Bune, Duke of Eloquence, Fallen Trumpet Archon
LE Large outsider (fallen archon, evil, extraplanar, lawful)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +25
Aura aura of menace (DC 22), magic circle against good
AC 27, touch 11, flat-footed 25 (+2 Dex, +16 natural +2 deflection vs. evil, -1 size)
HP 228 (20d10+118)
Fort +20, Ref +14, Will +14; +4 vs. poison, +2 resistance vs. evil
Defensive Abilities Fort +24 against poison; DR 10/good and magic; Immune electricity, petrification; SR 29
Speed 40 ft., fly 90 ft. (good)
Melee 2 claws (+4 unholy hand wrappings) +32 melee (1d6+13 plus 2d6 against good)
Space 10 ft., Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks Blasphemous benediction, grant temptation, implosion gaze, probe soul, spell-like abilities, spells, unholy compact
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20th) At will—detect good, continual flame, message; 3/day—unholy aura (DC 28); 2/day—charm person (DC 21), disguise self, protection from good; 1/day—blasphemy (DC 27), command (DC 21), dispel good (DC 25), fire storm (DC
Spells Prepared (CL 14th)
0th-Detect Magic, Guidance (x2), Read Magic, Resistance (x2)
1st-—Bane (x2), Divine Favor (x2), Protection from Chaos, Sanctuary, Shield of Faith
2nd-Bulls Strength (x2), Death Knell, Desecrate, Owls Wisdom (x2), Silence
3rd-Bestow Curse, Dispel Magic, Magic Circle Against Chaos, Magic Vestment, Protection from Energy
4th-Dismissal, Divine Power, Orders Wrath, Sending, Spell Immunity
5th-Dispel Chaos, Flame Strike, Mass Inflict Light Wounds, Plane Shift
6th-Geas/Quest, Heal, Hold Monster, Mass Eagles Splendor
7th-Dictum, Greater Scrying, Summon Monster VII (Domains Evil and Law)
During Combat Bune has little interest in physical combat. If it appears that a battle is imminent, he immediately triggers his implosion gaze. However, he is more than a match for most combatants if he must fight. The Duke of Eloquence shuns weapons, instead fighting with claws bound in +4 unholy hand wrappings. Bune’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons he wields, are treated as evil-aligned, lawful-aligned and magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Str 28, Dex 15, Con 27, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 30
Base Atk +20; CMB +30; CMD 42
Feats Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Silent Spell
Skills Bluff +37, Diplomacy +37, Disguise +10, Escape Artist +25, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (planes, religion) +26, Linguistics +31, Perception +25, Perform (wind instruments) +33, Sense Motive +29, Stealth +21, Survival +2, Use Magic Device +10
Racial Modifiers +4 on Bluff and Sense Motive checks
Languages Bune knows Celestial, Draconic, and Infernal and can understand any other language because of his tongues ability. He is unable to speak, however, and must communicate via a complicated series of hand gestures. These are interpreted by a canny bone devil named Regudel, who serves as Bune’s majordomo.
SQ Bestow eloquence, holy interdict, magic circle against good, teleport, tongues, unsettling aura
Environment Hell
Organization Unique or retinue (Bune plus 3 pit fiends, 1 bone devil, and 2–5 other devils)
Treasure No coins; double goods; standard items
Blasphemous Benediction (Su) Bune grants a +6 profane bonus on the touched creature’s attack and weapon damage rolls.
Implosion Gaze (Su) At will, Bune can change the fire in his eye sockets from brilliant orange to dull gray, initiating a gruesome gaze attack with a range of 50 feet. Any creature within range must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 30) or collapse in upon itself with a sickening pop, killing it instantly. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Probe Soul (Su) The Will save to resist Bune’s persuasion has a DC of 30.
Spells (Sp) Bune can cast divine spells as a 14th-level cleric. Typical Cleric Spells Prepared (6/7/7/5/5/4/4/3; DC 12 + spell level)
Unholy Compact (Su) A soul bound by this agreement is trapped in Bune’s domain on the Ninth Circle of Hell upon death.
Aura of Menace (Su) A frightening aura surrounds Bune when he fights or gets angry. Any hostile creature within a 20-foot radius of him must succeed on a Will save (DC 32) to resist its effects. Those who fail take a –2 penalty on attacks, AC, and saves for 24 hours or until they successfully hit Bune. A creature that has resisted or broken the effect cannot be affected again by Bune’s aura for 24 hours.
