Shemeshka the Marauder
A fiendish cross-trader whose impeccable grooming masks a core of evil.
Shemeshka the Marauder, female arcanoloth: CR 17; Medium Outsider (Evil); HD 12d8+24; hp 98; Init +3; Spd 30ft., fly 50ft. (poor); AC 28 (+3 Dex, +15 natural), touch 13, flat footed 25; Base Atk +12; Grp +12; Atk +16 melee (1d6/19-20/*2, razorvine) or +12 melee (1d4 plus poison, claw) or +12 melee (1d6, bite); Full Atk +16/+11 melee (1d6, razorvine) and +7 melee (1d6, bite) or +12/+12 melee (1d4 plus poison, 2 claws) and +7 melee (1d6, bite); Space/Reach 5ft./5ft. (15ft. with razorvine); SA Poison, spell-like abilities, spells; SQ DR 15/good; AL NE; SV Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +14; Str 11, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 19, Wis 18, Cha 17.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +20, Concentration +17, Diplomacy +20, Forgery +19, Gather Information +18, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (Arcana) +19, Knowledge (the Planes) +19, Knowledge (Sigil) +19, Listen +19, Sense Motive +21, Spellcraft +19; Exotic Weapon Proficiency (razorvine), Leadership, Negotiator, Persuasive, Weapon Finesse (razorvine headdress).
Possessions: Razorvine headdress (can be used as Masterwork whip dagger), amulet of proof against protection and location, gem of seeing, mirror of mental prowess, necklace of fireballs (type IV), ring of mind shielding.
Spells per day: 6/7/7/7/6/5/3. Shemeshka casts spells as a 12th-level sorcerer.
Spells known: 0-level; arcane mark, dancing lights, detect magic, Horizikaul’s cough* (DC 13), mending, open/close, prestidigitation, read magic, resistance, 1st-level; burning hands (DC 14), mage armour, portal detection*, protection from good, shield; 2nd-level; alter self, blur, death armour*, see invisibility, Tasha’s hideous laughter (DC 15); 3rd-level; avoid planar effects*, dispel magic, lightning bolt (DC 16), nondetection; 4th-level; confusion (DC 17), shadow conjuration, stoneskin; 5th-level; dominate person (DC 18), teleport; 6th-level; circle of death (DC 19).
Outsider Traits: Shemeshka has darkvision (60ft. range). She cannot be raised or resurrected.
Summon Yugoloth (Sp): 1/day, Shemeshka may attempt to summon another arcanoloth (if you don’t have Monster Manual II, use the same stats as Shemeshka or A’kin) with a 40% chance of success. This is the equivalent of a 6th level spell.
Yugoloth Traits: Shemeshka is immune to poison and acid. She has cold, fire and electricity resistance 10. She can communicate telepathically with any creature in 100ft. that has a language. A yugoloth’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as having the evil alignment for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Partial Immunity to Spells: Mind-affecting spells have no effect on Shemeshka.
Poison (Ex): Shemeshka’s claws are coated with poison (Fortitude save DC 18, initial and secondary damage 1 point Strength).
Spell-Like Abilities: At will – darkness, fly, heat metal, invisibility (self only), magic missile, shapechange, telekinesis, warp wood; 1/day – fear (DC 17), major image (DC 17). Caster level 12th. The save DCs are Charisma based.
Typically, Shemeshka will let her guards do the fighting for her (use the stats for Fighters given on pg. 117 of the DMG – a reasonable amount would be three 14th level guards [making her EL 19], but feel free to vary this amount), while whipping hapless opponents from behind with her razorvine headdress. She prefers not to claw or bite, seeing it as undignified, but if she’s forced to she will. Normally, she won’t bust out with spells unless she’s feeling threatened, but if she does, lightning bolt, Tasha’s hideous laughter and burning hands or magic missile may be on the cards. If she’s attacked by someone she’s overconfident about, she’ll circle of death them – she’d never get a chance to use it otherwise.
