Campe — Primordial Jailer of Tartarus
“Campe does not pursue escapees. The prison moves around them until they discover that they never escaped.”
Campe, also called Kampe, is the primordial jailer who once guarded the Hecatoncheires and the Elder Cyclopes in Tartarus. Cronus entrusted her with captives whose strength could overturn the rule of the Titans, and even the gods feared the creature appointed to keep them bound.
She is neither a goddess nor a mortal monster. Campe is a unique primordial dracaena: a living instrument of confinement whose body combines the most feared forms of earth, sea and underworld. Her immense strength is matched by calculating intelligence, command of planar imprisonment and refusal to recognise any authority that cannot enforce its claim within her prison.
Zeus destroyed Campe when he entered Tartarus to free the Hecatoncheires and Elder Cyclopes during the Titanomachy. The liberated Cyclopes armed the Olympians, while the Hecatoncheires helped defeat the Titans and later became their guards.
Campe nevertheless exists in the campaign present. Tartarus preserved fragments of her primordial essence within its gates, chains and foundations. Across immeasurable ages, those fragments gathered and reconstructed their former jailer. The restored Campe controls forgotten prisons, abandoned approaches and sealed regions beneath the recognised territories of Carceri, the Tarterian Depths.
Appearance
Campe has the head and upper torso of an enormous scaled woman. Her features possess a terrible majesty rather than mortal beauty. Venomous serpents writhe in place of hair, while sparks of divine fire flicker beneath her eyelids.
Below her chest, her body becomes a vast serpentine mass covered in overlapping scales. Innumerable vipers grow from her lower body and serve as feet, grasping limbs and independent weapons. When Campe advances, these serpents drag and propel her colossal weight in a writhing tide.
Around her neck and shoulders rise fifty heads belonging to different beasts. Lions roar beside tusked boars; hounds snap between the faces of wolves, bears and predators no longer found in the mortal world. Each head is part of Campe and watches, scents and attacks independently.
Her two human-like arms end in claws curved like sickles. Two immense black-feathered wings unfold behind her. A single armoured scorpion tail rises above her shoulders and strikes forward over her head, carrying venom cold enough to numb the blood of giants.
Campe is not a conventional dragon, hydra or woman mounted upon a monster. Every visible feature belongs to one composite primordial body.
Behaviour
Campe is an intelligent administrator of imprisonment rather than a mindless destroyer. She remembers every captive placed under her authority, every sentence pronounced and every being that has crossed one of her thresholds. She treats recognised prisoners according to the danger they present, preferring confinement, forced service and isolation to unnecessary execution.
Intruders must justify their presence before a power that recognises jurisdiction only when it can be enforced. Gods, rulers and planar authorities sometimes bargain with Campe for access to sealed captives. She understands ransom, hostage exchange, divine precedent and the value of information. She honours the exact wording of an agreement while exploiting everything left undefined.
Escapees receive no mercy. Campe studies their allies, destinations and motives, then turns each source of hope into another restraint. A road may fold back towards its starting cell, a trusted portal may open inside the prison, or an escapee’s companions may discover that Campe has marked them as replacement hostages.
Habitat
Campe occupies the oldest functioning prisons within Othrys, the first layer of Carceri. These structures predate many of the powers that now claim authority over the plane.
Her territory contains cyclopean gatehouses, inverted fortresses, lightless chasms and chains anchored directly into the substance of the plane. Some doors are large enough to admit Titans. Others are so small that only a name, memory or disembodied soul can pass through them.
- Chains tighten when a prisoner considers escape.
- Passages return travellers to their starting point.
- Dead portals briefly reopen at Campe’s command.
- Records preserve the names of captives erased from mortal history.
- Cells contain beings without physical bodies.
- Gravity changes direction according to the needs of the prison.
- Ancient wards confine gods, Titans, primordial monsters and living catastrophes.
Campe can leave Carceri, but her authority over teleportation, planar travel and prison architecture is strongest inside her own domain.
Mechanics
Epic rules: Campe’s challenge ratings deliberately extend beyond the published encounter tables. Her listed ratings are SpiralWorlds epic classifications intended for artefact-bearing, mythic or post-level-20 parties. Use a custom epic encounter award rather than extrapolating ordinary experience points.
Campe, Primordial Jailer of Tartarus
Gargantuan Monstrosity (Dracaena, Primordial), Neutral Evil
Armor Class 27
Hit Points 882 (36d20 + 504)
Speed 60 ft., Burrow 40 ft., Fly 80 ft., Swim 60 ft.
