Mordukhavar the Reaver

This massive, two-headed dragon has fiery-red scales and reeks of brimstone. Its wings are powerful, batlike appendages with wicked claws, and its thick tail ends in a cruel barb.

Sages speak of Mordukhavar in whispers. Reputed to be the offspring of Tiamat and one of the Dark Eight, the two-headed Mordukhavar is one of the most powerful abominations ever to climb from the pits of Baator. Mordukhavar moves between the Nine Layers of Hell, gathering information and making deals on behalf of Tiamat. Occasionally, Mordukhavar answers the summons of an evil wyrm or great wyrm as a representative of Tiamat. Such visitations to the Material Plane are rare, but they usually involve the long-term plans of the Chromatic Dragon.

Mordukhavar is 170 feet long and weighs over 350 tons. Mordukhavar speaks Draconic and Infernal.

Mordukhavar prefers close combat, as it enjoys rending flesh and shattering bone. Mordukhavar's natural weapons are treated as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Breath Weapon (Su): As a standard action, Mordukhavar can breathe either with one head or with both heads simultaneously. It can produce two different breath weapons, a 70-foot cone of acid or a 140-foot line of hellfire. The acid breath from its left head deals 20d8 points of acid damage, while the right head's hellfire breath deals 22d10 points of damage. Half the damage is fire damage, but the other half results directly from infernal power and is therefore not subject to being reduced by resistance to fire-based attacks. A successful Reflex save (DC 41) halves the damage from either attack. A creature caught in both breath weapons is affected by both and must save against each one separately. Once Mordukhavar breathes, it must wait 1d4 rounds before using its breath weapon again.

Crush (Ex): When flying or jumping, Mordukhavar can land on opponents three or more sizes smaller than itself as a standard action, using its whole body to crush them. A crush attack affects as many creatures as can fit under it's body. Each creature in the affected area must succeed at a Reflex save (DC 41) or be pinned, automatically taking 4d8+25 points of bludgeoning damage. The save DC is Constitution-based. Thereafter, if Mordukhavar chooses to maintain the pin, treat it as a normal grapple attack. While pinned, the opponent takes crush damage each round.

Frightful Presence (Ex): Whenever Mordukhavar attacks, charges, or flies overhead, each creature in a 360-foot radius that has fewer HD than it does must make a DC 39 Will save. Failure indicates that the creature is panicked for 4d6 rounds (if it has 4 or fewer HD) or shaken for 4d6 rounds (if it has 5 or more HD). A creature that succeeds on its Will save remains immune to that Mordukhavar's frightful presence for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Paralysis (Ex): Those hit by Mordukhavar's physical attacks must succeed on a DC 41 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1d4 rounds. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will—animate dead, charm person (DC 19), detect chaos/evil/good/law, detect magic, fireball (DC 21), greater invisibility, greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), hold person (DC 21), persistent image (DC 23), polymorph, produce flame, pyrotechnics, suggestion (DC 21), see invisibility, symbol of pain (DC 23), and wall of fire (DC 22). Caster level 20th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Spells: Mordukhavar casts arcane spells as a 14th-level sorcerer, and can also cast cleric spells and those from the Destruction, Evil, Law, and Trickery domains as arcane spells.

Typical Sorcerer Spells Known (spells known 9/5/5/4/4/3/2/1/-/-; spells per day 6/8/8/8/8/7/6/4/-/-; save DC 18 + spell level): 0—dancing lights, detect magic, flare, guidance, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, read magic, resistance; 1st—expeditious retreat, mage armor, magic missle, shield, ray of enfeeblement; 2nd—bear's endurance, cat's grace, detect thoughts, resist energy, touch of idiocy; 3rd—clairaudience/clairvoyance, displacement, haste, nondetection; 4th—detect scrying, dimensional anchor, order's wrath, unholy blight; 5th—dispel good, mass inflict light wounds, plane shift; 6th—disintegrate, heal; 7th—blasphemy.

Blindsense (Ex): Mordukhavar can pinpoint creatures within a distance of 60 feet. Opponents Mordukhavar can't actually see still have total concealment against it.

Fiendish Form (Su): Once per day, Mordukhavar can produce an effect like that of a shapechange spell, except that only the form of a 30-foot-tall Huge pit fiend may be assumed.

Keen Senses (Ex): Mordukhavar sees four times as well as a human in shadowy illumination and twice as well in normal light.

Regeneration (Ex): Mordukhavar takes normal damage from good-aligned silvered weapons, and from spells or effects with the good descriptor.

Summon Baatezu (Sp): Twice per day, Mordukhavar can automatically summon 6 lemures, bone devils, or bearded devils, or 3 barbed devils, erinyes, horned devils, or ice devils. This ability is the equivalent of a 9th-level spell.

Gate Tiamat (Sp): Mordukhavar may attempt to gate in an avatar of Tiamat (see Deities and Demigods) with a 65% chance of success. Depending on the will of the Dragon Queen, this could be an advanced aspect of Tiamat instead. (see Miniatures Handbook). In any case, it only uses this ability only as a last resort.

Seemingly ignored by the Lords of the Nine and distrusted by almost all of the Dark Eight, Mordukhavar gathers information and makes deals throughout Baator on behalf of Tiamat. Recently, he receives command of a large detachment of baatezu with orders to fight in the Blood War. If this is true, then Tiamat has certainly entered the conflict between Law and Chaos - but for what purpose?

Mordukhavar clearly holds some close connections to Tiamat. If the creature is really the offspring of the Chromatic Dragon and one of the Dark Eight, then the baatezu now possess one of the most powerful weapons in the Blood War. Mordukhavar's recent commission has unsettled members of the Dark Eight. A few successes on the battlefield and it could find itself the newest member of the ruling pit fiends of Baator - an incident sure to raise Tiamat's influence in Hell. Some devils even feared that this could lead to a new ascension like that of Bel.

Original concept by Keith F. Strohm in Dragon Magazine #260 ("Spawn of Tiamat, Children of Bahamut", p. 51). Converted by Shade. Edited by Seraph.