| MARRAENOLOTH (CHARONOLOTH) |
| |
| Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Yugoloth) |
| Hit Dice: 10d8+50 (95 hp) |
| Initiative: +5 |
| Speed: 50 ft (10 squares) |
| Armor Class: 24 (+5 Dex, +9 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 20 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+11 |
| Attack: Staff +12 melee (1d8+2 plus stun) |
| Full Attack: Staff +12/+7 melee (1d8+2 plus stun) or 2 claws +14 melee (1d4+1) |
| Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: Fear gaze, plane shift, spell-like abilities, staff, stun, summon yugoloths |
| Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to acid and poison, resistance to cold 10 and electricity 10 and fire 10, spell resistance 21, styx immunity, telepathy 100 ft. |
| Saves: Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +12 |
| Abilities: Str 13, Dex 21, Con 21, Int 18, Wis 20, Cha 20 |
| Skills: Balance +18, Bluff +18, Concentration +18, Diplomacy +22, Forgery +17, Intimidate +20, Jump +9, Knowledge (geography) +17, Knowledge (the planes) +17, Listen +18, Sense Motive +18, Survival +18 (+20 following tracks and avoid getting lost), Swim +14 |
| Feats: Dodge, Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip |
| |
| Environment: Bleak Eternity of Gehenna |
| Organization: Solitary |
| Challenge Rating: 10 |
| Treasure: Standard plus Staff |
| Alignment: Always neutral evil |
| Advancement: 11-25 HD (Medium) |
| Covered entirely in a long, ragged cloak the color of ash, you almost swear this is some kind of undead, with its skeletal hands and face. Gripped in one hand is a large, gnarled staff and in the other is a long pole. As the creature beckons you forward, a dull, red light flares up from deep within its eye sockets. |
| The marraenoloths serve the most specialized function; they are the boatmen of the River Styx. They constantly ferry passengers down the River Styx in their somber skiffs and occasionally (if the pay is right), they take their passengers to where they want to go. |
| It is also speculated in some spots, that marraenoloths serve someone else other than the traditional yugoloths hierarchy. Old texts have been found with references to a creature known as Charon and his boatmen the ‘charonoloths.’ Whether this is just some barmy rumor or whatnot, the marraenoloths sure aren’t saying anything. |
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Marraenoloths are roughly 6 feet tall and 120 pounds. |
| COMBAT |
| Marraenoloths avoid combat as much as possible and usually at the first sign of trouble, will teleport away and leave its enemies wandering the edge of the Styx. However, even when they are performing their duties of ferrying on the Styx, marraenoloths will more often than not, attempt to betray their passengers, usually when they are out in the open waters where it has the advantage. Paying a handsome sum usually lowers ones chances of being dumped in the Styx, but with marraenoloths, there’s always a chance. |
| A marraenoloth’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as evil-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. |
| Fear Gaze (Su): Range 40 ft., Will DC 20 negates. Those who meet the gaze of a marraenoloth see the inevitability of death in their skeletal eyes. Those who fail their save become shaken for 2d4 rounds. This is a mind-effecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma based |
| Plane Shift (Sp): Twice per day, a marraenoloth can invoke a plane shift (caster level 10th). However, the marraenoloth can only plane shift himself, his boat, and anyone on his boat and he may only plane shift to a spot on a sizable body of water (such as a river or a lake). Those that wish to resist can attempt a Will save (DC 20). Those who fail are whisked along with the boat, those that succeed, are left floundering in the River Styx (which is usually a bad thing). The save DC is Charisma based. |
| Spell-Like Abilities: At will – alter self, animate dead, charm monster (DC 19), darkness, desecrate, detect good, greater teleport (self and boat plus 50 pounds of objects only), phantasmal killer (DC 19); 1/day – mass suggestion (DC 21), power word blind. Caster level 10th. The save DC’s are Charisma based. |
| Staff (Su): Every marraenoloth wields a special staff that only they can properly use. In the hands of a marraenoloth, the staff functions as a +1/+1 quarterstaff that deals 1d8/1d8 points of damage per hit. In the hands of a non-marraenoloth, the staff functions as a masterwork quarterstaff. Those with the Use Magic Device skill can attempt to use the staff by making an Emulate Race check (DC 25) and an Emulate Alignment check (DC 30), if the character isn’t neutral evil. If either of the checks fails, a character cannot attempt another check for 24 hours. |
| Marraenoloths that lose their staffs usually attempt to hunt down those who stole it and if they can, kill the transgressors. When that doesn’t work, the marraenoloth will attempt to barter for the staff and will then come back later with some reinforcements (they can’t be letting just any berk get away with something like that!). |
| The staff will often resemble a long, gnarled piece of black driftwood. If a detect magic spell is cast, the staff gives off a faint transmutation aura. A detect evil detects a faint evil aura on the staff. |
| Stun (Su): Those hit by a marraenoloth’s staff must make a Fort save (DC 20) or be stunned for 1 round. This is a power of the marraenoloth and not the staff. The save DC is Charisma based. |
| Styx Immunity: Marraenoloths are totally immune to the memory loss effects of the River Styx. They are, however, susceptible to other memory altering spells or effects. |
| Summon Yugoloths (Sp): Once per day, a marraenoloth can attempt to summon 1 piscoloth or another marraenoloth with a 60% chance of success. This is the equivalent of a 5th level spell. |
| SUMMONING A MARRAENOLOTH |
| One can usually summon a marraenoloth simply by placing a gem or a magic item, worth at least 500 gp, at the edge of the Styx and casting a blasphemy, desecrate, or holy word. A marraenoloth will appear within 1d4 minutes. Using a gem or magic item of 1,000 gp or greater lowers the arrival time to 2d4 rounds. |
| Upon arrival, the marraenoloth will demand payment, usually demanding the item that was used in the calling. If payment is refused, the marraenoloth disappears back out onto the Styx. |
| If the price is paid, there is a 70% chance that the marraenoloth will betray his passengers during the voyage. For every 200 gp more than 500 that is paid to the marraenoloth, the chance decreases by 10%, to a minimum of 20%. No fiends are trustworthy, not even well paid ones. Diplomacy checks could be made to lower it even further, at the DM’s discretion. |
| This can also be invoked upon the Material Plane, however there is a 50% chance that a potential marraenoloth ignores such a request. If the call is ignored, a character can attempt to call again, however the chance that one will ignore the request increases by 10% for each subsequent failure. If one is successfully called, the chance that it betrays the party increases by 15%. Marraenoloths hate leaving the Styx. |