Initiative +14 (24)
| Ability | Score | Modifier | Save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 40 | +15 | +25 |
| Dexterity | 18 | +4 | +14 |
| Constitution | 38 | +14 | +24 |
| Intelligence | 24 | +7 | +17 |
| Wisdom | 28 | +9 | +19 |
| Charisma | 34 | +12 | +22 |
Skills Arcana +17, History +17, Insight +19, Intimidation +22, Perception +29, Religion +17
Damage Resistances Lightning
Damage Immunities Acid, Cold, Fire and Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing damage from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned and Prone
Senses Truesight 180 ft.; Passive Perception 39
Languages Ancient Greek and Primordial; Telepathy 1 mile
Challenge 35 Mythic; custom epic encounter
Proficiency Bonus +10
Official D&D challenge ratings end at CR 30. CR 35 is a SpiralWorlds epic extension. The complete two-phase battle is substantially more dangerous than the printed base rating.
Traits
Legendary Resistance (5/Day). If Campe fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Campe has Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Many-Headed Awareness. Campe can’t be surprised. She can’t gain the Blinded or Deafened condition while at least one of her beast heads remains able to see or hear. She has Advantage on saving throws made to avoid or end the Incapacitated and Stunned conditions.
Primordial Regeneration. Campe regains 30 Hit Points at the start of each of her turns if she has at least 1 Hit Point. This regeneration doesn’t function if she has taken Force damage or qualifying divine Lightning damage since the end of her previous turn.
Thunderbolt Scar. Campe normally has Resistance to Lightning damage. Lightning damage ignores that Resistance if it is caused by a deity or divine manifestation, a divine artefact, a spell cast using a level 8 or level 9 spell slot, or a weapon or ritual specifically empowered to reproduce the lightning that destroyed her original body. After Campe takes such damage, Primordial Regeneration doesn’t function until the end of her next turn.
Tartarean Seal. Within 1 mile of Campe, another creature that attempts to teleport or travel between planes must make a DC 30 Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the attempt fails, any spell slot, charge or limited use is expended, and the creature takes 27 (6d8) Force damage. On a successful save, the travel functions normally. Campe can exempt any number of creatures she can perceive.
Warden Unbound — Mythic Trait (1/Day). When Campe is first reduced to 0 Hit Points, she doesn’t die or gain the Unconscious condition. She instead ends every condition affecting her, regains 441 Hit Points, recharges Fiftyfold Terror and Viper-Foot Tide, immediately uses Viper-Foot Tide without requiring an action, and gains access to her Mythic Actions.
After this trait activates, supernatural vipers fill the ground within 30 feet of Campe. An enemy that enters that area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there takes 22 (4d10) Piercing damage plus 22 (4d10) Poison damage and can’t regain Hit Points until the start of its next turn.
Warden Unbound can’t activate if all three Prison Anchors have been destroyed.
Actions
Multiattack. Campe makes five attacks: two Bestial Maw attacks, two Sickle Claw attacks and one Scorpion Sting attack.
Bestial Maw. Melee Attack Roll: +25, reach 20 ft. Hit: 41 (4d12 + 15) Piercing damage. Each Bestial Maw attack can emerge from a different head, allowing Campe to target creatures on different sides of her space.
Sickle Claw. Melee Attack Roll: +25, reach 20 ft. Hit: 37 (4d10 + 15) Slashing damage. If the target is Huge or smaller, it has the Grappled condition with an escape DC of 33. Until the grapple ends, the target also has the Restrained condition. Campe has two claws and can restrain one creature with each.
Scorpion Sting. Melee Attack Roll: +25, reach 30 ft. Hit: 41 (4d12 + 15) Piercing damage plus 33 (6d10) Poison damage. The target must succeed on a DC 32 Constitution saving throw or have the Poisoned condition for 1 minute. While Poisoned in this way, the target can’t regain Hit Points, its Speed is halved and its Hit Point maximum is reduced by the Poison damage dealt by the sting. The target repeats the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the condition on a success. Greater Restoration or comparable magic restores the reduced Hit Point maximum.
Viper-Foot Tide — Recharge 5–6. Campe sends biting and poison-spitting serpents through a 120-foot Cone. Each creature in the area must make a DC 32 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 63 (14d8) Piercing damage plus 63 (14d8) Poison damage and has the Restrained condition beneath the serpents. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and isn’t Restrained. A Restrained creature can use its action to make a DC 33 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, ending the condition on a success.
