Hobgoblin Scarifier (Basic Lore)

Hobgoblin Scarifier (CR 26)
Lawful Evil - Medium - Fey
Hobgoblins are the cruelest and most common of the Low Fey. Although technically Outsiders, they live on the Prime material in large numbers, their enclaves generally isolated. By the measures of more 'normal' races, the Hobgoblins, like all fey, are quite insane. Their motives and reasoning are just-so-subtly...off. For example. Hobgoblins are quite formidable beings. If they formed armies and marched on their neighbors, they could establish nations and empires easily enough. But they do not. They don't care about such things, being content to live in small towns and thorps, a few dozen here, a few hundred there.... That is all that they are interested in. Hobgoblins are far more interested in their byzantine social lives and the torment of their slaves than they are about worrying over living space, to be honest. Hobgoblin Scarifiers are both highly noble, and lethally competent, members of hobgoblin society. They are the movers and shakers, the planners, plotters, and doers. Scarifiers are also not rare, as Hobgoblins have no trouble with nearly a third of their populace being some variety of nobility, or even royalty. Scarifiers have a sense of utter superiority combined with a lash of pragmatism. Even if encountered by low-level adventurers, Scarifiers are both too snobbish to dirty their whips on them, and unwilling to waste the time needed to catch and bind them because they aren't worth the trouble. Scarifiers do go on slave raids, but they tend to target creatures powerful, useful, and plentiful enough to re-sell quickly. Scarifiers, surprisingly, tend to hold fairly few slaves for themselves, basically keeping an elite cadre of servants, battle-slaves, and of course, torture-bait. Aside from the unfortunates designated to suffer to amuse the hobgoblins, Scarifiers usually have fairly low turnover in their slave stocks, and are usually only interested in acquiring for themselves the truly interesting, powerful, or exotic slaves. Unfortunately for adventurers powerful enough to handle Scarifiers, they usually qualify on all three counts. Scarifiers can be found on slave raids, sales journeys, and at slave auctions almost anywhere. Aside from those 'passing encounters', these mighty Hob Nobles have usually been pulled into monstrous 'politics', and are likely to be found as allies and muscle for lesser foes, or as backers for foreign nations and empires, or as the 'common face' of really exotic sorts. In any case, an encounter with Scarifiers is likely to be a cagey, measured affair.