Unlike the proteans, Dilix, or Andrathi’s spirit, the leader of the shaitan rebels who turned against Jhavhul has no real interest in allying with the PCs. This adventure assumes that Obherak is destined to become the villain of the piece, but if the PCs learn of the shaitan and wish to ally with him, this option is possible—see the “The Shaitan Pact” for details on what happens if the PCs seek an alliance with the shaitans.
Most likely, the PCs are encouraged by the proteans and Dilix to confront Obherak, to defeat him and rescue the protean imentesh he has taken prisoner in his fane. Obherak and his army of shaitans are perhaps the most numerous faction in Kakishon, yet they remain a small fraction of their original power—long centuries of a cold war against both the proteans and Jhavhul have whittled away their numbers to what remains today. Obherak has taken as his lair an ancient temple once dedicated to the worship of Nethys located in the heart of Kakishon’s desert isle of Khandelwal, known also as the Island of Sand Rivers. Ringed entirely by a band of jungle, PCs who travel to Khandelwal quickly find the island’s interior to be an arid, inhospitable desert, its jungle edge maintained by the magic of the realm.
Most of Khandelwal’s shoreline and the area around the hostel are green and pleasant, with groves of fruit trees and palms interspersed with flowering shrubs and vines, and inhabited by monkeys large and small, as well as fisher birds who also frequent the reedy inlets and tidelands at the water’s edge. Very different from the island’s sandy interior, the shoreline areas exhibit light undergrowth interspersed with small trees. Fortunately for the PCs, the island itself is relatively small, yet in order to locate Obherek’s fane, the PCs will need to use magic or seek the advice of someone like Dilix—otherwise they may end up wandering the desert for days before they find the crater that marks the site of the shatains’ lair.
Before the PCs can speak on peaceful terms with Obherak, they should first contact him via magic (such as sending) or via one of the shaitans that can be encountered as wandering monsters throughout Kakishon. Alternatively, they could simply approach his fane. If they make it to the fane without encountering his guards, they can secure a peaceful meeting with the shaitan by requesting such from Iqilma, the Oberhak’s majordomo—Obherak’s pride prevents him from meeting directly with strangers until he knows the meeting is worthy of his presence. Securing a meeting requires changing Iqilma’s attitude from hostile to friendly with a DC 35 Diplomacy check, magic, or a bribe of at least 15,000 gp in magic or gifts.
Iqilma is terse and blunt during the meeting. Unlike the proteans, who seek out the PCs and are more humble about their need for help, the shaitans see asking for help as a sign of weakness, and therefore they try to come off as tough even though they might need help—it’s a tough act to pull off, and her attitude is likely to annoy and estrange the PCs unless they’re exceptionally patient. Yet if the PCs can secure her aid by making her friendly, she’ll finally relent and tell them to come to the Golden Bowl at the next dawn—if the PCs do, Obherak will meet with them and agree to hear what they have to say.
The leader of the shaitans is as good as his word—when the meeting occurs, he and all nine shaitans stationed at his fane are there to greet the PCs, although only his two bodyguards and Iqilma are visible (the other six meld into stone and are ready to emerge to aid their commander if the PCs attack). Obherak allows the PCs to present their case, but if they aren’t quick about explaining themselves, he grows impatient. His initial attitude is unfriendly—he must be made friendly before he’ll consider helping the PCs. If he can’t be made friendly in the span of 1d4 minutes, he grows tired of the meeting and informs the PCs that they have annoyed him and must leave the Golden Bowl at once.
If the PCs don’t immediately comply, he orders all nine of his shaitans to attack, joining them in the fray along with the sphinx Zulfiqar and the gargoyles who watch over the Golden Bowl (see area D1). As this is an EL 15 encounter, the PCs would be well advised to retreat.
