4: Faras Alnhar
Spoiler: Faras Alnahr, Dark Scion of the Hippo God
Spoiler: Base Stats
Elite Array: Str: 8 Dex: 13 Con: 10 Int: 14 Wis: 15 Cha: 12
Dune Hag Racial modifiers: +10 Str, +2 Dex, +6 Con, +2 Int, +2 Wis, +4 Cha
Half Troll modifiers: +6 Str, +2 Dex, +6 Con, -2 Int, -2 Cha
Afflicted Lycanthrope (hippo) modifiers: +2 Wis
Base Stats: Str: 24, Dex: 17, Con: 22, Int: 14, Wis: 19, Cha: 14
Hybrid/Animal Form Modifiers: +14 Str, -2 Dex, +10 Con
Hybrid/Animal Form Base Stats: Str: 38, Dex 15, Con 32, Int 14, Wis 19, Cha 14
Spoiler: The Build
CR Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features 6 Half troll Dune Hag +5 +1 +4 +4 Bluff 6, Knowledge: religion (CC) 4, Spellcraft (CC) 4, Knowledge: the planes (CC) 2 Spell Focus: Evil, Combat Reflexes (Dune Hag)
Improved Grab, Enthrall, SLAs: 3/day Disguise Self, Haboob, Skin of the Cactus, 1/day Hallucinatory Terrain (CL 7th)
DR 2/-, Darkvision 60ft, Spell Resistance 18,
+8 Natural Armour, Bite Attack (1d8)
2 Claw Attacks (1d6)
(Half Troll)
Fast Healing 5, +4 Natural Armour, Rend 2d6, Scent10 Afflicted Lycanthrope (Hippopotamus)(13D8 HD) +11/+6/+1 +7 +10 +6 Knowledge: Religion (CC) 8 (+4)
Spellcraft (CC) 8 (+4)
Knowledge: the planes (CC) 5 (+4)
Knowledge: Arcana (CC) 5Quick Change (replacing lycanthrope feat Improved Bullrush), Improved Natural Attack (bite)( replacing hippo feat Improved Overrun), Power Attack, Iron Will +2 Natural Armour
Curse of Lycanthropy (DC 15), Alternate Form
DR 5/silver
Lycanthropic Empathy
Swallow Whole added ability (according to Table: Improved Monster CR increase on SRD: here +2CR11 Ur-Priest 1 +11/+6/+1 +7 +10 +8 Knowledge: Religion 12 (+4) - - 12 Ur-Priest 2 +12/+7/+2 +9 +10 +11 Knowledge: Religion 13 (+1), Control Shape 3 Improved Initiative Rebuke Undead 13 Ur-Priest 3 +13/+8/+3 +11 +11 +11 Control Shape 7 (+4 - +1 Wisdom (16HD) 14 Ur-Priest 4 +14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +12 Control Shape 11 (+4) - Divine Spell Resistance 15 15 Contemplative 1 +14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +14 Control Shape 15 (+4) Blessed by Tem-Et-Nu Divine Health, Gluttony Domain, +1 Level Ur-Priest casting 16 Contemplative 2 +15/+10/+5 +11 +11 +15 Concentration 4 - Slippery Mind, +1 Level Ur-Priest casting 17 Contemplative 3 +15/+10/+5 +12 +13 +15 Concentration 8 (+4) - Divine Wholeness, +1 Level Ur-Priest Casting, +1 Dex (20HD) 18 Contemplative 4 +16/+11/+6/+1 +12 +13 +16 Concentration 12 (+4) Gape of the Serpent +1 Level of Ur-Priest Casting 19 Contemplative 5 +16/+11/+6/+1 +12 +13 +16 Concentration 16 (+4) - Divine Body, +1 Level Ur-Priest Casting 20 Contemplative 6 +17/+12/+7/+2 +13 +14 +17 Concentration 20 (+4) - Travel Domain, +1 Level of Ur-Priest casting
Spoiler: The Tale
Ever since she was young, Faras Alnahr knew that she wasn’t like the other Dune Hags in her mother’s coven. Whether it was some defect in her brain, or a result of her giant heritage wasn’t clear, but even as a child she was more interested in finding the root of things rather than toying with what was. This led her to seek out knowledge of all kinds. She rooted through the ruins of the desert temples that her family sacked, and delved into the secrets of the arcane arts that let her and her kin control their domain. It seemed to her that, while deceiving, conniving and consuming for their own sake were all well and good, there must be a better way to do these things than the random violence that the other hags favoured.
