Dagon (3.5e Monster)

''This is a demon from Liber Demonica. For the eponymous canonical demon lord, see Canon:Dagon.''

Information About Dagon
Alternative Names and Titles: Cthulhu, Keeper of Dark Secrets, Lord of the Depths, The Watcher

Symbol: A needle-toothed jaw surrounded by six tentacles.

Portfolio: Aquatic life, patience, passive observation, and the accumulation of both knowledge and wealth.

Domains Granted: Chaos, Corrupt, Evil, Knowledge, Water

Favored Weapon: Whip (or tentacle).

Dagon's Statistics Block
''Out of the swirling black waters rises an enormous creature with long tentacles that whip ferociously through the air. Its size alone convinces you that it is in fact Dagon, the Lord of the Depths. His rubbery, black skin is punctuated by a row of bulbous red eyes, which transfix you with an unblinking gaze. His size in impossible to accurately determine, but you guess he measures almost 40 feet from head to tail. You realize with horror that you are already too far into the water as your legs slip out from underneath you, caught in the vice-like grip of one of Dagon’s tentacles.''

The oceans of the Abyss have always be disputed by power-hungry demons of both sea and land who seek to control the trade routes and portals found across it. But of all the submarine monsters, Dagon is the biggest fish. As long as the Abyss has existed, Dagon has called its waters home. The lord of the Abyssal seas, Dagon is given sovereignty over the waters of each and every layer of the Abyss, making his realm practically infinite in size. He patrols the waters without sleep, endlessly assimilating knowledge for no purpose that is clear to anyone. If the demon lords were real world countries, Dagon would be Switzerland: he remains neutral while all the while constantly hoarding secrets and riches. No one knows when or from where he is watching, but his presence remains a constant warning to all those who would claim power in the Abyss.

Although Dagon has evolved into a form similar to an obyrith, his origins stretch back to before such demons had been conceived. His existence as an Voidborn, in which he served much the same capacity as he has throughout the times of demons, established him as one of the primordial beings of the cosmos, chronicling the fall of Asmodeus from the heavens and the rise of the Queen of Chaos to power in the Abyss. In her attempted purging of all Voidborn that she considered a threat, the Queen sent an aquatic monstrosity known as the Myrmyxicus to destroy Dagon. The creature, an eel-like demon hundreds of feet in length, attacked him with a fury he had never seen, since none of the aquatic beings had ever dared attack him previously. After a pitched battle that left Dagon with scars across his hide that he carries to this day, the Queen's minion failed.

It did, however, manage to fuse its essence with Dagon's, a last attempt by the Queen to acquire dominion over Dagon and, by association, his watery realm. Twisted and warped by the power of the Queen of Chaos, but not slain, Dagon now possesses the Obyrith subtype and all traits thereof. Much to the Queen’s frustration, however, he did not attempt to counter her, instead disappearing into the depths and eluding her scouts. He has existed in this way since, possessed of an enigma that even the strongest demons cannot crack. He is a silent shadow in the darkness of the sea, only responding to the calls of those he deems interesting and capable of contributing to his already vast stores of knowledge.

As the Keeper of Dark Secrets, Dagon has dirt on just about every significant player in the Abyss, but he never uses this information for his own purposes unless he is faced with a mortal threat. He is more than willing, however, to ply information for coin. Many a demon have attempted to scour the depths of the oceans looking for a rumored wealth greater than that of any other demon prince, but none have found any evidence of such a hoard.

Combat
Those who fight Dagon must first overcome the fact that he is typically underwater, but for most high level characters this hardly represents an insurmountable problem. As with most obyrith lords, his visage is his best weapon; those who fail their save against it are essentially doomed from the start. After that they must contend with his massive size and grappling ability, not to mention his spell-like abilities, all of which make Dagon a formidable and versatile combatant.

 (Sp): Dagon has the ability to advance his portfolio. This is considered identical to the wish spell, but may only be used to produce effects appropriate to Dagon's portfolio or goals. Dagon may only use this ability once per minute.

 (Ex): Dagon demands tolls from those who would cross his waters, making his fortune from taking tribute from those who offer it and terrorizing the ships of those who dare not. With a bull rush check (for which he has a modifier of +30), Dagon can attempt to capsize a sea-born vessel, dumping all occupants on deck into the water. The DC to capsize a ship with a bull rush check is equal to 10 + 1 per 10 feet in length of the ship. Those victims who fail a Reflex save (DC 35) are disoriented when first submerged and treated as dazed for one round thereafter as they get their bearings. This save DC is Strength-based.