Fiftyfold Terror — Recharge 6. Campe unleashes the voices of the fifty beasts growing from her body. Each enemy within 120 feet that can see or hear her must make a DC 30 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 66 (12d10) Psychic damage and has the Frightened condition for 1 minute. If the creature fails by 5 or more, it also has the Stunned condition until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and suffers no condition. A Frightened creature repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the condition on a success. A creature that succeeds on the initial save or ends the condition is immune to Campe’s Fiftyfold Terror for 24 hours.
Wrath of Tartarus — 1/Day. Campe hurls a sphere of crushing force and chthonic darkness at a point she can see within 300 feet. The sphere explodes in a 30-foot-radius Sphere. Each creature in the area must make a DC 30 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 90 (20d8) Force damage plus 90 (20d8) Necrotic damage and has the Restrained condition as black iron chains erupt around it. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and isn’t Restrained. A Restrained creature can use its action to make a DC 33 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, breaking free on a success.
Tartarean Magic. Campe casts one of the following spells without Material components, using Charisma as her spellcasting ability. Her spell save DC is 30, and she has a +22 bonus to spell attacks.
- At Will: Detect Magic, Dimension Door, Dispel Magic
- 3/Day each: Earthquake, Reverse Gravity, Wall of Force
- 1/Day each: Imprisonment, Maze
Bonus Actions
Serpentine Surge. Campe moves up to half her Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks. During this movement, she can move through the spaces of Huge or smaller creatures. A creature whose space she enters must succeed on a DC 33 Strength saving throw or take 22 (4d10) Bludgeoning damage, be pushed to the nearest unoccupied space and gain the Prone condition.
Reactions
Jailer’s Reprisal. Immediately after a creature within 30 feet damages Campe, she makes one Bestial Maw, Sickle Claw or Scorpion Sting attack against that creature.
Legendary Actions
Campe has four Legendary Action uses, or five while within her lair. Immediately after another creature’s turn, Campe can expend one or more uses to take one of the following actions. She regains all expended uses at the start of each of her turns.
Bestial Maw — 1 Use. Campe makes one Bestial Maw attack.
Crooked Motion — 1 Use. Campe moves up to half her Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
Scorpion Strike — 2 Uses. Campe makes one Scorpion Sting attack.
Wingstorm — 2 Uses. Campe beats her black wings. Each other creature within 30 feet must make a DC 33 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 22 (4d10) Bludgeoning damage plus 22 (4d10) Thunder damage, is pushed 30 feet and gains the Prone condition. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and is neither pushed nor knocked Prone.
Seal in Iron — 2 Uses. One creature Campe can see within 120 feet must make a DC 33 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 44 (8d10) Force damage and has the Restrained condition until the end of its next turn.
Mythic Actions
After Warden Unbound activates, Campe can spend Legendary Action uses on the following options.
Heads Unleashed — 2 Uses. Campe makes three Bestial Maw attacks. Each attack can target a different creature.
Scorpion’s Arc — 3 Uses. Campe sweeps her tail through a line 120 feet long and 15 feet wide. Each creature in the line must make a DC 32 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 55 (10d10) Piercing damage plus 55 (10d10) Poison damage and has the Poisoned condition until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and isn’t Poisoned.
Black-Wing Cataclysm — 4 Uses. Each enemy within 60 feet must make a DC 33 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 55 (10d10) Slashing damage plus 55 (10d10) Thunder damage, is pushed 40 feet and gains the Prone condition. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and suffers no additional effect.
Lair Actions
When Campe fights within her Tartarean prison, she can invoke the prison on Initiative count 20, losing initiative ties. She can’t use the same lair action on two consecutive rounds.
Chains of Conviction. Up to three creatures Campe can see within 120 feet must succeed on a DC 33 Strength saving throw or have the Restrained condition until Initiative count 20 of the following round.
Inverted Descent. Campe changes the direction of gravity within a 60-foot-radius Sphere centred on a point she can see within 180 feet. Each enemy in the area must make a DC 32 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature falls up to 60 feet towards a surface chosen by Campe, takes falling damage normally and gains the Prone condition.
The Prison Remembers. One creature Campe can see within 120 feet must make a DC 30 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 44 (8d10) Psychic damage and has the Incapacitated condition until the end of its next turn as it experiences the memories of countless prisoners.