It was on one of her excursions to the buried temple of Tem-Et-Nu that her life changed. Here her sistren had not been so thorough as they normally were, and one of the temple’s guardians remained. In the form of a hippopotamus, the divine protector assaulted her, and nearly destroyed her. After she triumphed, Faras limped back to her coven, and was dismayed to find that she was now both more and less than she had been. When the full moon rose above the dunes that night, she transformed into a monstrous half hag half hippo abomination, and slew and ate all who came near her. In the morning, the remaining hags banished her for the only cure for lycanthropy is belladonna, and belladonna does not grow in the desert.
Alone in the desert, Faras practised control, learning to use her affliction to her own ends. She hunted humanoids as a humanoid, and animals as an animal, swallowing her prey before they had a chance to run. Blaming Tem-Et-Nu for her downfall, Faras grew to despise the gods. She used what she had learned in her youthful exploration of the temples, and discovered that she had the ability to bluff the gods themselves, and to take their power for herself. She used this power recklessly, seeking little more for herself than to feed and grow. But always in the back of her mind, the dreams of her childhood beckoned. What if there was a better way? Instead of hunting for herself, why not create a society where others hunted for her?
To that end, she joined a herd of hippopotami and, with her superior strength and power, quickly came to be their matriarch. Any who opposed her were promptly swallowed whole, and the others fell into line, but her hunger remained.
She resolved to grow her herd, to unite all hippopotami under her leadership. She roved the deserts in search of others, and brought them all back to her fold. The humanoids she deemed worthy were spared destruction, and instead offered the gift of lycanthropy in exchange for their service. Soon, her hippo and werehippo army had grown to a point that the desert could no longer sustain them.
Following a dream, Faras led them back to the Temple of Tem-Et-Nu where she had first become a lycanthrope. She set her followers to excavate and restore the temple, and declared that it would be her base of operations. When the restoration was complete, Faras ascended the altar, and received a vision from Tem-Et-Nu himself.
He upbraided her for stealing his power for herself, and while he didn’t necessarily approve of her methods, he was grateful for her work in protecting his patron animal, and furthering their cause throughout the world. He offered her power, his blessing, if she would consent to serve him. Now knowing lycanthropy to be a boon rather than a curse, Faras’ old hatred of the gods was obsolete, and she accepted.
Tem-Et-Nu blessed with the power of dominion over all hippos, as well as further powers that her divine theft hadn’t been able to reach. She set her followers to guard her temple, raised a priesthood in Tem-Et-Nu’s name, and showed them how to use his blessing to bring food, water, and life to the desert. Using her new travelling abilities, Faras travelled to all corners of the globe, spreading the word of Tem-Et-Nu among the hippos and were-hippos, and commanding them to wait for her signal.
At her word, the normally docile hippos march. Villages along riverbanks the world over were suddenly overrun and consumed by the suddenly angry beasts. Among them were lycanthropic priests of Tem-Et-Nu, proclaiming that the time of humans was over, and the age of hippopotami was nigh.
From the sanctum of her temple, Faras watches the world succumb to the control of herself and her servants. She is pleased, but her hunger remains. When the world is mine, she thinks, I will swallow it all. She eagerly anticipates the day, and licks her drooling lips. The Hippocalypse has begun.
Spoiler: Campaign usage
Faras works best as the BBEG of a campaign, at her full CR20. At this level she should have built up quite the hippo empire for herself, and will be based in a long forgotten temple of Tem-Et-Nu that her servants have restored.
The party can dragged in to the Hippocalypse in several different ways, from Level 1 they could begin investigating humanoid disappearances along riverbanks, the victims having become werehippos in Faras’ army. Alternatively, they can be approached by ‘true’ priests of Tem-Et-Nu, disturbed by great and terrible omens, the hippos are disappearing from their traditional mating grounds or similar. This can then escalate into hippo attacks on minor settlements, and eventually become all-out war with the hippos laying siege to major cities in an attempt to turn or destroy all humanoid life.
