Cú Chulainn
“ And certainly the youth Cúchulainn mac Sualdaim was handsome as he came to show his form to the armies. You would think he had three distinct heads of hair – brown at the base, blood-red in the middle, and a crown of golden yellow. This hair was settled strikingly into three coils on the cleft at the back of his head. Each long loose-flowing strand hung down in shining splendour over his shoulders, deep-gold and beautiful and fine as a thread of gold. A hundred neat red-gold curls shone darkly on his neck, and his head was covered with a hundred crimson threads matted with gems. He had four dimples in each cheek – yellow, green, crimson and blue – and seven bright pupils, eye-jewels, in each kingly eye. Each foot had seven toes and each hand seven fingers, the nails with the grip of a hawk’s claw or a gryphon’s clench.”
Cú Chulainn is the greatest hero of Ireland, a fine warrior who has dealt with mortals and immortals on their own terms. When he approached the lands of the great smith Culann, he encountered and defeated the smith’s huge guard dog with his bare hands. Enraged, Culann forced him to guard his lands in the dog’s place, and thus he became known as Cu Chulainn, or “dog of Culann”
Cú Chulainn underwent a series of initiations into heroic stature. He was forced to fight many other heroes and creatures, put through exotic rituals throughout Celtic lands, and finally learned strategies and magical tactics that have rendered him all but invincible.
Cúchulainn is almost undefeatable in battle due to his spear (which sings for the blood of its enemies) and his warrior frenzy called a warp spasm
When the Warp-Spasm overtakes him it seemed each hair was hammered into his head, so sharply do they shot upright. You would swear a fire-speck tipped each hair. He squeezes one eye narrower than the eye of a needle; he opened the other wider than the mouth of a goblet. He bares his jaws to the ear; he peeled back his lips to the eye-teeth till his gullet showed. The hero-halo rose up from the crown of his head.
This frenzy causes him to turn about in his skin; his sinews bulged with knots the size of a baby’s head; a poisonous black mist rose above his head; and he snapped his jaw shut with enough force to kill a lion, showering sparks. In this fearsome state he can not tell friend from foe, killing in front and behind alike
Cu Chulainn is known throughout the lands of the Celts, by mortals and gods alike. He never travels in disguise, so cannot help but be noticed. Cu Chulainn has a particular hatred of giants and will seek them out to destroy them whenever possible. He travels the lands to stamp out injustice and has a reputation for appearing just in the nick of time.
Cúchulainn’s appearance is small, youthful and beardless. He is can be described as “a dark, sad man, comeliest of the men of Erin.
used with permissiom from Paolo
| Cu chulainn | |
| Barbarian 26, fighter 8, Legendary Dreadnought 2, ranger 3 | |
| DvR0 (hero-deity) | |
| Medium humanoid | |
| Hit Dice | 28 d12 + 8d10 + 3d8 + 273 (519 hp) |
| Initiative | +12 (+4,+8 Dexterity) |
| Speed | 40 feet |
| AC | 33 (+5 armour, +8 Dexterity, +5 shield, +2 deflection, +3 skin), touch 20, flat-footed 33 |
| Base Attack/Grapple | +30/44 (30 + 10 + 4 igrap feat) |
| Attack | +45 longsword (1d8 +14, 17-20 x3) or +47 gae bolga (+45 if ‘pulling’ the hit) (1d8 +16, 19-20 x3) or +45 longspear melee (1d8 +14, x3), or +42 sling (1d4 +13, x2) or javelin (1d6 +13, x2), or +45 gae bolga (1d8 +16, 19-20 x3) ranged. |
| Full Attack | + 45/40/35/30 longsword (1d8 +14, 18-20 x3), or +47/42/37/32 gae bolga (45/40/35/30 if ‘pulling’ the hit) (1d8 +16, 19-20 x3), or +45/40/35/30 (longspear) melee, or +42/37/32/27 sling (1d4 +13, x2), or +42 javelin (1d6 +13, x2)or +45 gae bolga (1d8 +16, 19-20 x3) ranged |
| Space/Reach | 5 ft. x 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks | Favored enemy (giants), Rage 7/day |
