Ulunat

From PathfinderWiki
Ulunat
The carapace of Ulunat, in Sothis.
(Creature)

Type
CR
24
Environment
Any (Sothis)
Alignment
Source: Pyramid of the Sky Pharaoh, pg(s). 64

Festering Ulunat, the Unholy First1 is the first of the Spawn of Rovagug.2 It is the spawn best known in Avistan and Garund—the golden, four-winged beetle emblem of Osirion is a stylized (and greatly toned down) version of Ulunat, and its colossal carapace, now known as the Black Dome, is the centerpoint of the Osirian capital city of Sothis.34

Appearance

In life, Ulunat was said to be a hulking, three-eyed monstrosity with four wings, ten limbs tipped with blades, and a black mirrored carapace. Its single great horn was said to absorb arcane energy and reflect it back on the caster in the form of horrific, literally heart-stopping terror.3 During its initial rampage in Garund, cultists of Rovagug opened a link between Ulunat and Rovagug, allowing Ulunat to grow far bigger than when it first emerged.4

History

It is said that Ulunat crawled from the Pit of Gormuz in -3923 AR and subsequently devastated nearby Ninshabur, although surviving accounts are unclear. Its rampage across Garund was first recorded in -3729 AR, when it destroyed six legions of the Jistka Imperium. Its activities continued until -3470 AR, when it is said that Azghaad, the man who would eventually found Osirion, killed Ulunat by channeling the full power of Nethys, and subsequently built the city of Sothis, Osirion's capital, around its carapace, as a monument to his victory.56

The creature's carapace in Sothis is remarkably intact, showing no signs of having been involved in a titanic battle, and has not weathered at all in the eighty-five centuries it has lain in the sun. There is a folktale in Sothis that states that the beast is not dead, and its conquerors only managed to put it into a deep sleep; indeed, spawn of Rovagug are unkillable, and Ulunat was merely banished to a pocket realm beneath its physical carcass, where it still sleeps. Many cultists have tried to free Ulunat throughout the years; all such attempts have failed and been erased from Osirion's official history so as not to encourage subsequent ones. One day it will awaken, and the 100,000 citizens of Sothis will be the world's first line of defense.34

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

  1. Jim Groves, et al. Inner Sea Bestiary, 46. Paizo Inc., 2012
  2. Benjamin Bruck, et al. “Chapter 2: Places of Myth” in Mythic Realms, 28. Paizo Inc., 2013
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Clinton Boomer. “The Spawn of Rovagug” in The Final Wish, 50. Paizo Inc., 2009
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Adam Daigle. “Continuing the Campaign” in Pyramid of the Sky Pharaoh, 64. Paizo Inc., 2014
  5. Alex Greenshields, et al. “Land of the Pharaohs” in Osirion, Legacy of Pharaohs, 4. Paizo Inc., 2014
  6. Wolfgang Baur, et al. “Ancient Osirion” in Lost Kingdoms, 15. Paizo Inc., 2012