Kishar, The First Ground (True Primordial)

Primordial (Titan), Unaligned

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Armor Class 27 (Primordial Mass)
Hit Points 850 (see Primordial Body)
Speed 0 ft. (see Living World)

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
48 (+19)	1 (−5)	50 (+20)	5 (−3)	32 (+11)	8 (−1)

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Saving Throws Con +29, Wis +20
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, radiant
Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, prone, stunned
Senses tremorsense 10 miles, passive Perception 21
Languages —
Challenge 50 (Epic)

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How to Run Kishar (READ FIRST)

Kishar is a system encounter:

• The battlefield = her body
• Damage = destabilization
• Victory = reduce to 0 HP (collapse to dormancy)

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Primordial Traits

Living World

Kishar occupies the battlefield (up to 1 mile radius).

• Cannot be targeted as a whole creature
• Terrain (earth/stone/structures) = her body
• Attacks affect localized sections (see Ground Sections)

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Ground Sections (Player Interaction)

Divide the field into 30–60 ft. sections.

Each section:

• AC 20; HP 150

At 0 HP → Ruptured Terrain:

• Difficult terrain
• Entering creature: DC 24 Dex save or fall prone

Purpose: baseline targets; breaking sections destabilizes Kishar.

Damage to sections contributes to Kishar’s HP (after caps).

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Exposed Faults (Primary Targets)

At the start of each round, place Fault Points:

• Stage I: 1
• Stage II: 2
• Stage III: 3

Each Fault:

• AC 22; HP 120

Visual Nature. Fault Points are not simple cracks. Each appears as terrain taking on a distorted, almost-organic shape—suggesting part of Kishar’s vast form pressing toward the surface. These may resemble a closed eye beneath stone, a rib-like lattice of fractured strata, a shoulder-like rise, or vein-like fissures pulsing from a center.

Placement (see Fault Placement Rules). Faults must be at least 60 ft. apart, at least 30 ft. from any creature, and at least 40 ft. from prior round Fault locations. Prefer elevated or hazardous terrain and recently damaged sections.

On Destruction. When a Fault is reduced to 0 HP:

• Kishar takes 75 damage (ignores per-source cap; still counts toward the per-round cap)
• Cancel one terrain effect this round (DM’s choice)
• Aftershock (Reaction) triggers at that location

Purpose: high-value nodes; fastest way to push phases. Visually communicates where Kishar is closest to the surface.

Phase Visual Evolution.

• Stage I (Settling): Faults are subtle—hairline fractures, faint ridges, or slight swelling in the earth. Shapes are barely perceptible, like something pressing from far below.
• Stage II (Stirring): Forms become clearer—rib-like patterns, eye-like depressions, or raised “limbs” of stone. The ground appears to stretch and shift as if something is trying to emerge.
• Stage III (Breaking): Faults are overt and unsettling—large, fully formed shapes resembling parts of a colossal buried body. The terrain visibly moves, pulses, or collapses inward when struck, as if resisting or reacting.

These visual changes allow players to intuit Kishar’s current state without relying on mechanical knowledge.

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Primordial Body (Core Rule)

Kishar is vast; damage represents loss of stability.

• Max 75 damage per source
• Max 200 damage per round total

Massive Area Effects (100 ft+): ignore per-source cap (still limited by per-round cap)

HP = Stability, not life.

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Phase Gates (Stability Thresholds)

• 850–550 (Settling): mostly stable
• 549–250 (Stirring): instability spreads
• 249–0 (Breaking): collapse imminent

Crossing a gate increases terrain hostility and action pressure.

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Seismic Omniscience

Grounded creatures are automatically detected.

• Stealth doesn’t work while grounded
• Flying above 100 ft. avoids detection

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Inevitable Gravity

Flight is unstable within 100 ft.:

• Movement halved
• DC 28 STR save or descend 30 ft.

