effect): cold (energy, common), Stilling (energy, uncommon), Negative Energy (energy, uncommon), Necrotic (energy, uncommon)

Weak Against:

Offense

Size:	Medium
5 ft.		15 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+42

Man Off

+53

Action

0

Points

• Maneuver Offense Notes: +3 on Feints

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Blade of Death +42 (6d8+64/17-20 x2)
  as flensing (physical, rare)
  plus Touch of the Grave

Full Attack (Melee):

• 3x Blade of Death +42 (6d8+64/17-20 x2)
  as flensing (physical, rare)
  plus Touch of the Grave

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Gravesoil Emanation +47 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (6d8+56/19-20 x2)
  as freezacid (energy, rare)
  (Increment: 100 ft.; Max Range: 300 ft.)

Full Attack (Ranged):

• 3x Gravesoil Emanation +47 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (6d8+56/19-20 x2)
  as freezacid (energy, rare)
  (Increment: 100 ft.; Max Range: 300 ft.)

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

38

STR

32

DEX

—

CON

16

INT

18

WIS

20

CHA

Skills:

• Bluff: 54
• Diplomacy: 52
• Knowledge (Local): 51
• Knowledge (Nobility): 51
• Perception: 51
• All other skills: 46 (no ranks)

Languages: All languages known in life, Necril, Onundur, Stilth, and Thanic

Feats:

Special Abilities

Quick Feint (Ex) Free Action

As a free action, up to twice per round, either on their turn or outside of it, the Hellknight can use Bluff to feint in combat, causing its opponent to be flat-footed against the skeleton's next attack. The DC of this check is the target's Maneuver Defense, or 10 + the target's Sense Motive bonus, whichever is higher.

Step In and Strike (Su) Free Action prior to any attack

Prior to making any attack, whether melee or ranged, a Hellknight can move, taking a free 5-foot step. Unlike a normal five-foot step, this ability carries the Hellknight any distance it wishes up to the maximum of it's reach, or, up to fifteen feet. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity, is not limited by having already moved, and does not cost them any actions.

Damage Resistance (Ex) Always On

Skeletons are highly resistant to all common physical damage except bludgeoning (physical, common). In addition, Hellknights are resistant to all common forms of energy damage.

Dark Favor (Su) Swift Action during odd-numbered rounds

Once during any odd-numbered round (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc), as a swift action, a Hellknight may raise a hand in a terrible arcane gesture, bringing forth a dark, incorporeal benison of distilled misery. This benison spreads shadows and misery from the central square, rolling around obstacles to affect all non-blocked squares in the area of effect, affecting all creatures in a 7x7x7 square area centered anywhere within 60 feet of the Hellknight's space (spread area of effect). This benison has two terrible effects. All living enemies caught in the Dark Favor take 6d6+37 points of negative (energy, uncommon) damage, and suffer the Withered condition. Affected enemies are allowed to make a Will save against a DC of 41. If they are successful, the Withered condition is reduced to Weakened and the damage inflicted is halved. All Undead allies caught in the Dark Favor, if they are below their Bloodied value of hit points, add their Bloodied value to their hit points as healing. This cursed blessing may only affect any given allied undead only once per combat.

Touch of the Grave (Su) Auto Upon Successful Melee Attack

Up to once per enemy creature per round, the Hellknight can force any creature successfully struck by their melee attacks to make a Fort saving throw against a DC of 41. If they make this saving throw, there is no further effect. If they fail this saving throw, they suffer the Immolated condition, inflicting Necrotic (energy, uncommon). This condition may not be removed before the end of the encounter by any means. Synergy: If an enemy creature suffering the Immolated condition inflicted by Touch of the Grave is struck a second time and forced to save against Touch of the Grave, and fails this second save, that triggers a Synergy. That foe suffers Necrotic (energy, uncommon) damage equal to their Bloodied value, and the Immolated condition is removed. If this damage reduces them below zero hitpoints, they are instantly killed. Note that the Hellknight may re-inflict Touch of the Grave again, if they hit again after the synergy is triggered and the foe still survives.

Hellknight

Through dark necromantic power, a corpse can be transformed into a skeleton, shedding its flesh and becoming inhabited by the captured soul of a fallen warrior. Skeletons are nearly always mindless, but surprisingly, this is rarely much of a disadvantage for them. The warrior spirit inhabiting the body moves by reflex, demonstrating an ingrained martial prowess that makes skeletons notoriously effective combatants.