Obherak makes clear his desires if the PCs ask him about the proteans—he wants to rule Kakishon as his own paradise. After a lifetime of serving under others (most recently, Jhavhul), he would prefer to cut the demiplane off entirely from the rest of reality. And since the proteans want to destroy Kakishon, they are his greatest enemies. If the PCs ask him if he knows of a way to escape Kakishon, he laughs mockingly, saying, “Only fools would wish to leave paradise!” Yet he does have an idea—he sees the continued existence of the proteans as the reason Kakishon has been damaged: “Had this realm’s creator slain them after their work building this realm was completed rather than just banishing them to the Isles of Not, Kakishon would have endured forever! Yet he was crippled by cowardice and compassion, I suspect, as are all men—he could not bring himself to slay his slaves, and instead just locked them away in a place where their anger would be allowed to fester and grow.” As long as the remaining proteans exist, his paradise is threatened—if the PCs agree to slay those who still dwell in the Isles of Not, Obherak tells them he can help them escape Kakishon. If the PCs agree to travel to the Isles of Not, Obherak bids them good luck but does not provide them additional aid unless the PCs make him helpful, in which case he sends Iqilma and two other shaitans with them to aid them in the battle to come on the Isles of Not.
Obherak is being only partially truthful—PCs can make Sense Motive checks against Obherak’s Bluff check to determine he isn’t being entirely honest. His true reason for not wanting any part of the final battle with the proteans is cowardice—they lie at the other side of the sea, and Obherak’s loathing of water is one of his greatest secrets.
Obherak’s lair lies below a crater in the heart of Khandelwal—a site called the Golden Bowl. Located in a sandy valley surrounded by a ring of badlands high enough to block the sand-tides of Khandelwal, the rocky escarpment that rings the Golden Bowl is visible from a distance of a mile when a traveler stands atop a dune.
Gargoyles are common among these craggy rocks, and the shaitans have a tentative alliance with the stony creatures—if the PCs don’t use stealth in their approach, gargoyles flying above the badlands are likely to see them long before they reach the Golden Bowl and swoop down to alert the guardians of the area.
The entrance to Obherak’s fane itself is via a small stone temple perched on the northern edge of the Golden Bowl.
A stone ramp leads down from this open-air structure to the dusty floor of the crater. The sand here is incredibly fine and golden, and characters who stand in it must wade through the stuff as if it were thick water—the sand is a foot deep and is treated as difficult terrain.
The stone platform that hangs over the edge of the crater is of polished granite, its surface inscribed with faint geometric patterns. Partially eroded statues of a humanoid figure stand atop the open area, while just to the north a colonnade supports a stone roof that provides shade. A stone ramp leads down from the platform into the dusty crater to the south.
The statues once depicted Nethys, but erosion has seen them wear away to featureless forms—strangely, the same erosion doesn’t seem to affect the structure itself, perhaps as a result of the fane’s loss of Nethys’s favor due to neglect from his faithful.
The actual entrance to Obherak’s fane is quite cleverly hidden. When the site was a functional temple devoted to Nethys, a large well existed in the central part of the platform just south of the roofed area. This well, at one point, dropped down into the chambers below, but the shaitans have used wall of stone and stone shape to block this entrance completely, leaving a 1-foot-thick plug to seal the entrance tight. When they need to come and go, they simply use earth glide to pass through the stone into the chambers below. A DC 25 Search check made in the area notes that a 10-foot-diameter area lacks the faint inscriptions found elsewhere, and a DC 24 Spellcraft check identifies the work of stone shape and wall of stone to cover something up.
Yet, since shaitans breathe, they must periodically open this entrance to ventilate their lair. This occurs daily, at dusk. At this time, one of the shaitans (usually Obherak’s majordomo Iqilma) emerges, uses stone shape to open the shaft, and then uses her wind fan to circulate the air within.
This grants PCs who take the time to observe the area from afar a chance to learn how to enter the fane.
Without magic, the only way into the fane once this opening is sealed is to hammer through the opening. The plug is 6 inches thick (Hardness 8; hp 90 per 5-foot square; Break DC 32). If the PCs are working with the proteans, they can use the wand of stone shape or a vial of oil of soften earth and stone to ease the opening of the way.
