#Minion 585/33

[my-thunderchicken]

Cross in the Smoky Mountains by SenseiAshinaga

My sketch n skotch homework from this past week. 

[thecreaturecodex]

Demon Lord, Areshkagal

Image © Paizo Publishing

[Commissioned by @tar-baphon​. Appropriately enough considering her portfolio of riddles, there’s something about Areshkagal I just can’t figure out. She appears as a bonus boss in the Wrath of the Righteous computer game, but there’s no information online I could find about her abilities. So even though there’s at least a quasi-canonical version of the Faceless Sphinx out there, I could find nothing to incorporate into this version.]

Demon Lord, Areshkagal CR 27 CE Outsider (extraplanar) This sphinx has midnight blue fur covering a pale body. She has six legs, each tipped with golden, scything claws. Her head is faceless, with long blonde hair and a pharaoh’s headdress. She has a tail tipped with the head of a blue-scaled viper.

Areshkagal, the Faceless Sphinx CE female demon lord of greed, magical and mundane portals, and riddles Domains Air, Chaos, Evil, Trickery Subdomains Deception, Demon, Thievery, Wind Favored Weapon sickle Unholy Symbol a faceless woman’s head decorated with a bloody pharoah’s headdress Worshipers avaricious rulers, dragons, drow Minions evil sphinxes, golems For information on Areshkagal’s obedience and boons, see the Book of the Damned.

Areshkagal is the demon lord of riddles and greed, and is something of a riddle herself. Her demonic form resembles one of the aspects of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, which might be homage, coincidence or mockery. She has been deposed from her original realm, the Sea of Whispering Sands, by her sister Aldinach, but maintains a clawhold of power by occupying the Blood Clefts. And nobody knows the answers to her 24 Riddles of the Flesh, except herself. Supposedly cracking the code reveals great universal truths and material wealth, but all who have even heard of these riddles risk their mental stability.

Areshkagal rarely fights alone, as she has cultists, golems, demons and fiendish dragons to call upon. When in combat, she opens with her maddening riddles to stun foes. Anyone who resists their call, she pounces upon and plays with like a cat with a mouse. If a creature is capable of truly harming her, she offers them the briefest glimpse of her true face—which drops some creatures dead and makes others as evil as she is. Areshkagal is nearly impossible to pin down, and readily flees a losing confrontation. 