Skeletons are motivated by an intense hatred and jealously towards living things. They yearn only to crush that spark of life from everything they can reach.

A Hellknight is one of the Darkling Lords of Undeath, but they are not commonly of the high nobility. Lesser skeletons are often mindless, regardless of how mighty they are, and stronger skeletons are ridden by their murderous spirits, but have no memory of their fleshly existence.

Deathknights are haunted by the memory of their former lives, but the fiend inhabiting them is in full control, leading to delicious levels of suffering, when a good soul is bound to the torment of their evil urges.

A Hellknight is far mightier than even a Deathknight, because they are of the Lords of Death. Like Liches, Hellknights are almost always willingly drawn into the Embrace of the Empty, and they fully recall their former lives, but instead of being bound to Evil, like the hapless ranks of the Deathknights, Hellknights REVEL in their new-found evil.

Of course, since they are emptied this revelry is muted and dminished, but make no mistake, no matter how somber a Hellknight appears, the fiendish thing CHOSE this state of existence, either explicitly, or by their actions in life.

As a result, Hellknights completely embrace the powers of Unlife, and express the powers of their murderous spirit in full. Facing a Hellknight, or heavens forbid a troop of the dark things, is a trial of terrible difficulty. Only the greatest heroes should answer this call, and be ready to face a gauntlet of darkness and horror doing so.

Hellknights leave only silence in their wake.

Combat Tactics

Hellknights are dangerous and skilled warriors and bringers of doom, sheathed in dark magics. Their shadowy swords have a reach of fifteen feet, and with every swing they can step up to fifteen feet across the battlefield. They will refuse to be pinned down by strong melee fighters, plunging into the midst of their foes seeking weaker prey.

They will switch up between melee attacks and ranged attacks, and their long-range touch attacks of shadowy horror can inflict much harm.

They will often hold their Dark Favor until one of their undead allies are Bloodied, then use it to injure their foes and restore their allies, often in the midst of a battle. This power works on their fellow Hellknights as well, so if several are present, they will battle on far longer than might be expected. If there are several Hellknights, some will use Dark Favor in the first round as an attack, and the rest in the third round to attack further and heal undead allies.

Their deathly swords can inject the shadows of death into their foes, and if they manage to drown a foe in this darkness, the damage grows terrible, and the dark of the grave yawns close. If there are several Hellknights in an encounter, they will often seek to attack in pairs or threesomes, looking for flanks, with the express intent of inflicting Touch of the Grave, and then inflicting the Synergy in the same round. The damage from this deadly tactic is massive and fast-acting, and even very powerful melee warriors can be killed with shocking speed in this manner.

Hellknights may fight to destruction, or they may order lesser skeletons and other pawns into the breach and withdraw. If they are in possession of a strong Role, their Open Gates can be used to strike their enemies and then burn them up in battle, or they may use the Gates to whisk themselves away and flee.

Out of Combat

Immortality
Many undead creatures, such as this one, cannot be killed by normal means. It will lie shattered and dormant only until the night of the next full moon before rising again to seek to rid the world of life. Casting either Sanctify Corpse (Cleric Spell) or Gentle Repose (Cleric Spell) on the defeated corpse of the creature will add an additional month to the time it takes for it to re-compose. Laying the defeated corpse on consecrated ground for a full day will prevent it from ever rising again, as will casting Rest Eternal (Cleric Spell) on it. Applying Raise Dead (Cleric Spell), Resurrection (Cleric Spell), or using similar life-giving abilities will restore the original soul back to the corpse, bringing that person back to life and permanently destroying the necromantic animus that had possessed the body previously. This creature's body will never decay (further than it already has) nor age due to time or neglect.

Hell Knights are serious bastions of the army of death, and as such they may be elite troops, favored combatants, wily commanders, or the general of an army of the dead. Hell Knights work with lesser skeletons, Liches of all powers, Vampires, and of course, Demons and Devils, Lords, and even the exotic outsiders such as Maddened, Crool, Helleskrieg, or even Waspines. A Hell Knight is powerful and flexible, and they will always present a memorable battle.

Rewards

XP: 9,840,000

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 1,246,929 gp.

Weight: 300 lbs.     Volume: 12 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)