**Creature Type:** Gargantuan Undead (Titan) **Alignment:** Chaotic Evil **Challenge Rating:** 30 (155,000 XP) --- ### Description The Necrotic Behemoth, Awakened Form, is the second phase of the infamous undead titan that plagues Solare. When the Behemoth feeds on enough life—particularly divine or natural sources like the [[Sylrathis|Eldertree]]—it undergoes a catastrophic metamorphosis. Its rotting mass becomes armored in fused bones, god-corpses, and bark twisted by necrotic energy. In this state, it is no longer merely a threat—it is an extinction event. Legends speak of this awakened form as a creature that even the gods fear to face directly. It cannot be truly destroyed unless by divine act or a wish spell delivered immediately after its apparent death. Until then, it will rise again and again, bringing death to all life that clings to the world. --- ### Origins and Divine History Before the gods of the modern pantheon took shape—before [[Perserphina]], [[Dijinus, God of Fire|Dijinus]], and Cyrill shaped the age of beauty and magic—there were the **Prime Entities**, the first forces to sculpt reality. Among them stood **The Great God**, radiant origin of virtue; **[[Gonosh]]**, the Orc god of War, Strength, and Honor; **Hagsurium**, the god of Pure Death and Corruption; **Morthil**, god of Elves and the wild hunt; **Thragos**, the Stone-Lord of Dwarves; and others whose names are lost to time. These entities did not act in unison. The evil-aligned Prime Entities, like Hagsurium, worked in isolation or outright opposition to the others in the early ages. The forces of good and neutrality shaped Solare in fragmented unity, unaware that something **unseen** lay dormant beneath their creation. The Behemoth was not made by the Prime Entities. It was not born of divine will or cosmic law. It simply _was_—a slumbering hunger, older than creation, older even than death. It represented the **antithesis of purpose**, of shaping, of divine intent. It was during the First Age of Solare, amid the rising light of new creation and the conflicts of the Prime Entities, that the Behemoth first awoke. Though its presence was subtle at first—masked by war, death, and elemental chaos—it began to spread. Temples blackened. Forests decayed. Divine essence weakened. And only **Therynn**, goddess of renewal and cycles, recognized it for what it was. She descended to face the Behemoth alone. She was devoured. The surviving Prime Entities, horrified by what had occurred, banded briefly to put the creature to rest. Hagsurium devised the first Death Ward. Thragos carved sealing mountains. Morthil and [[Gonosh]] warded the forest paths with life and strength. The Behemoth, bloated with divinity, sank beneath the crust of Solare—and slept. Eons passed. The world was shattered. Reborn. Now, in the Age of [[Perserphina]], the **Cloud Giants**, driven by ambition and ancient prophecy, have allied themselves with **[[Anam]]**, [[Anam|the Withered One]]. Delving into forbidden ruins and wielding a shattered fragment of the **[[Shield of the Gods]]**, they broke the Behemoth’s slumber. The [[Sylrathis|Eldertree]], pure and sacred, is to be corrupted and partially devoured as part of their plan. Their aim is nothing less than apotheosis: to use the [[Sylrathis|Eldertree]]'s divine connections and the Behemoth's annihilating force to destroy the gods themselves—and rise in their place. The Behemoth stirs. And the divine remember their fear. --- ### Why the Gods Fear It **The Veil of Nullification:** The Awakened Behemoth emits a reality-distorting field that repels divine magic and remote godly interference. Any divine spell or miracle cast from outside the Material Plane automatically fails unless the caster succeeds on a DC 35 Charisma check, representing sheer divine force breaking through the Behemoth’s existential rejection. **Divine Reversal:** If a god or divine avatar attempts to warp reality in the Behemoth's presence using a divine effect, the result may backfire catastrophically. The Behemoth reflects reality-warping effects targeting it unless the caster succeeds a DC 28 Wisdom saving throw. **Pre-Divine Entity:** The Behemoth is not a creation of the gods. It existed before their time, a manifestation of decay and consumption born from the moment the first life stirred. Its nature is alien to divine order—it cannot be reasoned with, bargained with, or bound. **Faith Devourer:** It feeds on the silence left in the wake of destroyed temples and slaughtered worshippers. Each loss of faith is its nourishment, and entire pantheons grow dim where it walks. **Historical Precedent:** The goddess Therynn, once the divine embodiment of renewal and nature’s balance, manifested physically to destroy the Awakened Behemoth. She failed. Her divine spark was consumed. Her weapon, the Sickle of Renewal, now hangs twisted and fused into the Behemoth’s tail like a blasphemous trophy. Her followers lost their divine gifts for 33 years, and her name faded from many holy