Once the stone is removed, a 10-foot-diameter shaft drops down into area D2 below. The shaft walls are very smooth, and it takes a DC 30 Climb check to scale them. A character who falls lands atop the stone prison in area D2 below; the shaft itself descends for 60 feet before emerging into the roof of area D2, and the floating block of stone upon which falling creatures land is a further 20 feet down from the shaft bottom above. The shaitans use their earth glide ability to move about their lair, emerging as needed to toil in their workshops but generally avoiding the need to use the vertical tunnels of the chamber.
Creatures: This area is protected by a gynosphinx named Zulfiqar, the latest in a long line of sphinxes to have served the shaitans as guardians and keepers of the entrance to their fane. In addition, a flock of six gargoyles perch on the upper edge of the roof behind the sphinx, using their freeze ability to look like demonic decorations.
In addition, Iqilma, a golden-skinned female shaitan, waits in the stone of one of the pillars using meld into stone, listening to what transpires above.
When she notices the PCs, Zulfiqar’s expression brightens from boredom as she prowls up to the edge of the building. “What have we here?” she asks. “Travelers! The Golden Bowl sees so few of your kind these days.”
Despite her apparent delight at having visitors, Zulfiqar’s initial attitude is indifferent. Although she’ll engage the PCs in conversation, she won’t reveal the identity or nature of her master, or who truly dwells here. If the PCs press for information or attempt to explore the fane, she stands and offers to aid the PCs only if they can answer a riddle.
“Many find riddles cliche, but I find them quite delightful. If you would seek my aid or pass beyond, you must answer me this: I build up hills and tear down mountains. I make blind eyes see and make seeing eyes blind. What am I?”
The answer is “sand.” With this correct answer, Zulfiqar smiles broadly and moves aside as though to let them pass, but at this point Iqilma emerges from her pillar.
The voluptuous, golden-skinned shaitan’s expression is one of anger and impatience as she speaks to the sphinx.
“You’ve had your fun, Zulfiqar. Need I remind you that you serve Obherak now, not the ridiculous tongue-twisting traditions of your kind?”
Zulfiqar’s expression clouds with rage at this—give the PCs a chance to act. If they come to Zulfiqar’s defense in any way, the sphinx finds the courage to stand up to the abusive shaitan and sides with the PCs in the fight to come. If, on the other hand, they attack or try to parlay with the shaitan (see “The Shaitan Pact” sidebar for more information about this), the sphinx swallows her pride and attacks the PCs, directing her fury and shame at them rather than at Iqilma.
In either case, if a battle begins, the gargoyles swoop down to join the fight as well, shrieking in delight at the battle and bloodshed to come.
When this battle begins, Zulfiqar and Iqilma both attempt to bull rush PCs off the edge into the basin below. The shaitan fights until reduced to 20 hit points or less, whereupon she flees into the fane below to join Obherak and warn him of the PCs. Once she flees, Zulfiqar curses and abandons her post, flying off to find a new life and fed up with working for genies. The gargoyles fight to the death.
Female gynosphinx (MM 233)
hp 52
Shaitan (see page 12)
hp 58
hp 37 each (MM 113)
Treasure: Zulfiqar keeps a cache of treasure given her by the genies in a hidden compartment in the westernmost pillar, concealed behind a graven relief of a criosphinx. A DC 25 Search check finds the cache, which contains 1,500 gp, 6 tiger eye gems worth 10 gp each, a topaz worth 1,000 gp, a potion of lesser restoration, and a blue crystal wand of false life (CL 3, 17 charges). Iqilma carries a wind fan that she uses periodically to ventilate the chambers below.
This bizarre, sixty-foot-wide chamber suggests the interior of twin six-stepped ziggurats set base to base; the floor drops away in five-foot-wide tiers mirrored by similar tiers in the ceiling above. A shaft extends up from the ten-foot-square area at the highest point above, while hanging in midair in the center of the chamber is a blocky structure some twenty feet across, covered in an intricate lacework of tiny, glowing, golden Terran runes, giving a dim light to the entire chamber. At the widest point of the room’s perimeter, where the two inverted ziggurats join, stand four large stones. Yet in this strange chamber, perhaps the strangest sight of all is the figure imprisoned in that floating stone block—a snakelike creature with a feathered reptilian head and delicate humanoid arms seems to have been fused into the block, coils of flesh and lengths of arms protruding here and there from the stone, its head partially encased with only one closed eye free.
