Kigaugh, Narzugon Death Rider

D&D Fight Club
Kigaugh, Narzugon Death Rider
By Robert Wiese

Design Notes

While this is a very cool class combo for a mounted character, the narzugon mounted fighter suffers from the usual Armor Class problem of higher-level foes: Their Armor Class doesn't go up as fast as the player characters' ability to hit. Still, if played to his strengths, Kigaugh can be quite a handful and since he can keep foes from getting more than one attack on him in a round.

Among the devils, every being has its place, its role, and its duty in devil society. One does this, another does that. The narzugons are the devil cavalry, riding into battle on fiendish steeds or nightmares, greater barghests, or worse, and decimating the enemy lines as the diabolic infantry moves in. They are very effective at doing this.

Devil society believes strongly in giving promotions as a reward, and the best devils are selected for advance training or promotion to some new state (and new role). Kigaugh (close enough; you cannot pronounce his name in Infernal) is one such narzugon. A successful veteran of many battles, he was selected for advance training in mounted combat. He has taken to the training very well, and now he leads other narzugon corps. Sometimes his orders take him to the Material Plane for specific purposes, including training and reinforcing diabolic cultists.

Kigaugh is tall for a narzugon, and he always rides a specially trained nightmare. He takes very good care of his mount, and the two work as a real team in combat. He is always masked, and he doesn't use his baleful glare ability unless things look bad for him. He is not above teleporting away from a battle with his mount to save its or his own skin.

It should be noted that because of his mounted combat feats and abilities, scoring a critical hit doesn't do as much for him as the initial deadly or spirited charge did. Because of how damage multipliers work, a critical hit does not double damage when you are already doing 3x or 4x damage. A critical hit increases the damage multiplier by 1 (to 4x or 5x), which is still good but not as good as doubling 3x damage.

Kigaugh at 2nd Class Level

This version of Kigaugh is from soon after he completed his training, which is when he finds himself thrust into leadership roles. He is most effective when mounted and charging, and he uses his nightmare's flying capability to effect charges that keep him out of reach of foes during their actions. He is perfectly comfortable with fleeing, using his wand of cure moderate wounds, and returning to the fight.

Kigaugh CR 11
Narzugon ranger 1/windrider 1
LE Medium outsider (lawful, evil, extraplanar, baatezu)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; Listen +7, Spot +15
Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal, telepathy 100 ft.

AC 24, touch 12, flat-footed 23
(+1 Dex, +8 armor, +1 deflection, +4 natural)
hp 90 (12 HD); DR 10/good
Immune fire, poison
Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 23
Fort +14, Ref +13, Will +11

Speed 20 ft. in full plate (4 squares), base speed 30 ft.; Ride-By Attack
Melee +1 lance (mounted) +19/+14/+9 (1d8+6/x3) or
+1 lance (on foot) +19/+14/+9 (1d8+8/x3) or
mwk heavy pick+18/+13/+8 (1d4+5/19-20/x4)
Base Atk +12; Grp +17
Atk Options Mounted Combat, Spirited Charge, baleful gaze, favored enemy humans +2, summon baatezu
Combat Gearwand of cure moderate wounds
Windrider Spells Prepared (CL 1st):
1st -- speak with animals
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th):
At will -- desecrate, doom (DC 15), hold person (DC 16), suggestion (DC 17), greater teleport (CL 12th, self plus mount and carried gear only)
1/day -- order's wrath (DC 18), unholy blight (DC 18)

Abilities Str 20, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 18
SQ appraise mount, chosen mount, empathic link, mount proficiency 4 HD, see in darkness, wild empathy +7 (+3 magical beasts)
Feats Improved Critical (heavy pick), Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, Track[B], Weapon Focus (lance)
Skills Bluff +12, Diplomacy +13, Gather Information +17, Handle Animal +12, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (nature) +10, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +5, Knowledge (the planes) +10, Listen +7, Ride +19, Search +15, Sense Motive +15, Spot +15, Survival +15 (+17 in aboveground natural environments or on other planes, +17 following tracks, +19 following tracks in aboveground natural environments or on other planes)
Possessions combat gear plus masterwork spiked plate mail, +1 lance, masterwork heavy pick, ring of protection +1

See in Darkness (Su) A narzugon can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by a deeper darkness spell.

Baleful Gaze (Su) Those who see the narzugon's unmasked face see their own worst fears reflected in its eyes. The baleful gaze functions as a phantasmal killer spell cast by a 10th-level sorcerer (DC 18) against all within 30 feet.