| Special Qualities | Damage reduction 7/-, Divine blood, Fast movement, Improved uncanny dodge, Indomitable will, Tough skin, Trap sense + 8, Uncanny dodge, Unmovable 1/day, Unstoppable 1/day, Wild empathy |
| Saves | Fort +32, Ref +25, Will +17. |
| Abilities | Strength 31, Dexterity 27, Constitution 26, Intelligence 12, Wisdom 14, Charisma 26 |
| Skills | Climb +16, Concentration +11, Diplomacy +18, Gather Information +18, Handle Animal+18, Heal +8, Intimidate +42, Jump +35, Ride +23, Swim +16, Hide +14, Listen +12, Move Silently +14, Perform +18, Search +6, Spot +22, Survival +7 |
| Feats | Cleave, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Diehard, Endurance, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (gae bolgae), Far shot, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved critical (gae bolga), Improved critical (longsword) (critical range is 18-20 instead of 19-20), Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Track, Two-Weapon Fighting, |
| Epic Feats | Blinding Speed, Distant Shot, Epic Prowess, Epic Reputation, Legendary Leaper, Terrifying Rage |
| Climate/Terrain | King Conchobor’s court, or around Ireland |
| Organization | Solitary, or with 2d6 Uladi warriors |
| Challenge Rating | 43 |
| Treasure | see possessions, below |
| Alignment | Chaotic good |
Divine blood : Given his divine father, Cu Chulainn is immune to polymorphing, petrification or any form-altering attack, energy drain, ability drain and ability damage; he
has also a +10 ST bonus vs disease, poison, Paralysis, death effects, disintegration; +5 vs binding, soul bind, Temporal Stasis, Trap the Soul; Spell Resistance 25
Fast movement : when wearing medium armor or lighter, Cu Chulainn’s speed is +10 feet
Favored enemy (giants) : Cu chulainn has a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against giants. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against giants
Improved uncanny dodge : (no flanking attack unless the rogue has at least 30 levels),
Indomitable will : +4 on will saves to resist enchantement spells during rage
Rage : 7/day. While raging, Cú Chulainn has +8 to strength and Constitution, +4 bonus on will saves, -2 to AC. He’s not fatigued at the end of his rage, and any enemy seeing him must make a will save opposed to Cu chulainns Intimidate check or becomes panicked, or shaken (if has HD equal or up to twice his levels) for 4d6 rounds. As long as Cu chulainn rages, he has the following stats: AC 31, hp 675, +4 to melee attack rolls ad will saves (+8 versus enchantement spells), Strength 39, Constitution 34, lasts for 15 rounds
Tough skin :Cú Chulainn has an unnatural tough skin, giving him a +3 natural AC bonus
Trap sense : Cú Chulainn has a +8 bonus on reflex saves to avoid traps and on AC against attacks made by traps
Uncanny dodge : (retains Dexterity bonus if flat-footed) ,
Unstoppable : 1/day, Cu chulainn gains a +20 bonus on his Strength check to break or burst a door or item once per day. As a special use of this ability, Cu Culainn can attempt to break a Wall of Force (Strength DC 32, and the character applies his or her unstoppable bonus to this check as well). Alternatively, Cu chulainn can apply the +20 bonus to a single attack roll.
- Unmovable : 1/day, Cu chulainn can make himself unmovable once per day, gaining a +20 bonus on any one of the following:
- A grapple check made to avoid being grabbed with the improved grab ability.
- A Strength check to avoid the effects of a bull rush, trip attempt, or similar effect.
- A Strength check against any effect that would move him either physically or magically.
- Any one saving throw.
If an effect that would move Cu chulainn either physically or magically does not normally allow a saving throw, he can use this ability to gain a Will saving throw. He still gains the +20 bonus on the saving throw in such a case.