 (Ex): Any intelligent non-demon that sees Dagon must make a Will save or be instantly bombarded with images of greatest atrocities in their species’ history, an experience that feels days long passing in mere moments. These images are so horrifying that those who see them are permanently scarred by the experience. Those who fail a DC 33 Will save are immediately driven to madness as the insanity spell, with one key exception to its effect. On any roll of “Do nothing”, a creature affected by this ability instead attempts suicide, automatically striking themselves with a melee attack that functions as a coup de grace. This effect may only be cured by a wish or miracle spell.

 (Ex): Dagon creates a supersonic tone beyond any auditory capabilities. It does, however, force any creature that doesn’t have the aquatic or water subtypes within 1 mile of Dagon to make a DC 33 Will save or become deathly afraid of water. A successful save renders the creature immune to the effects of the song for 1 hour. Any affected creature that possesses the ability to swim loses that ability whilst in the range of the song, and must make Constitution checks to avoid drowning even if they have an effect or item on them that confers underwater breathing.

 (Su): A creature that meets Dagon’s gaze must succeed on a Will save (DC 33) or become permanently enthralled and bound to his will. The creature now has its alignment changed to chaotic evil (as by a turn to the abyss spell at caster level 23rd) and is completely loyal to Dagon. It otherwise retains most of its original personality traits and can in many cases fool its original associates into thinking nothing has changed. The affected creature usually immediately requests to feel Dagon’s ravaging touch in order to better serve the Lord of the Depths (an invitation that Dagon, given his low number of travel-capable servants, typically accepts with relish). This save DC is Charisma-based.

He can grant spells to clerics, and gives access to the Corrupt, Corrupt, Evil, Knowledge, and Water domains. His favoured weapon is the whip (or a tentacle, if applicable) and his portfolio is patience, aquatic life, passive observation, and the accumulation of both knowledge and wealth.

Additionally, Dagon is immune to any attack that changes his form, mind-affecting effects, ability damage, ability drain and energy drain, unless such an effect comes from a creature that has a caster level or character level (or CR, for monsters) over 20.

Lastly, Dagon can burn off some of his essence to stop magic dead in its tracks. As a free action that can be used outside of his turn, Dagon can lose 50 hit points to counter any spell, supernatural ability or spell-like ability in Medium range, as if by greater dispel magic (although it can counter supernatural and spell-like abilities as if they were spells). This ignores temporary hit points, and can be used any number of times. For any ability with an ongoing or permanent duration, this merely suppresses it for 6 rounds.

 (Ex): As a swift action, Dagon may expel a cloud of jet-black oil that functions as a true darkness effect in a 80-foot spread centered around himself. This darkness even obscures the vision of creatures that can normally see through magical darkness if they have 20 or fewer Hit Dice. While caught in the ink, creatures must each make a single Fortitude save (DC 35) every round or contract a negative level. These negative levels are cumulative, and a successful save only removes a negative level once the target has left the cloud of ink. While in the ink cloud, a successful save only prevents the addition of another negative level. This save is Constitution-based. The ink disperses after 1 minute.

 (Ex): Whenever he accelerates (as if running) while underwater, Dagon moves 1400 feet. When he charges underwater, he may move up to 700 feet.

 : As an original Voidborn and perhaps the primordial creature in the Outer Planes, Dagon’s power is capable of matching all but the strongest of his peers. He receives a +8 enhancement bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls, a +8 resistance bonus to all saves and a +6 deflection bonus to AC. Dagon also has maximum hit points per hit die.

Additionally, the Abyss itself protects Dagon from any attempt to scry on him. Anyone that uses a divination effect on Dagon or the area within 1 mile of him must make a DC 34 Will save or become dazed for 1 round, and ending the effect automatically. Additionally, if the save is failed and Dagon wishes it, he can use an immediate action to transport himself over to the location of the user of the divination effect, even if it is on a different plane.

 (Ex): When Dagon strikes an opponent of Huge size or smaller with a tentacle, he may initiate a grapple as a free action. This allows him to grapple up to six creatures at once, one with each tentacle. If he strikes a single opponent with multiple tentacles, Dagon gains a +2 bonus to the grapple check.

