Xaphan
Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil
Armor Class 21 (natural armor)
Hit Points 338 (25d12 + 175)
Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft.
STR 27 (+8) · DEX 12 (+1) · CON 25 (+7) · INT 22 (+6) · WIS 20 (+5) · CHA 18 (+4)
Saving Throws Str +15, Con +14, Int +13, Wis +12, Cha +11
Skills Arcana +13, Insight +12, Perception +12
Damage Resistances acid; cold; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical attacks
Damage Immunities fire, poison
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned
Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 22
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal; telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 20 (25,000 XP)
Traits
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Xaphan fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Xaphan has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Heated Body. A creature that touches Xaphan or hits him with a melee attack while within 10 feet of him takes 10 (3d6) fire damage. In addition, a creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of him takes the same damage, and unattended flammable objects in that area ignite.
Magma Hide. Nonmagical weapons that hit Xaphan melt and are destroyed after dealing damage unless they are made of adamantine or silver.
Cold Quench. If Xaphan takes 50 or more cold damage during a single round, Heated Body and Magma Hide are suppressed and he can’t use Firestorm Breath until the end of his next turn.
Infernal Forge-Master. Xaphan’s weapon attacks are magical and deal an extra 10 (3d6) fire damage (included in the attacks).
Actions
Multiattack. Xaphan makes three attacks: one with Hellstorm Falchion, one with his horns, and one with his tail. He can replace the horns attack with Bellows Blast if it is available.
Hellstorm Falchion. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d8 + 8) slashing damage plus 10 (3d6) fire damage.
Horns. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (3d6 + 8) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) fire damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) bludgeoning damage plus 10 (3d6) fire damage. The target must succeed on a DC 22 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Bellows Blast (Recharge 5–6). Xaphan pumps his colossal forge bellows, choosing one of the following effects:
Scorching Jet. Flames roar in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in the area must make a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw, taking 63 (14d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Oxygen Strip. All breathable air is sucked from a 30-foot-radius sphere centered on Xaphan for 1 minute. Creatures that need to breathe can’t speak, and they must hold their breath (as described in the suffocation rules). A strong magical wind (such as the gust of wind spell) ends this effect.
Firestorm Breath (Recharge 5–6). Xaphan exhales super-heated plasma in a 90-foot line that is 10 feet wide. Each creature in the line must make a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw, taking 77 (14d10) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Bonus Actions
Infernal Leap. Xaphan leaps up to half his speed without provoking opportunity attacks. When he lands, each creature within 5 feet of him must succeed on a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (4d6) fire damage and be knocked prone.
Reactions
Flame Riposte. When a creature within 10 feet of Xaphan hits him with a melee attack, Xaphan can cause magma to erupt at that creature. The attacker must make a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) fire damage and being blinded by smoke until the end of its next turn on a failed save, or half the damage with no blindness on a success.
Legendary Actions
Xaphan can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Xaphan regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Attack. Xaphan makes one Hellstorm Falchion or tail attack.
Pump Bellows (Costs 2 Actions). Xaphan uses Bellows Blast (Scorching Jet only), but the cone is reduced to 30 feet and the action doesn’t trigger its recharge.
Sear the Forge (Costs 3 Actions). Xaphan melts a 20-foot-radius area of ground he can see within 120 feet. The area becomes difficult terrain until the start of his next turn. A creature that enters the area or starts its turn there takes 21 (6d6) fire damage.
Lore
The arsonist fallen angel who fans infernal flames with bellows and can ignite opponents’ gear.
Xaphan, whom legend also calls the Incendiary of the Heavens, earned the name literally. During Lucifer’s revolt, the demon tried to set the Heavens on fire. For this he was cast out, and in Hell he gained the post of a pyro-engineer, condemned to stoke the flames of the infernal furnaces forever. The transformation he underwent while falling into the Abyss radically altered his body, both biologically and magically adapting him to the extreme temperatures of Hell’s forges and the eternal blaze.
In lore Xaphan is shown as a roughly humanoid figure with two pronounced, spiraling horns on his head, a classic marker of demonic distortion. Yet in his true form Xaphan is described as a colossal being, about 13 feet (roughly 4 meters) tall, with an enormous, muscular build. Instead of skin, his surface looks like glowing basalt or smoldering coal. This dense, impenetrable shell is always smoking, releasing thin streaks of sulfurous gas and radiating intense heat. Only eternal rage is ever recorded on Xaphan’s face; no other emotion shows. His eyes lack whites, pupils, or irises—they are pits blazing with a blinding yellow-orange light, like the throat of a blast furnace at peak melt. Because of his cursed, endless work at the infernal hearths, his giant hands and mouth are forever stained with ingrained, unremovable mystical soot, and every exhale spits tongues of flame, ash, and molten sparks.
From Demonic Bestiary 5E, p. 100 · Fern Flower Press