And NPC class levels, or lack thereof may not be the exact same from 2e to the 3e stats on Planewalker. 2e very rarely gave any non player races actual class levels, while 3e goes level happy with them it seems.
My own variant has Shemeska with some sorcerer levels, but she's not a powerhouse by any means. And still, she's very likely to sit back and watch her goons beat up on anyone who offends her before she'd lift her own hand.
Someone pays a group of Assassians to off Shemeska, with full knowledge that her death will "rattle the foundations of the Cage and its most powerful groups and persons" because they want to cause great havoc and problems in Sigil.
Hmmmm........................................
*dignified gaze*
"Essentially it's a case of if I die then it's only a question of who among many kills you first, because my death my trigger their own ruin and fall. And then they go on to destroy everyone around you and everything you care about. Imagine obliteration (or perhaps somehow its opposite if you're a Doomie) and that'd be your future staring you in the face."
*sneer*
"Besides, the rich and powerful of Sigil, and those who aspire to be either or both; they need my information, my darks, my secrets that I sell or hand out like poisoned candy to a small child in the Hive. I serve a purpose in Sigil, and to shun me is to hand my talents into the hands of your enemies and lose them for yourself. Not many, if any, can afford that position here in The Cage."
"So now, are you buying or selling? I'm a busy fiend you see, what can I do for you?"
Plus I use varient loths that are a wee bit stronger than the ones given to us by Wizards, my Arcanaloth is CR 18 and casts as a 15th level wizard. And I'd assume that Shemeska the Marauder would at least have a few more HD, even if she didn't have any class levels.
Good to see you still hanging around the boards Shem (Reaches down and pets Shem's dog head with huge, scaly dragon claw, and mumbles, "Such a nice doggy")
Originally posted by Lord of the Ninth
Uh, Shemy? Don't you have that thing where you reform one year later after your appearant demise back on your plane of origin? You know, as a 'loth an all? So provided you stick to the cage you are pretty much nigh-invulnerable. Pretty cool 'eh?
Plus I use varient loths that are a wee bit stronger than the ones given to us by Wizards, my Arcanaloth is CR 18 and casts as a 15th level wizard. And I'd assume that Shemeska the Marauder would at least have a few more HD, even if she didn't have any class levels.
"Well yes, of course. But if that happened, with the time it would take me to reform back on Gehenna and all, I might have to start over from scratch and all. Ugghhh... all that time wasted on what I've built up over such a long time."
"Besides, in my absence it'd give that OTHER 'loth time to get a toe hold into the city aside from that dinky little magic shop and book business... you know who I mean."
Anyways, in my own games I bump up Arcanaloths a bit. (and to a larger degree, Ultraloths. And Baernaloths obscenely so. For the Baern I don't much use stats at times.)
I typically use them with at least a few levels of sorcerer, and I typically allow them to learn new spells as a wizard, but cast as sorcerers. Usually this results in them casting as sorcerers with a doubled spell list.
Question Shemiska, is my Demiplane list nearing completion? I don't know of any other Demiplanes I could add(aside from made up ones) In that regard, do you have any Demiplanes that you have created that I could add to the list?
Originally posted by Sword_Of_Geddon
Good to see you still hanging around the boards Shem (Reaches down and pets Shem's dog head with huge, scaly dragon claw, and mumbles, "Such a nice doggy")
"Do that and you'll come back with a charred stump..."
*icy glare*
"I've only barked once here on the boards, and at the time there was a box of 'Shemmy Snacks' involved. I don't like to talk about that little incident..."
(And I have some demiplanes of my own that I've created, quite a few in fact. However I'm bogged down with work offline at the moment, and I'm running behind on those threads which I'd promised folks I'd read and comment on. My apologies)
I don't think that Shemeska would ever use her summon arcanoloth power, either. Given the relative rarity of Arcanoloths in Sigil the chance of A'kin appearing would be too high for her in anything but a life or death situation (and it would be questionable even then).
Shemiska: "You fools, if you thought one Arcanaloth was bad, how about TWO!"
