Chi Toshi'ba (5e NPC)

Author: Max7238 (talk) Date Created: November 18, 2019 Status: WIP Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Chi Toshi'ba, Aspect of Death
Medium Humanoid, Neutral Good
Armor Class: 20
Hit Points: 215 (20d8)
Speed: 45ft
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (+2) 17 (+3) 20 (+5) 20 (+5) 20 (+5) 20 (+5)
Saving Throws: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma
Skills: Arcana, Insight, Medicine, Nature
Damage Resistances: force
Damage Immunity: fire
Condition Immunity: charmed
Senses: Darkvision 60ft, passive Perception 24 (+14)
Languages: Common, Mazohk
Challenge: 30 (155,000 xp)Proficiency Bonus (PB): +9
Aspect of Death. Chi Toshi'ba has a connection to The Mana, able to speak to the soul of any creature that has died in the last year, raise golems from the surrounding area, speak to inanimate objects and features of the environment, and sense disturbances in magic. Renowned. Chi Toshi'ba is over one hundred years old and has constantly traveled to fulfill his duties; tribal folk and governing bodies are aware that he exists and will not interfere with his duties. Retainer. Chi Toshi'ba is followed by a retainer, usually a 20th level Rogue NPC, as an additional bodyguard and pathfinder of his. Actions Find Imbalance. As a bonus action, Chi Toshi'ba senses player characters that have had their in-game statistics altered against the rules. He learns their exact location on any plane and begins traveling to them. When he first meets the sensed player character, the disturbance is too diffuse; he will simply accuse the entire party and engage in combat if they claim ignorance. If Chi Toshi'ba uses this bonus action after one day from first meeting a creature sensed by this feature before, he knows exactly which creature is causing the disturbance. World's Observer. Chi Toshi'ba uses an action to question objects and features, such as trees, dirt, spilled blood, dropped weapons, or buildings. The object provides a truthful, audible answer from its perspective. Summon Earth Elemental. Chi Toshi'ba summons a number of Earth Elementals equal to the number of creatures that have rolled initiative to engage with him. Each one rolls its own initiative and acts as his ally. Summon The Mana. Chi Toshi'ba is able to summon a manifestation of The Mana to fight alongside him if he is engaged with a target he sensed using his Find Imbalance feature. She rolls Her own initiative and acts as his ally until She decides to leave or is dismissed. Reactions Shocking Cloud. When Chi Toshi'ba is hit by an attack, he can cause the magic in the air around his attacker to overload with energy. The attacker must succeed on a DC20 Dexterity saving throw or take damage equal to double what they dealt to Chi Toshi'ba as a result of their attack. A successful save halves the damage. Legendary Actions Font Of Mana. Chi Toshi'ba heals one creature he chooses from a pool of 500 hit points. This pool is restored to its maximum at the start of each of Chi Toshi'ba's turns. Mana Possession. Chi Toshi'ba is possessed by The Mana, if She has been summoned. This possession ends when Chi Toshi'ba dispels it at will or dies. While possessed, Chi Toshi'ba has resistance to damage from spells, advantage on saving throws caused by spell effects, is immune to the effects of difficult terrain, and retains all of The Mana's abilities as if She were independent of him. This does not remove The Mana from combat; She still takes Her turn as normal, but Her speed is 0.

GM Tool

This NPC is meant to be used against belligerent and meta-gaming players and their characters. His recorded capabilities are meant as a skeleton for him to be inserted in any setting or campaign, to appear suddenly, call out the offending players, especially at low level, and bring the entire party to 0 hit points without killing them. Any party members that die in the first encounter should miraculously wake up and be allowed to continue, but with the knowledge that Chi will not show mercy a second time. This NPC is supposed to serve as an in-universe warning to cease meta-gaming, plot hijacks, character hijacks, or any other cheating or disruption of a friendly game. Use him as an excuse to oust players from your campaigns as necessary, make additions to him at the table as you see fit, and remember that he is in your tool-kit should you need him.

On Chi Toshi'ba

Chi Toshi'ba is an Elder of the Toshi'ba clan of mazohk, known as "The Earth Masters" when translated. He is nicknamed "The Little Elder" for his stunted growth as a result of his immense power with Mana. He has a relatively unique appearance among his clan; where they are known for eggplant-purple skin, so dark it's almost black, he has skin much like the color of a polished opal or quartz. Elder Toshi'ba is also deceptively young in appearance, hence his nickname; despite being over one hundred years old, he looks and sounds like a prepubescent boy, with a clear tenor voice and a mop of messy hair. Often, his retainer appears older and taller than he is. His most well-known retainer is Xinon Toshi'ba, an adopted castaway from another clan who has ash-gray skin and great skill with daggers and sneak attacks. He and his retainer wear black robes so they are recognizable from a distance, as almost no mazohk wear clothing.

