Mediophanzex

Queen Mediophanzex (a.k.a. The Genius of Spite)

"It is not a good idea to cross me, mortal. If you have anything interesting to say, you may trade it for your life. If you have anything interesting you own, you may trade it for the lives of many."
~Queen Mediophanzex, Genius of Spite

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Cultists mark cult-owned buildings or points of interest with a "vuthaklade vrraaseveic", translated: 'blacksnake clover knot". This symbol is usually small and crude, easily overlooked, though in the temples the Vuthaklade is a more detailed thing: A snake with four loops in a clover knot, biting its own tail.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Mediophanzex is lean, long, and sleek. Her eyes are quick and analytical, and her scales are meticulously polished.

Body Features

She can be identified from other black dragons primarily from her even leaner profile and the curated twists of her rearward facing horns, of which there  are four that curl around each other in a braided pattern.

Apparel & Accessories

Mediophanzex's favorite personal weapon is an amulet named Trekis Thirkukorshim. It has the power to alter her breath weapon, as well as transform with her to fit her mortal guise.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

According to legend, Mediophanzex was one of the first generation of dragons born on Kobos after they appeared. The war with the Saurians was still raging, so her mother laid her eggs inside a Bosetor. This was risky, as the stillborn would outnumber the shadow dragons produced, but Mediophanzex's true draconic nature overcame better than the rest of her litter. 
She was raised in that genocidal war, and right from the beginning she stood out. She showed an aptitude for siege warfare in particular, creating great weapons that laid cities low by the time she was a juvenile. It was the Saurians themselves that first referred to her as the Genius of Spite.
When the Saurians were gone, she backed away from the war with the metallic dragons, creating the lair on the Plane of Shadow that she currently resides in. From there, she sells machines of war and spite to her fellow chromatics in order to further her research.

Sexuality

Mediophanzex is an asexual, occasionally bartering mating rights for gain or intentionally creating half-dragons with interesting specimens but perfectly content to be left alone on that front.

Intellectual Characteristics

Mediophanzex, as her nickname suggests, is a genius. She is quick thinking, clever, and calculating.

Morality & Philosophy

Mediophanzex is a Consequentialist, of a rare type that can make snap decisions while still considering the end consequences.

Taboos

Mediophanzex cannot resist a mystery.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Mediophanzex is obsessed with the destruction and decay of empires that spend too long at war. She seeks to prolong wars on Kobos and observe their effects while still escalating them through the infusion of her infernal devices.
As all dragons, she also seeks to grow her hoard. While she values coins from dead empires, her true love is objects and devices once commonplace rendered valuable by rarity. To whit, she has been known to amuse herself by buying the art of a talented but unsuccessful artist and arranging a suitably notorious death for them, bringing their art into demand. She has many such schemes, which she runs concurrently with her more major plots.

Savvies & Ineptitudes

Mediophanzex is a genius and a tinkerer. She is an engineer down to her blackened heart, and approaches things in that manner.
Her one weakness is her powerful curiosity. If she is aware of a gap in her knowledge, she will seek to fix it. This can mean anything from slowly disintegrating a new type of golem to see how it was put together to letting an enemy's plan come to fruition to see what their scheme was. She is intelligent enough to end such experiments if they present a credible danger to herself, but it could leave openings for opponents to exploit.

Likes & Dislikes

Mediophanzex likes being in control of a situation, she likes knowing all of the variables and she likes learning.
She absolutely despises an unsolvable mystery.

Virtues & Personality perks

Diligence

Vices & Personality flaws

Pride

Hygiene

Mediophanzex is cleaner than most other black dragons, with servants bathing her daily in oils and spices. As a result, she lacks the decaying stench and instead smells of exotic herbs and olive oil, with an underlying sulphur scent of acidity.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Mediophanzex associates with many of the power players across Kobos, particularly those who are known for their creative skill. If she believes they would balk at working with or for a black dragon, she comes to them in mortal guise as Medea Vuthakorna.

Religious Views

Mediophanzex believes in her own superiority as a matter of course. She has formed a Dragon Cult known as the Miulkari Di'werkihlna with herself as the eidolon.

Social Aptitude

Mediophanzex is manipulative, selfish, egotistical, and very curious. She is adept at extracting information from people through a sliding scale between torture and pleasant conversation, with no technique off limits.

Mannerisms

Mediophanzex is a rare dragon that would rather listen than speak. She will allow herself to be interrupted if she believes she will learn something, even minutely, from the one talking over her.

Hobbies & Pets

Mediophanzex has a small tribe of Shadar-Kai that serves her in the Shadow Plane, and the Miulkari Di'werkihlna on Kobos. She also has a menagerie of scalykind beasts.

Speech

Her voice is calm and accented, even when she's simmering with rage.

Wealth & Financial state

8d8+6

Divine Classification

Eidolon

Alignment

Neutral Evil

Species

Black Dragon

Church/Cult

Dragon Cult

Age

Unknown

Date of Birth

The Age of Myth

Children

• Mialones Crawn

Gender

Female

Eyes

Glowing Green

Height

16'

Quotes & Catchphrases

"jinthil wux kirinishka dolruth" (Remember you also will pass) - A motto stamped on all of her devices, her maker's mark.