Sealed Passage. Until Initiative count 20 of the following round, teleportation and planar travel automatically fail throughout the lair. Campe can designate creatures unaffected by this restriction.
Corridor Without End. Until Initiative count 20 of the following round, movement through a space between two surfaces or landmarks Campe can see costs 4 feet for every 1 foot moved. Campe and creatures she designates are unaffected.
Regional Effects
- Unattended chains slowly turn towards the nearest living creature.
- Doors occasionally open onto prison cells rather than their intended destinations.
- Teleportation magic produces a momentary vision of black iron gates.
- Sleeping creatures dream of crimes they committed, intended or merely imagined.
- A captive always knows that something within the prison is aware of it.
- Written names sometimes appear beside empty cells.
- A creature that breaks an oath hears the distant movement of immense chains.
These effects fade over 1d10 days if Campe is permanently destroyed or her connection to Tartarus is severed.
Campe CR 32/MR 10
Neutral Evil Gargantuan Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Mythic, Primordial)
XP Custom epic award
Init +18
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., True Seeing; Perception +60
Aura Horrific Appearance 300 ft. (DC 44), Tartarean Seal 300 ft.
Defence
AC 50, Touch 20, Flat-Footed 46 (–4 size, +4 Dex, +30 natural, +10 deflection)
HP 880 (40d10 + 560, plus 100 mythic hit points)
Fort +40, Ref +30, Will +35
Defensive Abilities Divine Resistance +4, Hard to Kill, Many-Headed Awareness, Mythic Saving Throws, Recuperation, Unstoppable, Warden Unbound
DR 25/Epic and Good
Immune Acid, Cold, Disease, Fire, Paralysis, Petrification and Poison
Resist Electricity 30
SR 43
Regeneration 30 (Epic Good-aligned weapons, Force effects or divine Electricity)
Offence
Speed 60 ft., Burrow 40 ft., Fly 80 ft. (Average), Swim 60 ft.
Melee 6 Bites +52 (4d12+15/19–20), 2 Claws +49 (4d10+7 plus Grab), Sting +49 (4d12+7/19–20 plus Poison)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft. (30 ft. with Sting)
Special Attacks Amazing Initiative, Horrific Appearance, Mythic Power 23/Day, Prison Chains, Surge +1d12, Thousand-Viper Tide, Wrath of Tartarus
Spell-Like Abilities
Caster Level 32nd; Concentration +44
- Constant: True Seeing
- At Will: Detect Magic, Dimension Door, Greater Dispel Magic
- 3/Day: Earthquake, Greater Teleport, Reverse Gravity, Wall of Force
- 1/Day: Imprisonment, Maze
Saving throw DCs are 22 + spell level.
Statistics
Str 40, Dex 18, Con 38, Int 24, Wis 28, Cha 34
Base Atk +40; CMB +59 (+63 Grapple); CMD 83 (87 against Grapple; can’t be tripped)
Feats Ability Focus (Horrific Appearance), Ability Focus (Wrath of Tartarus), Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes, Flyby Attack, Greater Grapple, Greater Vital Strike, Hover, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (Bite), Improved Critical (Sting), Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (Bite), Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Vital Strike, Multiattack, Power Attack, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (Bite)
Mythic Feats Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (Bite)
Skills Bluff +55, Fly +35, Intimidate +55, Knowledge (Arcana) +50, Knowledge (History) +50, Knowledge (Planes) +50, Knowledge (Religion) +50, Perception +60, Sense Motive +52, Spellcraft +50, Swim +66
Languages Ancient Greek and Primordial; Telepathy 1 mile
Special Abilities
Amazing Initiative (Ex). Campe gains a +10 bonus on Initiative checks. As a free action on her turn, she can expend one use of Mythic Power to take one additional standard action. This action can’t be used to cast a spell, and she can’t gain more than one extra action in this way each round.
Divine Resistance (Su). Campe gains a +4 resistance bonus on saving throws. This bonus is included in her statistics.
Force of Will (Ex). As an immediate action, Campe can expend one use of Mythic Power to reroll a d20 roll she just made or force a non-mythic creature to reroll a d20 roll it just made. The second result must be used.
Hard to Kill (Ex). Campe automatically stabilises when below 0 Hit Points and doesn’t die until her negative Hit Point total equals or exceeds twice her Constitution score.
