Balthazar's Fury
Balthazar's Fury is a large volcano, atop the Clouded Desert, blocking it from The Fissure to the north. The volcano is constantly billowing smoke, blocking the sun from Joko's Domain.
Things to do
Recommend at least level 5 before entering this place.
The Dueling Gods
If they attempt to summit the place, they find ghosts thrust upon pikes, as though the spirits were stuck on them. If they help the spirits down, they reveal themselves to be Balthazar's Eternals, and tell a tale of Menzies breaking through to the material plane, and that Balthazar has been in battle with him since the smoke changed color 10 years ago.
If the party pursues this path, The Eternals go with them, blessing them with power. So long as they are on the mountain, their Ability Scores are boosted to 20, and their hit points are doubled. As they top the summit, they see two blazing warriors dueling in the crater. The goal here is that they shouldn't be engaging Menzies directly (Wall of Force keeping them out?) The Eternals ask them to help weaken Menzies' hold on this world. They draw the party's attention to the far side of the crater, where a 3rd figure overlooks the fight. The Eternals tell you that that is Shakahm, Menzies' high priest. While Menzies might be out of reach, Shakahm ought to be reachable, but not without resistance. Once the party engages Shakahm, Menzies begins to falter, as though Shakahm was supporting him.
Running this encounter
Refer to Random Events, Menzies Army, for creatures.
The party must cross a sizable field to get to him. Eternals engaged in combat with Menzies' demons surround the field. The party can engage and help Eternals as they see fit. A group of 10 Shadow Demons surrounds the party upon reaching Shakahm, as Shakahm turns in surprise at the party's advance.
| Stat | Score | Abilities | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP | 200 | Legendary
Resistances: |
|
| AC | 16 | 3 | |
| STR
DEX CON INT WIS CHA |
-1
2 1 3 1 0 |
Soul to
Flesh |
Shakahm absorbs the lifeforce of one of the nearby demons,
healing himself for double their remaining health. |
| Legendary Attack:
Spirit blade Swarm |
Shakahm summons 5 Spiritual Weapons to attack the party
If he uses this again, the earlier ones are removed. Once Shakahm is out of shadow demons to absorb, these weapons do 2d8 with their attacks. | ||
Aftermath
Once Shakahm is slain, Balthazar gazes down at the party and, with a nod of approval, thanks them for their aid. The smoke from the volcano turns white once more, as Balthazar's eyes turn to the desert.
Shakahm drops a Staff of Spiritual Weapon, allowing the wielder to cast spiritual weapon at will, but they can only have 1 weapon active at a time from this effect. They also obtain a Ritualist's amulet with 6 charges. Instead of spending 3 charges for Inflict Wounds, it instead casts Life Transference on the target, but the target takes the damage and the bearer takes the healing.