Nocticula

This frighteningly majestic creature spreads wide her rune-adorned wings. Molten iron weeps from her hooves, and her three tails are studded with barbs.
 

Nocticula (CR 30)

Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Demon, Evil, Extraplanar)
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Initiative: +13
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, Detect Good, Detect Law, See in Darkness , True Seeing; Perception +58
Aura: seductive presence (180 feet, DC 43), unholy aura (DC 33)
  Speed: 60 feet, Fly 90 feet (good)
Space: 5 feet
 

Defense

Armor Class: 48, touch 41, flat-footed 35 (+4 deflection, +13 Dex, +7 natural, +14 profane)
Hit Points: 774 (36d10+576) Regeneration 30 (deific or mythic)
Saving Throws: Fort +32, Ref +37, Will +35
Abyssal resurrection, Freedom of Movement
Damage Reduction: 20/cold iron, epic, and lawful
Immunity: ability damage and drain, charm and compulsion effects, death effects, electricity, energy drain, fire, petrification, poison
Energy Resistance: acid 30, cold 30
Spell Resistance: 41
 

Offense

Melee: 2 claws +48 (1d8+12 plus 1d4 Cha drain), 3 stings +48 (2d6+12/19-20 plus poison), 2 hooves +43 (1d4+6 plus 1d6 fire and burn), 2 wings +43 (1d4+6)
Reach: 5 feet
Ranged: Shadowkiss +54/+49/+44/+39 (1d4+20/17-20 plus poison)
  Special Attacks: Burn (3d6 fire, DC 44), cruel shot, domination, Energy Drain, poison, profane ascension, sneak attack +4d6
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 30th):

• Constant- Detect Good, Detect Law, Freedom of Movement, Tongues, True Seeing, Unholy Aura (DC 33)
   
• At Will- Astral Projection, Blasphemy (DC 32), Chaos Hammer (DC 29), Deeper Darkness, Desecrate, Dispel Magic, Greater, Teleport, Greater, Power Word Blind, Telekinesis (DC 30), Shapechange, Unhallow
   
• 3/day- Finger Of Death (DC 32), quickened Suggestion, Mass (DC 31), summon demons, Symbol of Death (DC 33)
   
• 1/day- Soul Bind (DC 34), Time Stop, Wail of the Banshee (DC 34)

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
34 (+12)	36 (+13)	42 (+16)	35 (+12)	32 (+11)	40 (+15)

Base Attack Bonus: +36
CMB +48
CMD 89
  Feats: Combat Reflexes, Craft Construct, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, Critical Focus, Fly-by Attack, Greater Feint, Improved Critical (Hand Crossbow), Improved Critical (sting), Deft Maneuvers, Precise Shot, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (mass Suggestion), Rapid Reload (Hand Crossbow), Rapid Shot, Staggering Critical
  Skills: Acrobatics +52, Bluff +62, Diplomacy +54, Disguise +51, Fly +56, Intimidate +51, Knowledge (arcana, local, nobility) +48, Knowledge (planes, religion) +51, Perception +58, Perform (dance) +51, Sense Motive +50, Sleight of Hand +49, Spellcraft +48, Stealth +52, Use Magic Device +54

• Racial Modifiers: +8 Bluff, +8 Perception

Languages: Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 300 ft., tongues
  Special Qualities: Change Shape (any humanoid; alter self), swift transformation

 

Special Abilities

Cruel Shot (Ex)

Nocticula is adept at making ranged attacks to strike cruel shots that deal significant and humiliating damage. She adds her Charisma bonus to all damage dealt by ranged weapons.

Domination (Su)

As a standard action, Nocticula can crush a foe's will. The target must be visible to Nocticula and within 120 feet. It must succeed at a DC 43 Will save or fall instantly under Nocticula's influence as dominate monster (CL 30th). If she uses domination against a humanoid creature, she may instead choose to use the ability as a swift action, and it functions as dominate person. As long as the target is under this effect, it gains a +4 profane bonus on all saving throws against targets other than Nocticula.

Energy Drain (Su)

Nocticula's energy drain functions identically to that of a succubus, except that she drains 2 levels when she uses this ability against mythic creatures, or 1d6+4 levels against non-mythic creatures.