While the majority of Faras’ followers will at first be hippos (dire hippos late in the game) she will also have the support of werehippos. Most of these will become priests of Tem-Et-Nu, either Druids or Clerics, but there will also be a good number of ‘primal’ mundanes, barbarians and rangers mostly. While most of her followers will be out in open conflict, her most trusted will remain at the temple of Tem-Et-Nu to protect her. She has Word of Recall primed for the altar room, so if her assaults don’t go to plan she can easily retreat and be fully healed by the clerics there, and then set about lining the walls of the temple with various glyph and symbol spells in case of retaliatory attacks.
Faras’ end goal is to literally eat the planet, so it’s definitely possible to keep advancing her into epic levels to allow her to attempt this, so there’s plenty of scope for growth.
At CR15, Faras could also be included as part of an excursion to Giant territory, as it is the giants that she primarily seeks to carry the curse of lycanthropy for her, both due to her familial ties, and simply for their greater combat prowess.
At CRs 6 and 10 Faras will be little more than an interesting encounter, as she doesn’t really have enough power or motivation for important plots. Most likely she would be encountered at an abandoned temple in the desert that the PCs are headed to for unrelated reasons, or her lycanthropic rampage has taken her near to the PCs current location.
Spoiler: CR 6
Spoiler: Stat Block
Faras Alnahr
LE Large Giant (Half-Troll Dune Hag)
Hit Dice: 5d8+30 Con mod (Average 52) (+10 with Amulet of Health)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 40ft
Armour Class: 24 (10 base, +3 Dex, +12 Natural, -1 size) Touch 12, Flat-Footed 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+16
Attack: Claw +11 (1d6+7) + Improved Grab
Full Attack: 2 Claws +11 (1d6+7) + Improved Grab, Rend 2d6 and Bite +6 (1d8+3)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Improved Grab, Rend (2d6), Enthrall DC15, Spell Like abilities: 3/day Disguise Self, Haboob, Skin of the Cactus, 1/day Hallucinatory terrain. Caster Level 7th
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 2/-, Fast Healing 5, Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Spell Resistance 18
Saves: Fort +7(8), Ref +7(8), Wil +7(8)
Abilities: Str: 24, Dex: 17, Con: 22, Int: 14, Wis: 17, Cha: 14
Skills: Bluff +8, Knowledge: Religion +6, Spellcraft +6, Knowledge: The Planes +4
Feats: Spell Focus: Evil, Combat Reflexes
Equipment: Cloak of Resistance +1, Amulet of Health +2, 600gp of potions
Spoiler: Tactics
At this stage, Faras hasn’t yet begun her journey towards the coming Hippocalypse, and is little more than a particular impressive specimen of her species. Unlike most Dune Hags, Faras would rather implement systems of evil than random acts thereof, and it is for this reason that she is LE rather than CE. Faras will cast Skin of the Cactus on herself prior to fighting, and will use Hallucinatory Terrain and Haboob to buy herself some time to do so before the PCs get to her. Once the fighting begins in earnest, she relies on her naïve spell resistance to protect her somewhat from the casters, (If the casters are able to penetrate her resistance, her saves are fairly good across the board) and her impressive attack routine to deal with beatsticks. Combat Reflexes+Improved Grab allow her to shut down anyone that triggers an AoO, and she can make short work of most PCs at this level with a full attack and rend.
