Ihkulan

Ihkulan was a powerful lich, antagonist, and leader of a group known as the "Bronze Masks" - a name erroneously given to them by the LADS, who had never seen gwarven brass. Ikhulan created the Bronze Masks trough the spreading of Alma, a disease 'He' concocted to transform the bodies and minds of those it infected, darkening their skin, causing their face to collapse into itself, and rendering their soul visible trough the resulting cavity - necessitating the wearing of the mask. All the while, their souls would become subjugated to 'His' own, forming a collective conscious with 'Himself' as at the head. Notably, Sanekoryus and Talio were briefly infected by the disease, but managed to "cure" themselves by creating clones of their bodies, and transferring their souls into them trough a special ritual performed by Malgamor, the Sorcerer King. Sane elected to have his new body made over 2 meters tall, making him into the largest Leshen to have ever lived.
Ikhulan planned to spread Alma throughout the entirety of the known world - first trough water, then trough the volcanic snow caused by a future eruption of Mt.Worldspeech, and, finally, trough a gigantic golem of gwarven brass that housed 'His' phylactery. 'His' plans were foiled by the LADS during the events of Season II. They distracted 'Him' for long enough to preemptively erupt the volcano with a heavy ordinance of fireballs, destroying 'Him' and a large portion of 'His' cult. The LADS themselves barely managed to survive the incident, being saved by a timely use of Laedo's legendary spell, Dig, and a suspiciously convenient magical barrier they had learned throughout their adventures. Ikhulan was not truly dead, however, as the great brass golem that housed 'His' phylactery easily survived the eruption. 'He' later brough 'His' golem to siege the city of Olandi, where the LADS were being canonized as Saints of the Brytite faith. The LADS managed to stall 'Him', but were yet unable to destroy the golem. At the time, the Old Man and the Green Father also appeared and, due to casting their own Divine Kingdoms at the same time, caused the entire battle to shift into a pocket-dimension somewhere in the Astral Realm. The four-way battle ended when the LADS killed the Green Father and the Death Knight, Shrook, destroying the delicate balance that held up the fight until then and failing to stop the Old Man from consuming Ikhulan's divinity, and ascend as a God. The LADS emerged victoriously, and none but them knew that the Old Man had managed to ascend, allowing the world to crown them the uncontested victors of what become known as the Wars of Ascension.
Before the events of Season II, Ikhulan was a High Priest of the Dragon Empire. He was born as part of the Empire's hybridization program, and was inducted into the imperial cult early on after his magical talents became apparent. In great part due to the education he received there, he genuinely grew to believe in the tenets of the faith and in the Empire's mission. He became famous as an ardent preacher of draconic superiority, and for his theories on Astral magicks, which allowed him to be propeled trough the ranks of the institution. Eventually, he was inducted as a High Priest, being given the name 'Hernovha' - meaning "Venerable Star Preacher" - and was given charge of the Stairway to Heaven project. 'He' lost most of 'His' body due to an accident while working in this lost project, and had to be revived as a lich by the dragon kings - far from standard procedure. Ikhulan's lichdoom was what allowed 'Him' to "survive" the collapse of the Dragon Empire, as it allowed 'Him' to revive from the ruins at Mt. Cirdadith.
== Statblock ==
Large Undead, Lawful Neutral
Armor Class: 17 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 200/200
Speed: 30 ft.; 30ft flying
STR: 13 (+1)
DEX: 16 (+3)
CON: 16 (+3)
INT: 20 (+5)
WIS: 14 (+2)
CHA: 16 (+3)
Saving Throws: Con +10, Int +12, Wis +9
Skills: Arcana +18, History +12, Insight +9, Perception +9
Damage Resistance: Cold, Lightning, Necrotic, Psychic
Damage Immunities: Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing From Nonmagical Attacks
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
Senses: Truesight 120 Ft., passive Perception 19
Languages: Common, Draconic, Abyssal, Sylvian and Primordial
Legendary Resistance (3/Day): If Ikhulan fails a saving throw, 'He' can choose to succeed instead.
Rejuvenation: If 'He' has a phylactery, Ikhulan gains a new body in 1d10 days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery (Walk-brass).
Spellcasting: Ikhulan is an 18th-level spellcaster. 'His' spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks).
=== Villain Actions ===
* [1st turn] True Sun: Ikhulan summons his True Sun above his current space, sending anyone within 10ft of him flying 10ft away from him and uses his Starbeam as a free action.
* [2nd turn] Summon Legion: Ikhulan summons 5+1d6 Dragoons near him.
* [3rd turn] My World: Ikhulan plane-shifts himself as well as all creatures who 'He' can see into 'His' demi-plane, a world of stars and dust. Every turn, all creatures must succeed on a skill check (DC depending on the skill used – 17DC average) or take 30 force damage and be knocked prone.
=== Actions ===
* Awakening Touch: Melee Spell Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (3d6) poison. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be infected with the Alma disease and become unable to use standart actions until their next turn.
* Proto-star: Ikhulan hurls a miniature proto-sun towards a point within 200ft that he can see, erupting into blinding sphere of plasma. Any creature within that 20-foot-radius sphere must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 15 (5d6) force damage.
* Galatic Force: Ikhulan conjures a small galaxy-like disk and hurls it towards a creature, making a ranged spell attack (+12 to hit; reach 20ft). The creature, as well as those within 10ft of them, must then succeed on a Dexterity save, taking 9 (3d6) and being knocked back 20ft on a failure and taking only half damage on a success.
* Starbeam (recharge 3-4): Ikhulan fires a 60ft long, 5ft wide beam of star-fire from the True Sun. Creatures within that area must succeed on a Dexterity save or take 30 (10d6) radiant damage, taking half damage on a success.
=== Bonus Actions ===
* Star Mantling: Ikhulan covers himself in his mantle, disappearing into a cloud of stars and reappearing in an open space within 30ft from where it disappeared.
=== Reactions ===
* Hear Me: Ikulan issues a simple order to all Awakened in the battle: Charge, Attack, Cover
=== Legendary Actions ===
Ikhulan can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Ikhulan regains spent legendary actions at the start of their turn.
* Star Ray: Ikhulan fires a pair of star-fire beams from his eyes against a creature he can see. He must make a ranged spell attack against the target (+12). On a hit, the target takes 10 (2d10) radiant damage.
* Awakening Touch (Costs 2 Actions): Ikhulan uses 'His' Awakening Touch.
* Awaken (Costs 3 Actions): Each non-undead, non-gwarf organic entity within 20 feet of Ikhulan must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 21 (6d6) psychic damage and becoming infected with Alma on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Category:Villain
Category:NPC
Category:Season 2