Bestow Eloquence (Su) In exchange for a fitting sacrifice (such as the destruction of some hated being of good alignment or the gift of a magic item worth more than 20,000 gp), Bune bestows his diabolical eloquence upon a supplicant. He places his large, beautiful face to the supplicant’s ear, and despite his lack of a mouth, magically whispers a word in the Elder Tongue, an arcane language of great power. Though the listener never remembers this word, just hearing it fills her with presence and confidence, granting her a +8 profane bonus on all Charisma-based skill checks for the next three days. During this time, the supplicant is also aware of all divination spells cast upon her and can warp the results as she sees fit (such as causing a lawful evil supplicant to appear chaotic good or masking outright lies as the utter truth).
Magic Circle against Good (Su) A magic circle against good effect always surrounds Bune. Caster level 20th. (The defensive benefits from the circle are not included in Bune’s statistics block.)
Teleport (Su) Bune can use greater teleport at will, as the spell (caster level 14th), except that he can transport only himself and up to 50 pounds of objects.
Tongues (Su) Bune can understand any creature that has a language, as though using a tongues spell (caster level 14th). This ability is always active, but Bune is unable to use it to speak.
Unsettling Aura (Ex) The Will save to resist Bune’s unsettling aura has a DC of 30.
Looking like a winged elf, this creature’s body is partially covered by wrappings, which resemble bandages. His beauty is marred by his lack of a mouth, and where his eyes should be, there are leaping flames.
Long-sealed volumes in the locked basements of holy temples tell the story of the Primogenial Rebellion, when the solar Iblis (see page 169) refused the will of the Lords of Good and brought legions of archons to their doom in the depths of Hell. Only the most learned tomes reveal that many of the celestials who followed Iblis to perdition were convinced to do so by the calculatingly influential principality Bune [boo-NAY], a trusted trumpet archon who had long commanded the bene elim celestials of the Sun God.
As Iblis made his historic stand, Bune worked behind the scenes, whispering to doubting celestials that Iblis’s actions must be a test from the Lords of Good, and that to pass it they would have to show support for Iblis. No one knows whether Bune genuinely believed his own rousing words of solidarity, but many of the other archons, perhaps with a preexisting sliver of faithlessness or arrogance, flocked to his cause. In the end, Iblis’s betrayal may indeed have been a test. But thanks to the diplomatic efforts of Bune, far more failed than otherwise might have, and all were cast into the bowels of the underworld. Many of the fallen hate Bune with an unequalled passion, blaming him for their disgrace.
In the intervening years, Bune has become a patron of liars and corrupt politicians. Bishops of apostate cults say silent vespers to the Duke of Eloquence, praying that none will see through their profane ruse. Captured murderers on the way to trial carve ritualistic scars upon their flesh, hoping to attract Bune’s attention and blessings. On the eve of important negotiations with an enemy nation, a sovereign might enter a portal to Hell to confer with Bune on how best to convince the other of good intentions while at the same time ordering the murder of that rival’s family.
When the Lords of Good damned Bune, they punished him in what they thought was the harshest way possible. First, they stripped him of the holy trumpet of his station. Next, since his words had caused so much trouble, they erased his mouth from his comely face. Finally, they plucked out his penetrating, handsome eyes and set the sockets aflame with agonizing orange fire. Yet despite these deformities, Bune has persevered. Soon after the Fall, he was taken in by Asmodeus, Lord of the Ninth Circle, and given protection and a lair in the form of a shining castle called Neverdusk. There he is served by a personal guard of three pit fiends and several devils of lesser rank.
Hand Wrappings
These leather-and-cloth bindings, when wrapped about fists or claws, grant an enhancement bonus of +1 to +5 to the wearer’s attack and damage rolls with unarmed attacks and natural weapons. Wearing them is like wearing gloves and takes up that “slot”; they can be further imbued with special abilities as magic weapons can.
Bune’s hand wrappings are made from the cured skin of a titan. The titan had angered the God of Retribution and sought to make amends. One of Bune’s agents, posing as an astral deva, convinced the titan that only a very personal sacrifice would appease the angry god. The titan cut slices of his own flesh off his arms, legs, and torso and presented them to the agent. One hour later they were in Bune’s hands, ready for enchantment. The titan never learned who had fooled him out of his own flesh, nor did he ever reconcile with the God of Retribution. Faint to strong transmutation; CL 5th at least; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, magic fang, caster must be of a level three times that of the wrappings’ enhancement bonus; Price is twice the market value of a magic weapon with the same bonus. Thus, Bune’s +4 unholy hand wrappings are twice the cost of a weapon with a +6 bonus (+4 enhancement bonus and +2 bonus from the unholy special ability), or 144,000 gp.
Source: Book of Fiends
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