Spoiler: CR 10
Spoiler: Stat Block
Faras Alnahr
LE Large Giant/Shapechanger (Half-Troll Dune Hag Afflicted Lycanthrope (Hippo))
Hit Dice: 13d8+78 Con mod (Average 136)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 40ft
Armour Class: 28 (10 base, +5 Dex, +14 Natural, -1 size) Touch 14, Flat-Footed 23
Base Attack/Grapple: +11/+22
Attack: Claw +18 (1d6+7) + Improved Grab
Full Attack: 2 Claws +18 (1d6+7) + Improved Grab, Rend 2d6 and Bite +9 (2d6+3)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Swallow Whole, Curse of Lycanthropy, Improved Grab, Rend (2d6), Enthrall DC15, Spell Like abilities: 3/day Disguise Self, Haboob, Skin of the Cactus, 1/day Hallucinatory terrain. Caster Level 7th
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 2/-, Fast Healing 5, Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Spell Resistance 18, Hippo Empathy, Alternate Form (Hybrid and Animal)
Saves: Fort +13, Ref +15, Wil +12
Abilities: Str: 24, Dex: 17, Con: 22, Int: 14, Wis: 19, Cha: 14
Skills: Bluff +8, Knowledge: Religion +10, Spellcraft +10, Knowledge: The Planes +7, Knowledge: Arcana +7
Feats: Spell Focus: Evil, Combat Reflexes, Quick Change, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Power Attack, Iron Will
Equipment: Gloves of Dexterity +4
Hybrid Form
Faras Alnahr
LE Large Giant/Shapechanger (Half-Troll Dune Hag Afflicted Lycanthrope (Hippo))
Hit Dice: 13d8+143 Con mod (Average 201)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40ft
Armour Class: 27 (10 base, +4 Dex, +14 Natural, -1 size) Touch 13, Flat-Footed 23
Base Attack/Grapple: +11/+29
Attack: Claw +25 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab
Full Attack: 2 Claws +25 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab, Rend 2d6 and Bite +20 (2d6+7)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Swallow Whole, Curse of Lycanthropy, Improved Grab, Rend (2d6), Enthrall DC15, Spell Like abilities: 3/day Disguise Self, Haboob, Skin of the Cactus, 1/day Hallucinatory terrain. Caster Level 7th
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 2/-, Damage Reduction 5/Silver, Fast Healing 5, Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Spell Resistance 18, Hippo Empathy, Alternate Form (Base and Animal)
Saves: Fort +18, Ref +15, Wil +12
Abilities: Str: 38, Dex: 15, Con: 32, Int: 13, Wis: 19, Cha: 14
Skills: Bluff +8, Knowledge: Religion +10, Spellcraft +10, Knowledge: The Planes +7, Knowledge: Arcana +7
Feats: Spell Focus: Evil, Combat Reflexes, Quick Change, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Power Attack, Iron Will
Equipment: Gloves of Dexterity +4
Animal Form
Faras Alnahr
LE Large Giant/Shapechanger (Half-Troll Dune Hag Afflicted Lycanthrope (Hippo))
Hit Dice: 13d8+143 Con mod (Average 201)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 40ft
Armour Class: 25 (10 base, +2 Dex, +14 Natural, -1 size) Touch 11, Flat-Footed 23
Base Attack/Grapple: +11/+29
Attack: Claw +25 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab
Full Attack: 2 Claws +25 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab, Rend 2d6 and Bite +20 (2d6+7)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Swallow Whole, Curse of Lycanthropy, Improved Grab, Rend (2d6), Enthrall DC15, Spell Like abilities: 3/day Disguise Self, Haboob, Skin of the Cactus, 1/day Hallucinatory terrain. Caster Level 7th
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 2/-, Damage Reduction 5/Silver, Fast Healing 5, Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Spell Resistance 18, Hippo Empathy, Alternate Form (Base and Hybrid)
Saves: Fort +18, Ref +13, Wil +12
Abilities: Str: 38, Dex: 15, Con: 32, Int: 13, Wis: 19, Cha: 14
Skills: Bluff +8, Knowledge: Religion +10, Spellcraft +10, Knowledge: The Planes +7, Knowledge: Arcana +7
Feats: Spell Focus: Evil, Combat Reflexes, Quick Change, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Power Attack, Iron Will
Spoiler: Tactics
Faras’ tactics at this level are fairly similar to those at CR6, but now she has a few more tricks up her sleeve. She will spend most of her time in (disguised) base form, or in Hippo form depending on the terrain, this should allow her the space to sneak up on the party without them suspecting her (she will try to hide amongst a group of hippos, using her lycanthropic empathy to make them accept her as part of the herd, so as not to be too obvious). When she’s in reach of the casters, she will quick change into Hybrid form+improved grab on the surprise round, then swallow whole on the next, giving her space to deal with the mundane threats with a Power attacking full attack and rend. Combat Reflexes still allows her to grapple a second combatant while one is in her belly.
