Kirin

Kirins are noble, celestial creatures. In the Celestial Realms, kirins work in service to benevolent deities. In the mortal world, a kirin is celebrated far and wide as a harbinger of destiny, a guardian of the sacred, and a counterbalance to the forces of evil.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Kirins are the embodiment of good, and simply beholding one can evoke fear or awe in an observer. A typical kirin looks like a muscular stag the size of an elephant, covered in golden scales lined in some places with golden fur. It has a dark gold mane and tail, coppery cloven hooves, and a spiral-shaped coppery horn just above and between its luminous violet eyes. In a breeze or when aloft, the creature's scales and hair can create the impression that the kirin is ablaze with a holy, golden fire.

Ecology and Habitats

A kirin in the world claims a territory to watch over, and one kirin might safeguard an area that encompasses several nations. On other planes, kirins that serve good deities go wherever they are commanded, which could include coming to the Material Plane on a mission. A kirin disciple in the world usually serves its deity as a scout, a messenger, or a spy.
Because a kirin is renowned for its wisdom, other creatures would naturally seek it out with questions and requests if they could. For that reason among others, the creature makes its lair atop a forbidding mountain peak or in some other equally inaccessible location. Only those that have the tenacity to complete the daunting journey to a kirin's lair can prove themselves worthy of speaking with its occupant.

Civilization and Culture

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Although kirin formed spontaneously rather than being created, they are drawn to deities of courage, loyalty, selflessness, and truth, and most good dieties have at least a few kirin serving them.
Common folk consider kirins to be rare and remote heralds of good fortune. Seeing a kirin fly overhead is a blessing, and events that happen on such a day are especially auspicious. If a kirin alights during a ceremony, such as a birth announcement or a coronation, everyone present understands that the creature is telling them great good could be in the offing. The kirin conveys its gifts and omens, then rises back into the sky. Kirins have also been known to appear at the sites of great battles to inspire and strengthen the side of good, or to rescue heroes from certain death.
Many who seek a kirin's guidance end up pledging service to the creature. They study as monks under its tutelage and serve as its agents in the world. The followers of a kirin might travel incognito across the land, seeking news of growing evil and working behind the scenes, or might be champions of their master's cause, out to defeat villainy wherever it is found.

Related Ethnicities

• Celestials

Ki-rin

Huge celestial , lawful good

Armor Class 20 (natural armor)

Hit Points 152 16d12+48

Speed 60ft Fly: 120ft

---

STR

21 +5

DEX

16 +3

CON

16 +3

INT

19 +4

WIS

20 +5

CHA

20 +5

---

Skills Perception +9, Insight +9, Religion +8

Damage Immunities poison

Condition Immunities poisoned

Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 19

Languages All, telepathy 120 ft

Challenge 12

Hover. If knocked prone while flying, the ki-rin doesn't fall, and it can stop moving in midair and not fall.
Innate Spellcasting. The ki-rin's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 17). The ki-rin can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: gaseous form, major image (6th-level version), wind walk 1/day: create food and water
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the ki-rin fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. The ki-rin has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The ki-rin's weapon attacks are magical.
Spellcasting. The ki-rin is a 18th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks). It has the following cleric spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): light, mending, sacredflame, spare the dying, thaumaturgy
1st level (4 slots): command, cure wounds, detect evil and good, protection from evil and good, sanctuary
2nd level (3 slots): calm emotions, lesser restoration, silence
3rd level (3 slots): dispel magic, remove curse, sending
4th level (3 slots): banishment, freedom of movement, guardian of faith
5th level (3 slots): greater restoration, mass cure wounds, scrying 6th level (1 slot): heroes'feast, true seeing
7th level (1 slot): etherealness, plane shift
8th level (1 slot): control weather
9th level (1 slot): true resurrection

---

Actions

Multiattack. The ki-rin makes three attacks: two with its hooves and one with its horn.
Hoof. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d4 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
Horn. Mefee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) piercing damage.

Legendary Actions

The ki-rin can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The ki-rin regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect. The ki-rin makes a Wisdom (Perception} check or a Wisdom (Insight) check.
Smite. The ki-rin makes a hoof attack or casts sacred flame.
Move. The ki-rin moves up to its half speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

Lair Actions

On the celestial planes, ki-rins reside in lofty, elegant aeries filled with luxurious objects. In the world, a ki-rin chooses a similar location, such as atop a tall pinnacle or within a cloud solidified by the ki-rin's magic. When viewed from the outside, a ki-rin's lair is indistinguishable from a natural site, and the entrance is difficult for visitors to find and reach. Inside, the lair is a serene and comfortable place, its ambiance a mix between palace and temple. If the ki-rin has taken creatures into its service, its lair doubles as a sacred site wherein the ki-rin not only rests, but also teaches of holy mysteries.
Inside its lair, a ki-rin has the power to conjure objects up to three times per day, using each of the following versions of the power once. One version permanently creates enough objects made of soft, plant-based material-including manufactured objects such as cloth, pillows, rope, blankets, and clothing- to fill a cube 20 feet on a side. The second version permanently creates enough objects made of wood, or similarly hard plant- based material, to fill a cube 10 feet on a side. The third version creates enough objects made of stone or metal to fill a cube 2 feet on a side, but any materials created in this way last for only 1 hour.

Regional Effects

The ki-rin's celestial nature transforms the region around its lair. Any ofthe following magical effects is possible for travelers to encounter in the vicinity:
• Water flows pure within 3 miles of a ki-rin's lair. Any purposeful corruption of the water lasts for no longer than 3 minutes.
• Animals, plants, and good creatures within 3 miles of the ki-rin's lair gain vigor as they evolve toward an idealized form. Such creatures are rarely aggressive toward others that aren't normally prey. Evil creatures can't tolerate the holy atmosphere within the same distance, and usually choose to live much farther from the domain of a ki-rin.
• Curses, diseases, and poisons affecting good-aligned creatures are suppressed when those creatures are within 3 miles of the lair.
• A ki-rin can cast control weather while it is within 3 miles of its lair. The spell's point of origin is always the point outdoors closest to the center of its lair. The ki-rin doesn't need to maintain a clear path to the sky or to concentrate for the change in weather to persist.
• Within 3 miles of the lair, winds buoy non-evil creatures that fall due to no act of the ki-rin or its allies. Such creatures descend at a rate of 60 feet per round and take no falling damage.
• A ki-rin can cast control weather while it is within 3 miles of its lair. The spell's point of origin is always the point outdoors closest to the center of its lair. The ki-rin doesn't need to maintain a clear path to the sky or to concentrate for the change in weather to persist.
When the ki-rin dies, all these effects disappear immediately, although the invigorating effect on flora and fauna remains for 3 years.