When the shaitans claimed this abandoned Nethysian fane as their lair, they used wall of stone, stone shape, and their stonecrafting talents to completely remake and rebuild the underground portion of the complex to their liking. Yet the thing that initially drew them to this site, and the one part of the fane they didn’t change, was the strange block of stone that floats in this room. This block of stone is the one Nex brought to Kakishon to aid the proteans in the world’s creation—unlike air and fire and water, whose elemental seeds were diffused and merged with the new reality, only this stone was solid enough to remain pure—the islands of Kakishon formed around it, but it did not merge with them. It, along with the proteans themselves, is the only thing in Kakishon that predates Kakishon itself, and as such it represents a link to the multiverse.
Obherak recognized this when he first discovered this site, not long after the genies came to Kakishon. Jhavhul had sent his genies out to explore the new realm, but Obherak knew this stone and its link to the multiverse could, in theory, be used to escape from Kakishon. Even then, Obherak knew that he never wanted to leave, and so he kept this knowledge from Jhavhul, and when the shaitans turned against Jhavhul sometime later, Obherak led them here.
Today, the stone serves as the interdicted prison cell holding the imentesh protean Magiyawalla. She is stable, but unconscious at –1 hit points, and remains so as long as she’s imprisoned in the block. The unique nature of this block greatly enhances a shaitan’s stone curse ability—a creature forced into this block of stone with stone curse has its supernatural abilities, spell-like abilities, and fast healing suppressed, and can only attempt a Fortitude save against stone curse once per day to escape. To further her imprisonment, the shaitans make sure that Magiyawalla remains unconscious so that she can’t even do that.
Magiyawalla can be released from her prison in the same way someone can be forced out of meld into stone—further, she can be released by simply doing enough damage to the block of magically enhanced stone (hardness 16, hp 600), a task much easier with the aid of spells like soften earth and stone, stone shape, stone to flesh, or transmute rock to mud.
Spells used against the stone itself to free the protean do not harm her in the way that they would if used directly against her to free her (as detailed in the description of meld into stone).
The ground at the bottom of the chamber is protected by another stone wall identical to the one in area D1 above; this plug blocks another shaft that descends a further 60 feet before ending at the top of a spiraling ramp that winds down to area D5. The walls of this shaft are smooth and can be climbed with a DC 30 Climb check.
Creatures: Although no shaitans guard this chamber, the room is far from unprotected. Two deadly constructs, beings created of stone and shaped vaguely like gorillas covered with jagged stony spikes, stand vigil in this chamber. The ground and stone around them ripple and extrude spikes, almost as if the latter were infecting the nearby stone with their presence. These are spikestone guardians, ancient creations of Nex that Obherak discovered and was able to use his mastery over earth to influence and control. One construct stands guard before the north doorway, and the other construct guards the doorway to the south.
If the PCs free Magiyawalla or restore her to consciousness, the panicked protean immediately begins to roar in rage and fear. If the PCs don’t help her escape from her stone curse, she can immediately make a DC 22 Fortitude save to try to escape. As soon as she is released from the stone, her long-delayed return to the Isles of Not whisks her back into exile and she vanishes without a trace, returning to area A4. If the PCs are working with the proteans to rescue Magiyawalla, Lahapraset is true to her word. Only a round after Magiyawalla’s disappearance, Lahapraset and three naunet proteans appear in the room, transported here by the entropy pool. Still exiled, the proteans have only 1 minute to aid the PCs against whatever enemies still remain in this chamber, and they do their best to help finish the battle before they’re forced back to the Isles of Not for 24 hours.