(Shemiska waves her hands, invoking her Gate Power)
A portal appears, the Player Characters cringe, and out steps...AKIN!
Shemiska: "Oh no, not YOU"
Akin: "Well Shemiska, this is the price you pay for being evil, you should be more like me."
Akin turns toward the confused Player Characters.
"Ah, you, yes you good fellows, can I interest you in some merchandise?"
Shemiska: "Is this the Hell some of those Primes keep talking about?"
Originally posted by Shemeska the Marauder
"Besides, in my absence it'd give that OTHER 'loth time to get a toe hold into the city aside from that dinky little magic shop and book business... you know who I mean."
[pleasantly mischevious shopkeeper voice]
Oh, come come now, Shemeska, what could I possibly do? I keep telling you, I'm just a simple shopkeeper. Harmless as an Ethyk, that's me!
[/pleasantly mischevious shopkeeper voice]
I really want some total 3.5 revamps of 'loths, and soon! It's not really a problem for the more cerebral 'loths like the arcanos and ultros, but the shock troops are simply pathetic. And where are the dergholoths and hydroloths!? There's a 6 CR gap (I refuse to count marraenoloths) right in the middle of the 'loths heirarchy, it's infuriating!
For my own game, I've found that increasing the MotP 'loths primary stats by 10 and secondaries by 5 puts them (roughly) on par with 3.5 demons and devils. Still, I would like to see something official.
"How about I buy you back your dignity? Really, when exactly is it you intend to actually act proper for what we are? Seriously now, its high time you grew out of this little adolescent stage you've got where you have to act all rebellious and "good"."
"They always said you'd hung out with those 'celestial' kids from the other side of the Great Wheel too much when you were in your last years of training back on Gehenna. Everyone said they were a bad influence you know. Thats why I stayed away from those losers and rejects. I hung out with all the popular 'loths you know. I even got to be homecoming queen after I had the real winner assassinated the morning of the prom."
"But you never showed up at the prom, you stood me up! You hung out with those loser Archons and 'helped the needy' or some junk like that!"
*rolls eyes and glances over again*
"Ugg... when will you finally admit that you're just as evil as the rest of us. When you come around finally, let me know. You were cute back then when you still seemed evil and well, I'm single at the moment."
*ignores for 5 minutes*
"Oh? You're still here? Don't you have some shelves to dust or something to restock? Shoo!"
Originally posted by Shemeska the Marauder
"Ugg... when will you finally admit that you're just as evil as the rest of us. When you come around finally, let me know. You were cute back then when you still seemed evil and well, I'm single at the moment."
*ponders that for a while, glancing between Shemeska and Balaka, his Erinyes assistant*
Hmm... tempting, tempting. Yes, very tempting indeed...
*shakes his head and thinks better of it*
You know, I'm reminded of a quote from a nice (and incredibly blue) fellow I met during my travels that just about sums up what that would be like:
When you get in bed with evil incarnate, it always takes the covers.
*gives best toothy grin*
Though you know, I'm going to be visiting pandemonium for about a month or so, so If I come back completely insane, who knows? There might just be a chance for you yet!
*glances once again between Shemeska and Balaka and breifly considers "faking it" just to have his cake and eat it too*
[muttering to self]
No, that wouldn't be right... fun, yes, but not right...
[/muttering to self]
Originally posted by Choleric Psion
For the right amount of jink I can be the cosmic justice that puts an end to any extreme! I hate lawfuls as much as I hate evils. Put them together and you've got a combination that seriously pisses me off.
*puppy dog eyes*
But friend, I am neither lawful nor evil, what quarrel could you possibly have with little old me? I'm afraid that your valuable abilities are wasted here, "not worth a Yugoloth" as we Cagers say. Now here, let me show you some of my new wares...
Oh wait, I'm not evil anymore, so scratch that.
The secret language of craziebiach.
All those fiends and celestials, if they're worth half a plot on Ooze, have fire resistance or immunity, and those that don't have the saving throws to avoid anything. Me? I've got a Reflex save higher than the Spire.
ENERGY ADMIXTURE