Cursed King
Level 10Attacks
Abilities
Trigger A creature within the cursed king's reach attempts to move away Effect The cursed king Strides up to its Speed, keeping the creature within reach until the creature stops or the cursed king has moved its full Speed. If the creature is still within reach, the cursed king makes a jaws Strike against it.
30 feet. When a creature enters or ends its turn within the cursed king's aura, it must attempt a DC 26 will save. If it fails, it becomes Frightened 2. If it critically fails, it's cowed into submission; in addition to becoming frightened 2, it must use its first action on its turn to kneel or flee from the cursed king. A creature who succeeds at its saving throw becomes immune to the king's false authority for 24 hours.
When a creature slays a cursed king, it must attempt a DC 29 will save. On a failure, it suffers the effects of the usurper's curse.
A creature with void healing draws health from void energy rather than vitality energy. It is damaged by vitality damage and is not healed by vitality healing effects. It does not take void damage, and it is healed by void effects that heal undead.
At the beginning of each of its turns in combat, a cursed king must attempt a DC 2 flat. If it succeeds, the DC increases by 1. If it fails, it immediately goes berserk, becoming mindless for the rest of its turn, immune to all mental effects, and attacking the nearest creature it can reach. While it's berserk, each of its unarmed attacks gain the deadly d8 trait. At the end of a turn it failed this flat check or whenever the combat encounter ends, the DC resets to 2.
DC 30 will saving throw. On a failure, the creature who killed the cursed king becomes Stupefied 1. On a critical failure, it becomes Stupefied 2. As long as that creature remains cursed, it can't remove or decrease the value of the stupefied condition in any way. Afflicted creatures must attempt the saving throw again every 24 hours, increasing the stupefied condition by 1 on a failure or 2 on a critical failure. If the condition ever increases past Stupefied 4, they transform, body and mind, into the same animal as the cursed king's head, similar to the critical failure effect of Cursed Metamorphosis.
Requirements The monster's last action was a successful Strike that lists Grab in its damage entry, or the monster has a creature Grabbed or Restrained Effect If used after a Strike, the monster attempts to Grapple the creature using the body part it attacked with. This attempt neither applies nor counts toward the creature's multiple attack penalty. The monster can instead use Grab and choose one creature it's grabbing or restraining with an appendage that has Grab to automatically extend that condition to the end of the monster's next turn.
Description
A cursed king is a grotesque mockery of ambition. When treasonous advisors, false prophets, and rebel leaders are captured by evil rulers, they're subjected to all manner of torture and humiliation before their eventual executions. But the cursed king isn't even granted dignity in death, as after their beheading, a desiccated animal head is sewn onto their neck. These horrific mummies are then dressed in fine linens and jewelry befitting royalty—a permanent warning of what happens to those who seek to rise above their station.
A cursed king is bound in servitude to the ruler against whom they once fought, forced to act as a bodyguard. Even the death of their maker gives no reprieve, as they guard the true monarch's tomb forever.