![[JarethGiltgravePathfinder-v1.webp]] # Jareth Giltgrave _Human Crime Lord | [[Gilded Gallows]] | [[The Shadow Basilica]], [[Elturgard]]_ ## Summary Founder of the [[Gilded Gallows]], transformed from a revenge-driven criminal into [[Mask]]'s chosen prophet. He discovered both the [[Umbral Key]] and young [[Ravenna]] in the same forgotten temple. Known as "The Hangman," he seeks shadow rule behind every throne. %% ## Now Runs the Gallows from [[The Shadow Basilica]] in [[Elturgard]], directing [[Ravenna]]'s expansion while the [[Iymrith|Lyrielle Storm]] contract drags them into the giant crisis. Too invested in Ravenna to curb her excesses, and doesn't yet know [[Pow Ming]] is dead. ## Appearance Deliberately forgettable — quality clothes that never draw the eye, features that slip from memory. When he is angered his shadow moves on its own, sometimes reaching toward whoever he addresses. ## Personality Coldly calculating, religiously fanatical, pathologically patient. He treats crime as sacred devotion to [[Mask]]. Nearly sixty but young-looking from the [[Umbral Key]]'s gift, he speaks in a voice that reaches only its intended listener and pauses to hear whispers others cannot. The slum child who strangled a merchant with his mother's hanging-rope never really left. ## Quote _"The greatest theft is not of gold or jewels, but of truth itself. When you control what others believe, you own their reality."_ ## Connections **[[Ravenna]]** — protégé and strategic mind of the organization; he raised her. **[[Decima Iscitarn]]** — Ravenna's lover; an asset operating under the Gallows. ## Background **The Boy and the Rope:** Born in [[Elturgard]]'s slums, he watched his mother hanged for stealing bread. That night the ten-year-old strangled the merchant responsible with the same rope, and felt [[Mask]]'s approval for the first time. **The Key:** He found the [[Umbral Key]] in a forgotten temple of [[Mask]]. The relic demanded he sacrifice his closest lieutenant, then granted him shadow powers, unnatural longevity, and visions of Mask's design. **The Weapon:** Years later he returned to that temple and found young [[Ravenna]] — a yuan-ti orphan unknowingly made a [[Soulmonger]] by the [[Sewn Sisters]]. He raised her as his protégé and the strategic mind behind the organization's growth. **The Church:** He remade the [[Gilded Gallows]] from a thieves' guild into the [[Gilded Gallows|Umbral Conclave]], a shadow church devoted to [[Mask]]'s dominion. ## Stats *Medium Humanoid (Human), Lawful Evil — "The Hangman"* **AC** 21 (shadow-woven vestments) | **HP** 448 (46d8 + 242) | **Speed** 40 ft. **CR** 23 (50,000 XP) | **Proficiency Bonus** +7 | STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA | |:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:| | 11 (+0) | 20 (+5) | 20 (+5) | 18 (+4) | 18 (+4) | 24 (+7) | **Saving Throws** Dex +12, Con +12, Wis +11, Cha +14 **Skills** Deception +14, Insight +11, Perception +11, Religion +11, Stealth +12 **Damage Resistances** Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from nonmagical attacks **Condition Immunities** Charmed, Frightened **Senses** Truesight 60 ft., Darkvision 120 ft.; Passive Perception 21 **Languages** Common, Thieves' Cant, Infernal; telepathy 120 ft. ### Traits **Magic Resistance.** Jareth has Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. **Legendary Resistance (3/Day, or 4/Day in the Shadow Basilica).** If Jareth fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead. **Shrouded (Umbral Key).** Jareth is always Lightly Obscured, is unaffected by *Darkness*, does not age, and has Advantage on death saving throws. ### Actions **Multiattack.** Jareth casts one spell, then makes two *Hangman's Noose* attacks. **Hangman's Noose.** *Melee or Ranged Attack Roll:* +14, reach 15 ft. or range 60 ft. *Hit:* 17 (3d8 + 7) bludgeoning plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage, and the target is Grappled (escape DC 22). While Grappled this way it can't speak or breathe and begins suffocating. **Spellcasting.** Jareth casts one of the following, using Charisma (spell save DC 22): At Will: *Darkness*, *Dispel Magic*, *Fear* 1/Day Each: *Dominate Person*, *Wall of Force*, *Finger of Death*, *Mislead* ### Bonus Actions **Step Through Shadow.** Jareth teleports up to 60 feet to a space he can see in Dim Light or Darkness. ### Reactions **Shadow Form (Recharges after Jareth uses Legendary Resistance).** When Jareth takes damage, he becomes incorporeal shadow until the start of his next turn. He gains Immunity to all damage except Radiant and force, can move through creatures and objects as Difficult Terrain, and cannot take Actions other than moving. ### Legendary Actions Jareth can take 2 legendary actions, used at the end of another creature's turn; regained at the start of his turn. **Whisper of Mask.** One creature within 30 feet makes a DC 22 Wisdom save or has Disadvantage on its next attack or check. **Tighten the Noose (Costs 2 Actions).** Each creature Grappled by *Hangman's Noose* takes 13 (2d8 + 4) necrotic damage and repeats the escape check. ### Lair Actions (The Shadow Basilica) On initiative count 20, Jareth takes one lair action (not the same one twice in a row): - **The Nave Goes Dark.** Magical Darkness fills a 30-foot-radius sphere for 1 round; Jareth and his allies ignore it. - **Hanging Shadows.** Each creature of Jareth's choice within 60 feet makes a DC 22 Dexterity save or is Restrained until initiative count 20 next round. ### Notes **Design target (CR 23):** benchmarks AC 21 / HP 450 / DC 22 / attack +15. Runs attack at +14 and leans on action denial over raw DPR — intentional for a manipulator boss. The real threat is suffocation on grappled targets, silenced casters, and *Wall of Force* / *Dominate* splitting the party. Per his character note, he toys with the party if confronted early and would rather watch them struggle than kill them; *Mislead* / *Step Through Shadow* let him leave a scene he's losing. **Weaknesses (three-clue):** Radiant and force cut through *Shadow Form*; *Daylight* / *Sunbeam* strips *Shrouded* for a round; the [[Umbral Key]] is the engine of his longevity and shadow tricks — claim or destroy it and his Legendary Resistance drops to 1/day and *Shrouded* ends. He will not sacrifice [[Ravenna]]; threats to her make him abandon patience. %%