Monster Manual V

ole. Chorranathau the Inscrutable cares for his exarchswell, and Singh is accustomed to living an extravagantlifestyle.Typical TreasureSingh carries nearly all of his magic items on his person,but he has even more wealth in his various town housesand villas, which are guarded by his personal soldiers. Inany given home are enough valuables to equal standardcoins and double goods for a creature of Singh’sChallenge Rating.CREATING AXORVINTAALEXARCH“Xorvintaal exarch” is an acquiredtemplate that canbe added to any humanoid,living construct,monstrous humanoid,fey, giant, orundead (referredto hereafter as thebase creature).ChallengeRating:Same as basecreature +1.Languages: A xorvintaal exarch cancommunicate telepathicallyat a rangeof 100 miles withthe xorvintaal dragon that turned it intoan exarch.Dragon’s Favor (Su): A xorvintaal exarch has five favortokens. It can spend any number of tokens as an immediateaction to gain one of the following benefits.Energy Immunity: A xorvintaal exarch can spend a favortoken to gain immunity to the same type of energy typethat its master’s breath weapon is made up of. The immunitylasts 10 minutes. If an exarch’s dragon does not have a breathweapon, the exarch cannot gain this benefit.Frightful Presence: A xorvintaal exarch can spend a tokento gain frightful presence to the same range as its draconicmaster. Whenever the exarch attacks or charges, creaturesthat have fewer Hit Dice than it must succeed on a Will save(DC 10 + 1/2 the exarch’s HD + its Cha modifier) or becomeshaken for as long as they remain within range. A creaturethat successfully saves cannot be affected by that sameexarch’s frightful presence for 24 hours.Dragon Wing: If a xorvintaal exarch claspshands with at least one other exarch ofthe same dragon,and each spendsone token, they allgain the fly speedof their xorvintaaldragon master for aslong as they keep holdingthe hand of at leastone fellow exarch. Sinceholding hands makesfighting difficult, exarchscommonly use thisflight only as a means ofoverland travel.Draconic Reverie: A xorvintaalexarch can spend a tokento tap into the draconic wisdomthat flows through all those connectedby the Ritual of Xorvintaal.Doing so provides a glimpse of apossible future—enough togrant a +4 bonus on the exarch’sSingh the Immensenext saving throw or a +4 bonuson the exarch’s next attack roll.Lair’s Return: A xorvintaal exarch can spend two tokens touse word of recall. The exarch’s sanctuary is always the lair ofits xorvintaal dragon master.Lair’s Rebirth: If a xorvintaal exarch takes damage thatwould reduce it to –10 hit points, it can instead spend allits remaining tokens (at least one) to instantly return tothe lair of its xorvintaal dragon master, unconscious andwith 0 hit points.Level Adjustment: +2.Illus. by R. SpearsDRAGONS OF THEGREAT GAMEpqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqrsPCS AS EXARCHSRewards inherent in the great game might attract the PCs. Axorvintaal dragon can give them the xorvintaal exarch template.That dragon can renew the ritual on an exarch to restore fivefavor tokens, but the dragon’s ability to do so is limited by thatdragon’s success in the great game.Rather than trying to score the great game, use the characters’performance as a determining factor, rewarding their successwith more favor tokens. PCs who fail might be denied tokensnot because their master wishes them ill, but because thatdragon has insufficient stature in the great game to repeat theexarch ritual.The dragon can be subtly used to tell the characters how touse their tokens. “Just defeat Roallaxathan, and my position inthe great game will be secure enough to restore my favor,” adragon might say. Or the dragon might say, “Our position istenuous; probe Roallaxathan’s defenses, but do not overextendyourself or me.” Either message tells the characters how likelythey are to gain more favor tokens, indicating how freely thePCs should spend the ones they have.pqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqrs47