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Articles › #2 - Garvok Snowsunder (Abominable Half-Giant Psychic Warrior)
| #2 - Garvok Snowsunder (Abominable Half-Giant Psychic Warrior) (Article #5 Page 1) |
Hi all, and welcome to the second installment of Blackdirge’s Psionic Menagerie. This week, I present to you Garvok Snowsunder, a powerful half-giant psychic warrior from a tribe that has evolved to live in extreme cold.
Garvok was created using elements from Blackdirge Publishing’s Blackdyrge’s Templates: Abominable and Races of the Mind: Half-Giants from Dreamscarred Press. If you would like to explore these products further, we are pleased to offer you a special discount on each one, available through RPGNOW and DriveThruRPG. Just follow the links below to use the coupons:
Blackdyrge’s Templates: Abominable – $1.75
Races of the Mind: Half-Giants - $2.25
Take a look at both products if you like, but you don’t actually need either one to use Garvok in your game.
Garvok Snowsunder (CR 11)
A massive bipedal shape shambles across the frozen tundra. Its hulking body is covered in thick, white fur, and the subtle gleam of polished metal can bee seen through the hairy coat – a vest of steel links. As the behemoth moves closer, you can see that it is generally humanoid, save for its ivory coat, and the crystalline axe that has been grotesquely grafted to its right arm.
Abominable Half-Giant Psychic Warrior 10
NE Medium Giant (Cold, Psionic)
Init -2; Senses low-light vision; Listen +3, Spot +3
Languages Common, Giant
AC 22, touch 9, flatfooted 22
(+6 armor, -2 Dex, +3 natural, +1 ring, +4 shield)
hp 85 (10 HD); DR 5/-- (inertial barrier)
Immune cold
Fort +11, Ref +1, Will +6
Weakness vulnerability to fire
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee +1 Large collision battleaxe (grafted) +16/+11 (2d6+9 plus 5 plus 1d6 cold/x3) or
Melee slam +14 (1d6+9 plus 1d6 cold)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +7; Grapple +17
Atk Options Cleave, Focused Sunder, Improved Sunder, Psionic Weapon, Power Attack, focused attack, freezing touch, overwhelming force, staggering strike
Special Actions breath weapon
Combat Gear potion of bull’s strength, potion of cure serious wounds
Psychic Warrior Powers Known (ML 10th, 44 PP)
4th – inertial barrier
3rd – graft weapon, vampiric blade
2nd – animal affinity, body adjustment, painful strike
1st – empty mind, expansion, offensive prescience
Psi-Like Abilities (ML 5th)
3/day – stomp (5d4 nonlethal, DC 12)
Abilities Str 22, Dex 6, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 12
SQ ice walking, naturally psionic, powerful build
Feats Cleave, Improved Psi-Like Ability (stomp), Improved Sunder, Psionic Weapon, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (battleaxe)
Skills Climb +13, Concentration +14, Hide –2 (+6 in areas of ice and snow), Knowledge (psionics) +11, Search +11, Survival +3 (+5 following tracks)
Possessions +1 Large collision battleaxe, +2 chain shirt, +2 heavy steel shield, periapt of Wisdom +2, ring of protection +1, 2 small diamonds (500 gp each)
Breath Weapon (Su): Once per day, Garvok can expel a 30-foot cone of ice particles and frigid air that deals 2d6 points of cold damage. A successful Reflex saving throw (DC 19) reduces this damage by half. Creatures failing the Reflex saving throw take full damage and are slowed, as the spell, for 1d4 rounds.
Focused Attack (Su): When Garvok expends his psionic focus as part of a melee attack, he may apply two abilities that require the expenditure of psionic focus to that attack instead of one (for instance, the Psionic Weapon feat and the overwhelming force ability described below, or the Psionic Weapon and staggering strike ability). After resolving an attack using this feature, Garvok suffers a –2 penalty to attack and damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks and ability checks for one round. This ability does not function if he expends his focus from another source, such as from Psicrystal Containment.
Freezing Touch (Su): Garvok’s touch deals 1d6 points of cold damage. In addition, creatures that take damage from his freezing touch ability must make a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 19) or suffer 1 point of Dexterity damage, as their limbs stiffen from the dread chill. Garvok can use his freezing touch ability in conjunction with natural attacks or any weapon composed entirely of metal, inflicting cold damage in addition to the weapon’s base damage.