Areshkagal   CR 27 XP 3,276,800 CE Large outsider (chaos, demon, demon lord, evil, extraplanar) Init +9; Senses blindsight 120 ft., darkvision 120 ft., Perception +36 Aura unholy (DC 28) Defense AC 44, touch 23, flat-footed 43 (-1 size, +9 Dex, +4 deflection, +1 dodge, +15 natural, +6 armor) hp 585 (33d10+462); regeneration 30 (deific or mythic) Fort +29, Ref +31, Will +32 DR 20/cold iron, good and epic; Immune ability damage, ability drain, charm effects, compulsion effects, death effects, electricity, energy drain, petrification, and poison; Resist acid 30, cold 30, fire 30; SR 38 Defensive Abilities freedom of movement, improved uncanny dodge Offense Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (good) Melee 4 claws +47 (2d8+13/19-20x3 plus grab), bite +45 (3d6+13 plus poison), 2 wings +40 (2d6+6) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks glimpse the true self, gold claws, pounce, rake (2 claws +44, 2d8+13/19-20), riddles of the flesh Spell-like Abilities CL 26th, concentration +36 Constant—freedom of movement, tongues, unholy aura (DC 28, self only) At will—astral projection, blasphemy* (DC 27), chain lightning* (DC 26), control weather*, dimension door*, greater dispel magic, greater teleport, mirror image*, unholy blight* (DC 24) 3/day—demand (DC 28), gate (planar travel only, DC 29), greater invisibility, quickened mass suggestion (DC 26), permanent image (DC 26), empowered stormbolts (DC 28), summon demons and dragons, whirlwind (DC 28) 1/day—storm of vengeance* (DC 29), time stop*, wail of the banshee (DC 29) *Areshkagal can use the mythic version of this ability in her realm Statistics Str 37, Dex 28, Con 38, Int 30, Wis 31, Cha 31 Base Atk +33; CMB +47 (+51 disarm and sunder); CMD 71 (73 vs. disarm and sunder, 75 vs. trip) Feats Combat Expertise, Dimensional Agility, Dimensional Assault, Dimensional Dervish, Dimensional Maneuvers, Dimensional Savant, Dodge, Empower SLA (stormbolts), Flyby Attack, Greater Disarm, Greater Sunder, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Disarm, Improved Feint, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (mass suggestion) Skills Acrobatics +35, Appraise +39, Bluff +39, Diplomacy +36, Disable Device +33, Fly +37, Intimidate +39, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, geography, local, nature) +36, Knowledge (planes, religion) +39, Linguistics +34, Perception +36, Sense Motive +25, Sleight of Hand +38, Spellcraft +36, Stealth +34, Use Magic Device +36 Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic, Infernal, Sphinx, 24 others, telepathy 300 ft., tongues SQ demon lord traits, dimensional mastery, no breath Ecology Environment any land or underground (Abyss) Organization unique Treasure triple standard (crown of the faceless sphinx [treat as helm of electrical radiance that grants a +6 armor bonus as bracers of armor], other treasure) Special Abilities Dimensional Mastery (Ex/Sp) Areshkagal is immune to any effect that suppresses teleportation or planar travel abilities unless it comes from a deific source. In addition, she does not need to spend uses of mythic power to use the mythic version of dimension door in her realm. Glimpse the True Self (Su) As a swift action, Areshkagal can show her face to an adjacent creature. That creature must attempt a DC 36 Fortitude save; if it fails, it dies immediately. If it succeeds, it is sickened for 1 day and must succeed a DC 35 Will save or become chaotic evil and charmed by Areshkagal for 1 week. If the creature succeeds the second save, it is instead confused for 1 minute. A creature exposed to this ability is immune for the next 24 hours, regardless of its successes or failures. A creature under the effects of dispel evil or holy aura, but not protection from evil, is immune to this ability. Creatures with the chaotic or evil subtype are immune to this ability. This is a mind-influencing, charm, death effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Gold Claws (Ex) Areshkagal’s claw attacks count as being adamantine and magic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction and hardness. She gains a +2 profane bonus to attack and damage rolls with her claws, and deals x3 damage on a successful critical hit. Poison (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 40; duration 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d6 Con drain and 1d6 Int drain; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution based. Riddles of the Flesh (Su) As a standard action, Areshkagal can whisper her maddening riddles. All creatures within 60 feet that can hear her must succeed a DC 36 Will save or be paralyzed and take 1d4 points of Wisdom drain. A creature that succeeds this save is still staggered for 1 round. Each round, a paralyzed creature can attempt another Will save to negate this effect; if they fail, they take an additional 1d4 points of Wisdom drain. A creature reduced to 0 Wisdom is permanently confused, as per an insanity spell. This is a mind-influencing compulsion effect, and demons are immune to this effect. The save DC is Charisma based. Summon Demons and Dragons (Su) When Areshkagal uses her summon demons ability, she may also call up to a CR 20 encounter worth of fiendish red dragons or rift dragons.

[professorlizzard]

I posted 805 times in 2021

220 posts created (27%)

585 posts reblogged (73%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 2.7 posts.

I added 1 029 tags in 2021

#reblog - 582 posts

#plart - 92 posts

#categorical imperative - 77 posts

#nthspace - 68 posts

#tale of terror - 40 posts

#extraordinary implication - 39 posts

#majestic beast - 35 posts

#searing enigma - 33 posts

#vision of the surface - 32 posts

#halloween2021 - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 66 characters

#but there should also be fishbowl helmets for high ranking ones...

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Shepherds only dare to walk among the sheep because they have herd immunity

15 notes • Posted 2021-07-24 11:49:29 GMT

#4

If you hear whispers in dark from beyond the veil that keeps otherworldly horrors at bay, and you publish them as a book, that might be technically plagiarism.