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Crushing Presence (Passive Pressure)

Start of turn (grounded):

• DC 28 CON save
• 27 (6d8) force damage
• Disadvantage vs terrain effects (until end of turn)

Description. The earth subtly rises and compresses, as if the ground is pushing back against those upon it. Boots sink, armor tightens, and breath shortens under invisible weight.

How to Run. Resolve at the start of each grounded creature’s turn. Apply disadvantage only to checks/saves caused by terrain (falls, shifts, collapses) this turn.

Design Intent. Constant background pressure that discourages stationary play and reinforces that the ground itself is hostile.

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Actions

Tectonic Cataclysm (Recharge 5–6) — Massive Upheaval

300-ft radius

• DC 28 Dex
• 110 (20d10) bludgeoning
• Prone + buried (restrained; suffocation risk)

Description. The ground heaves upward in waves; slabs buckle and explode skyward before collapsing back down.

How to Run. Choose a 300-ft-radius area. On a failed save, creatures are knocked prone and buried (restrained). A buried creature can use an action to make a DC 26 Str (Athletics) check to free itself or an adjacent creature. Start suffocation if fully covered per your table rules.

Design Intent. A board reset that punishes clustering and forces immediate repositioning and rescue decisions.

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Continental Shear — Battlefield Split

200-ft line

• DC 28 Dex
• 78 (12d12) bludgeoning; thrown 40 ft.
• Creates ravine (up to 100 ft. deep)

Description. A deep, straight fracture tears across the land, as if two plates grind past each other. The surface parts with a grinding roar.

How to Run. Draw a 200-ft line. Creatures in the line save or take damage and are thrown to a side (your choice per creature). The line becomes a ravine; edges are unstable (DC 20 Dex to avoid slipping when entering/ending movement adjacent).

Design Intent. Break formations, separate allies, and permanently reshape the map to create new hazards and routes.

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Gravitational Crush — Lockdown Zone

100-ft radius

• DC 28 Con
• 90 (20d8) force
• Restrained; speed 0 until end of next turn

Description. Space itself compresses; the ground and air feel impossibly dense, pinning bodies in place.

How to Run. Center a 100-ft-radius zone. On a failed save, a creature is restrained and its speed becomes 0. The restraint ends at the end of the creature’s next turn (or earlier with an action: DC 26 Str check to break free).

Design Intent. Creates a denial zone and sets up follow-up effects (Cataclysm, Shear) against immobilized targets.

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Reaction — Aftershock (1/round)

When a Fault Point is destroyed, Kishar triggers a localized seismic recoil at that location.

• Stage I: DC 26 Dex save; 27 (6d8) bludgeoning; prone on fail, half/no prone on success
• Stage II: DC 27 Dex save; 36 (8d8) bludgeoning + 10 (3d6) force; prone on fail, half/no prone on success
• Stage III: DC 28 Dex save; 45 (10d8) bludgeoning + 18 (5d6) force; prone and pushed 20 ft. on fail, half/no prone/no push on success

The affected area becomes unstable terrain until the end of the next round.

Rationale: bludgeoning = erupting stone/debris; force = compressive shockwave. Scales with phase to reflect increasing instability and backlash.

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Legendary Actions (between turns)

• Stage I: 3
• Stage II: 4
• Stage III: 5

Shift Terrain — reshape 60-ft area (elevation/difficult)
Stone Grasp — DC 28 STR or restrained
Tremor Pulse (2) — DC 24 Dex or prone
Localized Collapse (3) — 45 (10d8) bludgeoning + restrained

Description. The battlefield constantly reacts—rising, collapsing, and gripping at intruders between their own actions.

How to Run. Spend actions at the end of a creature’s turn. Avoid repeating the same option twice in a row if possible; vary effects to keep the map dynamic.

Design Intent. Eliminates “safe turns,” maintaining pressure and a sense of a living, reactive environment.

