Raskineya, the Dark CometThis spined dragon has black scales that pulse with green light. Her tattered wings show a starscape that whirls in mad patterns.Raskineya, the Dark Comet CR 16/MR 6Source Mythic Realms pg. 60 XP 76,800 Female adult void dragon (see Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 4) CE Huge dragon (mythic) Init +11M; Senses dragon senses, see in darkness; Perception +22 Aura alien presence (180 ft., DC 23, sickened or nauseated 5d6 rounds)DefenseAC 35, touch 9, flat-footed 34 (+1 Dex, +26 natural, –2 size) hp 260 (16d12+156) Fort +16, Ref +11, Will +15 Defensive Abilities dragon blood (1d8 cold), DR 10/epic and magic; Immune cold, confusion, dragon traits, insanity effects, paralysis, sleep; SR 30OffenseSpeed 40 ft., fly 200 ft. (good), starflight Melee bite +26 (2d8+15/19–20 plus 2d6 obliteration plus grab), 2 claws +24 (2d6+10), tail slap +22 (2d6+15), 2 wings +22 (1d8+5) Space 15 ft., Reach 10 ft. (15 ft. with bite) Special Attacks breath weapon (50-ft. cone, 12d8 cold, Reflex DC 24 half, usable every 1d4 rounds), crush, dual breath, dragon fury (1d8 cold), fast swallow, gaze of the void (DC 23), mythic power (6/day, surge +1d8), obliteration (DC 23), suffocating breath (DC 23), swallow whole (2d8 cold damage plus suffocating void, AC 23, 26 hp) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th; concentration +21) At will—asral gloom, blur, ray of enfeeblement (DC 16), ray of exhaustion (DC 18) Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 7th; concentration +12) 3rd (5)—dispel magic, rage 2nd (7)—darkness, shatter, touch of idiocy 1st (8)—cause fear (DC 16), hypnotism (DC 16), mage armor, obscuring mist, true strikeStatisticsStr 31, Dex 12, Con 23, Int 20, Wis 17, Cha 20 Base Atk +16; CMB +28 (+32 grapple); CMD 37 (41 vs. grapple or trip) Feats Flyby Attack, Hover, Improved Critical (bite), Improved InitiativeM, Iron WillM, Multiattack, Weapon FocusM (bite), Wingover Skills Acrobatics +17 (+21 when jumping), Bluff +24, Fly +20, Intimidate +24, Knowledge (arcana, planes) +24, Perception +22, Sense Motive +22, Spellcraft +24, Stealth +20, Use Magic Device +24; Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics when jumping, +8 Stealth Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Celestial, Draconic, Infernal SQ agile, breathlessSpecial AbilitiesAstral Gloom (Sp) Raskineya can expend one use of mythic power to cast deeper darkness. Her caster level for this ability is equal to her Hit Dice. This darkness doesn’t interfere with her alien presence or gaze of the void abilities.
Dual Breath (Su) Raskineya can expend one use of mythic power to use both her breath weapon and her suffocating breath simultaneously as a standard action. Both breath weapons affect the same 50-foot cone, and creatures caught in the cone must save separately against each effect.
Suffocating Void (Su) Creatures swallowed whole by Raskineya are exposed to the cold vacuum of space. In addition to the listed damage, the first time a creature begins its turn swallowed whole by Raskineya, it must succeed at a Fortitude save or begin to suffocate (as her suffocating breath ability). Even if it succeeds at this save, the creature can’t breathe, speak, or cast spells with verbal components while it remains swallowed.DescriptionVoid dragons are a cursed race, born on the boundary between rational space and the vast unknowable nothingness that lurks between the stars. They are not typically evil, but few escape the notice of the unnamable beings that dwell within that distant void. The fortunate ones resist the fell influence of the Dark Tapestry and survive with their minds intact.
Raskineya was not one of the fortunate ones. The taint of the void shattered her mind, driving her to mindless violence and destruction. In her madness she sought out the inner planets of Golarion’s solar system, plunging into the gravity wells of the inhabited worlds to feed and raze before fleeing back to the stars and plotting her next attack.
This urge to destroy is what brought her to the attention of the cult of Rovagug. Priests of the Rough Beast often enslave powerful creatures to serve as proxies for their shackled god and guardians for their hidden temples, and Raskineya’s savagery and madness made her an excellent prospect. The priests called to the stars, whispering promises of blood to the dragon to lure her into their waiting clutches. In her unthinking madness, she was no match for the cunning priests, and soon she was subdued, shackled, and locked in a cavern hidden deep within the earth.
Raskineya languished at first, longing to once again fly to the stars and seek exotic new prey. Yet the priests had not lied to her when they promised her blood. She was given sacrifices and allowed to hunt and feed within her underground prison. With each such sacrifice, she not only grew stronger and more focused, but also found began to understand the prayers given to her. This world was promised to Rovagug, and he would have it. All worlds were promised to him, and he would destroy them all. Even the gods themselves would fall to his power, and in his wake only nothingness would remain. Raskineya found in Rovagug something she had not realized she was searching for: someone to champion. If she could but release this Unmaker, she could at long last have vengeance upon this existence, and upon the nameless ones who drew her here. All that would be left in his wake would be nothingness, and to nothingness her heart longed to return.
With her newfound sense of purpose, Raskineya turned upon her captors. Her mind intact for the first time in centuries, she quickly overpowered them. First, she swallowed the high priest alive, consuming his life and essence to fuel her ascension. Then she enslaved the priests, and commanded them to find her a way to unleash their god upon the world once more. From them she learned of a prophecy, set down by the oracles of the brimstone haruspex, that a dark comet would herald the return of Gormuz—the first and most powerful of Rovagug’s spawn—who would in turn unleash the Rough Beast himself. Raskineya sees herself as this dark comet, and demands all those who address her to call her by that name (with a slow death awaiting to those who do not).
In the years since her ascension, Raskineya first scoured the world searching for the Star Towers—artifacts created by the gods to strengthen Rovagug’s prison. The dragon was certain that if she could locate the first of these towers and destroy it, the rest will fall like dominoes, weakening the foundations of Rovagug’s prison enough to allow his escape. She moved from Star Tower to Star Tower, searching for clues as to the location of the original. She last conquered the Star Tower of Vekheen, winning it from a paladin of Sarenrae named Dazma the Bright, who had learned of the dragon’s design on the tower and marshaled an army to defend it. Raskineya vanquished Dazma and her army by dragging meteors from the sky to drop on the Sarenites. Those who survived the initial bombardment were savaged by akatas carried within the meteors, leaving the remainder easy pickings for the dragon.
Though it seemed she was getting closer to her goal, Raskineya’s devotion to Rovagug made her actions unpredictable. Just as she conquered the Star Tower of Vekheen, she heard a pressing call she believed came from Rovagug himself. She flew to the Pit of Gormuz, where she made a den in the Crater of Carnal Joining in anticipation of the Rough Beast’s arrival. There she waits, conducting horrific rituals to attract his attention. She brought with her the Sarenite survivors of the raid on the Star Tower, who she keeps alive as subjects for her rites. Once noble soldiers, they’re now maimed and driven mad, kept in perpetual darkness within a small cave in Raskineya’s lair. The warriors of the Maimed Legion, as she calls them, see light only when they’re being tortured.
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