monster

Nafas

CR 23

Large Elemental, Chaotic Good

Reveal Stat Block

Armor Class

19 (natural armor)

Hit Points

350 (28d10 + 196)

Speed

30 ft., fly 90 ft. (hover)

str

dex

con

int

wis

cha

Traits

Dimensionally Bound.Nafas can't leave the Infinite Staircase or be trapped within a container (such as an Iron Flask). Attempts to transport Nafas to another plane are wasted.

Last Wish.When Nafas drops to 0 hit points, his body disintegrates into a whirl of multiversal dust that surrounds one creature responsible for his demise. That creature then hears Nafas's last wish: for the creature to take his place. If the creature accepts, it is transformed into a noble djinni. The creature's game statistics are replaced by those of Nafas (including this trait), though it retains its name, alignment, and personality. The creature also inherits Nafas's palace and all it contains. If the creature refuses, Nafas gains a new body in 1d10 days, regaining all his hit points and appearing in a random safe location on the Infinite Staircase.

Legendary Resistance (5/Day).If Nafas fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Magic Resistance.Nafas has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Noble Genie.Nafas doesn't suffer any of the penalties that normally follow casting the Wish spell to produce an effect other than duplicating another spell.

Actions

Multiattack.Nafas makes three Storm Shamshir attacks and uses Create Vortex.

Storm Shamshir.mw 13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. ({@damage 2d6 + 6) slashing damage plus 14 (4d6) lightning or thunder damage (Nafas's choice).

Create Vortex.A 10-foot-radius, 60-foot-tall cylinder of swirling cosmic dust forms on a point Nafas can see within 120 feet of him. The vortex lasts as long as Nafas maintains concentration (as if concentration||concentrating on a spell). When the vortex appears, each creature other than Nafas in the vortex's area must make a 22 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 36 (8d8) force damage and has the restrained condition. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage only and moves to the nearest unoccupied space outside the vortex. On subsequent turns, Nafas can use this action to move the vortex up to 60 feet. When the vortex enters a creature's space for the first time on a turn, the creature must make the same saving throw as when the vortex first appeared. Creatures restrained by the vortex move with it. A creature restrained by the vortex, or another creature that can reach it, can use its action to make a 22 Strength check. On a successful check, the restrained creature is no longer restrained and moves to the nearest unoccupied space outside the vortex.

Reactions.Reactions the creature can take:

Blowback.Immediately after a creature Nafas can see ends its turn, Nafas exhales forceful winds in a 30-foot cone. Large or smaller creatures in that area must succeed on a 22 Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet away from him.

Zephyr Step.In response to being hit by an attack roll, Nafas moves up to half his flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

Nafas

Nafas is the breath of the multiverse, an ancient djinni born from the planar winds that blow through the myriad doors of the Infinite Staircase. He's a timeless force of untold power, a genie made noble by the planes themselves. A cloud of twinkling stardust follows Nafas wherever he goes, as evidence of his cosmic might.

No bottle, vase, ring, or lamp can contain Nafas. The genie is bound to the Infinite Staircase itself, anchored to the extradimensional realm that created him. From the steps of the staircase, Nafas hears the wishes of creatures across the multiverse but cannot act on them. Moved by their stories but barred by circumstance, Nafas relies on adventurers—whom he considers the living manifestations of a wish granted—to respond to these calls.

To friendly adventurers and weary travelers along the staircase, Nafas is a benevolent host, welcoming his guests with feasts, musical performances, and charming tales over tea. However, those who abuse the djinni's hospitality or seek to bind him to their service with Iron Flasks or other magic provoke his tempestuous ire.

When Nafas is provoked, the scope of his retribution is limited only by his imagination. Though the genie typically reserves the Wish spell for creatures he deems worthy of its gifts, he isn't above leveraging that power against formidable threats, rewriting reality to forcibly tilt the scales in his favor.

The multiverse dictates that there must always be a noble djinni to preside over the Infinite Staircase. If slain, Nafas re-forms within days, coalescing from cosmic air. The only way to truly destroy Nafas is to take his place.

Nafas as a Patron

In addition to linking the adventures in this book, you can use Nafas as a group patron (detailed in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything). In this role, Nafas sends adventurers to distant worlds to fulfill the wishes of creatures beyond his reach. Adventurers who return to Nafas successful receive gifts as rewards. As a noble genie, Nafas can also act as a warlock's otherworldly patron, imparting a fraction of his power in exchange for the warlock's loyal service.

Nafas's Lair

Nafas lairs in the Censer of Dreams, an aeolian palace within the Infinite Staircase where winds and wishes converge (see chapter 1 of Quests from the Infinite Staircase). Windcatchers rise above its spacious chambers and softly glowing domes, and melodious chimes dance in the shutterless windows of its vaulted halls. Held aloft by genie magic and the staircases that branch from it, the palace is a pit stop for planar travelers and a haven for friendly creatures.