Tectuktitlay, dressed in extravagant regalia and holding a human heart.

The Lore

Tectuktitlay is the king of Draj, and while he is not the only sorcerer-king to claim to be a god, he’s apparently the one most willing to enforce that claim.

His priests tell the story of how he’s the son of the moons Ral and Guthay, who descended into the mortal realm already a god. This divine family gave Draj the gifts of bountiful harvests and prowess in battle, and can easily revoke them if they’re not properly worshiped.

Disagreeing with Tectuktitlay about any of this is a particularly painful form of suicide. He constantly appears to his people at the top of his stepped-pyramid palace (the “Temple of the Father and Master”), and his vigilant gaze is etched on structures all through Draj. It’s hard to tell whether his subjects believe he’s really a god - they have gotten extremely good at going through the motions of worshiping him in the name of self-preservation.

I honestly couldn’t tell from the book’s description if Tectuktitlay really believes in his own divinity. Whether he does or not, he also knows he’s the weakest of the Sorcerer Kings, and probably has something of an inferiority complex about it. He tries to compensate for his personal weakness by making his realm military strong instead.

The Numbers

We get three stat blocks here. Draj is the Aztec-themed domain, so everyone here just loves to rip out people’s hearts.

Moon Priest

This is a typical templar of Draj, equal parts bureaucrat and enforcer of his god’s creed. They’re always on the lookout for heresy, and ready to violently punish it.

Moon Priests are Level 11 Controllers with the Leader tag and 110 HP. Their leaderly qualities come from their aura of Enforced Zeal (1) which gives allies inside a +2 damage bonus; and from Blood Demands Blood an encounter power that gives allies within 5 squares a +2 attack bonus as a reaction when the priest is first bloodied.

They fight with a Scourge that damages and inflicts a -2 attack penalty for a turn. They also have a dagger in hand that has a scarier purpose: the Worthy Sacrifice maneuver (melee 1 vs. Reflex), which knocks a target prone on a hit and lets them make a secondary attack against the same target. If that hits, it deals heavy physical damage, dazes (save ends), and gives 10 temporary HP to each nonminion ally the priest can see. They try to rip your heart out! And this is at-will.

They can use a minor action to charm an enemy with a Sacrificial Summons (ranged 15 vs. Will) which pulls 5 squares and makes the target grant combat advantage for a turn. If this ends up with the target in melee reach, it’s that much easier to hit them with the big sacrifice attack.

Jasuan Temple Guard

These are elite bodyguards hand-picked from Draj’s knightly orders for their unquestioning devotion to their god. They protect the Father and Master Temple, and Tectuktitlay himself. They’re Level 21 Soldiers with 200 HP.

They fight with Obsidian Broadswords that deal immediate and ongoing physical damage, and also mark (save ends both). And they can throw Bone Harpoons that deal physical damage and immobilize (save ends). Once a target has been immobilized, they can be targeted by Reel In (minor, ranged 10 vs. Fort), which pulls them 5 squares or knocks them prone on a hit. If they end up adjacent to the guard, the guard can hit them with his sword again.

Finally, their Wicked Cruelty gives them 10 temporary HP whenever they bloody an enemy for the first time, and it’s the first time that enemy has been bloodied in the fight.

Tectuktitlay, Sorcerer-King

Tectuktitlay is Level 22 Elite Artillery (Leader), lower level than any other of the sorcerer-kings we saw so far in this book. He has 316 HP and a speed of 6.

Tectuktitlay projects a large aura of Imposed Zealotry (4) that gives a +2 attack bonus to allies inside, and another one of Bloody Vigor over the same area that heals 10 HP to any bloodied ally that starts their turn inside.

He has a dagger for melee, but the real star of the show here are his spells, all of which have a maximum range of 20. Arrows of the Two Moons deals necrotic + radiant damage, the most unexpected combination I’ve ever seen. Spear of the Sky is a selective area attack that deals fire + lightning damage, and Double Attack lets him use both spells in the same action.

Kiss of the Two Moons is his limited-use special, firing off two separate bolts at different targets. The first does necrotic damage and weakens (save ends); the second does radiant damage and blinds (save ends). A miss on either attack deals half damage and inflicts the associated condition for a turn. This recharges when he’s first bloodied.

Last but not least there’s Thief of Hearts (vs. Fort, recharge 5+), in which he attempts to teleport someone’s heart to his hand. A hit deals damage equal to the target’s healing surge value, and hit or miss the target is dazed (save ends).

If Tectuktitlay is hit with a melee or ranged attack, he can order an Involuntary Sacrifice as an interrupt, choosing an ally within 4 squares. That ally shifts to be adjacent to his master, and is hit by the attack instead of him.

Encounters and Final Impressions

Tectuktitlay wants to stay 20 squares away from the PCs and bombard them with spells. His at-wills are annoying enough, but what will really light a fire under the PCs to end him as soon as possible is when Thief of Hearts lands for the first time. I initially read it as dealing damage equal to the target’s bloodied value, but even if the actual damage is just half that, the psychological impact is still high.

The party will want to get into melee with him as soon as possible, as he has no protection against opportunity attacks, but that will be made harder by the small army of jasuan guards and maybe up-leveled priests that will also be there. They’ll get in the way, and their king can pull them in to take hits in his stead.

The next best thing is to inflict dazes or stuns on him, since he lacks protection against those aside from the usual elite save bonus.