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Awakening States

Stage I — Settling

• Controlled shifts
• 1 Fault/round

Description. The land is uneasy but largely holds. Cracks form without full collapse.

Play Impact. Players can plan movement; hazards are localized.

Stage II — Stirring

• Whole field = difficult terrain
• Tremor each round (DC 24 Dex or prone)
• 2 Faults/round

Description. The ground rolls and stretches; stability is unreliable everywhere.

Play Impact. Movement taxes increase; positioning errors are punished.

Stage III — Breaking

• Automatic terrain shifts each round
• 3 Faults/round
• Creatures that don’t move fall prone

Description. Structural failure. The landscape behaves like a collapsing body.

Play Impact. Maximum pressure; constant motion required to avoid being overwhelmed.

Design Intent: escalating loss of control that the players can feel and read without numbers.

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Lair Actions (Initiative 20)

• Large terrain upheaval
• Stone pillars (cover + hazard)
• 20% of field becomes unstable

Description. On the beat of the world itself, vast sections of land rise, fall, or fracture.

How to Run. On initiative 20 (losing ties), choose one effect:

• Upheaval: A 120-ft area becomes difficult terrain and changes elevation (creatures make DC 24 Dex save or fall prone).
• Stone Pillars: 3–6 pillars erupt (AC 20, HP 80 each), providing half cover; adjacent squares are difficult terrain.
• Unstable Field: Mark ~20% of the map as unstable; entering or starting turn there requires DC 24 Dex save or fall prone.

Design Intent. Global, predictable beat that reshapes the battlefield every round and prevents static play.

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Defeat & Outcome

Reduce Kishar to 0 HP:

• Massive final collapse
• Terrain violently settles
• Kishar becomes dormant for centuries

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Encounter Identity

Players interact by:

• Breaking Ground Sections (steady progress)
• Destroying Fault Points (burst progress)
• Managing positioning vs shifting terrain

This is a boss fight + environmental hazard + tactical puzzle.

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DM Guidance

Use descriptions to teach play:

• “That section fractures—worse than the rest.”
• “Those fault lines look unstable—striking them matters.”
• “The ground shifts in response to your blows.”

Avoid framing as a single target; reinforce a living battlefield.

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Final Note

Kishar should feel:

• Immense
• Impersonal
• Inevitable

The goal is to overcome a world that is no longer stable.

Kishar

The First Earth, Mother of Foundations

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Pantheon: Mesopotamian (Babylonian/Akkadian)
Divine Rank: 12 (Intermediate Deity)
Alignment: True Neutral

Portfolio: Earth, Foundation, Stability, Fertility, Motherhood
Domains: Earth, Plant, Protection, Renewal
Cleric Alignments: N, LN, NG, CN

Symbol: A flat horizon line over layered clay or stone
Favored Weapon: Sickle

Home Plane: Material Plane / Elemental Plane of Earth
Superior: None (Primordial lineage)
Allies: Anshar, Anu
Foes: Those who destabilize the natural order

Worshipers: Farmers, builders, laborers, rural communities
Clergy: Earthpriests

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Dogma

Kishar is the embodiment of stability, foundation, and enduring existence. She is not simply the earth as mortals perceive it, but the principle that allows the earth to hold form at all.

Her faith teaches:

• All things must be grounded to endure
• Growth arises from stability, not chaos
• To weaken the foundation is to endanger all creation

Kishar does not demand devotion through fear or promise reward through favor. She is instead acknowledged, for her presence is constant and unavoidable.

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Mythic Role

In the earliest Mesopotamian traditions, Kishar arises alongside Anshar as one of the first stabilizing forces of existence, following the primordial chaos of Apsu and Tiamat.

Where Anshar defines the heavens, Kishar defines the earth.

From their union comes Anu, and through him the ordered structure of the cosmos.

Yet Kishar herself stands apart from the affairs of gods and mortals alike. She does not war, scheme, or rule.

She supports.

Every city, temple, and kingdom exists only because she remains unmoving beneath them.

