False Prophet
“The False Prophet exercised all the authority of the first Beast on its behalf, and made the earth
and its inhabitants worship the Beast.”
-Revelation 13:11
The False Prophet
Melissa Mendax is the Public Relations all-star and “Queen of Spin” that serves as the Chief of Staff to none other than Jeremiah Resh, the Antichrist, himself. But Mendax is more than just an accomplished politician; she is a creature of ancient evil, the False Prophet that was foretold. In many ways, Mendax is a more calculated and dangerous creature than Resh himself. While Resh possesses the drive and ambition to serve the Dragon and bring about the end times, Mendax is his executor. She is an unrivaled planner, a ruthless manipulator, and a flawless public speaker.
Right Hand of Evil. As the prophets of old had foretold, the Antichrist did not rise to power alone. As influential and visionary as Resh was on his own, he never would have gained the unwavering faith of the public without Mendax serving as his Director of Communications. There is no politician corrupt enough, no plot evil enough, that Melissa Mendax cannot make it seem good and even necessary through the power of words. Resh has introduced plans to invade peaceful nations and genocide religious and cultural groups, and all of these decisions have been met with applause and adulation by the majority of the population thanks to the silver tongue of his False Prophet.
Sadistic Preparation. Melissa Mendax is well aware of the plans of her enemies, both mortal and celestial, and has been keeping tabs on the player characters since long before they died. If confrontation ever occurs, you can bet that Mendax is not just prepared for the confrontation, but that her preparations will leave her enemies begging for mercy before it is all over. It is likely that Mendax will have identified and captured a hostage long before any confrontation would happen. Mendax has the uncanny ability to locate the loved ones of a player character regardless of how well hidden they are, and in some cases, she might even discover a relative that the player did not know they had. See the table below for inspiration when deciding on the identity of this hostage.
| d6 | Hostage Identity |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your spouse or significant other |
| 2 | Your child or descendant |
| 3 | An NPC who helped you (such as Gethsemani) |
| 4 | An NPC you saved earlier in the story (such as the girl from the chapel in chapter 1) |
| 5 | Friends or acquaintances from your backstory |
| 6 | A family member (sibling or parent) from your backstory |
Running the Hostage Encounter
The Hostage is being guarded by a Marked Agent, which poses no danger to a player character. Rescuing the hostage is not intended to be difficult, and if a player character chooses to do this, they should be allowed to have a heroic moment rescuing their loved one. The mechanical purpose of this choice (for Mendax) is that choosing to save the hostage is also a choice to abandon the party during an important combat encounter.
False Prophet
Medium Amalgam (Humanoid & Fiend), Lawful Evil
Armor Class: 10
Hit Points: 189 (18d10 + 90)
Speed: 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 (+0) | 13 (+1) | 20 (+5) | 22 (+6) | 18 (+4) | 25 (+7) |
Saving Throws: Dex +6, Int +11, Cha +12
Skills: Arcana +11, Deception +17, Insight +9, Religion +11
Senses: passive perception 14
Languages: Any 7 languages.
Challenge: 16 (15,000 XP) Proficiency: +5
Features
Legendary Resistance (4/Day): If the False Prophet fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead.
Sadistic Preparation: The False Prophet can take one reaction per turn in combat.
Security Team: Anywhere the False Prophet travels, she is followed by her security team of 4 Marked Snipers who hide from sight on rooftops 300 feet away in the surrounding area. If the False Prophet is killed, her Security Team immediately retreats to report to their superiors. A sniper may be noticed by a character who succeeds on a DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check. If a sniper is killed, reduce the number of Sniper Rifle attacks the False Prophet can make by 1.
Actions
Command Snipers: The False Prophet commands her team of snipers to attack. There are 4 snipers, each of which may make one ranged attack against a creature it can see with its Sniper Rifle.
Sniper Rifle: Ranged Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, range 360/1000 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (2d10 + 7) piercing damage.
Innate Spellcasting: The False Prophet can innately cast one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (save DC 20, +12 to hit).
1/day each: animate objects, arcane gate, glibness, heal
Reactions
The False Prophet can take one reaction per turn in combat.
Defensive Shot: When a creature targets the False Prophet with an attack, the False Prophet signals to one of her Snipers, who may first use its reaction to make one Sniper Rifle attack against the creature making the attack.
Infernal Immunity (1/Day): The False Prophet uses her reaction to gain immunity to all damage received from one attack.
Legendary Transference: When an ally within 60 feet fails a saving throw, the False Prophet may spend one use of her Legendary Resistance to choose that the ally succeeds instead.
Reveal Hostage (1/Day): When a creature moves within 15 feet of the False Prophet, she may use her reaction to show the target a live video feed on her phone. The video shows that a loved one is being held hostage by a Marked Agent in a location with which the target is familiar. A DC 14 Insight check will reveal that this not a deception.
As part of this Reaction, the False Prophet casts arcane gate and opens a portal to the location of the hostage, offering the target a choice. If the target enters this portal, the portal immediately closes and combat continues as usual, with the target using its turns to try and save its loved one. If the target refuses this deal or takes any action against the False Prophet, the False Prophet will use her next turn in combat to order the Marked Agent to execute the hostage.
Azrael's Guide to the Apocalypse, printed pages 202, 203.