Ice Walking (Ex): Garvok can negotiate any icy surface as if using the spell
spider climb. This ability is always in effect.
Overwhelming Force (Su): When Garvok makes a melee attack, he may expend his psionic focus to blast his target off its feet. If the attack is successful, the target must make a Reflex saving throw (DC 10 + damage dealt) or be knocked prone.
Staggering Strike (Ex): When Garvok makes a melee attack (but not a touch attack), he may expend his psionic focus to deliver a staggering strike. Regardless of the outcome of the attack roll (resolved normally), if the attack exceeds the opponent’s touch AC, they must make a DC 21 Fortitude save or be staggered for one round. A staggered character can take a move action or a standard action in one round, but not both.
Background
Long ago, when the race of half-giants threw of the shackles of slavery, most fled south, away from their former sorcerer-king masters, and into the deep, uncharted desert. However, one small band, isolated from the rest of the revolting slaves, fled north, into the frigid peaks of the Rimefire Mountains. There these wayward slaves settled, viewing the frozen wasteland as a welcome sanctuary from the tortures of lifelong servitude.
The unrelenting environment slowly changed the Rimefire half-giants through the generations, and their bodies became more adapted to the climate. They grew thick, white fur over their entire bodies to shield them from the terrible cold, and, likely through their latent psionic ability, they gained a number of powers related to snow and ice. However, the terrible cold of the Rimefire Mountains changed more than the bodies of the half-giants living there; the chill took root in their souls as well, and they became twisted and evil.
Today, there are more than a dozen tribes of half-giants living in the Rimefire Mountains, subsisting off the meager resources to be found there, and occasionally traveling south to raid the human settlements at the foot of the mountain chain. These raids have given rise to legends of “abominable snowmen” that have spread beyond the mountains and into the world at large.
Of all the tribes of half-giants living in the Rimefire, the Snowsunder tribe is the most powerful and numerous. Their chieftain, Garvok Snowsunder, is a mighty psychic warrior, and crueler than an avalanche on a bright spring day. The son of the former chieftain, Garvok took his father’s place by slaying his sire in single combat, a traditional requirement for a wound-be chieftain among the Snowsunder clan.
Garvok rules his clan through strength and skill at arms; those that refuse to acknowledge his sovereignty or simply slain out of hand. This makes for a rather tumultuous governing system, and the Snowsunder chieftain must constantly unearth and thwart attempts to remove him from power. So it has gone for the last decade, and as of yet, no member of the Snowsunder clan has managed to outwit or outfight Garvok.
Garvok cements his rule with a number of potent natural abilities and a high degree of talent in the psionic arts. He is a skilled psychic warrior, and can augment his already fearsome combat abilities with a number of psionic powers. He guards this psionic knowledge jealously, and he does not instruct even his most valuable warriors in the art. However, Garvok does pass on what he has learned to his only son, Korok, keeping alive the tradition that the son must overcome the father in order to rule the clan.
Garvok and his clan control much of the area in and around the Rimefire Mountains. The other tribes of half-giants in the area are far weaker, and pay tribute to Garvok to keep he and his clan from simply overwhelming them. The only real threats to the Snowsunder half-giants are the few tribes of frost giants that inhabit the mountains, and a dozen or so white dragons that lair in the upper peaks. Garvok has begun to forge an alliance with the frost giants, making gifts of rare psionic items to the most potent of the giant chieftains. Here he has made much headway, and it is likely that the Snowsunder clan will have frost giant allies in the near future. Unfortunately, Garvok has been less successful in dealing with the dragon population in the Rimefire. He has been forced to slay a number of the younger dragons, earning him the enmity of Charnokyshalar, a great white wyrm and the sire of the dragons slain by the Snowsunder clan.
Appearance
At over 8 feet in height, Garvok Snowsunder is a mammoth specimen of a half-giant. His body is knotted with lumps of chorded muscle, and the white fur that covers his body is crisscrossed with bare strips, old scars from many wounds received in battle. Garvok’s face is very human-like, although it is hard to see thought the tangle of wild, unkempt hair that covers his head like an animal’s mane. Only his eyes are normally visible, and each ice-blue orb twinkles with intellect and malign purpose.