Horrific Appearance (Su). A creature within 300 feet that sees Campe must succeed on a DC 44 Will save or take 2d8 points of Strength damage and become Staggered for 1d4 rounds. A creature that succeeds, or recovers from the effect, is immune for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based and includes Ability Focus.
Many-Headed Awareness (Ex). Campe can’t be flanked or surprised and retains her Dexterity bonus to AC while Flat-Footed. She gains a +8 racial bonus on Perception checks and saving throws against blindness, deafness and stunning. Severing individual beast heads doesn’t reduce her attacks.
Mythic Power (Su). Campe can expend Mythic Power 23 times per day. Her Surge die is 1d12.
Mythic Saving Throws (Ex). When Campe succeeds on a saving throw against a non-mythic spell or special ability, she suffers no partial effect.
Poison (Ex). Sting—injury; save Fortitude DC 44; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 2d8 Constitution damage, Speed halved and the victim can’t regain Hit Points; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Prison Chains (Su). As a standard action, Campe targets up to three creatures within 120 feet. Each must succeed on a DC 42 Reflex save or take 10d6 Force damage and become Entangled and anchored in place. Escaping requires a DC 45 Escape Artist or Strength check, or destruction of the chains. Each set has Hardness 25 and 100 Hit Points. A bound creature can’t teleport or use planar travel.
Recuperation (Ex). Eight hours of rest restores Campe to full Hit Points if she isn’t dead. By expending one use of Mythic Power and resting for 1 hour, she regains half her full Hit Points and the daily uses of her limited abilities.
Regeneration (Ex). Epic Good-aligned weapons, Force effects and qualifying divine Electricity deal normal damage to Campe.
Shield of Power (Su). Campe gains a +10 deflection bonus to AC. This bonus is included in her statistics.
Tartarean Seal (Su). Teleportation and planar travel within 300 feet require a successful DC 42 caster-level check. Failure expends the effect without transporting the creature and deals 10d6 Force damage. Campe can suppress or restore the seal as a free action.
Thousand-Viper Tide (Su). Once every 1d4 rounds, Campe releases a 120-foot Cone of biting and poison-spitting serpents. Creatures in the area take 20d8 Piercing damage and 20d8 Poison damage. A successful DC 44 Reflex save halves the damage. A creature that fails is Entangled until it succeeds on a DC 45 Strength or Escape Artist check. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Thunderbolt Scar (Ex). Electricity damage caused by a deity, divine artefact, mythic Electricity effect or spell of level 8 or higher ignores Campe’s Electricity Resistance and suppresses her Regeneration for 1 round.
Unstoppable (Ex). Campe can expend one use of Mythic Power as a free action to end one of the following conditions affecting her: Bleed, Blind, Confused, Cowering, Dazed, Dazzled, Deafened, Entangled, Exhausted, Fascinated, Fatigued, Frightened, Nauseated, Panicked, Paralyzed, Shaken, Sickened, Staggered or Stunned.
Warden Unbound (Su). Once per day, when reduced to 0 or fewer Hit Points, Campe ends all conditions affecting her, regains 440 Hit Points, regains 5 uses of Mythic Power and immediately uses Thousand-Viper Tide. This ability doesn’t activate if all three Prison Anchors have been destroyed. Warden Unbound replaces the standard mythic Immortal ability.
Wrath of Tartarus (Su). Once per day, Campe launches a sphere at a point within 1,000 feet. It explodes in a 30-foot radius and inflicts 20d8 Force damage plus 20d8 Profane damage. A DC 44 Reflex save halves the damage. Creatures that fail are also affected by Prison Chains. The save DC is Charisma-based and includes Ability Focus.
CR 32 is a SpiralWorlds extrapolation beyond Pathfinder’s published CR 30 comparison table. The statistics are designed as an epic mythic campaign finale rather than an ordinary encounter.
Campe
Neutral Evil Gargantuan Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Primordial)
Hit Dice 50d8+700 (925 hp)
Initiative +12
Speed 60 ft., Burrow 40 ft., Fly 80 ft. (Average), Swim 60 ft.