texts. --- ### Stat Block **Armor Class:** 28 (World-Eater's Shell) **Hit Points:** 1,200 (80d12 + 640) **Speed:** 60 ft., burrow 40 ft. **Proficiency Bonus:** +9 **STR** 30 (+10) **DEX** 10 (+0) **CON** 26 (+8) **INT** 6 (-2) **WIS** 18 (+4) **CHA** 22 (+6) **Saving Throws:** Con +17, Wis +13, Cha +15 **Skills:** Perception +13 **Damage Resistances:** Cold, Fire, Force, Lightning, Radiant; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from magical weapons **Damage Immunities:** Necrotic, Poison **Condition Immunities:** Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned, Stunned **Senses:** Darkvision 180 ft., Tremorsense 120 ft., Passive Perception 23 **Languages:** Understands Abyssal and Druidic but can't speak --- ### Traits **Legendary Resistance (3/Day):** If the Behemoth fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. **Divine Bane:** The Behemoth cannot be permanently destroyed except by a _wish_ spell or divine act within 1 round of its defeat. **Unending Flesh:** While at 0 hit points, the Behemoth does not fall unconscious or die until the end of its next turn. **Magic Immunity:** Immune to all spells of 7th level or lower unless cast via divine artifact, sacred grove, or by a servant of a god. **Aura of Extinction:** 120-foot radius becomes necrotic wasteland. Non-construct creatures must succeed on a DC 25 Constitution save or take 100 (20d10) necrotic damage and have healing suppressed for 1 minute. **Consume Divinity:** If the Behemoth kills a god, demigod, or divine creature, their soul cannot be restored by any means short of _wish_ or direct divine intervention for 100 years. When it swallows or reduces a divine creature to 0 hit points, it may consume their divine spark as a bonus action, gaining one of their traits or powers until slain. That god ceases to grant spells to followers for 3d10 days. **Domain Nullification (Aura):** Within 60 feet of the Behemoth, clerics, paladins, warlocks, celestials, and avatars lose access to divine powers, including Channel Divinity, Divine Smite, Lay on Hands, and all features granted by divine patrons. Only nature magic (druids) or pactless arcane spells function normally. **Faith Consumption:** When the Behemoth destroys a temple or sacred site, it gains 20 temporary hit points and followers of the associated deity within 1 mile suffer disadvantage on saving throws for 24 hours. If it slays a divine avatar or demigod, it gains an extra Legendary Action for the rest of the encounter. --- ### Actions **Multiattack:** Five attacks — 2 claws, 1 bite, 1 tail, 1 stomp. **Claw:** +19 to hit, 6d10+10 slashing damage. **Bite:** +19 to hit, 8d12+10 piercing damage. Swallows Huge or smaller target on failed DC 25 Dex save. Target takes 10d10 necrotic per turn. Divine creatures grant it temp HP equal to their max HP. **Tail Slam:** +19 to hit, 6d8+10 bludgeoning damage. DC 25 Strength save or be knocked prone and thrown 60 ft. **Stomp:** Each creature in a 20-foot radius within 10 ft must make DC 25 Dexterity save or take 10d10 bludgeoning and be knocked prone. **Cataclysmic Pulse (Recharge 5-6):** DC 26 Constitution save or take 32d10 necrotic damage, be stunned, and unable to heal for 1 minute. --- ### Legendary Actions **Claw Attack (1):** Makes one claw attack. **Ruin the Land (2):** 60-foot radius becomes cursed terrain. Healing auto-fails, movement halved. **Graveblight Beam (3):** 100-ft line, 20-ft wide. DC 26 Con save or take 20d8 necrotic. Targets reduced to 0 HP are disintegrated and can only be restored via _wish_ or _true resurrection_. --- ### Mythic Action (1/Encounter) **God-Killer’s Howl:** All divine beings within 1 mile must make a DC 28 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, they lose immortality for 1 hour and can be permanently slain. Avatars and celestials are instead destroyed instantly and banished in fragments to their home plane. ### Throne of Despair (1/Day, Mythic Reaction)** _When three or more divine beings attempt to directly attack, bind, or suppress the Behemoth within the same round, it instinctively anchors itself deeper into the fabric of Solare._ **Trigger:** The Behemoth is targeted by three or more divine spells, Channel Divinities, or divine avatars’ actions during the same round. **Effect:** The Behemoth sinks into the weave of Solare itself, becoming briefly **untouchable**: - **Until the start of its next turn:** - It becomes **immune to all damage and conditions**. - All divine effects within 300 feet are **counterspelled** automatically. - Each divine creature within 300 feet must succeed a **DC 27 Charisma saving throw** or be **banished to their home plane**, unable to return for 24 hours. **Additional Effect:** For every god or avatar banished this way, the Behemoth **absorbs their absence**: - It regains 100 hit points per banished divine entity. - For 1 hour, the Behemoth’s attacks **critically hit** divine creatures on a roll of 18–20. --- ### The World Reacts to Its Return When the Necrotic Behemoth stirs