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The characters of the eleventh adventure path, Shattered Star.

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    Cadrilkasta 

Cadrilkasta

Race: Blue dragon
Class: N/A
Alignment: Lawful Evil

A huge blue dragon from the Hold of Belkzen, Cadrilkasta left her lair in search of the Sihedron Shards. Locating the Shard of Sloth in the Storval Plateau, Cadrilkasta has become possessed by it and remains within Thassilonian ruins, slumbering atop her prize. The main foe of "Into the Nightmare Rift", the fifth part of the Adventure Path.


  • Absurdly Sharp Claws: Her claws have +38 to hit and crit on a 19 or 20.
  • Arc Villain: Since the Adventure Path as a whole lacks a Big Bad, Cadrilkasta takes on this role in "Into the Nightmare Rift", with her actions influencing everything that happens within the arc.
  • Dark Action Girl: Assuming that a female wyrm blue dragon qualifies as a "girl", yes.
  • Final Boss: Potentially. If the players opt not to reassemble the Sihedron than Cadrilkasta will likely be the last adversary they face in the Adventure Path (as Xin only resurrects and raises his city if the Sihedron is put together). She was designed with this in mind; hence her unusually high CR for her place in the Path.
  • Eviler than Thou: With the Leng ghouls, the moon-beasts, and potentially, the shoggoth that they summoned. If she survives "Into the Nightmare Rift" and returns in "The Dead Heart of Xin" she can also come into conflict with Ogonthunn, Shasthaak, and First King Xin himself, whose agendas all conflict with her own.
  • Greed: She may be under the influence of the Shard of Sloth, but it's her greed for treasure that drives her to search out the Shards of Sin in the first place.
  • It's Personal: If the players defeat Cadrilkasta and steal the Shard of Sloth but do not kill her, they have made an enemy for life, one who will likely return to attack them once they make it back to Magnimar.
  • Lazy Bum: While under the influence of the Shard of Sloth, which drives her into near hibernation.
  • Psycho Electro: Blue dragons all breathe lightning and emit an electric aura.
  • Summon Bigger Fish: Luring the shoggoth to attack her may well be the best way to put Cadrilkasta down—though given that both are CR 19 and that Cadrilkasta is both the smarter of the two and likely too large for the shoggoth to engulf, the term "bigger fish" is questionable. More like "summon equally big fish".
  • True Final Boss: Unlikely, but possible. If Cadrilkasta survives "Into the Nightmare Rift" she will return in "The Dead Heart of Xin", gunning for the players. Highly motivated, consumed with loathing for the players, and possessed of a higher CR than any foe save Xin's Clockwork Reliquary, Cadrilkasta is perfectly capable of usurping the position of Final Boss from Xin, Ogonthunn, or Shasthaak.

    Ogonthunn 

Ogonthunn

Race: Aboleth (veiled master)
Class: Loremaster
Alignment: Lawful Evil

An aboleth veiled master who was investigating Xin's palace, Ogonthunn became trapped in the underwater ruins, and has, as of yet, been unable to find a way out. Disguising itself as an Azlanti woman named Aulthunn, Ogonthunn attempts to enlist the help of the players in escaping the sunken city, and defeating Xin, with whom it has a millennia old score to settle. A brilliant sorcerer and runecaster with thousands of years of experience when it comes to manipulating humanoids, Ogunthunn wants to take Xin's clockwork army for itself, and sees, in the players, a chance to achieve that end.