15 notes • Posted 2021-07-10 16:17:27 GMT

#3

The PI-oneers are outsiders, who took refuge in the many spaces of Nthspace. Sometimes they look up the starless skies, and think about the void between voids, full of mathematics, potential, and enigmas...

17 notes • Posted 2021-04-06 20:54:57 GMT

#2

I had a dream that Evil Genius 2′s first minion type DLC will be this fellow

24 notes • Posted 2021-03-27 16:25:14 GMT

#1

Oh, to remember simpler times, when TF2 replays still existed, and I took out a sentry nest as a sniper

25 notes • Posted 2021-01-28 10:03:17 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[my-thunderchicken]

My Sketch n Skotch homework from last week. We were to take a known character and redesign using the same elements. I don’t feel that I succeeded. I almost didn’t finish this one as I wasn’t happy with it, but it was too late to start another. It turned out okay, maybe a little too sexy. 

[my-thunderchicken]

My sketch n skotch homework from last week. We were to take a character and draw them in an old timey style. Now, most people thought of old style cartoons, I went with Gone With the Wind. This is Liliana of the Veil being herself in the antebellum south.

[my-thunderchicken]

My sketch n Skotch skwomework for this past show. The theme was dragon. My dragon is in love. 

[my-thunderchicken]

This weeks sketch n skotch doodle. The theme was an alternate head for the headless horseman to carry around. 

[my-thunderchicken]

My j-doodle from last nights SkethnSkotch with Steve Argyle. Our theme was to draw a monster out of the parts of anatomy that drive artists crazy, like hands, feet, eyes or hair. So, here’s my eye/hand monster. 

[my-thunderchicken]

This weeks Sketch n Skotch doodle theme was “the real reason behind the eclipse”. This is my doodle. Happy summer sun is blocked by grumpy cat. 

[my-thunderchicken]

J-doodle this past show was to draw a favorite character “on” a plane. Here is my interpretation of that. Ratchet tried to board normally, but was stopped by the “no pets allowed” sign. Not being deterred, he found a way to get to his destination. Yes, there is a slight tinge of fear in that face. 

[my-thunderchicken]

Back in 2011 I began to create this character who was half dog half man. Joshua Henderson was born and became two characters in two books. One, a superhero named Bark in a futuristic story. (Coming soon from Cosby Media Productions). Then, I re-created the character in an alternate history story where he is also a hero cursed to be half dog. Each story is unique and exciting. I drew Bark in 2011 and was pretty pleased with the outcome. I drew the colored version last month and am very pleased with the outcome. What I want to show you is that practice is important. I have worked a long time to develop any skills with art and still have a long long way to go. Before anyone tells me "I could never do that," hear the words of Julia from Joshua's story, “Don't worry about what you aren't today. Imagine what you might become tomorrow.”

[my-thunderchicken]

My sketch n skotch j-doodle for this week. We were asked to draw one of our favorite characters cooking. Psyduck is my favorite pokemon of all time...don’t judge me. Anyway, he got a little hungry and found a nice open flame. Charmander wasn’t amused. 

[my-thunderchicken]

My J-doodle from Sketch n Skotch this week. Steve challenged us to the Gozer challenge, pick our destroyer of the world. So, we picked something that should be benign, but made it a destroyer. 

[my-thunderchicken]

My j-doodle for Sketch n Skotch this week was to gender bend a MTG plainswalker. I know nothing about MTG, so I just picked the one I know of from Steve’s stuff. Then, I did a terrible job. This was the results. 

[my-thunderchicken]

This week for skwomework, I did my own thing (as well as what Steve assigned). I drew a doodle of fellow sketchnskotcher Poisonstripes. This is her character, not sure what the character is for but it’s hers. 

[my-thunderchicken]

Forgot to post this from a few weeks back. This was the J-doodle for the Sketch n Skotch a couple weeks ago. We were helping Kat figure out how to draw a character who is a Minotaur who dresses fancy...in a cowboy hat.