Head of Hades 4 (12)

Planar Bestiary

A humanoid head floats in murky fluid within a transparent crystal crucible. The crucible is sealed with an ornate leaden lid depicting stylized devilish imps holding and reading from unwound scrolls. Though not immediately visible, prolonged scrutiny into the murk reveals that the head doesn't end in a stump, but instead seems to be a coiled-up fat worm.

Many a spellcaster would be happy to run across a head of Hades, because these creatures are fonts of occult wisdom, offering hard-to-find knowledge, true insights, and even foreknowledge. The head indicates that one day they will call in the debt, but doesn't say how or when.

A head of Hades is constructed by a more powerful fiend in order to ultimately bring more willing souls to Hades as larvae.

Motive: Tempt knowledge-seekers, transform them into minor fiends

Environment: Anywhere in the multiverse, often as a possession of a spellcaster

Health: 15

Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (4 points)

Armor: 2

Movement: Immediate

Modifications: Speed defense as level 5 due to tiny size; deception, persuasion, and resisting mental influence as level 7

Combat: If forced into combat, the head can make a "withering ray" attack on a target within short range, inflicting 4 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) on a failed Speed defense task.

Alternatively, a head can paralyze a target within short range that fails an Intellect defense task. The target is paralyzed for one minute, or until they can succeed on an Intellect task on their turn to end the effect early.

However, the head prefers to suborn a target by offering the wisdom of Hades to anyone willing to hear secrets. If a target agrees, the head can spend a couple of rounds in whispered conference, bestowing one of the following benefits:

• secret knowledge, or an actionable clue toward finding that knowledge
• foreknowledge for 1 hour that prevents the target from being surprised and eases the target's tasks, including attacks and defense (except defenses against attacks made by the head of Hades)
• general counsel and a head to talk with that seems to offer a sympathetic ear

If a target has ever taken advantage of the head's knowledge, at some point hours, days, or months later, the head calls in their debt. A vulnerable target within short range of the head that fails a level 5 Intellect defense task descends one step on the damage track. They must repeat the defense task at the end of their next turn, ending the effect on a success, or transforming into a minor fiend on a failure. The transformed target retains their facial features but has the body of a fat worm, and has only a few fading memories of their previous life. The transformation lasts until the target is freed by a spell able to lift curses or other powerful magic, or if the head of Hades responsible for the transformation is killed.

The head of Hades is immune to cold, necrotic, and poison attacks.

Interaction: The head of Hades offers wisdom at a price, speaking in a common language or telepathically. After an indeterminate amount of time, a head of Hades decides to move on, and they call in the debt by transforming their "owner" into a helpless minor fiend that's eventually drawn to Hades.

Use: After explorers defeat a powerful spellcaster who always seemed to know too much, they discover a head of Hades willing to switch to a new "confidant."

GM Intrusion: The head attempts to deceive a character, charging another allied character with some crime or future, inevitable betrayal.