Skarrow the Wolf-Spider

Skarrow is a colossal armored spider, blue-black like a forge-scorched blade and banded in gray, silver and blue. A handsome human face with night-black hair sits between two rust-furred wolf heads, and four huge ivory-pale arms bristling with red hairs sprout from his torso.

Once Chaos's unbeatable commander, he fell when a wind lord drove the Sevenfold Rod into him in an ancient battle.

Each round he bites with his wolf heads and swings all four arms, dividing the arm attacks among up to four foes as he pleases; both heads may bite one target only if it is huge or gargantuan. His arms have hill giant strength. He wields a +3 scimitar of speed (that arm strikes first and twice per round), a +5 scimitar that disintegrates any lawful foe who fails a save vs. spell, and a pair of +3 morning stars.

Bitten foes who fail a save vs. poison fall into a stupor, rolling Constitution every 2d8 hours to wake as the venom eats 1 hit point per 30 minutes. A successful save means -3 Dexterity for 2d10 rounds instead; more bites only extend it. Every bite also opens a festering sore that takes 1 hit point at once and 1 more each half hour. A single neutralize poison stops all of a victim's sores without restoring the damage, and magical healing fails until the venom is neutralized.

Skarrow possesses the usual tanar'ri innate powers and 120-foot infravision. Thrice daily his gate brings 1d4 wolf-headed spider-fiends, never failing. He can cause fear at will as the wand, and three times a day each can use chaos, shape change, slow and mirror image, all at 14th level. Once an hour he may consult a primordial queen of chaos for up to 10 minutes. He regenerates 5 hit points per round, mimics any sound he has heard, and spins silk like his servants.

No web holds him and darkness never hinders him. Hairs on his snouts and arms sense invisible beings within 90 feet, ignoring nondetection and anti-divination magic. Only +3 or better weapons harm him, iron and silver included, and blunt weapons do half damage. A slashing hit over 5 damage splashes the attacker with toxic blood (save vs. poison or die, magical armor and Dexterity defense bonuses applying). A piercing hit sprays ichor for 1d6 damage with the same lethal save, and the weapon itself must survive a save vs. disintegration. Even the Sevenfold Rod must make that save; failing, it splits into its segments, which flee to another plane.

Charisma: 18, or 20 toward humanoids fooled by his humanoid guise (those who know feel only horror).

His prison is a fortress deep in the plane of howling winds, wrapped in pure Law by the wind lords. The queen of chaos found it at last; he now spends his days in counsel with her, craving war and revenge on the wind lord who crippled him. Spider-fiends must obey him in his presence and can never attack him; the wolf-headed ones revere him nearly as a god and endlessly plot his release.

Fed by nothing, he is still always ravenous. Part of his essence is locked in the Sevenfold Rod. While the Rod exists, not even a wish ends him: slain, his weapons vanish until he recovers, and regeneration rebuilds him even from dust. Until then he has half hit points and dulled strength and wits. Gripping the assembled Rod in both hands, or receiving its resurrection power, restores the essence (he can hold the Rod unharmed); the reunion flings the Rod away like a siege engine's shot, leaving it unstable and tainted.

Made whole, Skarrow doubles his hit points (up to 100), gains exceptional Intelligence (15) and storm giant Strength 24, raising his damage bonus from +7 to +12. He can then die like any tanar'ri, but the shell of Law no longer holds him.