Hamanu posing for the cover of a business magazine.

The Lore

Hamanu is the Sorcerer-King of Urik. He looks like a big strong man, and is known to be deeply invested in the success of his city-state. He spends the days governing it and training with his soldiers, and the nights deep in arcane study since he no longer has any need for sleep. For Hamanu is the Sorcerer-King who most genuinely cares about his state and its people.

I’m sure there are some tech billionaires in today’s real world that would read the above paragraph and think “this guy is goals”. And they would not change their opinions if they learned that he’s also the most totalitarian of the Sorcerer-Kings as well. The price for his “love” is constant supervision and total submission.

Despite being a very classically-trained wizard, Hamanu loves physical combat and is quite good at punching people to death. He’s managing his gradual draconic transformation so that the signs remain subtle for as long as possible, so most of the time they consist of golden eyes and slightly long teeth. When wounded in combat, however, be transforms into a big lion-dragon-thing.

Urik templars live spartan lives, but do get to enjoy the perks of their station, chief among which is the right to push the common people around.

The Numbers

We get stats for Hamanu and for a typical templar.

Toil Templar

Unlike the templars we saw in previous entries, this isn’t a high-ranking officer who spends their days next to their king’s throne. Instead, this one is drawn from the lowest ranks of Urik’s templars, the one responsible for managing its enslaved population. It’s a Level 14 Controller with 133 HP, meaning the PCs are likely to tussle with them long before they ever come face-to-face with Hamanu himself.

Toil Templars are armed with a whip and a rod, which is very thematic. The whip is Reach 2 and its attacks damage and push the target 2 squares on a hit. The rod is used as an implement for their spells: Eldritch Scourge (ranged 5) deals force damage and knocks prone; Dazing Bolts (encounter, ranged 10) deals lightning damage and dazes for a turn; and Sulfurous Detonation (encounter; area 2 within 10) is a fancy name for a fireball that leaves a stinky zone lasting a turn and dealing 5 poison damage to any enemy who ends their turn inside.

Hamanu, Sorcerer-King

The man himself is a Level 27 Solo Controller with 693 HP, Speed 6, and Darkvision. He exhudes a Regal Presence (aura 2) which inflicts a -2 attack penalty on any enemy who starts their turn inside. This lasts until the start of the enemy’s next turn, so it remains for that long even when they leave the aura.

Hamanu’s basic melee attack is done with his Mighty Fists, whose 6d6+14 damage is the envy of every 2e and 3e monk but is typical for a creature of his level.

He also has a big selection of “classic”-feeling spells. Thunderous Command is an at-will close blast 5 that deals thunder damage, pushes 3 squares, and knocks prone. The next three are all big blasty encounter spells:

  • Sulfuric Bolts (ranged 5) targets up to 5 enemies, deals fire damage, and inflicts ongoing 10 fire+acid damage (save ends). Until the target saves, any of the target’s allies that ends their turn next to it takes 10 acid+poison damage. Stinky!

  • Life Drain (close burst 5, enemies only) deals necrotic damage and inflicts ongoing 15 necrotic damage. Every time a target takes that damage, Hamanu gains 15 temp HP.

  • Hamanu’s Whisper (area 2 within 10, the fireball template) is an “acidball” that deals immediate and ongoing acid damage (save ends). It leaves a zone behind that inflicts a -4 penalty to saves on any enemy inside. This lasts for a turn but Hamanu can sustain it with minor actions and move it around with move actions.

As a minor action he can use an Invasive Glare (ranged 5) that deals heavy psychic damage and stuns (save ends). This recharges whenever Hamanu bloodies an enemy or reduces an enemy to 0 HP.

If an adjacent enemy targets him with a melee attack, Hamanu can interpose a Cerulean Shield spell as an interrupt, gaining 15 temporary HP just before the attack is rolled. If someone manages to daze or stun him, he can use Mental Fortress as an interrupt to roll an immediate save against the effect, even if it would not normally allow one. On a success, the triggering enemy takes 15 psychic damage and the effect never happens.

When bloodied, Lion of the Desert automatically triggers with no action required. This pushes every enemy in a close burst 2 squares, and attacks their Fortitude to knock them prone on a hit. And then Hamanu turns into the eponymous beast, which is going to be a nice surprise to any PCs who thought he had spent all of his tricks already. The Lion has its own stat block, below.

When the Lion form is reduced to 0 HP, Hamanu returns to his human form with the same HP he had when he transformed into the Lion. When he reaches 0 HP, he uses Lion of the Desert again, one last time.

Lion of the Desert

Hamanu’s beast-form is a big lion-dragon hybrid, probably created by hiding all of his ugliest draconic mutations in one metaphysical place. It’s a Level 27 Solo Brute with only 125 HP because it’s a stage in the bigger fight against Hamanu and not something that can appear independently. On the bright side, it cannot become bloodied, even when reduced below half HP. It has a Speed of 8, and retains Darkvision.

Its basic attack is a Reach 2 Claw that deals heavy physical damage, and Double Claw lets him use it twice against different targets. It can also use a Reach 2 Corrosive Bite that deals a little less damage but inflicts ongoing 15 acid damage (save ends). Lion’s Fury is an encounter power that lets him pull off an old-school claw/claw/bite attack sequence.

If an enemy misses the Lion with a melee attack, its Warding Tail slams them as a reaction, damaging and pushing them 3 squares on a hit.

Encounters and Final Impressions

As a character, Hamanu seems to be what you get when you leave most of your settings at default, the very first picture that comes into your mind when you read the general description of what a Sorcerer-King is. The surprises only start when it’s time to actually fight him, because “muscle wizard” is probably not the very first thing that comes to your mind, and neither is “lion-dragon monster”.

In a fight, Hamanu will likely want to alpha strike as soon as possible, using Hamanu’s Whisper and Sulfuric Bolts as soon as enough targets are in range and then wading in to catch people in his aura and let them catch his hands. He will sustain the zone from Hamanu’s Whisper and then use Invasive Glare on the PCs that are inside it, too. Cerulean Shield and Mental Fortress give him plenty of extra durability for these tactics. As he approaches his bloodied value, make him look like he’s on the ropes and out of tricks, and then spring the Lion on the PCs.

The book doesn’t specify whether the uses of Hamanu’s many encounter powers should be tracked across his transformations. I’m guessing that the human form’s spells should be, but Lion’s Fury should not, meaning it will be ready for a second use when he transforms again.