PYREARCHON
Salorras entity: pyrearchon — a fiery being of the Continuum Ylaana, formed from the ashes of vanished phoenixes; the being two pyrekin twins become through the Pyrearchon Fusion. Old-School Essentials monster statistics (B/X stat block; the 3.5e ability-score arrays, feats, and skills are dropped; damage reduction is rendered as “struck only by magic weapons”; spell-like abilities are given as an OSE fire-spell progression). Referenced by the pyrekin’s Pyrearchon Fusion ability — see the sample stat blocks at the end.
This fiery creature looks like a slender human, with wider and slightly larger hands. Its opaque body ignites from within, and jets of fire erupt at random, casting its skin from deep red to ultraviolet. Its eye sockets are empty and torrid, while the rest of its features are sleek and smoky. It has two great clawed hands, but most dangerous are the two scythe-like stings that rise from its back.
An ancient pyrearchon — the largest and eldest, grown huge on the ashes of countless burned foes:
Fire-entity of Ylaana (Large; the eldest, Huge)
Armour Class: −2 [21] Hit Dice: 20 (90 hp) Attacks: 2 × claw (2d6 + burst) + 2 × sting (1d10 + poison) THAC0: 5 [+14] Movement: 150′ (50′) Saving Throws: as Fighter 20 Morale: 10 Alignment: Neutral (revered as a lawful avenger, yet volatile as the fire it is) XP: ~6,500 (scale to Hit Dice) Number Appearing: 1 (1, or a squad of 1d4+1 led by great and elite pyrearchons) Treasure Type: None
Pyrearchons are powerful inhabitants of the Continuum of Ylaana. They are beings made from the ashes of vanished phoenixes, and they carry the twin gift of fire and magic. Eternal watchers of Salorras, they wait for the moment they will be given leave to “cleanse” the greedy wielders of entropic magic — for it is said that with every such use the Continuum Dysis, where the world’s spells are woven before a mage calls them, “frays” a little more. Many peoples of Salorras, and above all the pyrekin, reckon these creatures the angelic punishers of the goddess Orya.
A pyrearchon’s frame resembles that of a slender human, though its true size grows with its power. It has semi-transparent, burning skin and a featureless face — save for two flaming eye sockets — with clawed hands and two scythe-stings rising from the back. Its caustic nature thins the air around it, leaving a reek of sulphur. The youngest pyrearchons stand about 1.70 metres and weigh some 75 kilos; the most ancient reach 4.70 metres and a ton and a half.
Pyrearchons are charismatic and keen-minded, with a wisdom grounded in magic. The chaotic nature of fire makes them deeply unpredictable, yet the quintessence of the phoenix has left them a real measure of mercy — they often mean well, but when their patience runs out they may lash out violently, even against an ally. They speak the tongue of fire and the tongue of the wind, and the ancient speech of dragons, while the oldest and wisest may know any tongue at all.
Combat
Pyrearchons keep a wary distance from their foes, preferring not to close. They blind spellcasters with their torrid gaze and batter armoured warriors with their fire-magic; even so, they are fearsome in melee. A pyrearchon’s natural weapons count as magic for striking creatures only magic can harm.
Burst. A pyrearchon’s hands are wreathed in fire. Whenever a claw strikes home it bursts in a gout of flame, dealing extra fire damage by the creature’s Hit Dice (below). A pyrearchon that somehow strikes itself takes no burst.
| HD | Burst Fire |
|---|---|
| 1–4 | 1d6 |
| 5–9 | 2d6 |
| 10–14 | 3d6 |
| 15–19 | 4d6 |
| 20–34 | 5d6 to 8d6 |
Poison. A sting that strikes home injects a venom that boils the blood and cripples the muscles. The victim must save versus poison or be gravely weakened — −2 to attack and damage rolls as their strength drains away, worsening by a further −2 on each later failed save until they can rest and recover; a victim reduced to helplessness by it collapses, muscles seized, until cured.
Spell-Like Abilities. A pyrearchon wields fire-magic that grows with its Hit Dice, the powers below being cumulative (a pyrearchon of 6–7 HD has every power up to that band). Its caster level equals its Hit Dice, and where a power allows a save the target rolls a save versus spells. Unless a use-rate is noted, each is usable once per day; the at-will powers of the first band are always available.
| HD | Powers (cumulative) |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | at will — a searing fire-bolt (as magic missile, but fire), a fan of flame (as burning hands), detect magic |
| 4–5 | a shielding fire-ward (as shield), a scorching ray 3/day |
| 6–7 | detect invisible, fire ball 3/day |
| 8–9 | haste, wall of fire 3/day |
| 10–11 | dimension door, dispel magic |
| 12–13 | teleport, a warding contingency, a mightier fire ball 3/day |
| 14–15 | true seeing, a searing prismatic blast, a quickened haste |
| 16–17 | a step between realms (as plane shift), a burst of searing light (as sunburst) 3/day |
| 18–19 | a fiery cloud (as cloudkill, but fire), a rain of falling fire (as meteor swarm), a quickened teleport |
| 20+ | an empowered prismatic blast, and once per week a wish |
Torrid Gaze. As an action, a pyrearchon may fix its empty, blazing sockets on one creature within 30 feet; unless that creature makes a save versus spells, it is blinded for 1d4 rounds by the glare.
