Cloud Castle of the Storm KingSource Ultimate Equipment pg. 336, Advanced Player's Guide pg. 316
Aura strong (all schools) CL 20th
Slot none; Price —; Weight —DescriptionOnce the fortress of a legendary tyrant known only as the
Storm King, this castle now wanders the known universe,
sometimes at the whim of its master, but often as a drifting
and aimless haunt of powerful monsters, ignorant of—or
unable to tap into—its fantastic power.
This grand and opulent castle is held aloft and propelled by
a foundation of storm clouds constantly rumbling with thunder
and crackling with electrical storms. Atop the massive storm
cloud, the castle is shaped like a square, with 80-foot guard
towers at each corner. At its center is a 140-foot tower with
seven levels and more than 30 chambers. The central tower
is well appointed with many halls, living chambers, suites,
privies, kitchens (with pantries that magically replenish food
stores every fortnight), and laboratories suitable for arcane and
alchemical study. Each guard tower has living chambers and
barracks for up to 25 guards, and one tower has an adjoining
stable that can hold up to a dozen griffons, hippogriffs, pegasi,
or even terrestrial mounts. In all, the tower can comfortably
support a population of 300 Medium creatures.
In order to fully take control of the castle, a creature must
be at least 17th level, and must have the Leadership feat and
17 ranks in Knowledge (arcana). If the castle already has a
master, that master must be defeated before another can take
her place. The castle’s movement is controlled by way of
a control chamber located at the heart (a central chamber on
its 4th floor). There, a font of pure elemental water serves as a
scrying device for the castle’s master, though it can view only
places inside the castle or within 100 feet of it. The master (or
a person she designates) can direct the castle’s motion from
within the chamber. It has a fly speed of 250 feet (clumsy) and
uses the Fly skill modifier of the person controlling its motion;
the castle can hover without needing to make a Fly check
and never risks falling due to a failed check. When not being
controlled, the castle moves randomly, sometimes changing
direction every minute, sometimes holding the same course for
days at a time, but always avoiding the ground or other hazards.
It has the ability to travel to other planes, though no master
other than the Storm King is known to have invoked this power.
The master of the castle gains the following spell-like abilities.
- Call lightning storm 1/day. The master must be in the control
chamber or one of the towers to use this ability.
- Guards and wards 1/day on the central tower.
- Storm of vengeance 1/day. The master m ust be in the
control chamber to use this ability, and the storm rains down
from the castle’s cloudy base upon everything within range
underneath (2,200 feet).
- Wind wall at will. This effect surrounds the entire castle at
a range of 100 feet, and can be raised or lowered by the
master (or a creature he or she designates) from the control
room or any tower as a standard action.
DestructionThe Cloud Castle of the Storm King can only be destroyed if it
is dissipated by suitably strong winds; the only winds that can
dissipate it are found only in the most turbulent reaches of the
Plane of Air (of course, as nobody knows how to make it travel
between planes, those wishing to destroy it must find it on the
Plane of Air to have any chance to do so). Any other attacks
may cause walls to collapse or even side towers to break loose,
but the central chamber and the floors beneath it will continue
to exist in a ruined form over a smaller storm cloud as long as
this destruction condition is not met.
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