Mediophanzex, Genius of Spite CR: 23

Huge dragon, neutral evil

Armor Class: 23 (natural armor)

Hit Points: 517 (21d20 + 147)

Speed: 40 ft , fly: 80 ft , swim: 40 ft

STR

27 +8

DEX

16 +3

CON

25 +7

INT

23 +6

WIS

15 +2

CHA

19 +4

Saving Throws: Dex +10, Con +14, Wis +9, Cha +11

Skills: Perception +16, Stealth +9

Damage Immunities: Acid

Senses: Blindsight 60 Ft., Darkvision 120 Ft., passive Perception 26

Languages: Draconic, Common, Infernal

Challenge Rating: 23

Mediophanzex is a talented caster who has extensively studied wizardry and artifice. Her casting modifier is Intelligence (+6). Her

At will: Life Transference, Vampiric Touch, Move Dirt, Prestidigitation, Magic Missile.

1/day: True Polymorph, Wish, Maddening Darkness, Abi-Dazalm's Horrid Wilting

2/day: True Resurrection, Resurrection, Power Word Pain,

3/day: Finger of Death, Soul Cage, Magic Jar, Harm

Amphibious -can breathe water or air.
Legendary Resistance 3/day

Grim Harvest
At 2nd Level, Mediophanzex gains the ability to reap life energy from creatures you kill with your Spells. Once per turn when Mediophanzex kills one or more creatures with a spell of 1st level or higher, Mediophanzex regains Hit Points equal to twice the spell’s level, or three times its level if the spell belongs to the School of Necromancy.
Undead Thralls
When Mediophanzex casts Animate Dead, Mediophanzex can target one additional corpse or pile of bones, creating another Zombie or Skeleton, as appropriate.
Whenever Mediophanzex creates an Undead using a Necromancy spell, it has additional benefits:
The creature’s hit point maximum is increased by 21.
The creature adds +6 to its weapon Damage Rolls.
Undead created by Mediophanzex have a green internal glow, and move with sinuous grace.

Actions

Multiattack: The Dragon can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws. Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d10 + 8) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) acid damage.
Claw: Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) slashing damage.
Tail: Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) bludgeoning damage.
Frightful Presence: Each creature of the dragon's choice that is within 120 feet of the Dragon and aware of it must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or become Frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the Effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the Effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dragon's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Acid Breath (Recharge 5-6): The Dragon exhales acid in a 90-foot line that is 10 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw, taking 67 (15d8) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a success.

Reactions

Hellish Rebuke
1st-level evocation Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take in response to being damaged by a creature within 60 feet of you that you can see Range: 60 feet Components: V, S Duration: Instantaneous
You point your finger, and the creature that damaged you is momentarily surrounded by hellish flames. The creature must make a Dexterity saving throw. It takes 2d10 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d10 for each slot level above 1st.

Legendary Actions

Can take 3 Legendary Actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature's turn. Spent legendary Actions are regained at the start of each turn. Detect: The Dragon makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Tail Attack: The Dragon makes a tail Attack.
Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions): The Dragon beats its wings. Each creature within 15 ft. of the Dragon must succeed on a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw or take 15 (2d6 + 8) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The Dragon can then fly up to half its flying speed.

Lair Actions

The crippling ennui of Mediophanzex's residence is enough to wither away the soul of all within if they aren't adapted or protected from it. Every hour, all intruders must make a DC 14 Charisma save or gain one level of exhaustion.
Every round on Initiative 20, roll for one of the effects below.

Mediophanzex maintains a liar in the Dolorous Swamps in the Plane of Shadow. An old Grimhii citadel had been transported there and now rots in the ennui and the swamp filth.
The lower levels of the citadel are submerged in muck and flooded with brackish water, with only the upper two floors accessible to non amphibians.
On the uppermost floor she holds court with her subjects, mainly to accept tribute. On the next floor down she tinkers and invents, mainly focusing on building weapons that can end empires.
Outside of her castle are several outbuildings stolen from crumbling civilizations. Scattered in a pattern knowable to her alone, archways have been constructed that maintain portals to Kobos and Hades. The latter she uses to participate in the soul trade.

Regional Effects

Mediophanzex's presence attracts the Sorrowsworn, though they are neutral to her. In addition, the effects of the Plane of Shadow are more pronounced and harder to resist. The normal sense of creeping dread and depression are replaced by the acute paranoia of imminent prey, and a fatalistic existential horror. All saves are made at disadvantage, and every wound risks a gangrenous rot.
Anyone sleeping in her realm has horrifying nightmares reliving their worst regrets.

Mediophanzex is an ancient black dragon, somewhat thin even for her species. Two white horns curl forward and project forward, while four black horns twist around each other sloping backwards. A row of spikes extends from the top of her head and A large frill adorned the upper part of the neck. They smelled like rotting vegetation and foul water. She stands 16' at the shoulder, and from snout to the tip of her tail she can stretch 85'.
When she wants to deal with those she views as her lessers without terrifying them (most often when she travels on the material plane for supplies for her experiments or machinations) she goes in the guise of a shadar-kai woman or black-haired, black-eyed elf woman. When traveling in this way, she goes by he name Mediope (Muh-dee-oh-pee).
Her moniker, Genius of Spite (Kihlna di Dartak), comes from her unusually high intellect, and what she does with it. Like most black dragons, Mediophanzex is fascinated by death and entropy, particularly that of political entities. In short, she loves to see empires crumble away into nothing. She finds ecstasy in reliving that final horrified still life of a kingdom revealed by archaeology. She also loves to build weapons that so end such empires. She is extremely intelligent, even for a dragon, and is adept at building weapons of war and destruction. She rarely uses them herself, however, preferring to seed them into the world either in trade for things she wants or even putting them into the hands of heroes or villains in order to cause collateral damage that might shake a city, country, or world to its core.
She is one of a very few dragons that Asmodeus will contact directly, often for siege weapons to wield in the Blood War. They trade designs for war machines and new spells as well as swapping souls from her large hoard.