Zhashem are Celestials that have escaped exile and made their home on the Material Plane. They choose to disguise their true form to blend in to the populace of cities and towns, often becoming merchants, nobles, or guildmasters. Zhashem seek wealth and power in pursuit of acquiring vast amounts of magic items. Most prefer hiring adventurer’s to find powerful magic items rather than searching them out on their own.
Zhashem prefer to use diplomacy and subterfuge to achieve their goals rather than direct conflict. They create connections with various organizations and factions within a city to direct their resources towards the research and acquisition of rare magic items. Often more noble organizations require a change in leadership and a zhashem might be required to use arcane charm to help remove such an obstacle.
Limbo
Some celestials are exiled to Limbo as punishment for their crimes where they are met with unending anarchy and chaos. Unused to the chaos, most of these exiles succumb to the discord and find themselves swept away in the turmoil. But those with enough determination and focus can find moments of calm. These celestial developed a ritual to escape Limbo by sacrificing a portion of their magical essence to reform as zhashem on the Material Plane.
The ritual comes with a constant tax on the zhashem’s arcane energy and a touch that delivers a chaotic curse. To feed the ritual, zhashem sacrifice the arcane energy of a magic item over the course of a week. The rarer the item, the less often the ritual must be fed. Failing to empower the ritual causes the zhashem to wither and die as the ritual draws on the essence of the zhashem.
Zhashem
Medium Celestial, Typically Lawful Evil
Armor Class 16
Hit Points 153 (18d8 + 72)
Speed 40 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 (+3) | 21 (+5) | 18 (+4) | 11 (+0) | 17 (+3) | 19 (+4) |
Skills Deception +8, Insight +7, Persuasion +8
Damage Resistances radiant
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages all, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Siphoning Aura. The zhashem drains the arcane energy of magic items within 90 feet of it. Each magic item within the area loses its magical properties and can be restored if the zhashem is defeated or if it uses its action to restore them. The zhashem can suppress this aura at will (no action required).
Actions
Multiattack. The zhashem makes two Cursed Strike or two Arcane Beam attacks. It can replace one attack with a use of Spellcasting.
Cursed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 27 (5d8 + 5) slashing damage, and if the target is a creature it is cursed. A cursed creature loses a random language proficiency if it has any. The curse lasts until it is lifted by a remove curse spell or similar magic.
Arcane Beam. Ranged Spell Attack: +8 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (4d8 + 4) force damage.
Spellcasting. The zhashem casts one of the following spells, requiring material no components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 16):
At will: disguise self
3/day each: charm person, locate object, suggestion
1/day each: confusion, flame strike, mislead
Downloads
Further Reading
Check out the sauva for another powerful celestial that might be encountered on the Material Plane.
Do your heroes have a celestial or hellish origin? Try these touched feats.
Imagery created with Midjourney.