Armor Class 62 (–4 size, +4 Dex, +34 natural, +10 deflection, +8 insight), Touch 28, Flat-Footed 58
Base Attack/Grapple +50/+77
Attack Bite +63 melee (4d12+15/19–20)
Full Attack 6 Bites +63 melee (4d12+15/19–20), 2 Claws +62 melee (4d10+7/19–20), Sting +62 melee (4d12+7/19–20 plus Poison)
Space/Reach 20 ft./20 ft. (30 ft. with Sting)
Special Attacks Horrific Appearance, Prison Chains, Spell-Like Abilities, Thousand-Viper Tide, Wrath of Tartarus
Special Qualities Damage Reduction 30/Epic and Good, Divine Resistance +8, immunity to Acid, Cold, Fire and Poison, Many-Headed Awareness, Regeneration 30, Resistance to Electricity 30, Shield of Power, Spell Resistance 54, Tartarean Seal, Thunderbolt Scar, Warden Unbound
Saves Fort +49, Ref +39, Will +44
Abilities Str 40, Dex 18, Con 38, Int 24, Wis 28, Cha 34
Skills Bluff +65, Concentration +67, Diplomacy +69, Intimidate +65, Knowledge (Arcana) +60, Knowledge (History) +60, Knowledge (Planes) +60, Knowledge (Religion) +60, Listen +70, Search +68, Sense Motive +62, Spellcraft +60, Spot +70, Swim +68
Feats Ability Focus (Horrific Appearance), Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes, Flyby Attack, Hover, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (Bite), Improved Critical (Claw), Improved Critical (Sting), Improved Initiative, Improved Multiattack, Multiattack, Power Attack, Snatch, Weapon Focus (Bite), Epic Prowess, Superior Initiative
Environment Tartarus within Othrys
Organisation Unique
Challenge Rating 42; custom epic encounter
Treasure Special
Alignment Neutral Evil
Advancement Unique
Level Adjustment —
Combat
Divine Resistance (Su). Campe gains a +8 resistance bonus on saving throws. This bonus is included in her statistics.
Horrific Appearance (Su). Any creature within 300 feet that sees Campe must succeed on a DC 49 Will save or take 2d8 points of Strength damage and become Staggered for 1d4 rounds. A creature that succeeds, or recovers from the effect, is immune for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based and includes Ability Focus.
Many-Headed Awareness (Ex). Campe can’t be flanked or surprised. She retains her Dexterity bonus to AC while Flat-Footed and gains a +8 racial bonus on Listen, Search and Spot checks and on saving throws against blindness, deafness and stunning. Severing individual heads doesn’t reduce her attacks.
Poison (Ex). Sting; Fortitude DC 49; initial and secondary damage 2d8 Constitution. A poisoned creature can’t regain Hit Points and has its speed halved while either instance of Constitution damage remains. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Prison Chains (Su). As a standard action, Campe targets up to three creatures within 120 feet. Each must succeed on a DC 47 Reflex save or take 12d6 Force damage and become Entangled and anchored in place. Escaping requires a DC 50 Escape Artist or Strength check, or destruction of the chains. Each set has Hardness 25 and 120 Hit Points. A bound creature can’t teleport, become Ethereal or use planar travel.
Regeneration (Ex). Force effects, Epic Good-aligned weapons and qualifying divine Electricity deal lethal damage to Campe. All other damage is converted to nonlethal damage.
Shield of Power (Su). Campe gains a +10 deflection bonus and a +8 insight bonus to Armor Class. These bonuses are included in her statistics.
Spell-Like Abilities. Caster Level 40th; save DC 22 + spell level.
- Constant: True Seeing
- At Will: Detect Magic, Dimension Door, Greater Dispel Magic
- 3/Day: Earthquake, Greater Teleport, Reverse Gravity, Wall of Force
- 1/Day: Imprisonment, Maze
Tartarean Seal (Su). Teleportation, Ethereal travel and planar travel within 300 feet require a successful DC 50 caster-level check. Failure expends the effect without transporting the creature and deals 10d6 Force damage. Campe can suppress or restore this ability as a free action.
Thousand-Viper Tide (Su). Once every 1d4 rounds, Campe releases a 120-foot Cone of biting and poison-spitting serpents. Creatures in the area take 20d8 Piercing damage plus 20d8 Poison damage. A successful DC 49 Reflex save halves the damage. A creature that fails is Entangled until it succeeds on a DC 50 Strength or Escape Artist check. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Thunderbolt Scar (Ex). Electricity damage caused by a deity, divine artefact, Epic spell or spell of level 8 or higher ignores Campe’s Electricity Resistance, deals lethal damage and suppresses her Regeneration for 1 round.
