the accompanying stat block), who emerges from the
tower to greet new arrivals. Krull. whose shell is carvedwith Draconic runes that spell out prayers to Tiamat, is
joined by four ghouls that serve as his assistants. The
ghouls gnaw on bones and eye the characters hungrily
as Krull negotiates with them. Under no circumstances
does Krull allow intruders to enter the nine-story tower
and disturb hjg experiments or Arkhan's chambers.Krull is willing to lead the characters to Arkhan if they
have something valuable in their possession, such as the
orb of dragonkind recovered from Uldrak's Grave or the
unicorn rescued from the demon zapper (page 106).
Otherwise, the tortle instructs thecharacters to leave at once or die.
In addition to its undead defenses,the tower has four smaller drag-
ons living inside it: a young black
dragon named Slarkas, a young
blue dragon named Vistalancer, a
young green dragon named Vermi-
lius, and a red dragon wyrmling
nicknamed Flash. These dragons
attack characters who invade the
towe r and fight to the death to
defend it.Treasure. Krull wields a +1 maul
and carries five potions of healing
and two soul coins (see page 94)in a sling bag. The tower is filled
with laboratories, morgues, and
dragon hatcheries that might con-
tain other treasures protected by
magical wards, at your discretion.AR.KHAN THE CRUEL
Medium humanoid (dragonborn), lawful evilArmor Class 23 (obsidian flint dragon plate, shield)
Hit Points^221 (26d8 + 104)
Speed 40 ft.STR
20 (+5)DEX
12 (+1)CON
18 (+4)Saving Throws Wis +5, Cha +9INT
10 (+O)WIS
10 (+O)Skills Athletics +10, Deception +9, Intim idation +9CHA
18 (+ 4)Damage Resistances fire, poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and
slashing damage from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities frightened
Senses darkvision 60 ft. (can see invisible creatures out to the
same range), passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Draconic
Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)Aura of Hate. While Arkhan isn't incapacitated, he and all
fiends and undead within 30 feet of him deal^4 extra damage
whenever they hit with a melee weapon attack (already factored
into Arkhan's attacks). This extra damage is of the same type as
the weapon's damage type.Hand ofVecna. The Hand of Vecna has^8 charges and regains
ld4 + 4 expended charges daily at dawn. Arkhan can cast the
following spells from the hand by expending the s pecifiedDEVELOPMENT
If the characters convince Krull to lead them to Arkhan,
the tortle guides them safely to the Monument to Tia-mat (page 112). The characters could also stake out
Arkhan's tower and await the dragonborn's return.Arkhan reacts here as he does at the Monument to Tia-
mat, except that he can't summon Asojano the chimera.number of charges (spell save DC 18):.fingerof death (5
charges), sleep (1 charge), slow (2 charges), and teleport
(3 charges).
Innate Spellcasting. Arkhan's spellcasting ability is Charisma
(spell save DC 17). He can cast the following spells, requiring
no mate rial components:
3/day each: animate dead, branding smite {at 4th level), revivify
1/day each: geas, raise dead
Special Equipment. Arkhan wields Fane-Eater (see page 223)
and wears a suit of obsidian flint dragon plate (see page 224).
The armor gives Arkhan advantage on ability checks and saving
throws made to avoid or end the grappled condition on him.A CTIONS
Multiattack. Arkhan makes three weapon attacks.
Fane-Eater (Battleaxe). Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach
5 ft., one ta rge t. Hit: 16 (ld8 + 12) s lashing damage , or^17
(ldl O + 12) slashing damage when used with two hands, plus
9 (2d8) cold damage. If the target is a creature and Arkhan
rolls a 20 on the attack roll, the creature takes an extra 9 {2d8)
necrotic damage, and Arkhan regains an amount of hit points
equal to the necrotic damage dealt.j avelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach^5 ft.
or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing dam·
age, plus 4 piercing damage and 9 (2d8) cold damage if the
javelin was used to make a melee attack.CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUS Ill