Elder Toshi'ba is one of the most historically notable Aspects of Death for several reasons. First, his great level of power from an early age that gained him both respect and his nickname. Second, his accidental creation of the only revenant in recent memory - a harrowing experience for him, but significant nonetheless. Third, his involvement with the end of The Age of Agony. Fourth, and finally, his lifelong tutelage of his people and service to The Mana, to embody the virtue of selflessness.

He lived at the same time as three different Aspects of Life, his direct counterparts; Argon Qo'eba, Qyuuka Shin'toku, and Kaara Kon'sa. Though Argon was very elderly when Chi Toshi'ba recognized his power and began fulfilling his duties, they worked together surprisingly well despite their opposing view-points, making Chi Toshi'ba one of the only known friends of Argon Qo'eba, who was widely regarded as a bitter and angry soul by the time of his death. Qyuuka Shin'toku developed a passing relationship with him, but avoided him to keep conflict to a minimum and simply trusted him to enact his station. Her sudden death and the annihilation of the Shin'toku clan were the catalysts for Chi Toshi'ba's accidental creation of a revenant from Qyuuka herself. Immobilized, blinded, and wracked with constant pain, he became the only one to witness all that Qyuuka did as she sought her vengeance under his spell. When her soul finally passed, reborn as Kaara Kon'sa, Chi Toshi'ba was a changed man, and far wiser. As Kaara began to clash with him as only Argon had before, he took a more passive and gentle approach to presenting the faces of Death to her, in the hopes she would come to understand and be his ally.

Before Chi Toshi'ba's colossal error, revenants were not known of outside the most learned scholars and oral historians. Those that did know of them only spoke of one, Musa'bo Shin'toku, which had surfaced in ancient times and had almost no surviving record. When Qyuuka Shin'toku emerged from the massacre of her clan like a wraith in the night, the world could not help but take notice. Suddenly, revenants were very real, and a horror story for mazohk and humans alike. His spell crippled him, but allowed Qyuuka the freedom and power she needed to avenge her clan and retrieve The Sealer's Edge, which had been stolen by humans. He could hardly hear, and only saw what she saw when he opened his eyes. This went on for months until Qyuuka fulfilled her duty and passed on, releasing him from the spell. Chi Toshi'ba immediately sought the help of Thousand Moons Keizon and the Toshi'ba clan historian to record as much as he could of what he'd seen. Together, they ensured that Qyuuka's life and undeath would not be wasted.

The creation and documentation of Qyuuka as a revenant is what led to the eventual end of The Age of Agony. By steering the world, as well as individuals of interest, in the right direction, the truth behind why magic was painful was uncovered and undone. Chi Toshi'ba, directed at times by The Mana, was the key to the movement's success. He was the one who chose Kaara Kon'sa to bear The Sealer's Edge, as Qyuuka had before her, to travel under the guard of the Kon'sa clan - a clan capable of turning summoned monsters back on their human summoners. When his plan almost failed immediately, as the Kon'sa were ambushed before they could even reach the first temple, another one of his allies happened to step in. Aspect of Light, the aforementioned Thousand Moons Keizon, sent his pupil on a "master's journey" that would have intersected with Kaara's. As a result, Keizon's pupil and Chi's chosen sword-bearer traveled together, managing to elude capture and complete the pilgrimage to the eight temples. As they did so, Chi and Xinon worked in the background to create conditions as favorable as possible for when they completed their journey.

Through all of this, Chi Toshi'ba went from a respected Aspect, just the latest in a long line of others, to a revered teacher and storied man. He became known as a great example of both the Earth temple's virtue of selflessness - the source of his clan's power - as well as the Death temple's virtue of determination. As he balanced his clan's ideals with the teachings and voice of The Mana, he was capable of bringing that voice to all peoples. While magic remained painful, and the great seal remained intact, he was the only one who could call upon Her. By the end of his life, the world was changed for the better, and thousands of years of pain came to an end with no small contribution from him. Chi Toshi'ba dedicated his life to his duty of instilling determination in others and easing the passing of the dead, and became an example even The Mana would go on to use when passing Her teachings to future generations, far into the future.

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