Variant advanced stone guardian (Tome of Horrors Revised 220)
N Large construct
Init –2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, see invisibility; Listen +0, Spot +0
Aura spikes (5 ft.)
DEFENSE
AC 23, touch 8, flat-footed 23 (–2 Dex, +15 natural)
hp 96 (12d10+30)
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +4
Defensive Abilities construct traits; DR 10/adamantine; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10
OFFENSE
Spd 20 ft.
Melee 2 slams +17 (3d6+9/19–20)
Ranged spike volley +6 (2d8+9)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
TACTICS
During Combat The spikestone guardians move to attack anyone not escorted by a shaitan. They prefer to attack foes, but will use spike volleys against those who can avoid melee.
Morale The spikestone guardians fight until destroyed.
STATISTICS
Str 29, Dex 7, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1
Base Atk +9; Grp +22
SQ geniebound
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Aura of Spikes (Su) Natural and worked stone surfaces within 5 feet of a spikestone guardian temporarily reshape themselves into spiky surfaces. This aura moves with the guardian, and the spike stones persist only as long as the guardian is within 5 feet. If the guardian moves adjacent to a creature, that creature is not affected by the spike stones unless it moves. Any creature moving into, out of, or through a square within 5 feet of the guardian moves at half speed and takes 1d8 points of piercing damage for each square crossed. In addition, that creature must make a DC 16 Reflex save or have its movement reduced by half until it receives magical healing or a DC 16 Heal check administered over the course of 10 minutes. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Geniebound (Su) Unlike most stone guardians, these spikestone guardians are not linked to a specific ring that allows its wearer to command them. Instead, both of these constructs are bound to Obherak—they obey his commands without question, and if the shaitan is slain, a spikestone guardian immediately goes berserk, attacking the closest creature (even another spikestone guardian) for 1d6 rounds before it crumbles apart into rubble.
See Invisibility (Su) A spikestone guardian can employ see invisiblity, as per the spell.
Spike Volley (Su) A spikestone guardian’s spike volley targets one foe. It has a range increment of 60 feet.
Imentesh protean (see page 84)
hp 136 (currently –1)
Development: Although there are no shaitans initially in this chamber, the sound of combat or other loud noises swiftly brings those shaitans stationed in areas D3 and D4 running to investigate. Excluding Iqilma in area D1 above, there are a total of 6 shaitans in these chambers—they arrive in pairs every 1d4 rounds after combat begins in this chamber. If two shaitans are defeated, the remaining genies attempt to use earth glide to burrow down to area D5 to alert Obherak—if any of them succeed, they return in a few rounds with their leader to continue the fight.
The floor of this rectangular chamber is sunken five feet below the entry door, and its ceiling rises twenty feet above this lower floor. The chamber itself is outfitted for serious craft work, with many worktables and benches neatly stacked with boxes of tools and supplies, each etched with strange, blocky runes.
Shaitans possess a love of craft, and these rooms hold their permanent supplies of tools. They often work in the dark using darkvision, but for activities where precision and color are important, each table is equipped with a large, hooded brass lantern containing an everburning torch. Each workroom is also equipped with a genie-crafted “fireless forge,” a stone basin 5 feet across filled with coals that can be heated to forge temperatures (metal items placed within are affected as heat metal), with the heat contained to the basin and not affecting the rest of the workroom. These forges cannot be moved and function only for genies.
Creatures: Although Obherak counts dozens of shaitans among his small, ragtag army, the majority of his shaitans are out in Kakishon patrolling for proteans or trying to find out more information about what happened to Jhavhul. When the PCs first come to the fane, there are only six shaitans split among these four workshops. Roll 1d4–1 for each workshop to see how many shaitans are within until all six are assigned.
hp 58 each (see page 12)
Treasure: Each of these chambers contains 1d4 sets of masterwork tools for various metal and stone crafting skills (armorsmithing, stonecrafting, weaponsmithing, etc.); each set of tools is worth 100 gp. In addition, each room contains approximately 1,500 gp in masterwork weapons and armor.
