Phoenix

Phoenix
Depiction of a phoenix, by Ilya Shkipin from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, page 199.
Biological Information
Type	Elemental
Alignment	Typically neutral
Vision	Darkvision 60 ft.
Movement	20 ft., fly 120 ft.
Abilities	Fiery Death and Rebirth Fire Form Illumination Flyby Siege Monster
Physical Characteristics
Size	Gargantuan
Sociocultural Information
Locations	Mount Mentiri
Environment	Desert, Mountain
Notable members	Desirat

A phoenix is an enormous bird of elemental fire famous for its ability to be reborn.

Description

Outside Critical Role canon, a typical phoenix is only described as a gigantic and fiery elder elemental, driven to consume everything in flames.

One special phoenix in Exandria's history, Desirat the Twilight Phoenix, had black and purple feathers leading into flames, and her massive wings were made of pure flame. She is typically depicted with deep purple and dark gray or black coloration, a long, sword-like beak, and three dark eyes.

Abilities

All of the following is taken from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, p. 199, and has yet to be demonstrated in Critical Role canon:

• Saving throw proficiencies: Wisdom, Charisma
• Damage immunities: Fire, poison
• Damage resistances: Bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
• Condition immunities: Exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, stunned
• Fiery Death and Rebirth: Upon death, the phoenix explodes, igniting flammable objects and dealing fire damage to creatures within 60 feet, who can reduce the damage by succeeding at a Dexterity saving throw. Left behind is an egg-shaped cinder that is immune to all damage and continuously deals fire damage to creatures that touch it. After 1d6 days, a new phoenix hatches from the cinder.
• Fire Form: Can move through a space as small as 1 inch wide without squeezing. Can enter a creature's space and deal fire damage to it. Creatures that touch or deal melee damage to the phoenix while within 5 feet similarly take fire damage.
• Illumination: Sheds bright light for 60 feet and dim light for an additional 30 feet.
• Flyby: Doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of a creature's reach.
• Siege Monster: Deals double damage to objects and structures.
• Actions
  • Fiery Talons: Reach 15 feet, deals fire damage
  • Beak: Reach 15 feet, deals fire damage, ignites creatures and flammable objects and deals further damage until the flames are doused, requiring an action.
  • Multiattack: One attack with its fiery talons, one attack with its beak.
• Legendary Actions (3/round)
  • Peck: One beak attack.
  • Move: Moves up to its speed
  • Swoop (2 actions): Moves up to its speed and makes an attack with its fiery talons.

History

The Calamity

Fan art of Desirat, by Kiyoko.

A phoenix called Desirat was the companion and mount of the Lord of the Hells during the wars of the Calamity. She was captured and imprisoned beneath Mount Mentiri by the original Cerberus Assembly and up until 843 PD remained there, giving birth to the geothermal activity in the area.

Era of Reclamation

After the Divergence, a society built around worship of the Luxon emerged in Xhorhas: the Kryn Dynasty. In that society, those whose souls become tied to Luxon beacons can be reborn after death, and this society formed the belief that creatures able to reincarnate, such as the phoenix, are sacred because they have a shard of the Light within themselves.

At some point between around 400 PD and 545 PD, Desirat entered a pact with two other powerful entities who had been left behind by Betrayer Gods and trapped in one way or another, Uk'otoa and Quajath. Apparently, if one escaped, it would help the others. Before the Julous Dominion took power in the Marrow Valley, Uk'otoa's followers helped Desirat to establish a following and nearly dug deep enough to free the phoenix.

During the time of the Julous Dominion, a group living in the area built an entire colony based around this godlike creature, calling it the Twilight Phoenix. They burned effigies to it and believed this was its resting place. However, they also made a lot of enemies, and the Julous Dominion itself hunted them down and killed them in their homeland around the base of Mount Mentiri. These zealots left behind the city of Kamordah.

At some point before 835 PD the fire giant city of Vuthos was built around Desirat's prison.

Fan art of Desirat, by Christian Thor Lally.

As the apogee solstice of 843 PD approached, and the aurora from the solstice was extremely bright, Desirat attacked the Silver Sun with Bells Hells aboard. Imogen Temult was able to turn Desirat aside with a Command to leave, giving the skyship enough time to dive into a dust storm. Weeks later, Bells Hells learned that there had been an earthquake in the Mount Mentiri area, splitting the mountain in two, and a phoenix had been terrorizing the surrounding region and even beyond the Dwendalian Empire. Most recently, three days before the party arrived in Zadash, this phoenix had attacked the city, but after causing many casualties as the Righteous Brand and other warriors fought it, departed for parts unknown.

Trivia

• Sarenrae, the Everlight, goddess of healing and redemption, appears as a woman with flaming, phoenix-like wings. The common symbol of her is of a humanoid phoenix.
• After the ruinous Apex War, the effort to rebuild and beautify Yios was dubbed the Phoenix Project.
• In "Path of Brass" (1x74), Vex'ahlia saw a massive bird leaving a trail of flame in the sky of the Elemental Plane of Fire, and some of the players assumed it was a phoenix; Vex'ahlia was unable to identify it. What that presaged, however, was that she and the rest of Vox Machina soon encountered an ember roc, another type of giant, fiery bird that is not an elemental but a monstrosity.

References

Art: