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The bolt corrupts the life force of living creatures, affecting<br />
them as if by an empowered cure moderate wounds<br />
spell (CL 20th). Undamaged creatures gain temporary hit<br />
points instead; these temporary hit points last for up to 24<br />
hours. Each round, the target creature gains 2d8+10 temporary<br />
hit points or heals 2d8+10 points of damage until<br />
it successfully saves or the effect ends. Undead creatures<br />
instead take 2d8+10 points of damage per round.<br />
The initial strike corrupts 2 Hit Dice of an affected living<br />
creature, with 2 more Hit Dice corrupted in each subsequent<br />
round. The effects of multiple bolts of corruption are<br />
cumulative, but a single successful save ends all effects.<br />
When all a creature’s Hit Dice have been corrupted, it<br />
immediately transforms into an aberration as described<br />
under twisted life (page 98). Sentient creatures become<br />
progeny of Ragnorra.<br />
Nondetection (Su) As Ragnorra.<br />
Spell to Spore (Su) As Ragnorra.<br />
Skincasting (Sp) As Ragnorra.<br />
Anathematic Secrecy (Su) As Ragnorra.<br />
IRTHICAX VANE<br />
“Fear engulfs the mind, enflames the body.<br />
Great deeds are accomplished through<br />
it. To tire of fear is to tire of life.”<br />
—Irthicax Vane<br />
Irthicax Vane lost everything to<br />
Ragnorra. Years of meditation on<br />
the horror and chaos of the Mother<br />
of Monsters drove him to the edge<br />
of madness. Now he serves her<br />
horrible destiny.<br />
GOALS<br />
Irthicax Vane was a zenythri (MM2 171)<br />
whose world succumbed to Ragnorra.<br />
He stayed behind for a time, trying to<br />
aid pockets of resisters or assist<br />
stragglers to planar portals.<br />
Through his ascetic<br />
training, he frequently<br />
meditated in hiding between<br />
missions, struggling<br />
to understand the pure evil<br />
that Ragnorra represented.<br />
Ragnorra’s corruption eventually<br />
broke Vane’s mind, which<br />
has interpreted the horror in the form<br />
of a deep revelation. Ragnorra is hideous<br />
to behold, but she is awesome and, in her own way, perfect.<br />
And is not perfection a higher goal than mere beauty?<br />
Vane finally fled his ruined world and joined the<br />
Malshapers. He took up residence on the Plane of Shadow,<br />
unconsciously seeking a place whose physical nature mirrored<br />
his murky morality. He now sows the seeds of another<br />
world’s destruction in a painful quest for perfection.<br />
USING IRTHICAX VANE<br />
Irthicax Vane is a tortured soul who has given up his core<br />
zenythri values of perfection, law, and beauty. In their place<br />
he has erected a complex set of rules and rationalizations to<br />
let him live with a universe that would allow such a horrible<br />
creature as Ragnorra, and live with himself for failing to<br />
stop her. This construction is rickety, though, and it could<br />
collapse with the slightest nudge. Thus, he can serve several<br />
functions as a story element in the campaign.<br />
On the one hand, Vane is the agent of evil leading the<br />
Malshapers’ effort to guide Ragnorra to the campaign world.<br />
He works behind the scenes, a rumored menace, secretly pulling<br />
strings until the PCs finally confront and defeat him on<br />
the path to vanquishing Ragnorra.<br />
Vane is also a failed hero, someone who could have deep<br />
sympathy for the plight of the PCs. Characters might see<br />
Vane as a villain to be redeemed. If they try to contact him,<br />
he hesitates at first: He wants to believe they have a<br />
chance, but has horrific first-hand knowledge<br />
of how slim their chances are. The PCs need<br />
to convince Vane that his instincts have always<br />
been correct; Ragnorra might be an<br />
epitome, but of corruption—never perfection.<br />
Even as a shaky ally, Irthicax Vane can<br />
provide detailed information about the<br />
practices and powers of this elder evil.<br />
DESCRIPTION<br />
Dark, curly hair falls perfectly into place, framing<br />
strong, handsome features of deep amethyst. The chiseled<br />
body natural to a zenythri has been further tautened by the<br />
disciplined life of a monk. The clearest difference between<br />
Irthicax Vane and other zenythri is his face.<br />
The serenity typical of his kin has been replaced<br />
with sorrow and anxiety, and his expression betrays<br />
the measured calmness of his words. In<br />
a mad attempt to reflect Ragnorra’s twisted<br />
beauty in himself, he severed his lips and<br />
replaced them with flukelike creatures,<br />
whose wriggling does not always match<br />
the words he speaks.<br />
Vane dresses simply in<br />
the robes of his order,<br />
set with two gems as ornamentation,<br />
and wears<br />
three rings. One is a crystalline<br />
band, Gutterang, that<br />
sparkles with inner light.<br />
Irthicax Vane CR 18<br />
Irthicax Vane could not save his own world; hp 131 (17 HD)<br />
now he leads Ragnorra to others Male zenythri monk 17<br />
LE Medium outsider (extraplanar)<br />
Init +5; Senses darkvision 120 ft. (Gutterang); Listen +17,<br />
Spot +17<br />
Languages tongue of the sun and moon (all)<br />
AC 28, touch 28, flat-footed 25; Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack<br />
Immune disease, poison<br />
Resist electricity 5, fi re 5, sonic 5, improved evasion; SR 27<br />
Fort +13, Ref +13, Will +17 (+19 against enchantments); +8<br />
against divine spells<br />
Speed 80 ft. (16 squares)<br />
Melee unarmed strike +14/+9/+4 (2d10+2 plus 1 vile) or<br />
Melee unarmed strike +14/+14/+14/+9/+4 (2d8+2 plus 1 vile)<br />
with flurry of blows<br />
Base Atk +12; Grp +14<br />
Illus. by F. Tsai<br />
CHAPTER 7<br />
RAGNORRA<br />
101
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