Spoiler: CR 15
Spoiler: Stat Block
Faras Alnahr
LE Large Giant/Shapechanger (Half-Troll Dune Hag Afflicted Lycanthrope (Hippo))
Hit Dice: 17d8+1d6+108 Con mod (Average 188)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 40ft
Armour Class: 33 (10 base, +3 Dex, +14 Natural, -1 size, +7 Monk’s Belt) Touch 19, Flat-Footed 30
Base Attack/Grapple: +14/+25
Attack: Claw +21 (1d6+7) + Improved Grab
Full Attack: 2 Claws +21 (1d6+7) + Improved Grab, Rend 2d6 and Bite +16 (2d6+3)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Swallow Whole, Curse of Lycanthropy, Improved Grab, Rend (2d6), Enthrall DC15, Rebuke Hippos 5/day, Spell Like abilities: 3/day Disguise Self, Haboob, Skin of the Cactus, 1/day Hallucinatory terrain. Caster Level 7th
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 2/-, Fast Healing 5, Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Spell Resistance 23, Hippo Empathy, Alternate Form (Hybrid and Animal), Gluttony Domain (Contemplative 1), Divine Health, Rebuke Undead, Divine Spell Resistance 20
Saves: Fort +17, Ref +14, Wil +22
Abilities: Str: 24, Dex: 17, Con: 22, Int: 14, Wis: 20, Cha: 14
Skills: Bluff +8, Knowledge: Religion +15, Spellcraft +10, Knowledge: The Planes +7, Knowledge: Arcana +7, Control Shape +20
Feats: Spell Focus: Evil, Combat Reflexes, Quick Change, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Power Attack, Iron Will, Improved Initiative, Blessed by Tem-Et-Nu,
Equipment: Monk’s Belt, Wildling Clasp, Daazzix’s Vest, Rod of Silent Spell, Periapt of Wisdom +2
Hybrid Form
Faras Alnahr
LE Large Giant/Shapechanger (Half-Troll Dune Hag Afflicted Lycanthrope (Hippo))
Hit Dice: 17d8+1d6+198 Con mod (Average 278)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 40ft
Armour Class: 33 (10 base, +2 Dex, +14 Natural, -1 size, +7 Monk’s Belt) Touch 18, Flat-Footed 30
Base Attack/Grapple: +14/+32
Attack: Claw +28 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab
Full Attack: 2 Claws +28 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab, Rend 2d6 and Bite +23 (2d6+7)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Swallow Whole, Curse of Lycanthropy, Improved Grab, Rend (2d6), Enthrall DC15, Rebuke Hippos 5/day, Spell Like abilities: 3/day Disguise Self, Haboob, Skin of the Cactus, 1/day Hallucinatory terrain. Caster Level 7th
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 2/-, Fast Healing 5, Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Spell Resistance 23, Hippo Empathy, Alternate Form (Hybrid and Animal), Gluttony Domain (Contemplative 1), Divine Health, Rebuke Undead, Divine Spell Resistance 20
Saves: Fort +22, Ref +13, Wil +22
Abilities: Str: 38, Dex: 15, Con: 32, Int: 14, Wis: 20, Cha: 14
Skills: Bluff +8, Knowledge: Religion +15, Spellcraft +10, Knowledge: The Planes +7, Knowledge: Arcana +7, Control Shape +20
Feats: Spell Focus: Evil, Combat Reflexes, Quick Change, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Power Attack, Iron Will, Improved Initiative, Blessed by Tem-Et-Nu,
Equipment: Monk’s Belt, Wildling Clasp, Daazzix’s Vest, Rod of Silent Spell, Periapt of Wisdom +2,
Animal Form
Faras Alnahr
LE Large Giant/Shapechanger (Half-Troll Dune Hag Afflicted Lycanthrope (Hippo))
Hit Dice: 17d8+1d6+198 Con mod (Average 278)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 40ft
Armour Class: 32 (10 base, +2 Dex, +14 Natural, -1 size, +6 Monk’s Belt) Touch 17, Flat-Footed 29
Base Attack/Grapple: +14/+32
Attack: Claw +28 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab
Full Attack: 2 Claws +28 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab, Rend 2d6 and Bite +23 (2d6+7)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Swallow Whole, Curse of Lycanthropy, Improved Grab, Rend (2d6), Enthrall DC15, Rebuke Hippos 5/day, Spell Like abilities: 3/day Disguise Self, Haboob, Skin of the Cactus, 1/day Hallucinatory terrain. Caster Level 7th
