King Ghidorah

King Ghidorah is a daikaiju featured in several of Toho Studios’ Godzilla films and in their Mothra Trilogy. Ghidorah is among the most powerful creatures with a reputation  that has earned it the title “The King of Terror”. It is often considered  Godzilla’s greatest rival. Indeed, so awesome is Ghidorah’s destructive power  that Godzilla is often required to ally himself with another kaiju, even several kaiju, before engaging the three-headed monster in battle. The exception to  this theme occurred in the 1991 film Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, which resulted  in Godzilla defeating King Ghidorah, as well as severing Ghidorah’s middle head. Despite this setback, however, Ghidorah is one of the few daikaiju who is more than a match for Godzilla under most circumstances, though there have been other monsters such as Destroyah, SpaceGodzilla, and Gigan who have been equally formidable opponents for Godzilla. King Ghidorah is also one of the daikaiju most often mind controlled; it acts completely autonomously in three movies, in other appearances being controlled for most of its screen time by aliens.

Created as an opponent for Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra in 1964’s Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Ghidorah is a golden dragon-like space monster with two legs, three heads on long necks, bat-like wings, and two tails. It was said to be 100 meters tall with a 150-meter wingspan and to weigh 30,000 metric tons. King Ghidorah was brought to life on the movie screen by a stunt actor inside an elaborate three-piece costume, with a team of puppeteers to control the beast’s many appendages. Its alarming shrieks – a different ringing pitch for each of its heads – are among the genre’s most recognizable sound effects. Its design is due to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya based on a minimal description in the script: “It has three heads, two tails, and a voice like a bell.”

Originally posted on Toho kingdom

King Ghidorah CR 34, M10

XP 209715200 Chaotic Evil Dragon (Evil, Kaiju, Mythic) Initiative +3; Sense – Darkvision/Low-Light vision 600 ft  PERCEPTION +38

DEFENSE

AC 55 Touch 5 Flat-footed 52 (3 DEX, -8 Size, 50 Natural Armor)  HP 1001 (221+680) +100 Mythic): Fast Healing 30 FORT +39 REF +22 WILL +24 Defensive Abilities – Block Attack, Ferocity, Recovery DR 20/Epic IMMUNE Ability Damage, Ability Drain, Death Effects, Disease, Energy Drain, Fear, Mind Effects (Charm, Compulsion, Phantasms, Patterns, Morale Effects), Paralysis, Petrifaction, Polymorphing, Sleep  Resist – Acid 30, Cold 30, Electricity 30, Fire 30, Force 30, Negative Energy 30, Radiation 30, Sonic 30 SR 56

OFFENSE

Speed 125′, 200′ Fly (Average) Melee – 3 Bites +55 (4d6+47/19-20), 2 Wing Attack +53 (4d8+29), Slam +55 (5d8+47)  Space – 574′ long x 574′ wingspan x 492′ Height; Reach 120′ Special Attacks – Colossal Flier, Constrict (6d6+29), Ferocity, Flying Kick (10d6+47+1), Gravity Beams (15d8 +2 shock (or 15d8+7 with surge), Greater Starflight, Hurl Foe, Hurricane Flight, Hurricane Gust, Massive Strikes, Powerful Blow, Swallow Whole (6d6+34 Bludgeon plus 6d6 acid, AC35, HP100, DR20/Epic), Three-in-One, Trample (6d6+47)

