Elder Sphinx

The brooding face of this towering limestone statue of a gynosphinx ref lects a harsh wisdom acquired through untold ages of experience.

Elder Sphinx (CR 16)

Gargantuan Magical Beast
Alignment: Neutral
Initiative: +5
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, Low-Light Vision, True Seeing; Perception +27

Speed: 40 feet, Fly 60 feet (poor)
Space: 20 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 29, touch 7, flat-footed 28 (+1 Dex, +22 natural, -4 size)
Hit Points: 241 (21d10+126)
Saving Throws: Fort +18, Ref +15, Will +19
enciphered mind
Damage Reduction: 15/adamantine and magic
Immunity: petrification
Spell Resistance: 27

Offense

Melee: 2 claws +31 (2d6+14), 2 wings +26 (2d6+7)
Reach: 15 feet

Special Attacks: litany of riddles, Pounce, Rake (2 claws +31, 2d6+14), Trample (2d6+21, DC 34)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20th; Concentration +27):

• Constant- Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, Nondetection, Read Magic, True Seeing
  
  
• 3/day- Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Greater, Hallucinatory Terrain (DC 21), Locate Object, Remove Curse, Sirocco (DC 23)
  
  
• 1/day- Commune, Contact Other Plane, Legend Lore
  
  
• 1/week- any one of the following: Symbol of Fear (DC 22), Symbol of Persuasion (DC 23), Symbol of Sleep (DC 23), Symbol of Vulnerability (DC 26), Symbol Of Weakness (DC 24 all symbols last for 1 week maximum

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
39 (+14)	12 (+1)	23 (+6)	26 (+8)	30 (+10)	25 (+7)

Base Attack Bonus: +21
CMB +39 (+41 Bull Rush)
CMD 50 (52 vs. Bull Rush, 54 vs. Trip)

Feats: Alertness, Awesome Blow, Fly-by Attack, Powerful Maneuvers, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Improved Vital Strike, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Vital Strike

Skills: Diplomacy +20, Fly +8, Intimidate +15, Knowledge (arcana) +20, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +20, Knowledge (engineering) +15, Knowledge (geography) +20, Knowledge (history) +20, Knowledge (local) +20, Knowledge (nature) +20, Knowledge (nobility) +20, Knowledge (planes) +20, Knowledge (religion) +20, Linguistics +15, Perception +27, Sense Motive +24, Spellcraft +28, Use Magic Device +20

Languages: Abyssal, Aquan, Ancient Osiriani, Auran, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Giant, Ignan, Infernal, Jistka, Sphinx, Sylvan, Tekritanin, Terran; telepathy 100 ft.

Special Qualities: enigma, sphinx monolith

Special Abilities

Enciphered Mind (Su)

The forbidden knowledge elder sphinxes have accumulated is etched on their psyches, and it causes great harm to those who attempt to make psychic contact. Any creature attempting to contact an elder sphinx's mind or read its thoughts with a divination spell or similar ability must succeed at a DC 27 Will save or be overwhelmed by the chaos and vast scope of the knowledge within. Those who fail are affected by feeblemind. An elder sphinx can willingly suppress this ability at will as a free action. This is a mind-affecting effect, and the save DC is Charisma-based.

Enigma (Su)

Elder sphinxes have removed themselves from the mundane world to contemplate the mysteries of the universe-and beyond. To facilitate this, they possess an uncanny ability to elude detection and discovery by those that could possibly interrupt their meditations. Any creature (other than another sphinx), that leaves line of sight of an elder sphinx for more than 1 hour must succeed at a DC 27 Will save or be unable to recall details of the encounter, as if the sphinx cast modify memory to eliminate all recollection of itself. The exact details of this memory loss are decided by the elder sphinx subconsciously during the encounter and it may eliminate up to an hour of memories. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect and the save DC is Charisma-based.

Litany of Riddles (Su)

As a standard action, an elder sphinx can telepathically project a befuddling series of riddles, puzzles, and logic paradoxes at all creatures in a 60-foot cone. Creatures caught in this effect must succeed at a DC 27 Will save or be stunned for 1d4 rounds. Creatures that succeed against this effect glean snippets of lore from this brush with the sphinx's mind, granting them a +5 insight bonus on all Knowledge checks for 1 hour and the ability to attempt Knowledge checks with a DC higher than 10 untrained. Once a creature successfully saves against this ability, it can't be affected by the same elder sphinx's litany of riddles for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting effect and the save DC is Charisma-based.

Sphinx Monolith (Su)

An elder sphinx can enter a state of suspended animation and transform its massive body into a stone monument. This transformation takes 1 minute to complete, during which the elder sphinx is immobile. Once it transforms into its monolith form, the elder sphinx's body hardens to stone, granting it hardness 30 and 350 hit points. If the elder sphinx's stony body is reduced to 0 hit points, it is destroyed and the elder sphinx is slain. While transformed, an elder sphinx doesn't need to breathe, eat, drink, or sleep. The elder sphinx is aware of its surroundings and it can use astral projection at will when in this form. Anytime an elder sphinx's body takes damage while using astral projection, its astral form immediately becomes aware that it is in danger and can, as a free action, end the astral projection and begin reverting back to its natural form (though the process still takes 1 minute). When an elder sphinx ends its transformation, it is immediately healed of all hit point damage it may have sustained while transformed. An elder sphinx can remain in its sphinx monolith form indefinitely.

Ecology

Environment: Warm Deserts
Organization: solitary
Treasure: standard


Older than most modern civilizations, elder sphinxes are the wisest and most venerable of sphinx kind. Though they have long since calcified into creatures of living limestone, these ancient creatures serve eternally as guardians, not of temples or other such terrestrial sites, but of forbidden knowledge and lore, much of which is beyond the understanding of lesser beings. Elder sphinxes are highly protective of the vast wealth of information they possess and strive to defend it from those they deem unworthy.

**Ecology** Sphinxes gradually become more sedentary over their long lifespans as they lose their inclination toward physical activity. The eldest and most knowledgeable sphinxes undergo a transformation that allows them to remain undisturbed as they ponder the knowledge they've obtained. They turn into creatures of living limestone and grow to tremendous proportions, until they resemble ancient and weathered statues. No longer content with the Material Plane, elder sphinxes cast their consciousnesses out into the Astral Plane and beyond in search of the secrets of the universe, as their mortal hunger for nourishment is replaced by a metaphysical hunger for knowledge.

**Habitat & Society** Scholars claim that some elder sphinxes predate even the Age of Darkness and thus possess firsthand knowledge of the world as it once was, and have learned of the contemporary world only through their astral wandering or during the rare times they walk in their corporeal form. Whatever purpose they served in their youth has long since been forgotten or abandoned, leaving them to pursue more esoteric ambitions. These ancient creatures exist solely to seek out new information and to understand the great mysteries of the universe while their stony physical remains sit idle as time passes them by. In time, these elder sphinxes come to be seen as monuments, and sometimes humanoid cultures gather around them and worship them as idols. Infrequently, elder sphinxes can be coaxed to trade ancient knowledge for more current information or for arcane secrets they have yet to divine from the planes. Finding knowledge or information beyond an elder sphinx's experiences, however, is as monumental a task as locating one of their kind.

Elder sphinxes have little to no contact with other sphinxes. This only occurs when a younger, less powerful sphinx seeks out one of these magnificent specimens to plead for lost knowledge. When elder sphinxes do come into contact with one another, it is always a meeting of great purpose, typically on a matter of such importance that it requires them to share their ancient wisdom and unfathomable lore.