Favored Enemy Kigaugh has selected humanoids (humans) as his favored enemy. He gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against humans, as well as +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against humans.

Summon Baatezu (Su) Once per day, a narzugon can attempt to summon 1d3 erinyes or another narzugon with a 30%

Appraise Mount (Ex) Kigaugh can compare two mounts of the same kind and tell at a glance which one is superior (stronger, faster, more intelligent, better stamina, and soon). By spending 1 round examining both, he can determine which has the higher score in any single ability of his choice. After a second round of study, a windrider familiar with that kind of creature can also determine whether each mount's score in that ability is average, above average, or below average for the species. After a third round of study, the windrider can tell how extreme that ability score is -- that is, whether the modifier it generates is more than 4 points higher or lower than the average for that species.

Chosen Mount Kigaugh has a nightmare as his chosen mount. It gains +2 HD, +4 natural armor, and +2 Str.

Empathic Link (Su) Kigaugh has an empathic link with his chosen mount out to a distance of up to one mile. He cannot see through the mount's eyes, but he can communicate empathically with it. Note that even intelligent mounts see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible.

Mount Proficiency Kigaugh gains a +2 competence bonus on any check to avoid being unseated while riding his chosen mount. In addition, he can ride any mount with 4 Hit Dice or less at the full benefit of his Ride skill, suffering neither the -2 penalty for riding similar mounts nor the -5 penalty for riding dissimilar mounts.

Wild Empathy (Ex) Kigaugh can use body language, vocalizations, and demeanor to improve the attitude of an animal (such as a bear or a monitor lizard) or magical beast (with a -4 penalty on the check). This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person, and Kigaugh has a +7 bonus to the d20 check.

Kigaugh at 6th Class Level

Kigaugh loves using deadly charge, or Spirited Charge, every round he can do so. He can make a single attack really hurt. He uses his spell-like abilities to soften up and distract the foes he is not killing with his lance, and prefers to whittle away a group of foes one at a time. Given a choice, he always goes after clerics first, and then anyone who looks like a spellcaster. He knows that those people can be dangerous and can restore any downed foes to fighting form.

Kigaugh CR 15
Narzugon ranger 1/windrider 2/cavalier 3
LE Medium outsider (lawful, evil, extraplanar, baatezu)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; Listen +9, Spot +17
Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal, telepathy 100 ft.

AC 25, touch 12, flat-footed 24
(+1 Dex, +9 armor, +1 deflection, +4 natural)
hp 124 (16 HD); DR 10/good; 25% fortification
Immune fire, poison
Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 23
Fort +18, Ref +14, Will +15

Speed 20 ft. in full plate (4 squares), base speed 30 ft.; Ride-By Attack
Melee +1 lance (mounted) +24/+19/+14 (1d8+6/19-20/x3) or
+1 lance (on foot) +23/+18/+13 (1d8+8/19-20/x3) or
mwk heavy pick+21/+16/+11 (1d4+5/19-20/x4)
Base Atk +16; Grp +21
Atk Options Mounted Combat, Spirited Charge, baleful gaze, burst of speed, deadly charge 1/day, favored enemy humans +2, summon baatezu
Combat Gearwand of cure moderate wounds
Windrider Spells Prepared (CL 2nd):
1st -- calm animals, speak with animals
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th):
At will -- desecrate, doom (DC 15), hold person (DC 16), suggestion (DC 17), greater teleport (CL 12th, self plus mount and carried gear only)
1/day -- order's wrath (DC 18), unholy blight (DC 18)

Abilities Str 21, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 18
SQ appraise mount, chosen mount, courtly knowledge, empathic link, mount assistance, mount feat (Improved Flight), mount proficiency 4 HD, mounted weapon bonus (lance +1, sword +1), Ride bonus +2, wild empathy +7 (+3 magical beasts)
Feats Improved Critical (heavy pick), Improved Critical (lance), Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, Track[B], Weapon Focus (lance)
Skills Bluff +12, Concentration +5, Diplomacy +13, Gather Information +17, Handle Animal +14, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (nature) +10, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +9, Knowledge (the planes) +10, Listen +9, Ride +23, Search +15, Sense Motive +15, Spot +17, Survival +15 (+17 in aboveground natural environments or on other planes, +17 following tracks, +19 following tracks in aboveground natural environments or on other planes)
Possessions combat gear plus +1 spiked plate mail of light fortification, +1 lance, masterwork heavy pick, ring of protection +1

See in Darkness (Su) A narzugon can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by a deeper darkness spell.

