Exemplars of Evil

without provocatively revealing any flesh. She usually wears
her long, blood-red hair down, letting it frame her face and
securing it with a modest circlet rather than a formal tiara.
Her garments range in hue from black and gray to black and
twilight blue. However, she always decorates herself with a
red sash and never wears anything white; these color restrictions
are dictated by one of the taboos that she observes as
a wu jen.
When addressing her military leaders or the fire giant
population as a whole, Valbryn wears an ornate tailored
masterwork breastplate so that she appeals to the warriors.
Beyond the use of these trappings, she finds the pomp and
circumstance of royal appearances bothersome.
This informal spirit carries over into most aspects of her
rule. Valbryn is a strong and unyielding monarch, but she
has a sultry charm and eloquence that puts others at ease.
She uses these talents to disarm and relax her enemies, the
better to catch them off guard.
The queen’s greatest weakness is vanity, stemming from
a deep-rooted desire to be considered beautiful—a quality
that few fire giants value. When Thaden Felstrom was first
captured and imprisoned, he exploited this vanity in a successful
attempt to save his life.
Valbryn Morlydd CR 17
hp 248 (29 HD)
Female fi re giant wu jen CAr 9/geometer CAr 5
NE Large giant (fi re)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Listen +2,
Spot +13
Languages Common, Draconic, Giant
AC 30, touch 15, flat-footed 27
(–1 size, +3 Dex, +4 armor, +3 deflection, +1 insight, +10
natural)
Immune fi re, giant immunities
Fort +18, Ref +10, Will +18; +2 against fi re spells
Weakness vulnerability to cold, giant vulnerabilities
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares)
Melee +2 adamantine fl aming longsword +27/+22/+17/+12
(2d6+15/19–20 plus 1d6 fi re) and
slam +20 (1d4+4) or
Melee 2 slams +25 each (1d4+9)
Ranged +1 composite longbow +18 (2d6+10)
Base Atk +17; Grp +30
Atk Options Awesome Blow, Energy Substitution (cold),
Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder, Power Attack
Special Actions rock catching, rock throwing
Combat Gear 2 potions of cure serious wounds, scroll of telekinesis,
scroll of tongues, wand of rope trick (25 charges)
Wu Jen Spells Prepared (CL 18th):
7th—decapitating scarf CAr (DC 23), sword of darkness S CAr
(CL 19th)
6th—fire seeds (CL 20th, DC 22), globe of invulnerability S †
(CL 19th), greater dispel magic S (CL 19th), transfix S CAr
(CL 19th, DC 22)
5th—arc of lightning S CAr (CL 19th, DC 21), fire breath S CAr (CL
21st, +18 ranged touch), teleport S (CL 19th), vitriolic
sphere S CAr (CL 19th, DC 21)
4th—dimension door S (CL 19th), extended greater
invisibility* S † (CL 19th), extended polymorph* S † (CL
19th), stoneskin S (CL 19th), wall of fire S (CL 21st)
3rd—displacement S (CL 19th), haste S (CL 19th), fire
wings S CAr (CL 21st), protection from energy S † (CL 21st),
remove curse S (CL 19th)
2nd—cat’s grace S (CL 21st), detect thoughts S (CL 19th, DC
18), extended alter self* S (CL 19th), hold person S (CL
19th, DC 18), see invisibility S (CL 19th), gaseous form S
(CL 19th)
1st—endure elements S (CL 21st), fiery eyes S CAr (CL 21st),
hail of stone S CAr (CL 19th), jet of steam S CM (CL 19th, DC
17), magic missile S (CL 19th), shield S (CL 19th)
0—detect magic S (CL 19th), prestidigitation S (CL 19th),
ray of frost S (CL 19th, +18 ranged touch), read magic S
(CL 19th)
* Spell secret
S: Spellglyph replaces verbal and material components
† Already cast
Abilities Str 28, Dex 12, Con 20, Int 22, Wis 16, Cha 13
SQ book of geometry, elemental mastery (fi re), giant traits,
pass sigil, powerful spellglyph, sigilsight, spell secrets,
taboos, watchful spirit
Feats Awesome Blow, Combat Casting, Elemental Adept CM
( fi r e b all ) (see page 25), Energy Substitution CAr (cold) (see
page 25), Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Improved
Sunder, Maximize Spell B , Power Attack, Practiced
Spellcaster CAr , Rapid Metamagic CM
Skills Bluff +6, Climb +14, Concentration +18 (+22 when
casting defensively), Decipher Script +19, Diplomacy +12,
Disable Device +11, Disguise +1 (+3 when acting), Intimidate
+8, Jump +18, Knowledge (arcana) +19, Knowledge
(nobility and royalty) +11, Listen +2, Search +13, Sense
Motive +8, Spellcraft +21, Spot +13, Survival +3 (+5 when
following tracks)
Possessions combat gear plus +2 adamantine flaming
longsword, +1 composite longbow (+9 Str bonus) with 40
arrows, amulet of natural armor +2, bracers of armor +4,
ring of protection +3, headband of intellect +4, ioun stone
(dusty rose), bag of holding (type I), highly polished silver
mirror for scrying spell, spellglyph inks, royal wu jen outfi
t, 160 pp, 10 gp
Spellbook spells prepared plus 0—all; 1st—accuracy CAr ,
charm person, comprehend languages, disguise self,
melt CAr , protection from good, true strike, unseen servant;
2nd—bull’s strength, mirror image, rope trick, whispering
wind; 3rd—dispel magic, fi reball, gaseous form, tongues;
4th—fi re shield, locate creature, scrying; 5th—dominate
person, passwall, telekinesis; 6th—geas/quest, greater glyph
of warding, true seeing; 7th—delayed blast fi reball, disintegrate,
giant size CAr
Book of Geometry (Ex) Every spell Valbryn learns requires
only a single page in her spellbook. It still takes 24
hours to write each spell into her book and requires
materials costing 100 gp per page. In addition, the DC
of Spellcraft checks for a nongeometer to decipher or
prepare spells from Valbryn’s spellbook is increased
by 5.
pqs
NONASSOCIATED CLASS LEVELS
Valbryn has pursued an atypical profession for fire giants
by becoming an arcane spellcaster. As such, her levels of
wu jen and geometer are considered nonassociated class
levels. Adding nonassociated class levels to a monster
increases its Challenge Rating by 1/2 per level until its nonassociated
class levels equal its original Hit Dice. For details,
see MM 294.
pqs
CHAPTER 7
VALBRYN
MORLYDD
113