  • Absurdly Sharp Claws: Ogonthunn's claws have + 21 to hit, meaning they'll more or less ignore most suits of armour.
  • Animalistic Abomination: Aboleths are ocean-going psychic aberrations that resemble enormous fish, have a definitely Lovecraftian theme, and inscrutable, alien goals. Ogonthunn, as a veiled master and powerful sorcerer, has even more of the eldritch abomination about it than most, and is perfectly capable of rending apart the minds of anyone it cares to.
  • Arc Villain: Vies with Xin and Shasthaak for the title of Big Bad within "The Dead Heart of Xin". While the two of them are more immediate threats, Ogonthunn's manipulation of the party towards its own agenda is arguably an even more insidious danger.
  • Dark Action Girl: Aboleths are hermaphrodites, but Ogonthunn prefers to take on a female form, giving the appearance of this.
  • Enemy Mine: Ogonthuun wants Xin dead as badly as the protagonists do (how else will it gets its tentacles on his army?) and will ally with them to that end—though preferably without revealing its identity.
  • Evil Genius: By far the smartest of all the villains in the Adventure Path, and the only one in "The Dead Heart of Xin" to possess a sense of subtlety.
  • Evil Sorcerer: All veiled masters are powerful spellcasters, and Ogonthunn is more talented than most, and is one of the most dangerous users of rune magic around.
  • Eviler than Thou: With First King Xin, whose army it aims to steal, and potentially Shasthaak and Caldrikasta, whose agendas clash with its own. It's quite possibly the most evil of the quartet, though also the easiest to reason with, and the one who is least interested in killing the party.
  • Hidden Agenda Villain: From the perspective of the party, though not the GM. Even if they figure out that Ogonthunn is their enemy, and what exactly "she" is, working out the veiled master's agenda is all but impossible until it actually tries to seize Xin's army for itself.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Tries to manipulate the party to its own ends, and stands an excellent chance of doing so. In the past, it talked Xin into rebelling against Azlant and counselled him on where to flee to afterwards.
  • Mind Manipulation: Via "dominate person" and "dominate monster". Worse still, Ogonthunn can implant a latent suggestion in the mind of anyone it controls so that should its control be removed, the victim will seek Ogonthunn out and ask to be controlled again, or something equally unpleasant.
  • The Mole: Can easily end up as a saboteur and enemy within the party, who may never realize that the helpful Azlanti sorceress is actually a gigantic fish-monster bent on world domination.
  • Psychic Powers: Aboleths are the masters of psychic magic, using telepathy to dominate those they encounter, and thoughtlance to shred the minds of those they cannot control.
  • Psycho Electro: Ogonthunn's four tentacles deal electricity damage, as well as making a psychic attack. The big fish is also immune to any electric attacks you might throw its way.
  • Sea Monster: Ogonthunn is a giant, psychic fish, with the ability to cast spells as a 17th level sorcerer, consume memories by biting its foes, and walk on land disguised as a human. The phrase "sea monster" doesn't quite do it justice.
  • Super-Intelligence: Aboleths as a race are smarter than almost any other creature on Golarion. The veiled masters are, in turn, smarter than most aboleths, and Ogonthunn is one of the cleverest veiled masters.
  • Time Abyss: Ogonthunn is more than 11 000 years old, and not only remembers the rise of Thassilon, but was the one who gave Xin some of his most potent mystic artifacts.
  • Treacherous Advisor: To a number of Azlanti families, including Xin's, going so far as to push the young Xin into rebelling against Azlant. Has the potential to take on this role for the party as well.
  • True Final Boss: If Ogonthunn manages to insinuate itself into the party it can become this after Xin's defeat, trying to dominate the party or take control of the Clockwork Reliquary itself.
  • The Unfought: Can wind up as this, if it allies with the party, or escapes from them once they uncover its ruse. Whether the players ever confront Ogonthunn is up to the GM. Heck, if Ogonthunn plays its cards right, they may never realize that it's an aboleth.
  • Voluntary Shape Shifting: Can assume human form, preferring the shape of an Azlanti woman named Aulthunn.

    Shasthaak 

Shasthaak

Race: Rune giant
Class: Graveknight
Alignment: Lawful Evil

A rune giant assassin sent to murder Xin by the Runelords, Shasthaak was killed in the attempt and resurrected as a graveknight. Filled with loathing for Xin, and furious at not having properly completed his task, Shasthaak attempts to recruit the players into helping him finish off Xin, by force if necessary.


  • Arc Villain: Can potentially displace both Xin and Ogonthunn as Big Bad of "The Dead Heart of Xin", depending on how his encounter with the party goes.
  • Axe-Crazy: When first reawakened. As time goes on he slowly regains his sanity, become ever more dangerous as he does so.
  • Cool Sword: Has a human bane longsword, which deals additional damage to humans.
  • Enemy Mine: If he fails to gain control of the party via "dominate person", Shasthaak can be talked into an alliance against Xin, though it lasts only until the First King is dead.
  • Eviler than Thou: With Xin, whom he aims to murder, and potentially Ogonthunn, whose goal of manipulating the party from within clashes with his objective of flat out dominating them. If Caldrikasta survives Part 5, he's liable to go up against her as well, since her desire to murder the players poses a threat to his own plans as well.
  • Magic Knight: A gigantic samurai, he also possesses numerous spell like abilities, ranging from mind control to releasing blasts of fire.
  • Mutual Kill: He and Xin killed each other in the back story.
  • Our Giants Are Bigger: Shasthaak is a rune giant, part of a race of artificial giants created by the Runelords. Taller than any other giants on Golarion, rune giants possess innate magical abilities, and the power to control all other races of giants.
  • Sanity Slippage: Suffered it while trapped in Xin's palace.
  • Token Evil Teammate: If the party recruits him.
  • Took a Level in Badass: If Shasthaak escapes the palace, his ability to command the allegiance of both the undead (as a graveknight) and giants (as a rune giant) will make him even more dangerous than he already is (since there are no other giants in the palace and no other undead save Xin)
  • True Final Boss: If he survives his initial encounter with the party, be it by allying with them, controlling them, or simply resurrecting when they fail to destroy his armour, he can easily become this after Xin's defeat, or even the Big Bad of a brand new campaign.
  • The Undead: A graveknight, the physical counterpart to a lich.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He turns on the party as soon as they manage to destroy Xin.

