| NASFARU |
| |
| Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Evil, Extraplanar) |
| Hit Dice: 12d8+84 (138 hp) |
| Initiative: +2 |
| Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares) |
| Armor Class: 24 (+2 Dex, +12 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 22 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+18 |
| Attack: Claw +18 melee (2d4+6) |
| Full Attack: 2 claws +18 melee (2d4+6) and tail slash +16 melee (1d6+3 plus poison) and bite +16 melee (1d8+3 plus ghoul fever) |
| Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: Command undead, ghoul fever, poison, spell-like abilities, summon undead |
| Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/good, darkvision 60 ft., desecrating aura, immunity to acid, fear effects, mind-affecting effects, and poison, regeneration 3, resistance cold 10 and electricity 10, spell resistance 23 |
| Saves: Fort +15, Ref +10, Will +11 |
| Abilities: Str 23, Dex 15, Con 25, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 18 |
| Skills: Bluff +19, Climb +21, Concentration +21, Hide +17, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (arcane) +18, Listen +18, Move Silently +17, Spellcraft +20, Spot +18, Use Magic Device +19 (+21 scrolls) |
| Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Multiattack, Toughness |
| |
| Environment: Windswept Depths of Pandemonium |
| Organization: Solitary or team (1 nasfaru, 1d2 arutar and 1d4 ghasts) |
| Challenge Rating: 13 |
| Treasure: Standard |
| Alignment: Always chaotic evil |
| Advancement: 13-24 HD (Medium); 25-36 HD (Large) |
| This strange creature seems to be made entirely of bones. Loose, leather brown skin is stretched tight over the creature’s entire body. Two, long arms dangle well past its knees and its three-fingered hands almost scrape against the ground. Two long, pointed ears rise well above its head. A line of thin, serrated discs jut out from the creature’s neck and trail its spine all the way to its lower back. Its eyes gaze balefully out from its sunken eye sockets. |
| The nasfaru are the advanced forms of the arutar. During the transformation, the arutar gains an impressive array of powers, superior strength, and an increased intellect. They are wholly terrible, avaricious, and cruel. |
| The first nasfaru appeared only several months after the appearance of the arutar and since then, they have been slowly spreading like a plague across the lower planes. What makes this even more alarming is the nasfaru’s inborn power to propagate more of its species. |
| Several nasfaru have been sighted in Pandemonium (which seems to be the loathsome creatures' homeplane), acting as haughty barons of small nests of wights, ghasts, and other loathsome undead. Some rumors have been floating about of an incredibly powerful nasfaru named Naphrellon that has been serving Orcus in Thanatos. Rumors persist that in its (very) short existence, Naphrellon may be evolving into something even higher than a nasfaru. Could the Rule of Threes apply even to these degenerates? Whatever it is, the nasfaru share an equal dislike of the ‘leths, although there isn’t much they can do about it. |
| Other nasfaru have been spotted in Hades, Limbo, and Gehenna. Not surprisingly, none have been spotted on Carceri. The Gehreleths seem rather dedicated to wiping out the nasfarus, although the creature’s increased cunning and strength is making it rather hard on the ‘leths. |
| Nasfaru stand around 7 feet tall and weigh 190 pounds. |
| COMBAT |
| Nasfaru are wary opponents, wholly dedicated to saving their own lives. They prefer to fight using minions and they aren’t above retreating or using hit and run tactics. They know that they are the new underdogs in the multiverse, they know that ‘leths are around every corner waiting. No one is looking out for them except themselves and they know that pride and arrogance will get them nowhere except in the dead book. |
| A nasfaru’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as chaotic-aligned and evil-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. |
| Command
Undead (Su): A nasfaru can rebuke and command undead as a 12th-level
cleric 4 times a day. It receives a +4 bonus on its turning check and
deals 2d6+16 of turning damage on a successful check. |
| Desecrating Aura (Su): A nasfaru acts as a beacon of unholy power. It constantly exudes a desecrate effect (as per the spell) out to 60 feet with a caster level of 12th. |
| Ghoul Fever (Su): Supernatural disease – bite, Fortitude DC 22, incubation period 1 hour, damage 1d4 Con and 1d4 Dex. The save DC is Constitution based. |
| The nasfaru transfers a particularly vicious strain of ghoul fever that is not a natural disease, but a terrible curse similar to mummy rot. Unlike normal strains of the disease, this ghoul fever continues until the victim reaches 0 Constitution (and dies) or is cured as described below. |
| A character attempting to cast any conjuration (healing) spell on a creature afflicted with this strain of ghoul fever must succeed on a DC 24 caster level check, or the spell has no effect on the afflicted character. |
| To eliminate this ghoul fever, the curse must first be broken with break enchantment or remove curse (requiring a DC 24 caster level check for either spell), after which a caster level check is no longer necessary to cast healing spells on the victim, and the ghoul fever can be magically cured as any normal disease. |
| An afflicted humanoid that dies of ghoul fever rises as a ghoul at the next midnight. A humanoid who becomes a ghoul in this way retains none of the abilities it possessed in life. It is not under the control of any other ghouls, but it hungers for the flesh of the living and behaves like a normal ghoul in all respects. A humanoid of 4 Hit Dice or more rises as a ghast, not a ghoul. |
| Poison (Ex): A nasfaru secretes a poison from its barbed tail. Anyone struck by its tail must make a Fort save (DC 22) or take 1d6 points of Con damage. This poison is a particularly potent version of the arutar’s dissolving flesh. The poison slowly liquefies the innards of the creature until he collapses in on himself in a pulpy mass. The save DC is Constitution based. |
| Spell-Like Abilities: At will – animate undead, chaos hammer (DC 18), contagion (DC 18), deeper darkness, detect good, detect law, unholy blight (DC 18); 3/day – dimension door; 1/day – create undead; 1/week – create arutar, ethereal jaunt. Caster level 15th. The save DC’s are Charisma based. |
| Summon Undead (Sp): Once per day, an arutar can automatically summon 2d6 ghouls, 1d4 ghasts, or 1d3 wights. These creatures serve the arutar for 1 hour and then return from whence they came. This is the equivalent of a 6th-level spell. |
| Deathwatch (Su): Nasfaru have the ability to project a continuous deathwatch as per the spell (caster level 15th). |
| Regeneration (Su): A nasfaru takes normal damage from good-aligned or lawful-aligned weapons, and from spells or effects with the good or the lawful descriptor. |