TEXT: A
   nightmare  for  the  forces  of
    law  and  good,  Skanafel  the 
  Devourer is a demonstration of how 
  even  the  highest  of  beings  can  be 
  broken, corrupted, and remade into 
  a  weapon  for  the  Abyss.  Once  a 
  mighty  and  noble  planetar  warrior, 
  the angel Elephoseriel was captured 
  by the forces of a powerful demon 
  lord  during  a  raid  into  the  Abyss. 
  Dragged  into  the  depths  of  that 
  ﬁend’s domain, he was subjected to 
  centuries  of  torment  and  mutila ‐
  tion,  his  wings  destroyed,  his  face 
  torn  from  his  skull,  and  his  mind 
  and soul twisted and warped by vile 
  demonic cra� into an abomination 
  of  rage,  destruction,  and  unending 
  hatred for all he once was. 
  ������� Joe Crow
  ����� ��� Mike Tenebrae
  ������� Mike Myler
  ������ Eric Life-Putnam
  Villain Spotlight
  SKANAFEL
  the devourer
  EN World EN5����
  
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  H������
  Eons ago Elephoseriel was the foremost servant of an 
  ancient  deity  of  freedom  and  courage.  In  his  lord’s 
  service the mighty planetar led celestial armies that 
  threw  down  countless  ﬁendish  tyrants,  slaying 
  monstrous behemoths whose names now exist only 
  in  forgotten  legends—yet  these  battles  were  only  a 
  means  to  the  noble  ends  of  breaking  chains  and 
  freeing  slaves.  His  dearest  companion  was  his 
  intelligent  greatsword  Klaidi cardos,  and  together 
  they were a beacon that shone across the planes, even 
  venturing into the darkest realms to rescue lost and 
  broken souls. 
  It  was  during  one  of  these  missions  that  the 
  planetar’s fall began. At his lord’s command Elepho ‐
  seriel led a small troop of celestial warriors into the 
  madness  of  the  Venomous  Labyrinth,  lair  of  the 
  demon  lord  known  as  That‐Which‐Crawls.  The 
  master ﬁend had captured a mortal prophet from the 
  Material Plane and was attempting to break her soul 
  to turn her to his own worship. A�er battling their 
  way  through  the  sanity‐draining  tunnels  into  the 
  demon lord’s fortress, the battle‐worn rescuers found 
  themselves  in  the  center  of  a  well‐laid  trap  and 
  surrounded  by  demonic  forces,  cut  oﬀ  from  any 
  retreat or rescue by mighty sorcery. Elephoseriel was 
  the last to fall, only meeting defeat at the jaws of the 
  That‐Which‐Crawls itself. 
  The  centuries  that  followed  were  ﬁlled  with 
  torment and anguish—in the darkest pits below the 
  fortress the planetar was mutilated and tortured by 
  the demon lord’s servants at the direction of the now‐
  corrupted  prophet.  A�er  his  wings  were  destroyed 
  great  chains  were  embedded  in  the  stumps  and 
  through  his  appendages.  As  he  hung  suspended  in 
  emptiness, his ﬂesh clawed at by monstrous demons 
  and his mind relentlessly assaulted by visions of the 
  destruction of all he loved, the only thing upon which 
  he could focus was the mad laughter of the tormentor 
  he originally sought to save. The faltering remains of 
  the angel’s sanity and willpower broke at last when 
  she ripped his face from his skull and fed him the 
  decaying remains of his own wings.
  Elephoseriel fell into the void of madness and evil 
  to emerge as Skanafel the Devourer. He tore himself 
  free,  shattering  his  chains  and  reforging  them  into 
  parts of himself. Bowing before his new master he 
  asked for one boon, one reward for his conversion: to 
  be allowed to consume his tormentor. His wish was 
  granted—he  swallowed  her  ﬂesh  and  her  soul, 
  swearing  to  serve  That‐Which‐Crawls  until  the  day 
  when  all  wings  are  broken  and  all  souls  fall  into 
  darkness, a promise that he has mercilessly kept.
  A���������
  Skanafel  is  barely  recognizable  from  the  angel  he 
  once was. His skin is ashen gray, mottled by the livid 
  red scars that cover his body, twisting his visage into a 
  landscape  of  torment.  His  limbs  are  knotted  with 
  swollen muscle from dragging the weight of the black 
  iron  chains  that  still  pierce  his  ﬂesh  through  ever‐
  bleeding wounds at his ankles, wrists, and the shat ‐
  tered  stumps  of  his  wings. The  ends  of  the  broken 
  metal  that  dangle  from  his  arms  and  stumps  have 
  been wrought into crude hooks, but his legs still drag 
  huge weights that slow his gait to a menacing crawl. 
  His  face  is  nothing  but  an  eyeless  jagged‐toothed 
  maw, his voice is a ragged howl.
