Eku Pillars

Eku Pillars
2. Who lives there? AND 3. Why do they live there?
No one and nothing, for the most part. As for WHAT RESIDES there, that, is a much different story... They are called the Vranatesh, or Voiceless Crows. They soar high above the stone pillars in silence, but will swoop down and viciously attack anyone who dares tread on the ground they protect. They rip and tear with beak and claw, but what's more, they also spew a noxious salt spray on their victims - desiccating their skin. They are bound to the massive stone pillars and have guarded them silently through the ages - unwavering and unresting in their task. They will harry and harass intruders only until they are half a mile or so removed from the pillars before they return to their tireless circling.
The pillars themselves are actually just the result of windblown sand caked against cylindrical metallic cores that has dried and petrified into something approximating stone. It is from these metal cores that a terrible, and evil energy emanates. This energy has corrupted all the life in the area, which leads many to presume the Vranatesh to be some sort of undead or other non-living creature.
4. What conflicts does the terrain foster? AND 5. Why might the PCs be drawn to this place? Locals in the surrounding areas not only warn of the Vranatesh, but insist that the boundaries of corruption lay stagnant for centuries, but are now beginning expand. Crops and animals near the boundary are withering and disease prone. Dark clouds linger above the pillars and have been said to produce lightning, yet rain never comes.
It was said that in the First Age the area was the site of a prosperous City and that it's riches and magics lay hidden and dormant beneath the corrupted sands, but few are brave enough to seek them and none have had the mettle to return to tell the tale.
6. How do they get there? There is but one path to the Eku Pillars, across the corrupted plain and all the evils it contains. If the Vranatesh were not deterrent enough, the locals insist warn that even entering the area can cause illness in the form of a desiccating/wasting condition that is difficult to cure and can result in death if allowed to progress too far. Magical means of transportation to the pillars have given some brave souls the advantage of expedience, but the corrupting power is far too strong to be resisted for long.
7. You do you.
Vranatesh Medium beast, neutral evil Armor Class: 13 Hit Points: 39 (6d10 + 6) Speed 10 ft., fly 80 ft. STR 16 (+3) DEX 17 (+3) CON 13 (+1) INT 8 (-1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10 (+0)
Skills Perception +4 Senses passive Perception 14 Languages Understands, but cannot speak, Abyssal and Common Challenge 2
Foul Sight: The Vranatesh has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight within the area of corruption.
ACTIONS Multiattack. The Vranatesh makes two attacks: one with its beak and one with its talons.
Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Breath Weapon (Recharge 3-4) The Vranatesh exhales desiccating salt spray in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 13(3d8) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. https://dungeonmasterblock.freeforums.net/thread/2371/dm-nastics-154-moving-mountains

Type

Desert