Cathedral Level 1 · area boss

Ossian Marrow, the Hex-Blade

the Hex-Blade

A named threat of Cathedral Level 1, encountered rarely and never in numbers - real Dungeons & Dragons statistics, no auto-computed shortcuts.

CR 21 Undead · Hexblade 21 resref cl1c_ossian

Stat block

STR
20
+5
DEX
14
+2
CON
16
+3
INT
10
+0
WIS
10
+0
CHA
20
+5
Hit points
230
Natural AC
4
Skills
Concentration 18 · Spellcraft 12 · Intimidate 20
Feats
WeapProfMar, Toughness, IronWill, CmbtCast, GreatFort, Cleave, GreatCleave, feat_epic_spellcasting, FEAT_EPIC_SPELL_RUIN

Prepared spells

LevelKnown / Prepared
1Ray of Enfeeblement
2Blindness and Deafness
3Vampiric Touch
4Enervation
9Ruin

Combat sequence

Layered on top of the module's own combat AI, which still picks targets and positioning. The fight below moves through real hit-point-gated phases; every save DC and attack bonus computes from the stat block above at runtime.

I

Hex Strike

Every round

His first target becomes his Mark for the fight, and every blow that lands on them sinks the hex a little deeper - Spellcraft and Concentration both fraying under it.

II

The Curse Answers Its Caster

The instant his Marked foe casts a hostile spell at him

Only the Mark's own magic ever backfires - anyone else can cast freely, but the one he's hexed pays for every spell with a little of their own mind.

III

Blade of Broken Words

Every 4th round, 66%-33% hp

A pulse of curse-fire spreads a lesser hex to everyone nearby, not just the one he's chosen.

IV

Ruin

Once, below 25% hp

His granted Epic Spell drains his Mark for a share of their own remaining life, scaled by every hex he's ever laid on them, then a curse-fed surge of his own that never fades.

Why these numbers

CR 21 is set against Cathedral Level 1's own real ambient ceiling, not auto-computed from level alone - a genuine Hexblade 21 build at 21 total levels.

Hit points (230) follow this project's own average-hit-dice convention, and every save/attack bonus derives from the ability scores above at runtime - nothing here is hardcoded past the phase gates themselves.

How it's wired

Boss-flagged (bypasses the drop-rate roll, two loot-generation passes) and gated to a single spawn - only one Ossian Marrow is ever up in Cathedral Level 1 at a time.

Recovered artifact

Marrow's Hexblade Sigil

Ossian Marrow's iron sigil. A plot artifact carrying the final echo of his hex. cl1c_oss_art