Tanar'ri, Bulezau

Strength 9x

Agility 3x

Intellect 2x

Willpower 9x

Hand Size: Edge:

3 (17) 1

Origin:

The bulezau are minotaur-like demonic beings hailing from the Abyss. Tanar'ri of mysterious origin who began to appear relatively recently in the cosmic scheme of things, they possess frightening power and a variety of dangerous supernatural powers with which to fight everyone.

Powers:

Tanar'ri Physique: bulezau are the highest stage of 'lesser' tanar'ri. They are respected (and feared) members of that class of Abyssal demons, both for their might and their temperament. Bulezau are true planar entities, and possess these tanar'ric capabilities:

* Darkness (a): all tanar'ri have the ability to share the inherent darkness of their very souls with the world at large. This rudimentary power functions only at intensity 4, but basically 'blacks out' everything within near missile distance of the bulezau.

* Dimensional Transit (i): in addition to being able to teleport, tanar'ri can transition between planes of existence. They may do so with intensity 5 ability, though on a failed action dimensionally transiting tanar'ri may be subject to error, per a failed teleport. *

* Infravision (w): many of the Abyss' countless layers are dark beyond mortal ken, and have never seen the light (physically or otherwise). As such, all tanar'ri have evolved the ability to see by heat as well as by visible light, and can do so with intensity 5 skill.

* Invulnerability to Fire, Electricity, Heat, and Poison (s): the tanar'ri are hardy creatures - they have to be to survive at all in the endless, horrific wastes of the Abyss. Their forms have evolved over time to give them complete immunity to fire, electricity, heat, and poison.

* Portal Sense (w): planar beings all, bulezau have the ability to perceive the various rifts that dot the planescape of the multiverse. Most of these doorways are invisible to the naked eye, but all bulezau can spy them with ease, doing so with intensity 8 ability.

* Resistance to Cold and Magic Attack (s): though they are not immune to the effects of cold or magic, bulezau are considerably resistant to them. When exposed to these forms of damage, a bulezau may resist such as if their Strength was +2 (intensity 8) higher.

* Resistance to Physical Attack (s): on top of the above, bulezau are incredibly tough against most conventional assaults you'll encounter in the Abyss. They benefit from intensity 4 (+1) protection against all mundane physical attacks, also.

* Teleportation (i): chaotic creatures all, the tanar'ri can bend space itself to their will. All tanar'ri possess the power to teleport with intensity 10 ability, and can avoid teleportation's usual side effects while transporting themselves within the same plane of existence. *

Berserker (s): perhaps their most dreaded ability, the bulezau readily drop into a manic fighting stance when provoked - and everything provokes them. When this power is triggered, a bulezau's Intellect drops to 1, the lost point migrating to Strength.

This raises it to 10, making bulezau that much more deadly. On top of that, they receive the benefit of unyielding will during this time, making them resistant to damage (and mental assault) at a level equal to this power intensity, which is 8 (+2).

Claws (s): if they do not have a weapon handy (and they usually try to), the bulezau can engage in hand-to-hand combat with their natural claws. These sharpened nails will inflict a bulezau's Strength +2 in slashing damage with every deadly swipe they make.

Emotion Control / Fear (w): dread creatures of chaos and evil, the vile bulezau can instill great fear into those in its vicinity. A bulezau may cause others within near missile distance to quiver in fear with this intensity 8 power, which acts just like the spell of the same name.

Empathy (w): unlike the vast majority of tanar'ri, bulezau lack the power of telepathy. Their language skills are poor, and instead of direct mental communication, they can only achieve a rudimentary (intensity 1) empathy with those in their surroundings.

Horns (s): their heads closely resembling that of a ram, the bulezau all possess large, thick horns with which they can head butt foes in close range. These large, heavy implements allow a bulezau to inflict their Strength +4 in concussive damage with each strike.

Mesmerism (w): all bulezau possess a limited form of mind control. They may direct a target to engage in any reasonable activity they desire, and their foe must resist this intensity 10 power or comply. Of course, obviously harmful instructions automatically fail.

Nonapparent Vision (w): the bulezau have a limited form of this power, which allows them to perceive items that have been rendered invisible to conventional light spectra. This power works at intensity 8, complementing their infravision quite nicely.

Quilled Battle Tail (s): in addition to their claws and horns, a bulezau has a long, thin tail which ends in a mess of spines and quills, not unlike a sort of natural war mace. It can be used to inflict the bulezau's Strength +3 in slashing damage.

Sound Generation (a): twice a day, a bulezau may emit a deafening scream. This scream strikes anything within a thirty degree arc in front of them (within near missile distance). However, it is powerful enough to inflict intensity 10 energy damage per shout.

Summoning (i): once per day, a bulezau may attempt to summon more tanar'ri to aid it in battle, with intensity 6 skill. An easy difficulty action calls forth six dretches, an average difficulty action draws forth a dozen dretches, and a challenging difficulty action summons three rutterkin.

Vapors (i): one of a bulezau's more curious powers is the ability to emit a bank of obscuring mist. This mist functions at intensity 4, allowing them to fill near missile distance with vapors that obscure normal vision. Infravision and other visual senses work fine, however.

Hindrances / Augmentations:

Monstrous: it should go without saying, but bulezau are monstrous entities - just look at them! A bulezau is at Willpower 0 to prevent Edge 0 humans from fleeing at the mere sight of them - not that they would ever bother. They may just chase them down and pummel them, instead.

Susceptibility: like all tanar'ri, bulezau are weak against the use of cold-wrought iron weapons, as well as holy water and weapons. Their supernatural defenses are ineffective against such assaults, which inflict at least a quarter of their maximum Health in damage.

Equipment:

Melee Weapons (s): most of the time, a bulezau will be carrying an oversized melee weapon or two into combat. They can use this weapon to inflict their Strength +4 in either bashing or slashing damage, depending on the nature of the weapon they wield.

Skills:

(none)

Calling:

Demolisher: bulezau are rampant engines of hate and destruction. They live to smash anything that irks them, and everything irks them, for nothing seems to understand them or their point of view. They're content to leave rubble and corpses in their wake, for it makes them feel good.

Characteristics:

Bulezau are dim-witted and have a hair-trigger. Their inability to be understood makes them irrationally violent, and they're more than willing to fight anything that offends them in the slightest, whether it be actual foes or mere perceived threats.

Appearance:

The bulezau are tall, lanky creatures. Sitting at around eight foot tall, they are covered with patches of wiry bristles where their boil-covered skin doesn't show. They have the head of a ram, and a strange thin tail that terminates in a quilled lump of flesh.

Ecological Niche:

Having appeared relatively recently, the bulezau are rumored to be the creation of the minotaur patron Baphomet, the lord of the 600th layer of the Abyss: the Endless Maze. And to be sure, there are a large number of bulezau present in that sub-plane.

Whether or not Baphomet is responsible for the creation of the bulezau, they now appear 'naturally' elsewhere in the Abyss, whether they are bred from other bulezau or are evolved from lesser forms of tanar'ri. And as usual, sometimes a bulezau 'just happens' in this mad plane.

Bulezau are seemingly made for combat, having little else to their personality save a desire to fight and destroy anything that does them dirt... and they see everything as being disrespectful to them. Those tanar'ri commanders who lead bulezau make it a point to find them foes very often.

If they don't, they're liable to be ground into dust by their 'underlings', who are arguably as powerful a front-line combatant as a vrock.

Notes:

* Depending on which version of the Planescape lore you wish to use, the bulezau (along with the rest of the tanar'ri) may not have access to these powers any longer, having lost them due to yugoloth meddling. Their presence is at the discretion of the individual Narrator.

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