This gaunt old man—unwashed, disheveled, and clad in ragged
pants and a tattered overcoat, with stringy gray hair and yellow
skin—stands nearly eight feet tall. Beneath his shredded clothing,
his flesh hangs stripped from bone, revealing innards swarming
with uncountable insects.
Arbeyach CR 21
XP 409,600
LE Large outsider (devil, evil, extraplanar, lawful)
Init +8, slow reaction; Senses all-around vision, blindsight
120 ft., darkvision 120 ft., detect chaos, detect good;
Perception +33
Aura virulence (120 ft; DC 32), unholy aura (DC 27)
DEFENSE
AC 41, touch 30, flat-footed 33 (+4 deflection, +8 Dex, +11
natural, +9 profane, −1 size)
hp 363 (22d10+242); regeneration 20 (epic and good)
Fort +22, Ref +27, Will +27
DR 15/epic and good; Immune disease, fire, poison;
Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 32
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., climb 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (good)
Melee bite +31 (2d8+10 plus Arbeyach’s rot), 2 claws
+31 (4d6+10/19-20 plus poison)
Space 10 ft. Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks Arbeyach’s rot (DC 32), breath weapon
(120-ft. line, 22d6 damage plus Arbeyach’s rot and
poison, Reflex DC 32 half, usable every 1d4 rounds),
poison (DC 32), rend (2 claws, 4d6+15)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20th; concentration +29)
Constant—detect chaos, detect good, unholy aura (DC 27)
At will—blasphemy (DC 26), blindfliesDM (DC 22), creeping
doom (DC 26), enemy withinDM (DC 24), giant vermin,
greater dispel magic, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of
objects only), insect plague, magic circle against chaos,
magic circle against good
3/day—quickened insect plague, quickened creeping doom
(DC 26), summon (level 7, 2–5 spawn of Arbeyach or 1–3
hellwasp swarms, 100%)
1/day—shapechange (vermin only)
STATISTICS
Str 31, Dex 27, Con 32, Int 23, Wis 26, Cha 28
Base Atk +22; CMB +33; CMD 64
Feats Combat Reflexes, Crippling Critical, Critical Focus,
Flyby Attack, Improved Critical (claw), Iron Will, Lightning
Reflexes, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability
(creeping doom), Quicken Spell-Like Ability (insect plague),
Staggering Critical
Skills Acrobatics +30 (+38 to jump), Bluff +34, Climb +18,
Fly +35, Intimidate +34, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering,
nature, planes) +31, Perception +33, Sense Motive +33,
Spellcraft +28, Stealth +29
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic,
Infernal; scent communication
SQ swarm prince
ECOLOGY
Environment any (Hell)
Organization solitary (unique)
Treasure double
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Arbeyach’s Rot (Su) Curse and disease: Bite or breath
weapon—injury; save Fort DC 32; onset immediate;
frequency 1/day; effect 1d6 Con, 1d6 Cha, any poisons
affecting the creature cannot be cured prematurely by
making cure saving throws (thus, poisons run their full
duration unless cured with magic, such as neutralize
poison), and uncontrolled vermin attack the creature on
sight until Arbeyach’s rot is cured; cure —.
Arbeyach’s rot is both a curse and disease and can only
be cured if the curse is first removed, at which point the
disease can be magically removed. Even after the curse
element of Arbeyach’s rot is lifted, a creature suffering
from it cannot recover naturally over time. Anyone
casting a conjuration (healing) spell on the afflicted
creature must succeed on a DC 32 caster level check, or
the spell is wasted and the healing has no effect. Anyone
who dies from Arbeyach’s rot immediately transforms
into a vermin swarm (choose randomly from the types
of swarms that can be created by Arbeyach’s breath
weapon). The save DC is Constitution-based.
