Spahbed

At the height of her power, Parthia controlled all lands between the Euphrates river and China's western border. In contrast to empires of ages past, Parthia allows its vassal kingdoms to continue to function as they always have with little to no oversight. These vassal monarchs even maintain their titles. Thus, rulers like King Mithridates of Babylon and King Mehradates of Nineveh continue to sit on the throne so long as they pledge fealty to Parthia. This policy has led to some political trouble, as Nimrud is currently held by a group of mercenaries pretending to be politicians, and the throne of Teredon has been empty for decades. Because of Parthia's hands-off approach, many of these kingdoms are left wondering who is really in control.

Because of her relationship with her vassal kingdoms, the empire of Parthia is ruled by a monarch who calls himself the "King of Kings." The current king of kings is Artabanus II (Noble), who rules from a majestic palace along the Silk road far to the east of Nimrud. Although the throne of the king of kings is distant, the presence of the Parthian empire is felt in most vassal kingdoms. The impressive armored cavalrymen known as cataphracts are known to patrol in great numbers in major cities east of the Euphrates.

Parthia is currently locked in a bitter standoff with another distant empire to the west: Rome. With both Rome and Parthia desiring full control of the Middle Kingdoms, the question is not if the conflict will escalate to full frontal warfare, but when.

Army Chief. While King of Kings Artabanus II may be the emperor of all of Parthia, his Spahbeds are in charge on the battlefields. These highly trained fighters have earned their rank through years of service in the Parthian military, and have a thorough understanding of warfare. Although skilled combatants themselves, a Spahbed will rarely join in the violence, preferring to command detachments of Cataphracts from a distance.

Medium humanoid, any alignment

Armor Class 16

Hit Points 48

Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	10 (+0)	12 (+1)

Skills Intimidation +3

Senses Passive Perception 12

Languages Common, Akkadian, Sanskrit

Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Actions

Multiattack. The spahbed makes two melee attacks or one Shortbow attack.

Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage.

Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.

Bonus Action

Parry. The Spahbed adds 2 to its AC against one melee attack that would hit it.

Bible5e custom monster. Its specific traits supplement the current rules. See Using Bible5e Monsters.