Wild empathy : Cu chulainn can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person: he rolls 1d20 and adds +20 to determine the wild empathy check result. Cu chulainn and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time. Cu chulainn can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but she takes a -4 penalty on the check.
Possessions
- +3 leather amour which enable him to retain his full Dexterity bonus.
- +3 heavy wooden shield (+2 ac, -2 on Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, hide, Jump, move silently, Sleight of Hand, Tumble checks) of blinding
- eight +3 shortswords, eight +3 javelins (1d6, x2, 30ft), a +4 longspear (1d8, x3), a +3 sling (1d4, x2, 50ft), a +4 longsword (1d8, 19-20 x2)
Gae bolga. Cu chulainn’s Gae Bolga was made with the bones of a sea dragon by the great sorceress Scathatch. It has the same characteristics of a gae bolga as described below, with the following additional powers: is an epic +6 weapon with double normal throwing range. The +6 enchantment bonus adds to the damage inflicted automatically when the Gae Bolga is stuck inside the wound, to the penalties to attack rolls, trs, skill checks and AC, to the damage if trying to extract it and to the relative fortitude check. If it scores a critical, the victim must succeed in a fortitude save with the same DC as the damage done, or die as the barbs tear the entire body. Size modify the saving throw by a +2 bonus every category higher than medium, and by a -2 penalty every category lower than medium.
Helm of terror: this helm grants the wearer a +2 CA deflection bonus and a +6 bonus on intimidating checks. Furhermore, three times/day the wearer by shouting may create a sonic attack in a 60-ft cone in front of him, dealing 10d6 hp of damage (half if fortitude save DC 20 is made)
Cloak of invisibility: the wearer may activate a invisibility spell three times per day, as cast by a 7° level caster
Gae bolga (gae bolgae, gae bulg) is basically a longspear (1d6 or 1d8 damage, x3, 20 ft, 12 lb, piercing), but it has a given number of barbs (usually thirty), which open inside the wound. The Gae Bolga can be used as a melee weapon or as a ranged weapon. However, throwing a gae bolga is not easy, since the thrower must use a foot for additional strength, requiring a minimum 16 Dexterity.
A user of the Gae Bolga can ‘pull’ a hit, preventing the opening of the barbs: the weapon is used as a normal longspear, but the user has a -2 penalty on all attack rolls. It’s not possible to ‘pull’ the hit if the gae bolga is thrown.
When the gae bolga is used normally, without ‘pulling’ the hit, if the attack roll is four points higher than the necessary score to hit a given armour class, it is assumed the thrust has been deep enough to open the barbs, stucking the Gae Bolga inside the body of the opponent. As long as the Gae bolga is inside the body, the victim has a -6 penalty on all attack rolls, trs and skill checks, as well as on the AC. This penalty is reduced or augmented by a +/- 2 factor, depending on the size of the victim, so a large victim has a -4 penalty, a huge victim -2 and a gargantuan or larger victim has no penalty. A small victim has a -8 penalty, and so on.
Furthermore, the gae bolga inflicts automatically 2 hit points of damage/round if the victim moves (4 in case of strenuous activity, like fighting or running, and 1/round if the victim stays still), until it is pulled off the wound.
Extracting a Gae Bolga is no easy task. It can be pulled after cutting the wound all around, or pushed further inside and extracted from the other side of the wound. In both cases, the victim suffers 3d8 hp of additional damage, and must succeed in a DC 21 fortitude saving throw or die for the shock. If someone with heal skills helps extracting the barbs, it can reduce the fortitude DC by as many points as his result of his heal check, and the damage by 1d8 if taking at least three rounds to extract the weapon.
Constructs, elementals, oozes, undead and other creatures with no discernable anatomy are immune to the killing effect of the gae bolga extraction, and they only have a -4 penalty on AC, attack rolls, trs and skill checks (size may additionally alter the penalty, as described above).