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 2/-, Fast Healing 5, Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Spell Resistance 23, Hippo Empathy, Alternate Form (Hybrid and Animal), Gluttony Domain (Contemplative 1), Divine Health, Rebuke Undead, Divine Spell Resistance 20
Saves: Fort +22, Ref +13, Wil +21
Abilities: Str: 38, Dex: 15, Con: 32, Int: 14, Wis: 20, Cha: 14
Skills: Bluff +8, Knowledge: Religion +15, Spellcraft +10, Knowledge: The Planes +7, Knowledge: Arcana +7, Control Shape +20
Feats: Spell Focus: Evil, Combat Reflexes, Quick Change, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Power Attack, Iron Will, Improved Initiative, Blessed by Tem-Et-Nu,
Equipment: Monk’s Belt, Wildling Clasp
Spoiler: Spells
Spells per Day
Level 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
CR15 5+1 5+1 4+1 2+1 1+1 - - - -
Domain Spell List
1 – Goodberry
2 – Death Knell
3 – Create Food and Water
4 – Vampiric Touch
5 – Baleful Polymorph
Spoiler: Tactics
This is where the build truly begins to shine. The Gluttony Domain allows Faras to increase her size, increasing claw damage to 1d8 and bite to 2d8. She can also now target the PC with the lowest save (that she can determine) with Baleful Polymorph (the goal being to turn them into hippo feed, so the rest of the herd can chow down). She also now has access to a whole host of buffs (Righteous Might, Divine Power) that will substantially increase her damage output, as well as battlefield control spells (Walls mostly) to make it easy for her to set up AoO traps. Her newfound faith in Tem-Et-Nu allows her to command hippos, and her lycanthropic empathy also helps with this, so at any time she should be surrounded by her herd (while hippos probably aren’t too dangerous to the party at this level, they can prove annoying with their impressive grapple and improved overrun). Her ranks in Control shape are high enough that she can take 10 on any attempt and auto succeed. Flying enemies are still a problem, but Dispel Magic and other offensive spells, combined with her SR (still relevant due to Daazzix’s Vest) should allow her to bring them down fairly quickly. Anyone within her reach (which is significant as she can now grow to Gargantuan size) will be quickly eaten or torn apart by her Power attack routine (which should be triggering massive damage saves if not outright putting enemies down). The Rod of Silent Spell allows Faras to continue to cast in hybrid form, and her AC and HP are more than enough to shrug off even an ubercharger’s attack.
Spoiler: CR 20 (sweet spot)
Spoiler: Stat Block
Faras Alnahr
LE Large Giant/Shapechanger (Half-Troll Dune Hag Afflicted Lycanthrope (Hippo))
Hit Dice: 17d8+6d6+138 Con mod (Average 235)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 40ft
Armour Class: 38 (10 base, +4 Dex, +14 Natural, -1 size, +10 Monk’s Belt) Touch 23, Flat-Footed 33
Base Attack/Grapple: +17/+28
Attack: Claw +24 (1d6+7) + Improved Grab
Full Attack: 2 Claws +24 (1d6+7) + Improved Grab, Rend 2d6 and Bite +19 (2d8+3)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Swallow Whole, Curse of Lycanthropy, Improved Grab, Rend (2d6), Enthrall DC15, Rebuke Hippos 5/day, Spell Like abilities: 3/day Disguise Self, Haboob, Skin of the Cactus, 1/day Hallucinatory terrain. Caster Level 7th
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 2/-, Fast Healing 5, Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Spell Resistance 23, Hippo Empathy, Alternate Form (Hybrid and Animal), Gluttony Domain (Contemplative 1), Divine Health, Rebuke Undead, Divine Spell Resistance 20, Slippery Mind, Divine Wholeness, Travel Domain (Contemplative 6)
Saves: Fort +19, Ref +18, Wil +28
Abilities: Str: 24, Dex: 18, Con: 22, Int: 14, Wis: 22, Cha: 14
Skills: Bluff +8, Knowledge: Religion +15, Spellcraft +10, Knowledge: The Planes +7, Knowledge: Arcana +7, Control Shape +20, Concentration +26
Feats: Spell Focus: Evil, Combat Reflexes, Quick Change, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Power Attack, Iron Will, Improved Initiative, Blessed by Tem-Et-Nu, Gape of the Serpent