Aura of Virulence (Su) Creatures that would normally
be immune to disease and/or poison, including those
under the effects of spells such as delay disease or delay
poison, lose their immunity while within 120 ft. of
Arbeyach. All other creatures within 120 ft. of Arbeyach
take a –2 penalty on saving throws against disease and
poison effects. Arbeyach can cease or resume this aura as
a free action.
Breath Weapon (Su) Once every 1d4 rounds, Arbeyach
can breathe out a flesh-scouring blast of vermin in a line
up to 120 ft. long. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Any creature damaged by Arbeyach’s breath weapon is
also exposed to Arbeyach’s rot and poison. In addition,
a swarm of army ants, centipedes, cockroaches, locusts,
mosquitoes, rot grubs, spiders, ticks, or wasps—at
Arbeyach’s whim—erupts from the line as though
summoned at any or all points at which a creature was
damaged. These swarms remain for up to 2 min. or until
Arbeyach dismisses them as a free action. The total HD
of such swarms that can exist at any one time cannot
exceed Arbeyach’s HD.
Poison (Ex) Breath weapon or claw—injury; save Fort DC
32; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d6 Str or 1d6
Dex or 1d6 Con; cure 3 consecutive saves. The save DC
is Constitution-based. Arbeyach can change his poison
to deal Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution damage as a
swift action.
Scent Communication (Ex) Arbeyach can communicate
with spawn of Arbeyach and vermin, including vermin
swarms and giant vermin, within 60 ft. via pheromone
transmission. In a hive, this range extends to cover the
entire hive. This is a silent and instantaneous mode of
communication that only Arbeyach, spawn of Arbeyach,
and vermin can understand. Vermin cooperate with
Arbeyach, and never attack him unless magically
controlled to do so.
Slow Reaction (Ex) If Arbeyach is ever caught by surprise,
his attackers treat the surprise round as a normal round,
and are thus able to take both a standard and a move
action before Arbeyach can act.
Swarm Prince (Su) Arbeyach is immune to swarm damage
and other swarm effects (such as distraction). As a swift
action, he can direct the movement of any swarm within
120 ft.
The Prince of Swarms is the slow creep of decay; he is the
worm and the locust that feeds on life and death alike. He
stamps out all voices that dare speak against the customs of
the hive. Even among the unyielding denizens of the Hells,
Arbeyach is exceptionally rigid. He finds disorder painful,
disobedience enraging. His lairs and his minions follow the
model of the hive, with each and every member possessing
a specific function.
Arbeyach was created by Beelzebub when the Lord of Lies
and Flies spat forth a cloud of vermin that would consume
the first mortal soul to arrive in the Hells. However, the
vermin cloud melded with the evil essence of the Hells and
became something unique: Arbeyach, a being of terrible
power. The self-styled Prince of Swarms holds little interest
in mortals, viewing the mortal world not as a source of
souls but as a chaos to be wiped clean.
As the eons have passed, Arbeyach’s interests and
ambitions have deviated further from the Hellish lords
surrounding him. He grows ever more unyielding, ever
more alien, but he weakens in power. Those below and
above him finally moved against him, and so have time and
habit have weakened him. He was once nearly as powerful
as the Archdukes, but now he is scarcely greater than the
pit fiends. Some say that his many foes merely wait for an
opportune moment to destroy him forever.
In the Southlands, the insectoid tosculi still revere
Arbeyach, and their hives reflect their patron’s philosophy
of prescribed functionality and unyielding order. While
Arbeyach is indifferent to their prayers and pleas, the
tosculi nevertheless remain a significant source of his
following and strength.
Arbeyach’s Cult
The human and gnoll followers of Arbeyach are much
fewer in number than the archdevil’s tosculi followers,
but they certainly exist. They are often called “locust
callers” by those they extort and threaten. A cult of
Arbeyach sometimes approaches a village or small
town before harvest time, threatening to call down a
plague of vermin unless they are paid, at once and in
gold. The village often has little choice, and pays or
starves as a result. After the harvest, the cult is often
hunted down by rangers and druids who see this
extortion as an affront against nature.
