Chaos Knight

The Chaos Knight is a sorcerous construct animated by the spirit of a legendary battle mage. Typically, spellcasters who bring such entities into existence bind the spirit to the warrior’s original armaments, which grant the Knight the benefits of whatever magical treasures it wielded in life. But a Chaos Knight, unlike an Animated Armor, is a force of unreason yoked into servitude by magic, and thus full of rage. Not only does it possess ethereal vision that can see through falsehoods, but it retains a lifetime of skill as a spellcaster and warrior. Its hollow suit of armor scintillates with crackling energy—the ectoplasm of its own soul—which radiates outward in a reality bubble that fills a melee space centered on the Knight. Within that space, the Knight emits telekinetic force; as a reaction, it may cast the spells Animate Object or Action-at-a-Distance on any mundane objects within the area of effect (which remain as Animated Objects even after the Chaos Knight is destroyed). Additionally, other constructs in the area of effect that are lower in level than the Chaos Knight may be subject to the spell Command, which the Chaos Knight can cast as a bonus action even if the targets are immune to being commanded. Underneath all the rage, the Chaos Knight yearns to be free from its magical shackles, felling its foes out of duty and anguish, rather than force of will.

A Chaos Knight represents the weaponization of legacy, a woeful creation that inflicts violence against its will. Despite its conflicted nature, the Chaos Knight is a vicious opponent whose attacks inflict permanent harm upon its victims. Once per scene, the Chaos Knight can lash out with anger, unleashing a wave of entropic force: those who fail to resist suffer one of six major perils, randomly. In addition to its ectoplasmic weapons effecting the benefits of the spell Dimensional Blade and the Chaos maleficence, each blow saps a little bit of the victim’s soul in the form of the cursed condition. The construct also employs a variety of spells from the schools of Probability and Dimension, to further disjoint and disorient adventuring parties. While a Chaos Knight cannot be reasoned with, insightful players might try to learn its identity in life, so that a memento of its past can be used against it in the encounter and bring its wretched existence to an end.