Avatar of Fate - Tower
We’ve had fun with the avatars up until now, meeting some celestials of innovation or leadership, but now, the avatar is a bit more… foreboding. The Tower, #16, is often considered the most dire of the major arcana, more so even than Death or the Devil that come before. The Tower is a portent of calamity, of utter destruction, though interestingly, even it is not purely negative. Many cards of the tarot represent aspects or modes of change, and the Tower is distinct for being the most sudden and drastic; something important and powerful, suddenly reduced to nothing. But sudden change is not the same as sudden ending, and not all big, important, powerful things are actually good. Some castles are better reduced to rubble, don’t you think?
The avatar of the Tower, then, is the being that exists to enact these massive shifts, and it has the power to crush what needs crumbling. How your party may feel about that, however, is not set in stone; noble knights of the realm may be upset to see the capitol city laid siege (briefly…), but a party of rebellious adventurers may cheer to see the kings citadel turned to gravel. Who’s to say who will fall victim to fate’s demo-man this time?
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The Tower
Fate is not always a gentle process. Sometimes, radical and destructive events are necessary for it to come to bear, where the very foundations of life are shaken or even torn out from under us. Calamitous change is embodied by the tower, responsible for destruction both grand and minute. It is life’s burden to continue in spite of the consequences of such monumental events.
Crumbling Walls. No cabin, no fortress, and no empire is immune to the destructive influence of the tower. If the tower deigns to raze a structure or break a society, it shall be laid low. There is no judgment, no good nor evil; only a grand, leveling destruction that leaves those who remain to pick up the pieces and rebuild—or move on entirely.
Herald of Calamity. The avatar of the tower will appear as any figure that is capable of bringing its target to ruin. Traditionally, this avatar will be a lumbering figure of monumental power, such as a roiling elemental or a mountain-moving giant. At other times, it could take more subtle forms, such as a demure maid breaking apart a family through an affair or even a simple vial of poison. The tower can take almost any role, for once its destructive cause is set in motion, its purpose is fulfilled.
The Tower
Huge Celestial (Avatar), Typically Neutral
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 230 (20d12 + 100)
Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
STR 24 (+7)
DEX 10 (+0)
CON 20 (+5)
INT 6 (-2)
WIS 10 (+0)
CHA 17 (+3)
Saving Throws Con +10
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned, prone
Senses passive Perception 11
Languages All, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 16 (15,000 XP) Proficiency Bonus +5
Fateseer. The avatar has advantage on initiative rolls and cannot be surprised.
Siege Monster. The avatar deals double damage to objects and structures.
Tower's Destruction. The avatar scores a critical hit on a roll of 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20.
Magic Resistance. The avatar has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The avatar’s weapon attacks are magical.
Actions
Multiattack. The avatar makes two Maul attacks.
Maul. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 28 (6d6 + 7) bludgeoning damage plus 18 (4d8) force damage.
Whirlwind (Recharge 4–6). Each creature within 20 feet of the avatar must succeed on a DC 20 Strength saving throw. On a failure, a target takes 36 (8d8) bludgeoning damage and is flung up to 40 feet away from the avatar and knocked prone. If a thrown target strikes an object, such as a wall or floor, the target takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it was thrown. If the target is thrown at another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or take the same damage and be knocked prone.
If the saving throw is successful, the target takes half the bludgeoning damage and isn’t flung away or knocked prone.
Avatars of Fate
Scholars posit that history repeats itself—that life follows a cyclical pattern called fate. While the interpretation of ‘fate’ can take many different forms, it is often understood through archetypal figures and familiar tales. This collective understanding manifests itself as the trials of fate.
These trials, which exist on the boundaries of the astral and the upper planes, are as much primal forces of the multiverse as they are distinct agents within it. They are not gods, for they have no will of their own. Instead, they represent the self-fulfilling expectations that thinking beings have ascribed to fate.
Beings with natures so alien as the trials are impossible for one mind to comprehend. The only consistent, discernable purpose that a trial demonstrates is the preservation and resolution of fate itself. When such a purpose requires direct intervention, the trials form the avatars of fate—corporeal beings that ensure the sanctity of fate.
Agents of the Trials. Avatars can manifest anywhere that thinking beings exist. Each trials’ avatar fulfills a different role in the preservation of fate, embodying a different stage in the cyclical nature of fate’s progress through time. Unlike the abstract trials from which they are born, avatars are fully aware of their surroundings and possess unique personalities.
Each avatar takes on a single form that allows it to blend in amongst the beings it influences. These forms are appropriate to the context of where they appear, taking on the cultural signifiers of the time and people they occupy. Some avatars are entirely mundane, while others take on otherworldly or even mythical qualities in their appearance, such as wings or the heads of animals.
Driven by Purpose. An avatar instinctively knows what it must do to fulfill its purpose. It acts with a self-assured confidence in this purpose, refusing to abandon its goals. The fruits of an avatar’s work might come quickly or after many lifetimes, after which it returns to the astral sea from which it came.
To oppose an avatar is to take on the arduous task of opposing fate itself. The avatars are not infallible, however. A particularly clever individual might be able to bend an avatar’s beliefs to suit their desires. This is no easy task, however, as avatars have a shrewd understanding of the world and its workings.
Composites of Belief. While they can’t directly see the future, avatars are innately attuned to the ongoing beliefs of sentient life. Through this connection, the avatars maintain an abstract understanding of history and time, synthesized from the wills of beings across the multiverse’s past, present, and future.
Though they might not directly recall events of the past, they predict the future using allegories and fables drawn from vague memories of past events. Thus, to debate an avatar is to debate the beliefs of countless minds who have been and have yet to be.
Worldly Influencers. An avatar will never be the one who decides fate. Instead, they present the circumstances, opportunities, and challenges by which others must do so. The material world can bend to an avatar’s needs in small ways, but their existence never directly rewrites history.
Instead, avatars often appear to figures of influence such as political leaders, adventurers, or those destined for greatness. They might even infiltrate whole organizations or communities. Whatever the case, those who an avatar appears before are inextricably linked to events of great importance.
How to Run an Avatar of Fate
Avatars of fate are embodiments of particular ideas and characters. They can be run as a single encounter, or as an ongoing tie in with a broader campaign narrative. Whatever your method of inclusion, consider the following when you include an avatar in your game.
Narrative Role. What will the avatar’s relationship be with the player characters? Are they a challenge for the party to overcome? Are they a mentor meant to guide the party to fulfill their destiny? Or, are they perhaps a companion meant to accompany the party? Whatever you decide, you should have an idea of how the avatar will interact with the party based on its feelings and desires towards the player characters.
Prior Bonds. Avatars often acquire wealth and power to meet their ends; consider what bonds and arrangements the avatar has made ahead of the party encountering it. Perhaps it has established itself as a particularly notable member of a community, or perhaps it has been terrorizing a group of people that have goals opposed to its own. Establishing this will allow the avatar to feel like a facet of the world instead of a simple combat encounter.
Appearance and Personality. How has this avatar embodied the concept from which it came? Does it emulate a particular archetypal figure? What cultural signifiers has it taken on? Avatars can be otherworldly and strange or mundane and ordinary, depending on how they integrate into a setting. Deciding this will help you flesh out the avatar’s character and decide on a tone for how you present it to the players.