In battle, Garvok wears a shirt of steel links, and carries a large, round shield, skillfully adorned with his personal sigil: the head of a white dragon. His weapon is a massive axe carved from a single piece of psychoreactive crystal, which he typically grafts to his right arm with the graft weapon power. In addition to his armor and weapons, Garvok wears only a short kilt made from the scales of a white dragon, and a belt of the same material, from which hang a number of sacks and pouches.
Personality
Garvok is an exceedingly cruel creature that delights in the suffering of other sentient creatures; in fact, he derives pleasure from little else. To satisfy his twisted urges, Garvok keeps a steady supply of captives taken from human settlements to the south for the sole purpose of slow and painful torture. If such victims are unavailable, then a member of the tribe that has displeased Garvok will be chosen instead. It goes without saying that the Snowsunder clan goes to great lengths to ensure their chieftain has an ample supply of playthings for his cruel sport.
Despite his cruelty and general bloodthirstiness, the chieftain of the Snowsunder clan is not without guile. He is a clever politician, and tries to keep his clan happy with a constant influx of food, treasure, and conquest. He is also quite adept at turning his enemies against one another, sowing discord between potential rivals to lessen the threat to his own sovereignty.
Tactics
Garvok likes to attack from ambush whenever possible, using his ability to blend into the snowy environment to sneak up on foes. He prefers melee above all other types of combat, and his selection of psychic warrior powers only further reinforces this facet of his personality.
It is likely that Garvok will not be encountered alone; he is usually accompanied by an honor guard of up to 5 half-giant barbarians or psychic warriors (levels 3-5), each with the abominable template. When combat begins, use the following round-by-round tactics:
Prior to Combat: When expecting trouble, Garvok usually has his long duration psionic powers in effect before an encounter begins. Typically, he has graft weapon (5 pp) and inertial barrier (7 pp) activated at all times when outside the Snowsunder lair. His stat block reflects these powers.
Round 1
Swift Action: Activate painful strike (9 pp).
Standard Action: Activate expansion (size Huge) (7 pp).
Move Action: Keep foes outside of melee range with a move action, if necessary.
Round 2
Standard Action: Target all foes within range with breath weapon.
Move Action: Keep foes outside of melee range with a move action, if necessary.
Round 3
Standard Action: Activate vampiric blade (5 pp).
Move Action: Move within melee range of a likely spellcaster.
Round 4
Full-Round Action: Full attack on enemy spellcaster; Power Attack +5; expend psionic focus on Psionic Weapon and staggering strike.
Round 5
Full-Round Action: Continue full attack on enemy spellcaster. If the spellcaster was killed in round 3, choose the strongest melee type in range. Note, at this point, Garvok is size Huge, and has a 15-foot reach; he should be able to reach most foes without a move action.
Round 6 and Beyond: Garvok will continue melee until all foes have been killed. He relies upon vampiric blade to heal his wounds, but he will use body adjustment in emergency situations. He may activate offensive prescience if his opponents seem particularly resistant to damage, spending up to 7 power points to bump the damage bonus to +4. If the battle seems to be going against him, Garvok activates stomp, and then flees, hoping to make good his escape while his foes are still prone.
Lair
The Snowsunder clan lairs in a network of icy caves carved into the side of one of the larger mountains in the Rimefire chain. Here there are living spaces, armories, workshops, and meeting halls, all designed to fit a half-giant’s frame. Garvok himself dwells within a suite of sumptuously accoutered chambers, which contain his personal living space, an audience chamber to receive allies and guests, and a torture room where at least one captive is kept at all times, awaiting the chieftain’s pleasure.
Treasure
Garvok has equipment appropriate for a 13th-level NPC (about 35,000 gp). In addition, he has a store of personal treasure in his chambers with a value equivalent to double that of a CR 11 encounter (15,000 gp). Most of this excess treasure is in gold and gems, which the Snowsunder chieftain uses to reward faithful servants or bribe potential allies.
Expanded Psionics Handbook ©2004 Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons is a registered trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Aeryn "Blackdirge" Rudel is a freelance writer, game designer, and editor, and the owner of Blackdirge Publishing.
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| Author | Blackdirge |
| Date & Time | 24-01-2008 08:00 |
comments
| Angellis_ater - 24-01-2008 17:50 |
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Note: There are 2 "round 2" actions here, is this intentional (in which case an OR might clarify things), otherwise this might need some fixing.  |
| Blackdirge - 24-01-2008 18:03 |
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| Nope, should be rounds 1-5 and then 6 and beyond. I fixed it. Thanks. |
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