Poison (Ex)

• Delivery: Sting or hand crossbow-injury
• Fortitude Save: 44
• Frequency: 1/round for 6 rounds
• Track: Critical Wisdom
• Initial Effect: paralyzed for 1 round
• Secondary Effect: paralyzed for 1 round
• Saves:

  Anyone who fails two consecutive saves against this poison is permanently blinded. Victims cannot recover from the effects of this poison's track unless cured by a Heal or Restoration spell, or equivalent.

Profane Ascension (Su)

As a swift action while in an act of passion with a willing mortal, Nocticula may grant a profane ascension. The target's name appears in glowing Abyssal runes on Nocticula's wings, and a crimson mark manifests somewhere on the target's body. The target immediately gains a +6 profane bonus to any one ability score of its choice, a +4 profane bonus to any other ability score of its choice, and the see in darkness ability. A single creature may have only one profane ascension in effect at any one time. As long as the effect persists, Nocticula can communicate telepathically with the target across any distance and may use any of her spell-like abilities through the target, manifesting them as if the target were using them. A profane ascension may be removed by a miracle or wish. Nocticula can remove it as a free action, dealing 4d6 points of Charisma drain and imparting 1d10+10 permanent negative levels to the victim.

Seductive Presence (Su)

Unlike most demon lords, Nocticula does not possess a frightful presence ability. Rather, she has a seductive presence that she can activate as a free action whenever she speaks or uses a spell-like ability. Anyone within 180 feet who fails a DC 43 Fortitude save loses any immunity to mind-affecting effects, charm effects, and compulsion effects, and becomes fascinated by Nocticula for 5d4 rounds. A creature affected by a mind-affecting effect while within this aura remains affected even after leaving Nocticula's seductive presence. Creatures that succeed at this saving throw are immune to this ability for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Shadowkiss

Nocticula's favored weapon is Shadowkiss, a +5 unholy hand crossbow that magically creates ammunition as it fires. Once a target is damaged by a bolt fired from Shadowkiss, the hand crossbow gains the bane weapon special ability against that target's creature type on all further attacks. Shadowkiss may only have one bane effect in place at one time. Bolts fired from Shadowkiss gain the ghost touch ability (an effect not normally available to ranged weapons).

Swift Transformation (Ex)

Nocticula can use her change shape ability as a free action.
 

Ecology

Environment: Any
Organization: solitary (unique)
Treasure: triple (Shadowkiss, 100,000 gp in various jewelry, other treasure)

  Nocticula is the demon lord of assassins, darkness, and lust, and rules the Abyssal realm of the Midnight Isles, a vast archipelago formed around the murdered remnants of dozens of demon lords and other powerful foes. Having been the first succubus and then having ascended to become a demigoddess, Nocticula now sets her eyes at a greater prize-full divinity. Lamashtu is the only demon lord who has accomplished this task so far, but Nocticula aims to be the second. What kind of deity she might become is anyone's guess-some believe that Nocticula is secretly seeking redemption from her demonic nature. Others say these rumors were seeded by Nocticula herself as a grand lie to distract her enemies from her true goal of becoming an assassin and seducer of gods.
  Nocticula is certainly mercurial in her personality and attitude. She may simply murder or enslave visitors to her realm, or she may welcome them with open arms-even those who one would think were her enemies. Only a fool accepts her invitation without suspicion, for what the queen of succubi wants may change dramatically from one moment to the next.
  Nocticula's Cult
  Nocticula is worshiped by assassins, the lustful, whores, shadow-using creatures, and of course succubi. These worshipers form relatively small cults, often akin to secret societies, that use brothels, nobility, or academies as a cover for their true purposes. A small number of heretics venerate her as well, not as a demigoddess of murder and lust but as one of outcasts, artists, and the glories of midnight. The fact that such heretical clerics are granted spells as surely as the rest of her worshipers has caused not a small amount of discontent among her faithful, which Nocticula seems to enjoy.
  Nocticula's symbol is a multi-pointed crown wrapped with thorny vines. Her favored weapon is the hand crossbow. She grants access to the domains of Chaos, Charm, Darkness, and Evil, and to the subdomains of Demon, Loss, Lust, and Night.