STATISTICS

STR 69 DEX 17 CON 50 INT 9 WIS 20 CHA 40 Base Attack +34 CMB +71 (+86 Grapple, +72 Trip) CMD 84 (91 vs Trip) Feats – Ability Focus (Flying Kick), Combat Expertise, Death from Above, Death from Above (Mythic), Endurance, Endurance (Mythic), Felling Escape, Final Embrace, Final Embrace (Horror), Final Embrace (Master), Greater Trip, Improved Critical (Bite), Improved Trip, Improved Trip (Mythic), Multiattack, Opening Volley, Paired Opportunists, Power Attack, Power Attack (Mythic), Weapon Focus (Gravity Beam), Weapon Focus (Gravity Beam) (Mythic), Weapon Focus (Flying Kick), Wingover Skills – Climb +42, Fly +40, Intimidate +50, Knowledge (Geography) +22, Knowledge (History) +7, Knowledge (Nature) +7, Knowledge (Planes) +17, Perception +38, Sense Motive +18, Survival +40, Swim +42 Special Qualities – Divine, Massive, Powerful Blow (Slam)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Block Attacks (Ex): King Ghidorah’s incredible size allows him to shrug off blows that would stagger other kaiju. Once per round, when King Ghidorah is hit by a melee or ranged attack, he can attempt a melee attack using his highest attack bonus. If this result exceeds the result from the attack against him, King Ghidorah is unaffected by the attack as if the attack had missed. Colossal Flier (Ex): Though not as graceful in the air as Rodan or Mothra, King Ghidorah’s size and strength allows him to fly unaffected by any opposing winds. King Ghidorah does not take penalties when flying in strong or more powerful winds. Constrict (Ex): King Ghidorah can use his long, serpent like necks to strangle the life out of opponents that it manages to grapple, crushing them opponent and dealing bludgeoning damage when he makes a successful grapple check. This damage works in addition to any other effects caused by a successful check, including additional damage. Flying Kick (Ex): One of the King of Terror’s preferred methods for decisively entering a battle. King Ghidorah will fly towards an opponent at top speed and deliver a powerful kick, dealing extra damage while incurring the normal benefits and hazards of a charge attack. This attack can only be performed while in the air. Gravity Beams (Su): Appearing as golden bolts of lightning, King Ghidorah’s gravity bolts are his signature ability and preferred method of attack. With a range of 2400′ (or 1200′ if fired in a 180 degree arc), the attack detonates in a powerful 15d8 burst of electricity on impact. Each of King Ghidorah’s heads is capable of firing a gravity beam and they may be fired from one, two, or all three heads during an attack. No matter how many beams are fired, King Ghidorah must wait 1d3 rounds before firing again. Seeing the damage inflicted by this attack fills the King of Terror’s dark heart with glee. Often times he strikes other objects in the environment in addition to his primary target because of this. When using 3 Gravity Beams, roll 1d12 to determine how many of the beams strike the chosen target. A result of 1-4 is a single hit, 5-8 is two, and 9-12 is all three beams hitting the target.  When using 2 Gravity Beams, use 1d8 to determine how many beams strike. A result of 1-4 is a single hit and a result of 5-8 is two hits. For each successful hit, the target of the gravity beams makes their saving roll as normal while any missed roll cause the other beams to strike the environment around the target. A single Gravity Beam acts as a standard breath weapon with no added chance to miss the target. Greater Starflight (Su): At home in the inky blackness of eternity, King Ghidorah can survive in the void of outer space and travel through it at amazing speeds. Although his exact travel time will vary from one trip to the next, a trip within a solar system normally takes Ghidorah 2d6 hours, and a trip beyond normally takes 2d6 days (or more, at the GM’s discretion). Hurricane Flight (Su): When King Ghidorah takes flight, he produces powerful gusts of wind which buffet structures on the ground. With wind speeds exceeding 170 miles per hour, Large sized creatures must make a DC10 Strength check or a DC20 Fly check to move against the wind while those medium sized and smaller are blown away by it. Ranged attacks are impossible to make except via siege weapons (which takes a -8 penalty on attack rolls). Perception checks based on sound are impossible to make over the roaring winds. These gusts of wind extinguish flames, uproot trees, and demolish houses within a 225 foot diameter of King Ghidorah. Hurricane Gust (Ex): While standing on the ground, King Ghidorah may still make use of his fan like wings to produce incredibly strong gusts of wind. This gust of wind takes the shape of a 355′ cone of hurricane force winds, staggering colossal enemies and blowing away all others. Colossal enemies must make a DC47 fortitude save or be blown away, rolling/falling over 100 feet away from the King of Terror, taking 15d6 damage in the process. Creatures who pass this fortitude save are not blown away, but are staggered for 1d4 rounds. Hurl Foe (Ex): When King Ghidorah strikes a Huge or Smaller foe with his natural attacks, he may make a CMB check to knock his opponent backwards in a straight line. For every 5 points by which he beats their CMD, they fly an additional 10 feet backwards. If they strike a wall, they take 1d6 additional damage per 10 feet moved. Massive Strikes (Ex): Each of King Ghidorah’s natural attacks can target all creatures within a 30 foot square. He makes one attack roll; any creature in the area whose AC is equal to or lower than the result is struck by his attack. Mythic Power (Su): King Ghidorah’s terrible power is fed by a wellspring of evil and hatred within the beast which he can draw upon to further augment his godlike strength. Each day, he can expend a number of uses of mythic power equal to his mythic rank (10). This amount is its maximum amount of mythic power. – Surge (Su): King Ghidorah can expend one use of his mythic power to increase any d20 roll that he just made by rolling 1d12 and adding it to the result. Using this ability is an immediate action taken after the original roll is made and the results are revealed. Powerful Blows (Ex): King Ghidorah’s Slam attack adds 1-1/2 times his Strength bonus on damage rolls. Smother (Ex): The Hydra of Hate is at his most deadly when constricting his opponents in a grapple, capable of using his terrible strength to force his grappled opponent to expel or consume some of its breath to reduce the time remaining until the target has to attempt checks to avoid suffocation. When King Ghidorah succeeds at a grapple check against his opponent, the remaining duration that they can hold their breath decreases by 1d6 rounds. If this reduces the remaining time that the creature can hold its breath to 0 rounds or fewer, the DCs of its suffocation checks increase by 5.This ability works in concert with King Ghidorah’s constrict ability, allowing him to automatically use the smother ability when he succeeds on a grapple check to constrict. Three-in-One (Ex): King Ghidorah’s 3 heads provide it with a distinct advantage in combat. Each head may function individually of the others, making a battle with it function as if it were actually 3 kaiju instead of 1. This natural function of its biology allows it to utilize teamwork feats without any allies.

