Ch’gakare is a legendary Chultan warrior whose undead spirit appears in the Tomb of the Nine Gods. His story is central to one of the tomb’s most challenging encounters.
Legend and History
Ch’gakare (pronounced chuh-GAH-kah-ree) stole his king’s prized mastodon named Ghom as punishment for an unspecified offense. The king’s sorcerers banished both Ch’gakare and Ghom to the Nine Hells. The warrior and his mount fought their way through multiple circles of the Nine Hells, battling spined devils, bearded devils, barbed devils, horned devils, and erinyes before finding their way back to the material plane. Upon his return, Ch’gakare beheaded the king and crafted the monarch’s skull into a jeweled chalice—the legendary Skull Chalice of Ch’gakare, which became a symbol of Omu’s royal line.
Encounter in the Tomb
Ch’gakare’s spirit manifests in area 67 (Hall of the Golden Mastodon) after the party defeats or makes a deal with the devils that appear during the chamber’s trial. He appears as a decayed warrior wrapped in bandages, materializing from smoke that carries the scent of jasmine, frankincense, and grave dust.
Statistics and Abilities
Ch’gakare uses the statistics of a revenant but cannot be permanently destroyed. If reduced to 0 hit points, he turns to smoke, vanishes, and reforms in his tomb somewhere in the distant jungle.
Behavior
Ch’gakare does not speak. He holds up the Skull Chalice in a gesture suggesting he offers it as a gift to those who complete the hall’s challenge. When the chalice is taken from his hand, he turns to smoke and disappears, causing the stone block sealing the chamber to retract into the ceiling.
The Skull Chalice
The Skull Chalice of Ch’gakare is a fabled treasure worth 2,500 gp (or up to 10,000 gp at auction in major cities). Princess Mwaxanaré of Kir Sabal seeks this chalice as part of her bid to reclaim Omu’s throne, and returning it to her yields a promised reward.