Heliophage
Monstrosity · no Crown (Meridian)
T5d12Sovereign
A vast winged shape that blocks out the sun not with its body but with its appetite, eating light itself and leaving the world below in unnatural perpetual shade.
Tier 5 · Role Sovereign · Pool Vigor 7 / Vitality 30 · AC 14 · ATK +10 · Save DC 19 · Dmg d12
| Stat | Score | Mod | Die |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | 20 | +5 | d10 |
| Mind | 8 | -1 | -d3 |
| Sense | 18 | +4 | d8 |
| Heart | 14 | +2 | d4 |
| Cunning | 16 | +3 | d6 |
| Fate | 18 | +4 | d8 |
Passives
Sun Eater
Devours light from every source within 300 ft, leaving perpetual twilight. Its shadow pools beneath it no matter where the sun stands.
Maneuvers
Solar Consumption
Fixes its feeding on one creature it can see. That creature takes 1 Vigor damage at the start of each of the heliophage's turns until line of sight is broken.
Soaring Reposition
Flies up to 60 ft, dragging its shadow zone with it.
Declarations
Declared in the enemy tactical window and resolved at the start of its next turn. Any Vitality it loses first forces the disruption roll: on a 1 the telegraph is lost.
Light Detonation
Gorged on stolen light, it vents everything in a blinding burst. Every creature within 60 ft makes a Body save (DC 19): 5 damage and blinded for 1 round on a failure, 1 Vigor damage on a success. The heliophage then lies dormant for an hour, its best window of vulnerability.
Reactions
Absorb Light
When struck by light, fire, or radiance, it swallows the glow instead, taking no damage.
Tactics
GM tactics
The heliophage flies high and drains light, weakening the world below. It fixes Solar Consumption on the strongest threat and keeps line of sight on it. Gorged after extended feeding, it releases Light Detonation for catastrophic damage but lies dormant afterward. That dormancy window is the best opportunity to attack.
Running it
Rules
- Shield of Tier + Heart mod over a Vitality pool of 10 + 4 x Tier. Full Vigor at combat start; at the start of its turn it rolls 5 exploding d4s and regains 1 Vigor per 4. Dead at 0 Vigor and 0 Vitality.
- A hit rolls d12. A crit rolls two: 2d12.
- Crits on a natural 17+ (Cunning 16).
- Two or three attacks in a normal turn: multiattack is the threat scaler, and one swing a round makes it a mook.
- Sovereign: 2 Sovereign Actions a round, spent after other combatants' turns, on top of its attacks.
- Any Vitality lost while a telegraph is pending forces its disruption roll; on a 1 the telegraph is lost.
- Never checks morale: it fights to 0 Vitality or to the exit written into its lowest phase.
- NPCs never take wounds.