Warden Unbound (Su). The first time Campe is reduced to –10 Hit Points or fewer, she doesn’t die. She ends every condition affecting her, returns to 460 Hit Points and immediately uses Thousand-Viper Tide as a free action. Warden Unbound doesn’t activate if all three Prison Anchors have been destroyed.
Wrath of Tartarus (Su). Once per day, Campe launches a sphere at a point within 1,000 feet. It explodes in a 30-foot radius and inflicts 20d8 Force damage plus 20d8 Profane damage. A DC 47 Reflex save halves the damage. Creatures that fail are also affected by Prison Chains. The save DC is Charisma-based.
CR 42 is an epic SpiralWorlds rating. It isn’t constrained by the ordinary D&D 3.5e challenge table and assumes Epic characters, artefacts or equivalent divine support.
Prison Anchors
Three immense anchors connect Campe’s reconstructed body to the foundations of Tartarus. They may appear as pillars driven through the cavern floor, chains descending into bottomless darkness or black iron mechanisms built into the walls.
D&D 5E 2024
Armor Class 23
Hit Points 100
Damage Threshold 20
Damage Immunities Poison and Psychic
Condition Immunities All conditions
Pathfinder 1E
Armor Class 38
Hardness 25
Hit Points 150
Break DC 50
Immunities Poison, Psychic damage and all conditions
D&D 3.5E
Armor Class 40
Hardness 25
Hit Points 180
Break DC 55
Immunities Poison, mind-affecting effects and all conditions
Destroying the Anchors
Each destroyed anchor reduces Campe’s Regeneration by 10.
In 2024 play, she loses one Legendary Action use, to a minimum of three, and Tartarean Seal’s save DC falls by 1.
In Pathfinder and D&D 3.5e, her Spell Resistance and Tartarean Seal caster-level DC fall by 2.
If all three Prison Anchors are destroyed before Campe reaches her defeat threshold, Warden Unbound can’t activate. Campe immediately knows when an anchor takes damage and prioritises creatures attempting to destroy one.
Running Campe in Combat
Campe is a controller-brute whose danger comes from divided objectives, movement restrictions and relentless action economy. She begins with Fiftyfold Terror or its edition-equivalent, closes upon healers and planar travellers, and uses her claws and prison effects to separate enemies from the anchors.
She directs her sting against healers, teleporters and bearers of divine lightning. Wingstorm and forced movement drive characters away from damaged anchors or into sealed corridors. After Warden Unbound activates, Campe abandons restraint and fights as the full manifestation of Tartarus’s anger.
Campe accepts surrender when living captives are more useful than corpses. Prisoners are stripped of teleportation devices, separated and confined in cells designed around their particular abilities.
Encounter Guidance
Five level-20 characters
Use all three Prison Anchors and ensure the party learns how they function before the battle. Destroying every anchor should prevent Warden Unbound.
Six characters with Epic Boons
Use Campe’s complete mythic encounter. Conceal or protect one anchor to create a meaningful secondary objective.
Artefact-bearing epic party
Use the full lair, Warden Unbound and guardian creatures. Destroying an anchor may release another dangerous prisoner.
Divine campaign
Campe may be protecting a captive whose release would be worse than leaving the primordial jailer alive.
Defeating Campe Permanently
Destroying Campe’s present body doesn’t necessarily erase her from Tartarus. Permanent destruction requires the destruction of all three Prison Anchors, suppression of her Regeneration with Force or qualifying divine Lightning damage, her defeat while that regeneration remains suppressed, and the sealing of the gate through which the prison would reconstruct her again.
Killing Campe may destabilise prisons that depend upon her power. Some captives deserve everything their cells inflict, and removing the jailer can release threats far worse than the party anticipated.
Historic and Mythic Context
In the account preserved by Pseudo-Apollodorus, Uranus first imprisoned the Hecatoncheires and Elder Cyclopes in Tartarus. Cronus briefly released them during the overthrow of Uranus but later confined them again.
During the Titanomachy, Gaia revealed that Zeus couldn’t win without the prisoners held in Tartarus. Zeus entered the prison, killed Campe and released the Hecatoncheires and Cyclopes. The Cyclopes armed Zeus, gave Poseidon his trident and equipped Hades with his helm, while the Hecatoncheires helped defeat the Titans and became their later guards.
Nonnus supplies the fullest surviving description of Campe: a woman-shaped, serpent-haired monster with a scaled lower body, fifty wild-beast heads, innumerable viper feet, sickle claws, dark wings, burning eyes and a scorpion sting raised over her shoulders.