This room is furnished with plush pillow-beds, elaborate wall hangings, and artfully crafted shelves laden with various personal treasures and effects.
The “doors” to these apartments are generally kept sealed with stone shape, as the shaitans simply earth glide through the rock to come and go. The walls are 4 inches thick (Hardness 8, hp 60, break DC 28). A DC 20 search of the walls separating an apartment from a workshop reveals strange whorls and streaks in the stone, identifiable as the results of stone shape with a DC 24 spellcraft check.
The domed ceiling of this tall, cylindrical room arches to a height of sixty feet. A spiraling stone ledge winds down from a shaft opening in the center of the ceiling to a circular room below. The gleaming black stone walls are lit at regular intervals by crystal lamps. Shelves and niches of polished white are inset along the ramp’s progress down the chamber, and at the chamber’s bottom are a number of what appear to be cushions and blankets.
Obherak’s chamber is a reflection of his personality, repeating minimalist decor and a sense of almost oppressive precision and focus. The “cushions” strewn about the room are, in fact, clever stone sculptures—comforts for creatures made of stone like the shaitans, but strange features to other creatures.
Creatures: Obherak spends much of his time here with his two concubines and bodyguards, shaitans named Jauann and Bulsara—all three come to the aid of the shaitans in the chamber above in response to either a genie’s call for aid or the thunderous detonation of the protean’s prison. If the PCs manage to make it down here without alerting Obherak, his initial attitude is hostile and the PCs have only a single round to attempt to soften his attitude before he attacks.
Male shaitan fighter 4 (see page 12)
LE Large outsider (earth, extraplanar)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +13,
Spot +13
DEFENSE
AC 25, touch 13, flat-footed 23 (+2 armor, +2 deflection, +2 Dex, +10 natural, –1 size)
hp 114 (13 HD; 9d8+4d10+52)
Fort +14, Ref +9, Will +10
Immune electricity
OFFENSE
Spd 20 ft., burrow 60 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee +1 flaming burst falchion +25/+20/+15 (2d6+19/18–20 plus 1d6 fire)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks metalmorph, plane shift, stone curse
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)
At will—meld into stone, soften earth and stone, stone shape, veil (self only)
3/day—quickened glitterdust (DC 15), stoneskin, wall of stone
1/day—stone tell, transmute mud to rock, transmute rock to mud
TACTICS
During Combat Obherak’s first action in combat is to cast stoneskin on himself and glitterdust on his enemies. He’s not afraid of using transmute rock to mud on the spiral of his chamber above or the floor below to catch PCs in a mess, since he can rebuild the chamber later with stone shape. He prefers to fight in melee, saving his ring of the ram to make ranged bull rush attacks against foes standing next to ledges.
Morale Obherak, arrogant and proud, fights to the death.
STATISTICS
Str 32, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 17
Base Atk +13; Grp +28
Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (falchion), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (glitterdust), Weapon Focus (falchion), Weapon Specialization (falchion)
Skills Appraise +14 (+19 against gems, metal, and stone), Bluff +13, Concentration +16, Craft (gemcutting) +19, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) +19, Listen +13, Profession (miner) +18, Search +14 (+19 in stonework), Sense Motive +13, Spot +13
Languages Celestial, Common, Ignan, Terran
SQ earth mastery, stone glide
Gear bracers of armor +2, +1 flaming burst falchion, ring of protection +2, ring of the ram (22 charges), gold circlet worth 2,000 gp
hp 58 (see page 12)
Treasure: Obherak’s collection of valuables and treasures is spread throughout the walls of this chamber, decorating the numerous niches. The treasure consists of 31,332 cp, 14,051 sp, 18 crystal bowls worth 10 gp (each containing 10 gp worth of polished marbles of precious metal and stone), a mithral medallion in the shape of 2 crossed falchions worth 300 gp, 21 everburning torch lanterns, a locked silver coffer (Open Lock DC 40) worth 500 gp (the coffer is empty), a block of incense of meditation, a pair of slippers of spider climbing, a bottle of air, and a figurine of wondrous power (onyx dog).