If Dagon starts his turn with a victorious grapple check against a Huge or smaller creature, he may bring the opponent into his mouth and swallow them whole as a free action. The victim takes 23d6 points of crushing damage and 23d6 points of acid damage from Dagon’s digestive tract upon entrance and each of their turns they are inside thereafter. They and must also begin make Constitution checks to avoid drowning, if they weren't already.

Dagon’s interior suppresses magical effects as an antimagic field. In order to escape, the victim must deal 50 points of damage to Dagon’s stomach lining with a light slashing weapon in a single turn (treat as an automatic hit). Dagon's digestive tract may hold 2 Huge, 8 Large, 32 Medium, 128 Small, or 512 Tiny or smaller creatures.

He automatically has maximum ranks in all Knowledge skills, gains an additional competence bonus to Knowledge checks equal to his Hit Dice, and may automatically take 20 on any Knowledge check.

When contacted as a part of the contact other plane spell, treat Dagon as a greater deity for determining his ability to answer questions. In addition, Dagon is a uniquely qualified individual who knows just about anything worth knowing (treat any result of “don’t know” as a true answer), but is also slightly more willing to lie should the asker not seek the answers for purposes that he approves of (treat a result of “random answer” as a lie).

Dagon is constantly under the effects of a foresight spell (caster level 23rd). At the beginning of each encounter, Dagon knows precisely all information about the opponents he is facing down to the absolute minutia of their lives, allowing him to plan and adjust his tactics accordingly. He also knows the effects and charges (if necessary) of each and every magical item the opponents possess, even artifacts. [Note: These are things the DM and players should probably be tracking anyway, so it should not add too much extra number-crunching.]

 (Sp): As a full-round action, Dagon may bestow his ravage on a creature eligible to gain a level. That creature gains its first level in the ravaged by Dagon racial paragon class. If Dagon attempts to ravage an unwilling creature, it receives a DC 33 Will save to resist (Cha-based).

If Dagon wishes, he can attempt to share the senses of a creature that has at least one level in ravaged by Dagon. This works identically to a scrying spell, except it must be centred on the creature in question. In addition, Dagon maintains a constant telepathic bond (which reaches across any distance and plane) with any creature with at least one level in ravaged by Dagon. The creature doesn't get any say in the matter. Dagon may use either of these abilities at will, with a caster level of 23rd.

Additionally, if any creature with at least one level in ravaged by Dagon attempts to affect Dagon or the area within 20 miles of him with any ability, Dagon may choose to use dominate monster on that creature as a free action that he can use even outside of his turn. The creature receives a DC 33 save as normal. This has a caster level of 23rd, and the DC is Charisma-based.

Since Dagon knows almost everything, he can also create retrievers, which are rumored to be the sentinels that guard his vast undersea treasure hoard. The process is identical to applying his normal ravage, but is subject to the usual restrictions of becoming a retriever.

 (Ex): For another creature to retrieve Dagon’s vast stores of knowledge from his corpse is unacceptable. As a result, his death triggers a bodily response that renders the surrounding area impossible to navigate. In addition to permanently triggering the effects of a monsoon spell (caster level 23rd, centered around his corpse) in the closest area of open air, all water within the same area is clouded by Dagon’s ink. Both of these effects are permanent.

Caster level 23rd, DCs are Charisma-based (default 33).  (Ex): Dagon’s powers of sensory detection far exceed those of the obyrith or any other demon. In addition to seeing naturally as though under a true seeing effect, Dagon radiates a detect thoughts and discern lies effect to all targets within 20 miles of his location. He automatically knows the type, alignment, and Challenge Rating of every creature within that radius, and by concentrating he may communicate telepathically with any of them at will.

Dagon's Worshipers
Dagon uses his ravaged to scour other planes for information, which is constantly relayed back to him through a telepathic feedback loop. These distant scouts also had the effect of spreading knowledge of Dagon's existence to other planes, a measure no doubt calculated by Dagon as a means of attempting to achieve true godhood in the face of threats by other demon princes. He has attained a tremendous cult following on the Material Plane in general, where he goes by the psuedonym Cthulhu and has had several works about him published and syndicated by a high priest known as P.H. Craftlove.