Equipment: Monk’s Belt, Wildling Clasp x2, Daazzix’s Vest, Greater Rod of Silent Spell, Periapt of Wisdom+6, Third Eye Clarity, Ring of Counterspells, Scout’s Headband, Jaws of the Dragon, Tome of Understanding +2, 3,500GP worth of scrolls and wands, Lesser Rod of Extend
Hybrid Form
Faras Alnahr
LE Large Giant/Shapechanger (Half-Troll Dune Hag Afflicted Lycanthrope (Hippo))
Hit Dice: 17d8+6d6+253 Con mod (Average 350)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 40ft
Armour Class: 36 (10 base, +3 Dex, +14 Natural, -1 size, +10 Monk’s Belt) Touch 22, Flat-Footed 33
Base Attack/Grapple: +17/+35
Attack: Claw +31 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab
Full Attack: 2 Claws +31 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab, Rend 2d6 and Bite +26 (2d8+7)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Swallow Whole, Curse of Lycanthropy, Improved Grab, Rend (2d6), Enthrall DC15, Rebuke Hippos 5/day, Spell Like abilities: 3/day Disguise Self, Haboob, Skin of the Cactus, 1/day Hallucinatory terrain. Caster Level 7th
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 2/-, Fast Healing 5, Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Spell Resistance 23, Hippo Empathy, Alternate Form (Hybrid and Animal), Gluttony Domain (Contemplative 1), Divine Health, Rebuke Undead, Divine Spell Resistance 20, Slippery Mind, Divine Wholeness, Travel Domain (Contemplative 6)
Saves: Fort +24, Ref +17, Wil +28
Abilities: Str: 38, Dex: 16, Con: 32, Int: 14, Wis: 22, Cha: 14
Skills: Bluff +8, Knowledge: Religion +15, Spellcraft +10, Knowledge: The Planes +7, Knowledge: Arcana +7, Control Shape +20, Concentration +26
Feats: Spell Focus: Evil, Combat Reflexes, Quick Change, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Power Attack, Iron Will, Improved Initiative, Blessed by Tem-Et-Nu, Gape of the Serpent
Equipment: Monk’s Belt, Wildling Claspx2, Daazzix’s Vest, Greater Rod of Silent Spell, Periapt of Wisdom+6, Third Eye Clarity, Ring of Counterspells, Scout’s Headband, Jaws of the Dragon, Tome of Understanding +2, Lesser Rod of Extend, 3,500GP worth of scrolls and wands
Animal Form
Faras Alnahr
LE Large Giant/Shapechanger (Half-Troll Dune Hag Afflicted Lycanthrope (Hippo))
Hit Dice: 17d8+6d6+253 Con mod (Average 350)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 40ft
Armour Class: 33 (10 base, +3 Dex, +14 Natural, -1 size, +7 Monk’s Belt) Touch 19, Flat-Footed 30
Base Attack/Grapple: +17/+35
Attack: Claw +31 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab
Full Attack: 2 Claws +31 (1d6+14) + Improved Grab, Rend 2d6 and Bite +26 (2d8+7)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: Swallow Whole, Curse of Lycanthropy, Improved Grab, Rend (2d6), Enthrall DC15, Rebuke Hippos 5/day, Spell Like abilities: 3/day Disguise Self, Haboob, Skin of the Cactus, 1/day Hallucinatory terrain. Caster Level 7th
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 2/-, Fast Healing 5, Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Spell Resistance 23, Hippo Empathy, Alternate Form (Hybrid and Animal), Gluttony Domain (Contemplative 1), Divine Health, Rebuke Undead, Divine Spell Resistance 20, Slippery Mind, Divine Wholeness, Travel Domain (Contemplative 6)
Saves: Fort +24, Ref +17, Wil +25
Abilities: Str: 38, Dex: 16, Con: 32, Int: 14, Wis: 22, Cha: 14
Skills: Bluff +8, Knowledge: Religion +15, Spellcraft +10, Knowledge: The Planes +7, Knowledge: Arcana +7, Control Shape +20, Concentration +26
Feats: Spell Focus: Evil, Combat Reflexes, Quick Change, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Power Attack, Iron Will, Improved Initiative, Blessed by Tem-Et-Nu, Gape of the Serpent
Equipment: Monk’s Belt, Wildling Clasp x2, Jaws of the Dragon, Tome of Understanding +2,
Spoiler: Spells
Spells per Day
Level 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
1st 8+1 7+1 6+1 6+1 6+1 5+1 4+1 3+1 2+1
Domain Spell List
1 – Goodberry, Longstrider
