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monster

Ki-rin

Ki-rin
Ki-rin
CR 12
Huge Celestial, Lawful Good
Reveal Stat Block
Armor Class
20 (natural armor)
Hit Points
152 (16d12 + 48)
Speed
60 ft., fly 120 ft. (hover)
str
21
+5
dex
16
+3
con
16
+3
int
19
+4
wis
20
+5
cha
20
+5

Traits

Legendary Resistance (3/Day).If the ki-rin fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance.The ki-rin has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons.The ki-rin's weapon attacks are magical.

Actions

Multiattack.The ki-rin makes three attacks: two with its hooves and one with its horn.
Hoof.mw 9 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. ({@damage 2d4 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
Horn.mw 9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. ({@damage 2d8 + 5) piercing damage.
Legendary Actions.The creature can take 3 legendary actions...
Detect.The ki-rin makes a Wisdom (Perception) check or a Wisdom (Insight) check.
Smite.The ki-rin makes a hoof attack or casts sacred flame.
Move.The ki-rin moves up to its half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

Ki-rin

Ki-rins are noble, celestial creatures. In the Outer Planes, ki-rins in service to benevolent deities take a direct role in the eternal struggle between good and evil. In the mortal world, a ki-rin is celebrated far and wide as a harbinger of destiny, a guardian of the sacred, and a counterbalance to the forces of evil.

Good Personified

Ki-rins are the embodiment of good, and simply beholding one can evoke fear or awe in an observer. A typical ki-rin looks like a muscular stag the size of an elephant, covered in golden scales lined in some places with golden fur. It has a dark gold mane and tail, coppery cloven hooves, and a spiral-shaped coppery horn just above and between its luminous violet eyes. In a breeze or when aloft, the creature's scales and hair can create the impression that the ki-rin is ablaze with a holy, golden fire.

Beyond their coloration, ki-rins vary in appearance, based on the deity each one reveres and the function it typically performs in service to that god. Some are horse-shaped, looking like gigantic unicorns, and are often used as guardians. Others have draconic features and tend to be aggressive foes of evil. One horn is most common, but a ki-rin of fierce demeanor might have two horns or a set of antlers like those of a great stag.

I was awed to tears at the mere sight of my first ki-rin, and I've met gods.

Bringers of Boons

Common folk consider ki-rins to be rare and remote heralds of good fortune. Seeing a ki-rin fly overhead is a blessing, and events that happen on such a day are especially auspicious. If a ki-rin alights during a ceremony, such as a birth announcement or a coronation, everyone present understands that the creature is telling them great good could be in the offing. The ki-rin conveys its gifts and omens, then rises back into the sky. Ki-rins have also been known to appear at the sites of great battles to inspire and strengthen the side of good, or to rescue heroes from certain death.

A ki-rin in the world claims a territory to watch over, and one ki-rin might safeguard an area that encompasses several nations. On other planes, ki-rins that serve good deities go wherever they are commanded, which could include coming to the Material Plane on a mission. A ki-rin disciple in the world usually serves its deity as a scout, a messenger, or a spy.

Ki-rins are attracted to the worship of deities of courage, loyalty, selflessness, and truth, as well as the advancement of just societies. For instance, in Faerûn, ki-rins rally mostly to Torm, although ki-rins also serve his allies Tyr and Ilmater.

Objects of Adoration

Because a ki-rin is renowned for its wisdom, other creatures would naturally seek it out with questions and requests if they could. For that reason among others, the creature makes its lair atop a forbidding mountain peak or in some other equally inaccessible location. Only those that have the tenacity to complete the daunting journey to a ki-rin's lair can prove themselves worthy of speaking with its occupant.

Many who seek a ki-rin's guidance end up pledging service to the creature. They study as monks under its tutelage and serve as its agents in the world. The followers of a ki-rin might travel incognito across the land, seeking news of growing evil and working behind the scenes, or might be champions of their master's cause, out to defeat villainy wherever it is found.

Lair of Luxury

On the celestial planes, ki-rins reside in lofty, elegant aeries filled with luxurious objects. In the world, a ki-rin chooses a similar location, such as atop a tall pinnacle or within a cloud solidified by the ki-rin's magic. When viewed from the outside, a ki-rin's lair is indistinguishable from a natural site, and the entrance is difficult for visitors to find and reach. Inside, the lair is a serene and comfortable place, its ambiance a mix between palace and temple. If the ki-rin has taken creatures into its service, its lair doubles as a sacred site wherein the ki-rin not only rests, but also teaches of holy mysteries.