  While he is completely blind, his angelic hearing is 
  as keen as ever, allowing him to pinpoint and target 
  sounds and movement at great distances. Within his 
  razor‐ﬁlled  gullet  is  a  black,  life‐draining  void 
  capable  of  consuming  beings  just  as  large  as  he. 
  Those  swallowed  by  Skanafel  ﬁnd  themselves 
  trapped  in  a  lightless  realm  of  crushing  pressure, 
  unable to move as their life‐force is drained away to 
  glut the Devourer’s endless appetite.
  Villain Spotlight: Skanafel the Devourer  |  EN World EN5����
  
  P����������
  Skanafel’s  deﬁning  trait  is  hatred  for  anything  that 
  ﬂies. While he loathes celestial beings in particular 
  they’re by no means the only targets of his vengeance 
  (as uninformed allies have found to their agonizing 
  sorrow).  He  is  irredeemably  mad  and  reﬂexively 
  violent  but  not  a  fool—indeed,  the  Devourer’s  frac ‐
  tured mind is still as tactically brilliant as it ever was. 
  Skanafel takes a special pleasure in dragging angels 
  from  the  sky  and  chewing  their  wings  from  their 
  living bodies before consuming them whole, and if 
  given the opportunity to indulge in this appetite he 
  happily  entertains  nearly  any  oﬀer  of  mercenary 
  employment.
  A���������
  Skanafel  has  been  That‐Which‐Crawls’  foremost 
  warrior  for  millennia. When  he  isn’t  defending  the 
  Venomous  Labyrinth  from  incursions  by  other 
  demonic forces he pursues his lord’s agenda out in 
  the planes, hunting angels and other celestial beings, 
  tearing them from the skies of a thousand realms and 
  devouring  them  whole.  As  part  of  this  mission  he 
  regularly  accepts  contracts  with  other  ﬁendish 
  powers,  both  demonic  and  infernal,  faithfully 
  transmitting his rewards back into his lord’s coﬀers 
  while  indulging  his  horriﬁc  urges  on  whatever 
  heavenly beings he’s unleashed upon. 
  The Devourer has also seeded the Material Plane 
  with summoning rituals, detailing his skills as well as 
  the procedures required for mortals to bring him up 
  out  of  the  Abyss.  While  That‐Which‐Crawls’  cult  is 
  small in relation to other, better known demon lords, 
  it is spread widely enough to garner the interests of 
  foolish lords and enterprising villains of all sorts. 
  M����������
  Skanafel’s immediate goal is to avenge himself on his 
  former comrades by devouring as many of them as he 
  can and adding their strength to his own. While he is 
  easily  powerful  enough  to  challenge  devas  and 
  planetars  without  fear,  his  heart  is  bent  on 
  confronting  and  consuming  a  solar. With  access  to 
  that level of holy might, the Devourer believes he’ll 
  ﬁnally  be  able  to  ascend  to  a  new  realm  of  power, 
  becoming an entity of unparalleled abilities—then his 
  work can truly begin. 
  His mad dream is to one day be mighty enough to 
  drown all the planes in blood and chaos as he hunts 
  down his former master. It has been eons since that 
  ancient  deity  last  intervened  in  mortal  aﬀairs,  and 
  nearly all traces of the Lord of Flight and Freedom 
  Klaidicardos
  Weapon (greatsword), legendary (requires attunement 
  by creature of non-evil alignment)
  Celestial cra� forged this greatsword for the hands of 
  a now-fallen planetar warrior. Once Klaidicardos shone 
  like polished gold in its master’s hand, its blade 
  reflecting sunlit skies—now its light is colder, the blade 
  casting the shadows of storm clouds and lightning.
  You gain a +� bonus to attack and damage rolls 
  made with this magic weapon. It has the following 
  additional properties.
  Evilbane. Klaidicardos does an additional �d� 
  radiant damage to creatures of the fiend or undead 
  type.
  Heaven’s Blessing. Klaidicardos’s wielder has 
  resistance to necrotic damage, and advantage on 
  saving throws against spells and other magical eﬀects.
  Sentience. Klaidicardos is a sentient lawful good 
  weapon with an Intelligence of ��, a Wisdom of ��, and 
  a Charisma of ��. It has hearing and darkvision out to 
  ��� feet.
  The weapon can speak, read, and understand 
  Common and Celestial, and can communicate with its 
  wielder telepathically. Its voice is cold and clear.
  Personality. Klaidicardos is consumed with guilt and 
  grief at its master’s fall. Its sole purpose is to bring him 
  to an end, and it will attune itself to any non-evil 
  creature that it thinks might be able to accomplish that 
  goal (even if the sword first needs to help that creature 
  grow in power). 
  Klaidicardos is still tied to its former master and has 
  an innate knowledge of his location at all times. Its 
  wielder is immune to Skanafel’s Howl and Consume 
  attacks, and the fiend is vulnerable to damage from 
  the blade.