Burst of Speed (Ex) Kigaugh can double his mount's speed when charging, up to 4 times the normal speed. This ability can be used once per day without penalty to the mount. Each additional use of the ability in a single day requires the mount to succeed on a DC 20 Will save immediately after the conclusion of the charge or take 2d6 points of damage.

Deadly Charge (Ex) When mounted and using the charge action, Kigaugh deals triple damage with a melee weapon or quadruple damage with a lance on a successful hit. This ability must be declared before the attack is made and does not stack with Spirited Charge. He can use this ability once per day.

Summon Baatezu (Su) Once per day, a narzugon can attempt to summon 1d3 erinyes or another narzugon with a 30% chance of success.

Chosen Mount Kigaugh has a nightmare as his chosen mount. It gains +2 HD, +4 natural armor, and +2 Str.

Courtly Knowledge (Ex) Kigaugh adds his cavalier class level as a competence bonus to Knowledge (nobility and royalty) checks (already included above).

Mount Assistance (Ex) Kigaugh can assist any mount he is riding in one of two ways per use of the ability. First, he can use the cooperation and aid another rules to provide a +4 bonus (double the usual amount) to his mount's Armor Class or on any single attack roll or any skill or ability check the mount attempts. Alternatively, he can provide his mount a +10 competence bonus to speed for 1 full round. Mount assistance is usable once per round and requires a standard action.

Mount Feat Kigaugh's chosen mount has one bonus feat: Improved Flight.

Mounted Weapon Bonus (Ex) Kigaugh gains a +1 competence bonus on attacks with lance and sword while fighting mounted.

Ride Bonus (Ex) Kigaugh gains a +2 competence bonus on Ride checks (included above).

Kigaugh at 10th Class Level

With the addition of Power Attack to his arsenal, Kigaugh is now extremely formidable, though his Armor Class is not really sufficient to protect him from the most powerful enemy fighters. Thus, he really prefers the hit-and-run tactics that keep foes from making more than one attack at a time against him. He usually uses Power Attack for 5 or 10, depending on how easily he is hitting, and especially against humans. Sometimes he uses his lance two-handed for the extra damage when riding. With 4 times damage from a deadly charge and power attacking for 10, against a human he can do almost 150 points of damage in 1 round.

Kigaugh CR 19
Narzugon ranger 1/windrider 3/cavalier 6
LE Medium outsider (lawful, evil, extraplanar, baatezu)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; Listen +11, Spot +19
Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal, telepathy 100 ft.

AC 27, touch 13, flat-footed 26
(+1 Dex, +10 armor, +2 deflection, +4 natural)
hp 158 (20 HD); DR 10/good; 75% fortification
Immune fire, poison
Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 23
Fort +20, Ref +16, Will +17

Speed 20 ft. in full plate (4 squares), base speed 30 ft.; Ride-By Attack
Melee +1 thundering lance (mounted) +32 (1d8+9/19-20/x3) or
+1 thundering lance (on foot) +30/+25/+20/+15 (1d8+13/19-20/x3) or
+1 heavy pick +29/+24/+19/+14 (1d4+9/19-20/x4)
Base Atk +20; Grp +28
Atk Options Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Spirited Charge, baleful gaze, burst of speed, deadly charge 3/day, favored enemy humans +2, full mounted attack, summon baatezu
Combat Gearwand of cure moderate wounds
Windrider Spells Prepared (CL 3rd):
2nd -- bear's endurance
1st -- calm animals, speak with animals
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th):
At will -- desecrate, doom (DC 15), hold person (DC 16), suggestion (DC 17), greater teleport (CL 12th, self plus mount and carried gear only)
1/day -- order's wrath (DC 18), unholy blight (DC 18)

Abilities Str 26, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 18
SQ appraise mount, chosen mount, courtly knowledge, empathic link, mount assistance, mount feat (Improved Flight), mount healing, mount proficiency 4 HD, mounted weapon bonus (lance +2, sword +2), Ride bonus +4, see in darkness, wild empathy +7 (+3 magical beasts)
Feats Favored Power Attack, Improved Critical (heavy pick), Improved Critical (lance), Mounted Combat, Power Attack[B], Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, Track[B], Weapon Focus (lance)
Skills Bluff +12, Concentration +7, Diplomacy +13, Gather Information +17, Handle Animal +14, Intimidate +23, Jump +4, Knowledge (nature) +10, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +12, Knowledge (the planes) +10, Listen +11, Ride +25, Search +15, Sense Motive +15, Spot +19, Survival +15 (+17 in aboveground natural environments or on other planes, +17 following tracks, +19 following tracks in aboveground natural environments or on other planes)
Possessions combat gear plus +2 spiked plate mail of moderate fortification, +1 thundering lance, +1 heavy pick, ring of protection +2, belt of giant strength +4

See in Darkness (Su) A narzugon can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by a deeper darkness spell.