    First King Xin 

First King Xin

Race: Azlanti/Ghost
Class: Wizard
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

The founder of the Thassilonian empire, First King Xin was a powerful wizard who was betrayed and murdered by his Co-Dragons, the seven Runelords. His rage and anger at the nature of his death, coupled with the power of the Sihedron artifact, kept his ghost from passing on, and he continues to haunt his palace to this day, seeking to gain access to his Clockwork Reliquary superweapon and reestablish his empire. Not truly evil, Xin has been driven insane by 11 000 years of imprisonment, and does not understand that the world has passed him by. The main foe of "The Dead Heart of Xin", the final part of the Adventure Path.


  • Absurdly Sharp Blade: The claws equipped to Xin's Clockwork Reliquary have +36 to hit, threaten a critical on a 19 or 20, bypass hardness and damage reduction, and do x4 damage when they do crit, as well as inflicting fire or cold damage per Xin's wishes.
  • Arc Villain: The Adventure Path lacks a genuine Big Bad, but Xin takes on the role in "The Dead Heart of Xin", making him this, though both Ogonthunn and Shasthaak may challenge his position.
  • Ax-Crazy: Xin's long gone, and is left with only a violent need to rebuild his empire.
  • Big Bad Ensemble: While technically the Final Boss and most powerful enemy in terms of stats, he's opposed by Shasthak and Ogunthunn, who are nearly as powerful and might become the new big bads after he's destroyed.
  • Dem Bones: The Clockwork Reliquary is built around Xin's preserved skeleton.
  • Everyone Has Standards: In the final book the PCs find that Xin created some undead in life. As doing this is considered an inherently evil act, he didn't have the stomach to make it a habit and thus only ever created 3 or 4 undead in his life.
  • Eviler than Thou: With Ogonthunn and Shasthaak (and possibly Caldrikasta if she survives "Into the Nightmare Rift"). While significantly less evil than either the graveknight or the aboleth (or the dragon), Xin is also the most powerful of the arc's antagonists, and the one whose threat hangs over the entire story.
  • Fallen Hero: Xin was not a bad man when he was alive, and dreamed of bringing Azlanti style civilization to the comparatively backwards tribes of Varisia. The Runelords destroyed everything he'd worked for, and his maddened ghost does not truly grasp what has happened.
  • Final Boss: Of "The Dead Heart of Xin" and the Adventure Path as a whole—though both Ogonthunn and Shasthaak can take on this role from him and Cadrilkasta might if the players opt not to reassemble the Sihedron; see below.
  • Genius Loci: While Xin is technically undead, he's not a creature but instead a spirit suffusing the whole city of Xin, giving him control over all the traps and constructs within, as well as allowing him to turn the walls into nearly indestructible walls of force that also block teleportation. He only has a finite amount of energy points to spend on such things, if he runs out the traps become inactive and the walls become normal stone until he regains some points the next day. The PCs eventually do get to fight him in creature form at the end when he possesses the Clockwork Reliquary (a really powerful construct with some undead like traits.) Destroying said creature allows his spirit to move on, and turning the city into mundane ruins.
  • Magitek: The Clockwork Reliquary is a giant, clockwork monstrosity fueled by mysticism.
  • The Mentally Disturbed: Xin has lost his mind after years of imprisonment. He has no concept of how much time has gone by, believes the Runelords are still out there, and hungers for a revenge he can never have.
  • Mercy Kill: The game presents destroying the Clockwork Reliquary and putting Xin's insane ghost to rest as this.
  • Multi-Armed and Dangerous: The Clockwork Reliquary has four arms, all equipped with claws forged from adamantine and siccarite, two of the hardest metals in the 'verse.
  • Mutual Kill: With Shasthaak in the backstory.
  • Predecessor Villain: To the seven Runelords of Thassilon, including Karzoug the Claimer from "Rise of the Runelord".
  • Sanity Slippage: He's a long way gone from the brilliant ruler and wizard he used to be.
  • Sorcerous Overlord: In the backstory as wizard-king of Thassilon.
  • Took a Level in Badass: If Xin and his Clockwork Reliquary defeat the party he regains access to all his 20th Level Wizard powers, becoming a truly mythic level adversary for the next poor group of adventurers to confront him.
  • The Undead: A persistent and unique ghost, capable of possessing any clockwork weapon it encounters.
  • Weapon of Mass Destruction: His Clockwork Reliquary, a CR 21 superweapon that can destroy near anything thrown against it.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Xin believed the world would be better off under his rule and still thinks this way.

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