Heat. A pyrearchon burns so fiercely that merely touching it — or striking it with an unarmed blow or a natural weapon — deals 1d6 fire damage to the toucher. It may suppress or resume this heat at will.
Healing Fire. Fire cannot harm a pyrearchon; instead it feeds it. Any fire that would strike a pyrearchon heals it 1 hit point for every 3 points it would have dealt, though never above its full total.
Immunity and Vulnerability. A pyrearchon is immune to fire, and to poison, disease, paralysis, sleep, and stunning. It is, however, vulnerable to cold: it takes an extra 1 point per die of cold damage and saves at −2 against cold effects.
Regeneration. Each round a pyrearchon knits its blazing substance back together, regaining hit points equal to half its Hit Dice (the ancient above regains 10 per round).
Struck Only by Magic. A pyrearchon’s fiery body turns aside common steel: it can be harmed only by magic weapons. The mightiest — elite pyrearchons of 16 Hit Dice or more — are so wreathed in primal fire that only weapons of +2 enchantment or greater touch them at all.
Magic Resistance. Woven of raw magic, a pyrearchon shrugs off spells: it has a percentage chance to ignore any spell cast upon it that rises with its power — roughly 15% for a young pyrearchon, growing to some 45% for the most ancient.
Death Throes. When slain, a pyrearchon detonates in a blinding burst of fire, dealing 1d6 fire damage per Hit Die to everything within 20 feet (a save versus breath halves it). Its body is consumed utterly; a slain pyrearchon returns to Ylaana, leaving nothing behind but ash and the reek of sulphur — it cannot be raised or resurrected by mortal magic.
Burn Off. When a pyrearchon slays a worthy foe, it may spend ten minutes burning away the victim’s flesh and life-force; one so consumed can never be restored to life by any mortal magic. This is also how a pyrearchon grows: for every five worthy foes it burns off — each of Hit Dice or level equal to or greater than its own — it gains 1 Hit Die, swelling in size and in every power above. A pyrearchon that reaches 8 Hit Dice becomes a great pyrearchon; one that reaches 16, an elite pyrearchon; and an elite may burn its way to a maximum of 34 Hit Dice, far beyond the growth of any natural beast.
| HD | Size |
|---|---|
| 1–9 | Medium |
| 10–18 | Large |
| 19–34 | Huge |
A pyrearchon needs neither food, breath, nor sleep, and sees in the dark with infravision to 60 feet. One that goes armed always bears magical arms fitting to its might.
Sample Pyrearchons for the Pyrekin Fusion
When two pyrekin twins use Pyrearchon Fusion, the summoned being has Hit Dice equal to the host’s Hit Dice + 2 (to a maximum of 24). Use the nearest sample below, scaling to the exact Hit Dice as needed.
| Pyrearchon (Medium) | Great Pyrearchon (Medium) | Elite Pyrearchon (Large) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armour Class | 5 [14] | 2 [17] | 0 [19] |
| Hit Dice | 2 (9 hp) | 8 (36 hp) | 16 (72 hp) |
| Attacks | 2 × claw (1d6 + burst) + 2 × sting (1d6 + poison) | 2 × claw (1d8 + burst) + 2 × sting (1d8 + poison) | 2 × claw (2d6 + burst) + 2 × sting (1d10 + poison) |
| Burst Fire | 1d6 | 2d6 | 4d6 |
| THAC0 | 17 [+2] | 12 [+7] | 7 [+12] |
| Movement | 120′ (40′) | 120′ (40′) | 150′ (50′) |
| Saving Throws | as Fighter 2 | as Fighter 8 | as Fighter 16 |
| Morale | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Regeneration | 1 hp/round | 4 hp/round | 8 hp/round |
| Struck only by | magic weapons | magic weapons | +2 weapons or better |
| Magic Resistance | ~15% | ~25% | ~35% |
| Alignment | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral |
| XP | ~125 | ~1,750 | ~4,300 |
All three carry the pyrearchon’s full suite — burst, poison, the spell-like progression to their Hit Dice, torrid gaze, heat, healing fire, immunity to fire (and vulnerability to cold), death throes, and burn off — scaled to their Hit Dice as described above.