Ssethral of the Hollow Keel, a Pureblood Yuan-ti Paladin — D&D 5e NPC portrait
#0113

Ssethral of the Hollow Keel

"The Dry-Rot King"

Pureblood Yuan-ti Paladin (Oath of the Ancients) LE Lvl 9 Guild Artisan (Shipwright)

Male (He/Him) · Ancient, 142 years

Ability Scores

STR
16
+3
DEX
10
+0
CON
14
+2
INT
13
+1
WIS
14
+2
CHA
18
+4

Combat

Armor Class
18
Reinforced Bone Splint and Natural Armor
Hit Points
76
Hit Dice: 9d10+18
Initiative
+0
Speed
30 ft.
Proficiency
+4
Passive Perception
16

Attacks

Spine-Sieve (Adze)+71d8+3 slashing

Personality

Personality

He speaks in a rhythmic, creaking rasp reminiscent of a ship's hull under pressure. He never blinks, his lidless eyes constantly scanning for 'imperfections' in his surroundings. He often pauses mid-sentence to tap a nearby wall or floor, listening for the resonance of the material.

Ideal

Integrity. A structure is only as strong as its weakest plank; weakness must be removed to ensure the whole survives.

Bond

The Great Vessel. I am the steward of the Material Plane's physical form; I will not let it sink into the abyss of chaos.

Flaw

He is utterly incapable of valuing sentient life over physical stability; he would burn a village to save a bridge if the bridge were of better craftsmanship.

Backstory

Ssethral was not forged in the humid temples of his kin, but in the brine-soaked shipyards of an empire long swallowed by the tide. As a master shipwright, he became obsessed with the concept of the 'Unsinkable Vessel.' He watched in horror as magnificent galleons, capable of weathering hurricanes, were brought low by the silent, invisible treachery of dry rot. This realization triggered a spiritual crisis that birthed his dark devotion: the world itself is a ship, and all life is merely the cargo or the crew. If the crew becomes unruly or the cargo begins to fester, it must be jettisoned to save the hull.

He swore an Oath of the Ancients, but where others see the 'Light' as warmth and growth, Ssethral sees it as the ultraviolet fire that sterilizes the rot. He views the natural world as a complex machine of pulleys and beams that must be maintained with cold, surgical precision. He took the 'Spine-Sieve,' a ritualistic shipwright's adze, and set out to prune the 'termites' of reality—those chaotic forces that threaten the structural integrity of the Material Plane. He does not kill out of hatred; he kills because the blueprints of the universe require a clean workspace.

Abilities & Actions

Calking the Wound (Lay on Hands)

Ssethral has a pool of 45 healing power. As an action, he touches a creature or object, and a sickly emerald resin-like light fuses their wounds or cracks. When used on a construct or a wooden object, this healing is doubled. He views this not as mercy, but as structural repair.

Spine-Sieve Strike (Divine Smite)

When Ssethral hits with his adze, he can expend a spell slot to deal extra radiant damage (2d8 for 1st level, plus 1d8 for each level higher). This damage manifests as a geometric grid of green light that 'pins' the target's atoms into a rigid, painful order.

Aura of the Architect

Ssethral and friendly creatures within 10 feet have resistance to damage from spells. This aura appears as a faint, shimmering blueprint of the surrounding area, reinforcing the physical forms of those within it.

Whispers to the Wood

Ssethral can cast 'Speak with Plants' at will, but only to communicate with dead or worked wood. He uses this to identify 'rot' (traitors, liars, or chaotic entities) who have passed through a room by asking the floorboards how they felt under their weight.

DM Notes

Ssethral should be played with an unsettling stillness. He doesn't breathe in a noticeable way. Use maritime terminology for everything: players are 'bilge-rats' or 'loose rigging.' If the players are chaotic, he should look at them with genuine, weary disgust, as if they are a fungal infection he has to clean up. He never loses his temper; he simply becomes more precise.