Full Mounted Attack (Ex) Kigaugh can make a full attack when his mount moves more than 5 feet but no farther than a single move action would carry it. This cannot be combined with a charge.

Summon Baatezu (Su) Once per day, a narzugon can attempt to summon 1d3 erinyes or another narzugon with a 30% chance of success.

Chosen Mount Kigaugh has a nightmare as his chosen mount. It gains +2 HD, +4 natural armor, and +2 Str.

Courtly Knowledge (Ex) Kigaugh adds his cavalier class level as a competence bonus to Knowledge (nobility and royalty) checks (already included above).

Mount Feat Kigaugh's chosen mount has one bonus feat: Improved Flight.

Mount Healing (Ex) Kigaugh gains a +4 competence bonus on any Heal checks he makes on a creature of the same species as his current mount and a +2 bonus on any Heal checks made on other creatures capable of serving him as mounts.

Mounted Weapon Bonus (Ex) Kigaugh gains a +2 competence bonus on attacks with lance and sword while fighting mounted.

Ride Bonus (Ex) Kigaugh gains a +4 competence bonus on Ride checks (included above).

Kigaugh' Nightmare Mount CR --
NE Large outsider (evil, extraplanar)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +14, Spot +14
Languages Abyssal, Infernal

AC 28, touch 11, flat-footed 26
(-1 size, +2 Dex, +17 natural)
hp 60 (8 HD)
Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +77

Speed (Kigaugh 2nd class level) 40 ft. (8 squares), fly 90 ft. (good)
Speed (Kigaugh 6th and 10th class levels) 40 ft. (8 squares), fly 90 ft. (perfect)
Melee2 hooves +12 (1d8+5 plus 1d4 fire) and
bite +7 (1d8+2)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +8; Grp +17
Special Actions flaming hooves, smoke

Abilities Str 20, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 12
SQ astral projection, etherealness
Feats (Kigaugh at 2nd class level) Alertness, Improved Initiative, Run
Feats (Kigaugh at 6th and 10th class levels) Alertness, Improved Flight, Improved Initiative, Run
Skills Concentration +14, Diplomacy +3, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (the planes) +12, Listen +14, Move Silently +13, Search +12, Sense Motive +12, Spot +14, Survival +12 (+14 on other planes, +14 following tracks, +16 following tracks on other planes)

Flaming Hooves (Su) A blow from a nightmare's hooves sets combustible materials alight.

Smoke (Su) During the excitement of battle, a nightmare snorts and neighs with rage. This snorting fills a 15-foot cone with a hot, sulfurous smoke that chokes and blinds opponents. Anyone in the cone must succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or take a -2 penalty on all attack and damage rolls until 1d6 minutes after leaving the cone. The cone lasts 1 round, and the nightmare uses it once as a free action during its turn each round. The save DC is Constitution-based. Because of the smoke it gives off, a nightmare has concealment against creatures 5 feet away and total concealment against creatures 10 feet or farther away. The smoke does not obscure the nightmare's vision at all.

Astral Projection and Etherealness (Su) These abilities function just like the spells of the same names (CL 20th); a nightmare can use either at will.

Carrying Capacity A light load for Kigaugh's nightmare mount is up to 400 pounds; a medium load, 401-800 pounds; and a heavy load, 801-1200 pounds.

Additional Feats

These feats are not presented in the Player's Handbook or Monster Manual.

Favored Power Attack (from Complete Warrior): When you use the Power Attack feat against a favored enemy, you may subtract a number from your melee attack rolls and add twice that number to your melee damage rolls. If you attack with a weapon in two hands, add three times the number. The normal restrictions of the Power Attack feat apply.

Improved Flight (from Races of the Wild): Your maneuverability class while flying improves by one step -- clumsy to poor, poor to average, average to good, or good to perfect.

About the Author

Robert Wiese entered the gaming hobby through the Boy Scouts and progressed from green recruit to head of the most powerful gaming fan organization in the world. He served as head of the RPGA Network for almost seven years, overseeing the creation of the Living Greyhawk and Living Force campaigns, among other achievements. Eventually, he returned to private life in Reno, Nevada, where he spends as much time as possible with his wife, new son Owen, and many pets.

He is still involved in writing, organizing conventions, and playing, and he models proteins for the Biochemistry Department of the University of Nevada, Reno.