ECOLOGY

Environment Any (Sky or Outer Space) Organization: Solitary (Unique) Treasure: None

A golden idol. A monument to fear and destruction. A name spoken only in whispers within darkened halls and screamed on battlefields in furious rapture: King Ghidorah. With nearly unrivaled power and a crazed mind bent on spreading fear and destruction, the golden dragon has been responsible for the end of many worlds throughout the stars. Entire continents quake at the sign of his coming, with rule of law spiraling out of control as he draws closer. King Ghidorah is the god of catastrophe, chaos, destruction, evil, fear, and madness.

At nearly 500′ tall and almost 600′ long, King Ghidorah is a monumental beast that towers over even the mighty Godzilla. With gargantuan fan shaped wings spanning over 574′, it is almost unbelievable that the beast can fly (even if it is ungraceful in the air). It’s trunk-like legs end in large 5 clawed toes, behind which writhe it’s spiked twin tails. Golden scales cover the beast from heads to toe, shielding it from even the strongest blows of human weaponry and kaiju claws. Each of his golden heads is crowned by a ring of spikes beginning behind each eyebrow and curving down around his jaw, intercepted at the back of each head by the single row of spikes running down each long neck. Heavy brows shroud gleaming red eyes capable of seeing in the dim void of outer space, constantly moving to and fro with his writhing necks as he searches for new victims. In summation, King Ghidorah is both beautiful and terrible to behold.

An agent of chaos and devastation, King Ghidorah has no true allies among the other kaiju deities and there is not a single one of them which he would not gladly destroy. Rather than friends, the King of Terror holds his greatest enemies closest to his black heart as he thirsts for their destruction. His first and most hated enemy is the King of the Monsters himself, Godzilla. Despite possessing powers that should provide him a clear cut advantage over the monster king, Ghidorah has been unable to finish off his most hated enemy time and again. Unfortunately for the hateful hydra, Godzilla’s tenacity and cunning (as well as his ability to work with others) allows him to keep one step ahead of the crazed cosmic dragon. Next on his list are the allies of Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra. Though he sees Rodan primarily as a nuisance to be eliminated, Mothra is King Ghidorah’s antithesis; where King Ghidorah is cruel and insane, Mothra is benevolent and wise. Aside from Godzilla, there is no other kaiju he hates more.

Within the dark ranks of the evil kaiju gods King Ghidorah reigns supreme, earning him the enmity of his would be peers, particularly Spacegodzilla and Destoroyah. Both despise the King of Terror, much to Ghidorah’s pleasure. Though each of them are extremely powerful, none have so far managed to topple King Ghidorah from his position or gather more followers to their dark causes. Spacegodzilla in particular seems to bear a grudge against King Ghidorah because of this and has worked to undermine him both openly and covertly.

King Ghidorah Worship

It takes a special kind of person to worship a deity so debase as King Ghidorah. From the insane to the misguided, the King of Terror has a long history of attracting the spurned and the maniacal to his cause. Sometimes they are the ones who were betrayed by the rule of law, their pleas for justice unanswered or unheeded by the powers that be. Others become followers after having experienced the wrath of the kaiju gods, discovering that the agents of the apocalypse are already among them and simply deciding to follow the golden embodiment of that purpose to the bloody end. And then there are those that simply want to watch the world burn, giving in to the wild chaos and madness lurking within the mind of the hateful hydra. Whatever the case, these misguided individuals find a cause to rally behind in the form of King Ghidorah, seeking to disrupt civilization at large and bring about anarchy and oblivion. And yet not all who worship him are out on the battlefield; there are still those who bow before secret shrines in their homes, praying to the evil Ghidorah for power and destruction.

The Talons of the King remain the largest and most powerful order dedicated to the worship of King Ghidorah, comprised mainly of evil clerics, anti-paladins, and other various dark warriors and wizards. Though they possess little in the way of true organization, the Talons will often rally together to spread fear and destruction in the name of their god on a Bloody crusade. After they have cut a bloody swath through the land, they will often lay low to replenish numbers and recuperate strength for their next attack. Many times these retreats are due to the intervention of the Splintered Atom or the followers of Mothra, leading to bloody skirmishes that end with many wounded and dead on both sides of the conflict. And yet, despite many witch hunts and crusades against them, the worshipers of King Ghidorah continue to grow in strength and number.

The favored weapon of King Ghidorah is the ranseur, a large trident like polearm used to fight from a distance with it’s piercing spear head and large prongs. In addition, the Talons often like to wear heavy plate armor of brightest golden tint in honor of their god. Though one would think the sight ridiculous, there are few more terrifying to innocents than that of a line of golden warriors approaching them from the horizon.

There are no churches or organizations that trust the Talons of the King. This does not seem to bother the followers of Ghidorah, who enjoy the dangerous and unpredictable reputation that they have garnered throughout the centuries. Battles between them and the worshipers of Godzilla and his allies are the stuff of legend, often leaving terrible scars to both land and people after the battle is over. But like the embodiment of madness that they worship, the followers of King Ghidorah keep coming back to spread their message of fear and death to the peoples of the world.