Thesmor Varrin

Medium

Humanoid

CR 12

Lawful Evil

Thesmor Varrin

Arcane Usurper

Thesmor Varrin is a cold-eyed master of instantaneous movement whose presence warps space itself: he can appear in the center of a battlefield with a bloom of displaced air and vanish moments later, leaving only a ringing in the ears and the afterimage of shadow. Once lauded as the realm's shield against incursions from the Shadowfel, Thesmor now moves with the assured arrogance of one who believes he is inevitable — teleporting to the king's council, unmaking the guard captain with a focused arcane bolt, and then stepping through a tear to escape before reprisal. His combination of precise long-range spellfire, defensive teleport tricks, and uncanny ability to control the battlefield makes him a terrifying duel opponent and an unnerving political predator.

Stat block

Armour

17

mage armor; runic weave

Hit points

204

24d8+96

Speed

30ft

Challenge

12

8,400 XP

STR

10

+0

DEX

14

+2

CON

18

+4

INT

20

+5

WIS

12

+1

CHA

16

+3

Saving throws

INT +9, CON +8, DEX +6

Skills

Arcana +9, Insight +5, Perception +5

Senses

darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15

Languages

Common, Draconic, Undercommon

Actions

Multiattack. Thesmor makes two Arcane Bolt attacks, or he can cast a spell instead of making these attacks.

Arcane Bolt. Ranged Spell Attack: +9 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d8) force damage.

Shadowstep Blade. Melee Spell Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (3d6+3) psychic damage as a blade of displaced shadow strikes, and the target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be disoriented — it has disadvantage on its next attack roll.

Rift Snap (Recharge 5-6). Thesmor snaps a finger to open a jagged 10-foot-wide planar rift at a point he can see within 60 feet. Each creature in a 10-foot cone originating from the rift must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 45 (10d8) necrotic damage and 22 (5d8) force damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Allies he designates take half damage on a failed save or a quarter on a success. The rift remains as a faint tear for 1 round, distorting movement within 5 feet (difficult terrain).

Reactions

Blink Step. When Thesmor is hit by an attack or targeted by a harmful spell, he can teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space he can see and impose disadvantage on the triggering attack or cause the spell to reroll its attack roll with disadvantage. Usable 3 times, regains all uses at dawn.

Legendary actions

The creature can take 3 legendary actions per round, choosing from the options below.

Cantrip. Thesmor casts a cantrip (Arcane Bolt counts as a cantrip attack for this purpose).

Shadowstep. Thesmor teleports up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space and may immediately make one Shadowstep Blade attack.

Quick Cast. Thesmor casts a 1st- or 2nd-level spell he has prepared (save DC 17) without provoking opportunity attacks. He cannot cast the same spell with this action more than once per round.

Lore

Thesmor was born at the edge of the Umbral Crossing, the son of a frontier magistrate and a scholar of planar cartography. The Crossing vomited forth Shadowfel raiders with increasing frequency during his youth; Thesmor apprenticed under the order of the Gatewardens, learning to fold distances like paper. For decades he answered every summons, sealing rifts and intercepting shadowborn incursions with a brutal efficiency that earned the gratitude of monarchs and the fear of enemies. Over time, however, his successes curdled into ambition. The portals he once closed became tools, the places between planes a ladder to power. Legends say his turning point arrived the night the Lantern of Hest was lost in a defense gone wrong. Thesmor returned from that fight with a new doctrine: the realm needed a ruler who could think and move faster than enemies from beyond. He formed the Midnight Tenure, a secretive cadre of teleport-adept agents who both guard the throne and quietly undermine it. Scholars such as Master-Archivist Kelbren of Ardin's Reach warn that Thesmor's manipulations leave the realm safer from Shadowfel attacks but more vulnerable to a single, absolute will. The Crown Endowment has commissioned trackers like the Gray Cartographers to map his known jumps; few have been brave or lucky enough to publish complete findings.

Appearance

Thesmor stands slightly taller than average, gaunt and angular, with a face perpetually shaded by deep hollows and a silver-streaked close-cropped beard. His eyes are unnervingly pale, pupils rimmed in violet as if a permanent reflection of the Shadowfel lingers there. He wears a long, fitted coat of midnight-blue cloth reinforced with narrow runed seams — not bulky armor but tight enough to show the lean cordage of muscles trained for sudden motion. Around his left wrist and the base of his skull are thin brass filaments and sigils that glitter when he teleports; they look like cartographic notations etched into flesh. When he steps through a teleport he leaves a faint black-bloom shimmer at his exit point and a smell like ozone and old embers. Scattered across his person are practical items: a bandolier of chalked runes, a folding stavescroll, and a small obsidian token used as a focal point for his rulings.

Made with the free LoreKeeper Monster Generator · D&D 5e-compatible stat block · Free to use at your table · Licence

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