  EN World EN5����  |  Villain Spotlight: Skanafel the Devourer
  
  and its followers have vanished from the world—yet 
  Skanafel knows it is out there, somewhere, mourning 
  its lost champion. The Devourer will eventually ﬁnd 
  him to tear him from the sky, sharing all the glorious, 
  horrifying knowledge that the ﬁend has gained over 
  millennia of bloodshed and destruction. As he ﬁnally 
  consumes  his  former  master  the  heavens  will 
  crumble and the angels will fall, the very concept of 
  ﬂight and all it promises erased from the cosmos. 
  S������ �� ��� B����
  Elephoseriel’s sentient blade Klaidicardos still exists 
  (see the sidebar on the previous page). That‐Which‐
  Crawls  is  far  too  canny  to  destroy  something  that 
  might serve as a tool against a potentially treacherous 
  servant and it secreted the greatsword away within 
  the depths of the Venomous Labyrinth. Adventurers 
  lost inside of the maddening passages might stumble 
  across  its  hiding  place  and  be  drawn  to  it  by  the 
  blade’s morose dirge for its fallen master. 
  Villain Spotlight: Skanafel the Devourer  |  EN World EN5����
  
  Skanafel the Devourer
  Large celestial (angel), chaotic evil
  Armor Class �� (natural armor)
  Hit Points ��� (��d��+���) 
  eﬀective ���
  Speed �� �.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  �� (+�)
  �� (+�)
  �� (+�)
  �� (+�)
  �� (+�)
  �� (+�)
  Saving Throws ��� +��, ��� +��, ��� +��
  Skills Intimidation +��, Perception +��
  Damage Resistances fire, necrotic, radiant; bludgeon -
  ing, piercing, and slashing from non-magical weapons
  Damage Immunities poison
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, 
  frightened, poisoned
  Senses blindsight ��� �., tremorsense �� �., passive 
  Perception ��
  Languages all, telepathy ��� �.
  Challenge �� (��,��� XP)
  Innate Spellcasting. Skanafel’s innate spellcasting
  ability is Charisma (spell save DC ��). It can innately 
  cast the following spells, requiring no material 
  components.
  At will: blindness, darkness
  �/day each: cloudkill, insect plague
  �/day: earthquake
  Magic Resistance. Skanafel has advantage on saving 
  throws against spells and other magical eﬀects.
  ACTIONS
  Multiattack. Skanafel makes four attacks: one with his 
  bite, one with his slam, and two with his hooks.
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +�� to hit, reach � �., one 
  target. Hit: �� (�d�+�) magical piercing damage, plus 
  �� (�d�) necrotic damage.
  Hook. Melee Weapon Attack: +�� to hit, reach ��� �., 
  one target. Hit: �� (�d�+�) magical piercing damage, 
  plus �� (�d�) poison damage. If the target is a Large or 
  smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC ��). Until 
  the grapple ends, Skanafel cannot use this hook on 
  another target.
  Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +�� to hit, reach �� �., one 
  target. Hit: �� (�d��+�) magical bludgeoning damage, 
  and target must succeed on a DC �� Strength saving or 
  be pushed �� feet away.
  Consume. Skanafel makes a bite attack against a Large 
  or smaller creature he is grappling. If the attack hits, 
  the creature takes the bite’s damage and and is 
  swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, 
  the creature is blinded and restrained, it has total 
  cover against attacks and other eﬀects outside 
  Skanafel, and it takes �� (�d�) necrotic damage at the 
  start of each of Skanafel’s turns.
  While swallowed, the creature’s hit point maximum 
  is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic 
  damage taken, and Skanafel regains hit points equal 
  to that amount. The reduction lasts until the creature 
  finishes a long rest. The creature dies if this eﬀect 
  reduces its hit point total to �. 
  If Skanafel consumes and kills an angel with a 
  challenge rating equal to or greater than his, his Hit 
  Dice increase by � die. 
  If Skanafel takes �� damage or more on a single turn 
  from a creature inside of him, he must succeed on a 
  DC �� Constitution saving throw at the end of his turn 
  or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall 
  prone in a space within �� feet of him. If Skanafel dies, 
  a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by him 
  and and can escape from his corpse using �� feet of 
  movement, exiting prone.
  Howl (Recharge 5–6). Skanafel emits a mind-breaking 
  howl. Each creature within �� feet of him that can 
  hear him must succeed on a DC �� Wisdom save or 
  take �� (�d��) psychic damage and be paralyzed until 
  the end of Skanafel’s next turn. On a successful saving 
  throw, the damage is halved, and the creature’s 
  movement is halved. Flying creatures take double 
  damage from this attack.
  Teleport (Recharge 5–6). Skanafel magically teleports, 
  along with equipment he is wearing or carrying and 
  with any creature he is grappling, up to ��� feet to an 
  unoccupied space he can see.
  REACTIONS
  Reel. Skanafel pulls any creatures grappled by his 
  hooks up to �� feet straight towards him. e
  EN World EN5����  |  Villain Spotlight: Skanafel the Devourer
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/EN World EN5ider/EN5ider 270 - Villain Spotlight Skanafel the Devourer.pdf