once more, Solare itself responds. The world recoils—not with a single tremor, but with a cascading unraveling of all that holds life in harmony. **Seers and Dreamers:** Across Solare, oracles fall into waking trances, their eyes turning black with rot or white with radiant fear. Many speak the same fragmented phrase: “It walks again.” Some go mad. Others go silent. **Druids and Forests:** The ancient groves grow still. The birds no longer sing. Trees whisper warnings in Druidic only the eldest can understand. Infected rootlines carry corruption across entire continents. **Cities and Kingdoms:** Those with divine blood or blessings grow ill without cause. Holy relics dim. Clerics report faltering spellcasting. People awaken from nightmares drenched in sweat, having seen a figure of bone and bark devour the sky. **The Sky:** Strange eclipses and false auroras bloom over regions even where magic is dormant. Star alignments break celestial patterns, confusing astrologers and divine scholars alike. **Animals:** Beasts of instinct grow silent in its presence. Herds stampede without cause. Dogs refuse to enter the open. Birds fall dead mid-flight as if struck by unseen dread. **The Divine:** Some lesser deities retreat into their realms. Others cut communication with their temples entirely. The greater gods remain silent—either in planning or in fear. Even Solare herself—the sentient weave of the plane—shudders. Tremors echo through leylines. Magic begins to unravel in the lands closest to the Behemoth’s influence. For the first time since the Age of Rebirth, the **world knows fear—not of death, but of uncreation.** --- ### Cryptic Texts and Forbidden Lore Throughout Solare, rare and often suppressed fragments of knowledge speak of the Necrotic Behemoth’s origin and return. These ancient scrolls, coded treatises, and forgotten prophecies are studied only by the most daring or desperate sages: **1. The Root-Song of Therynn (Crystal Tablets):** Hidden deep in the ruins of the Emerald Grove, this fragmented prayer-song warns of a cycle beyond life and death. It foretells the fall of a goddess and the return of a hunger older than creation. **2. The Bone Hexacant (Wormbound Parchment):** Written in a language lost to all but undead scholars, this stitched scroll is found in Hagsurium-blessed catacombs. It describes a god-consuming entity "beyond decay" and references the ritual to awaken it using a piece of the divine Shield. **3. The Cloud Giant Apotheosis Map (Obsidian-etched Star Chart):** Recovered from the broken sky-temples of the northern peaks, this celestial chart shows convergence points between ley-lines and divine arteries—sites the Cloud Giants target to sever divine control and feed the Behemoth. **4. The Testament of [[Gonosh]] (Blood-inscribed Spear Haft):** The haft of an orcish relic from the First Age, now housed in secret within the vaults of Brensistria, bears an ancient oath: "Should the World-Eater stir again, we shall not flee—but roar." **5. The [[Sylrathis|Eldertree]] Rootglyph (Organic Living Script):** Found only in the deep sanctum of the [[Sylrathis|Eldertree]] itself, this [[glyph]] pulses with a divine warning. Only druids of the highest circle can interpret it—and doing so carries the risk of madness or death. **6. The Codex of Still Ash (Blackened Tome):** Said to have been transcribed by a blind priest after the death of Therynn, this codex contains a dozen contradicting visions of the Behemoth’s final return. Some say it ends the gods. Others claim it _becomes_ one. These artifacts are scattered across Solare and hunted by necromancers, giants, and divine agents alike—each hoping to uncover the truth, or bury it forever. --- ### Why It Never Truly Dies Even in its slumbering or seemingly defeated state, the Necrotic Behemoth cannot truly die—because it is not a creature within the cycle of life and death. It is a force, a rejection of all cycles, and thus stands outside them. Unlike gods, mortals, or even the undead, the Behemoth is not held within the weave of Solare. It is older, deeper, and intrinsic to the plane's unmaking. **It was never created.** There is no moment of birth, no origin spark that can be snuffed out. It existed when creation was still breathless. **It cannot be banished.** It does not reside in a plane—it _is anchored to Solare itself_. As long as the plane exists, the Behemoth’s presence lingers beneath it. **It feeds in defeat.** Each time it is brought low, something—soil, memory, or silence—is claimed in return. Followers of defeated gods forget prayers. Forests rot from within. Dreams become dimmer. **It always reforms.** Unless a god or artifact fulfills the precise divine ritual to **unmake its presence completely**, the Behemoth’s body will reform over decades—or centuries—somewhere deep beneath the world. And with each cycle, it remembers more. There are whispers among the most learned: _the Behemoth cannot die because Solare itself is its cradle—and in the end, it may be its heir._