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Dual Nature: Deity and Primordial

Kishar exists simultaneously as a worshipped deity and a primordial reality.

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The Worshipped Deity

This is the aspect known to mortals.

Kishar appears as a vast, serene woman formed of clay and stone, her form adorned with grain, layered earth, and the symbols of growth. In this form, she is invoked in:

• Agricultural rites
• Foundation blessings
• Seasonal transitions

She is seen as:

• A provider of fertility
• A guardian of land and settlement
• A quiet but enduring divine presence

Clerics and druids draw upon this aspect, channeling her ordered, sustaining power.

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The Primordial Reality

Beneath this divine aspect lies a deeper truth.

Kishar is not a being who stands upon the earth.

She is the earth itself.

This aspect is not worshipped and rarely understood. It is revealed only when the stability of the world is disrupted beyond tolerance.

When this occurs:

• The ground shifts unnaturally
• Structures fail
• The land itself begins to change

Kishar does not awaken in anger.

She ceases to remain still.

The terrain becomes her body, and the world reacts as a single, immense entity.

This is not destruction.

It is correction.

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Worshipers and Clergy

Kishar’s followers are those whose lives depend upon the land:

• Farmers and herders
• Builders and laborers
• Rural communities and settlers

Her clergy, known as earthpriests, serve as custodians of balance between civilization and the land.

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Duties of the Priesthood

Earthpriests are tasked with:

• Maintaining soil fertility and stability
• Blessing foundations and structures
• Performing seasonal rites of planting and harvest
• Preventing unnatural disruption of the land

They believe:

The earth does not require protection—but mortals must learn how to live upon it properly.

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Temples and Worship

Kishar is rarely honored with monumental temples. Instead, her presence is strongest in:

• Fields and cultivated lands
• River valleys and floodplains
• Buried foundation shrines

Worship is practical and cyclical, including:

• Offerings buried in soil
• Grain sacrifices
• Rituals tied to seasonal change

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Divine Influence

Kishar rarely manifests directly. Her will is expressed through the state of the land itself.

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Signs of Favor

• Fertile soil and strong harvests
• Stable ground and enduring structures
• Balanced seasonal cycles

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Signs of Disfavor

• Cracked foundations and unstable terrain
• Sudden tremors or land shifts
• Crop failure and barren soil

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Servants

Kishar’s servants are creatures of earth and depth:

• Earth elementals
• Xorns
• Serpents and burrowing beasts

These beings act not as agents of will, but as expressions of natural balance.

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Personality

Kishar is not driven by emotion in the way other deities are.

She does not love, hate, or judge.

She is:

• Patient
• Enduring
• Absolute

Her influence is constant, but rarely noticed—until it changes.

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Final Truth

To most, Kishar is a distant goddess of land and fertility.

To those who understand the deeper nature of existence:

She is the reason the world holds together.

And when she moves—

It does not.

Kishar, The First Ground

Intermediate Deity (Divine Rank 12); Huge Outsider (Earth, Extraplanar)

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Hit Dice 48d8+960 (1,176 hp)
Initiative –5
Speed 20 ft., burrow 40 ft. (earth glide)

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Armor Class

AC 58 (–2 size, –5 Dex, +45 natural, +20 divine)
Touch 23
Flat-Footed 58

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Base Attack/Grapple

Base Attack +48
Grapple +77

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Attack

Slam +67 melee (4d10+43 plus earthbind)

Full Attack

2 slams +67 melee (4d10+43 plus earthbind)

Space/Reach

15 ft./15 ft.