Zeus’s Lightning
Pseudo-Apollodorus places the Cyclopes’ gift of the perfected thunderbolt after Campe’s death, while Nonnus describes Zeus killing her with a thunderbolt. SpiralWorlds reconciles the accounts by treating the attack as Zeus’s innate divine lightning. After their release, the Cyclopes captured and perfected that power within the artefact later known as Zeus’s Thunderbolt.
Campe and Echidna
Ancient sources don’t securely establish Campe as the biological sister of Echidna. SpiralWorlds treats them as separate primordial dracaenae descended from the earliest chthonic powers associated with Gaia and the deep places beneath creation. Campe isn’t an aspect or alternative identity of Echidna.
Echidna’s relationship with Typhon doesn’t make Campe Typhon’s consort, servant or offspring. Campe follows an independent chthonic lineage and possesses her own ancient office.
Campe’s Return
Zeus destroyed Campe’s original manifested body, but not the primordial law that gave her form. She had served Tartarus for so long that fragments of her identity remained within every gate she sealed and every chain she commanded. Those fragments gradually gathered around the surviving Prison Anchors until Tartarus rebuilt its jailer.
The restored Campe remembers her death. She no longer serves Cronus, but she hasn’t forgiven Zeus, the Hecatoncheires or the Cyclopes. Her loyalty now belongs to the prison itself.
Treasure
Campe doesn’t collect wealth for pleasure. Her hoard consists of confiscated property, tribute, prison records and objects too dangerous to leave with their owners.
- A key capable of opening one divine prison
- A black feather that summons a storm powerful enough to ground outsiders
- Scorpion venom that suppresses regeneration
- A fragment of Tartarean chain that obstructs teleportation
- The true name of a forgotten captive
- A divine weapon confiscated during an ancient war
- A sealed contract granting authority over one prison gate
- A record identifying which god ordered an unlawful imprisonment
Some confiscated objects remain bound to their cells. Removing one may open the prison, transfer its sentence to the new bearer or allow Campe to track the item across the planes.
Adventure Hooks
The Unlisted Prisoner
A divine court requires the release of a captive whose prison officially doesn’t exist. Campe will open the cell only if the characters deliver another immortal being to take the prisoner’s place.
The Broken Appointment
A cult of Cronus recovers the original token appointing Campe as jailer. It compels her to hear a command but can’t force her to obey it.
The Third Anchor
Two Prison Anchors have been located. The third was stolen centuries ago and now forms the foundation of a mortal fortress whose inhabitants know nothing of its purpose.
The Empty Cell
Campe discovers a sealed cell standing open. She can’t identify who escaped because the prisoner’s name has been removed from every surviving record in the multiverse.
Related SpiralWorlds Entries
Carceri, the Tarterian Depths
The prison plane containing Tartarus within Othrys.
The Hecatoncheires
Cottus, Gyges and Briareus, Campe’s former prisoners and the later wardens of the defeated Titans.
The Elder Cyclopes
Arges, Brontes and Steropes, imprisoned with the Hecatoncheires until Zeus freed them.
Cronus
The Titan ruler who appointed Campe as jailer.
Zeus
The Olympian who destroyed Campe’s original body and released her prisoners.
Echidna
A separate primordial dracaena linked to Campe by SpiralWorlds chthonic genealogy.
Sources and Further Reading
- Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library, Book 1 — Campe’s death and the release of the Hecatoncheires and Cyclopes.
- Nonnus, Dionysiaca, Book 18 — Campe’s composite anatomy and destruction by Zeus.
- Theoi Project — Kampe — collected ancient references concerning Campe.
- System Reference Document 5.2.1 — open 2024-compatible rules terminology.
- Archives of Nethys — Mythic Subtype — Pathfinder mythic-creature features.
- Archives of Nethys — Evaluating Monster Statistics — Pathfinder comparison targets through CR 30.
- D20 SRD — Epic Feats — D&D 3.5e epic feat prerequisites and effects.
Licensing and Attribution
The SpiralWorlds interpretation of Campe, her reconstruction by Tartarus, the Prison Anchors, the epic challenge extensions and the original abilities presented here are original campaign material.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available through D&D Beyond. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
Pathfinder First Edition rules terminology is based on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document as hosted by the Archives of Nethys. D&D 3.5e rules terminology is based on the D20 System Reference Document. Retain the SpiralWorlds site-wide Open Game Licence declaration and Section 15.