2 – Death Knell, Locate Object
3 – Create Food and Water, Fly
4 – Vampiric Touch, Dimension Door
5 – Baleful Polymorph, Teleport
6 – Heroes Feast, Find the Path
7 – Stone to Flesh, Greater Teleport
8 – Bite of the King, Phase Door
9 – Trap the Soul, Astral Projection
Notable spells
1 – Divine Favour
2 – +4 stat spells, Silence (with rod of silent spell),
3 – Dispel Magic (stacked into ring of counterspells)
4 – Divine Power, Death Ward, Dismissal, Freedom of Movement,
5 – Various Walls (Stone, Salt, Sand), Plane Shift, True Seeing, Scrying, Righteous Might, Flame Strike,
6 – Geas, Forbiddance, Wind Walk, Word of Recall, Greater Dispel Magic
7 – Greater Scrying, Blasphemy,
8 – Shield of Law, Unholy Aura, Greater Planar Ally, Symbols, Greater Spell Immunity, Antimagic Field
9 – Miracle, Gate, Implosion
Spoiler: Tactics
This is truly the sweet spot of the build, and the aim of the whole thing. Faras’ various sizing buffs and Gape of the Serpent allow her to swallow basically any creature short of colossal, all while casting 9th level cleric spells. Gate allows her to ferry in Tem-Et-Nu’s (presumably Hippo based) angels, and the extent of buffs she can now cast on herself is ludicrous (thanks to hr/level most of these will last almost all day). Travel Domain gives her 1/day FoM, in the extremely unlikely case that she tries to eat someone better at grappling than she is, and more than enough mobility to threaten even prepared casters with a grisly end in her belly.
The Gluttony Domain also now gives her Bite of the King, allowing her to both physically and magically swallow people whole. 9th level casting basically gives her a tool for every situation, but her greatest strength is still her enormous bite attack. Jaws of the Dragon, Righteous Might and the Gluttony Domain take this to Colossal+damage levels, and this damage is applied when swallowed as well as when bitten. Her AC and saves are all at least respectable for this level, with only Reflex letting her down (FoM should be able to get her out of most Ref. based effects though) and her HP is high enough that HP damage shouldn’t really be an issue for her, at least not until she’s already eaten at least ¾ of the party.
If in trouble Faras will Teleport (with Word of Recall) to the altar room in her temple, and regroup. Her clerics there can heal her, and she can reinforce the building with various glyph and symbol spells. From here she can scry on the PCs and send commando squads with her teleportation magic to deal with them, though if she’s already been beaten once, she’s unlikely to go after them herself again.
Spoiler: Notes
So I’m not as well-versed in 3.5 as many frequenters of the forum, and I may have made a few errors here. Just a couple that I think I’ve done right but happy to be corrected on.
- Adding HD with the lycanthrope template doesn’t add any CR beyond that given by the template anyway. I’ve seen that these HD would increase the effective level of PCs but couldn’t find any ruling for CR. Obviously if I’m wrong about this it nixes quite a lot of the build
- Adding Swallow Whole as an ability. I did ask the chair about this, and they thought that CR+2 was a fair price to pay for the ability according to the SRD as linked above.
- Swapping feats of the base animal in the lycanthrope template. I know I’m able to use the Dune Hag’s HD to take different feats than those listed in the monster’s stat-block, but couldn’t find a ruling for doing the same with the lycanthrope HD.
Spoiler: Sources
Sandstorm – Dune Hag, Hippopotamus, Blessed by Tem-Et-Nu, Various spells
Swallow Whole – SRD: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm
Complete Divine – Ur-Priest, Contemplative
Spell Compendium – Gluttony Domain,
Serpent Kingdoms – Gape of the Serpent
Savage Species – Quick Change
Fiend Folio – Half-Troll Template
Core – everything else
Magic Item Compendium – Wildling Clasp, Third Eye Clarity, Scout’s Headband,
Draconomicon – Jaws of the Dragon