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Special Attacks

• Divine Aura (DC 30)
• Earth Mastery
• Spell-like abilities
• Salient divine abilities

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Special Qualities

• Damage reduction 20/epic
• Divine traits
• Earth glide
• Immunities (acid, cold, electricity, polymorph, petrification)
• Spell resistance 44
• Tremorsense 1 mile
• Portfolio sense
• Remote sensing

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Saving Throws

Fort +46, Ref +31, Will +39

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Abilities

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
48 (+19)	1 (−5)	50 (+20)	24 (+7)	32 (+11)	28 (+9)

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Skills

Concentration +71, Knowledge (nature) +58, Knowledge (religion) +58, Listen +62, Spot +62, Survival +62

Feats

Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Power Attack, Epic Toughness, Epic Fortitude, Epic Will

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Divine Aura (Su)

120 ft., DC 30 Will save; Kishar may project calm, resolve, or oppression.

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Salient Divine Abilities

Alter Reality (Earth Only) — Reshape terrain within 1 mile as a free action.
Divine Earth Mastery (Unique) — Control natural stone and soil within 1 mile; grounded creatures take –4 on saves vs her effects.
Create Greater Object (Earth/Stone Only) — At will.
Mass Divine Blessing (Fertility) — Plant life within 1 mile flourishes.
Divine Shield (Stone Skin Aura) — Constant stoneskin; immune to non-epic weapon damage.

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Unique Divine Abilities

Ground Dominion (Su) — Within 300 ft., terrain is difficult for enemies; allies ignore terrain penalties; Kishar may shift terrain 10 ft. as a free action each round.
Divine Stability (Su) — Cannot be knocked prone, tripped, or moved against her will.
Terrain Collapse (Su) — On a successful slam, a 20-ft. area becomes unstable; DC 30 Reflex or fall prone.
Earthbind (Su) — On hit, DC 34 Reflex or fall prone, lose flight (1 round), and speed halved (1 round).

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Spell-Like Abilities

Caster Level 32nd; save DC 20 + spell level

At Will: earthquake, move earth, stone shape, wall of stone, transmute rock to mud/mud to rock, repel metal or stone
3/day: storm of vengeance (earth-themed), summon monster IX (earth creatures only)
1/day: elemental swarm (earth only)

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Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 32)

Domains: Earth, Plant

Typical spells include miracle, earthquake, storm of vengeance, regenerate, mass heal, control weather

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Divine Traits

• Cannot die unless divine rank is removed
• Maximum hit points per HD
• Automatic success on portfolio-related checks
• May act on multiple initiative counts

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Primordial Aspect (Su)

Kishar may assume a distributed, terrain-bound form.

Trigger: Voluntary; or at 50% hp or less; or when surrounding terrain is significantly disrupted.
Transformation (Full-Round Action): Dissolves into earth and stone within a 1-mile radius; becomes a Colossal distributed entity.

While in Primordial Aspect:

• Cannot be flanked, grappled, tripped, or targeted by single-target effects
• Immune to weapon damage affecting only a single creature or square
• Loses standard movement and full-attack routines

Targeting: Effects must target areas of terrain (minimum 20-ft. radius); damage to terrain applies to Kishar; earth/stone manipulation affects her.

Primordial Body (Su): Maximum 75 damage per source; maximum 200 damage per round; excess ignored.

Primordial Actions (per round): 1 action per 100-ft.-radius zone (typically 3–5):

• Tectonic Shift: 60-ft. area; DC 30 Reflex or prone; area becomes difficult terrain
• Localized Collapse: 30-ft. area; 10d8 bludgeoning; DC 30 Reflex half/no restrain; failed save restrained
• Stone Grasp: 40-ft. area; DC 30 Strength or restrained
• Seismic Pulse: 60-ft. radius; 8d8 bludgeoning; DC 28 Reflex or prone

Divine Presence: Grounded creatures cannot benefit from concealment/invisibility vs Kishar and take –4 on saves vs her effects.

Reformation: Full-round action, or automatically above 75% hp, to reform her divine body.

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Avatar

Large avatar; CR ~28; 30d8+600 hp

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Description

Kishar is the foundation of existence itself. Where she remains still, the world holds. When she moves, the land fractures and all things built upon it are undone.