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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Bibliodaemon

Bibliodaemons are four-armed, weasellike daemons who personify death by paperwork and incompetent bureaucracy. They're often attracted to places where bureaucrats abuse power or cut corners at the expense of the citizens. By disguising themselves as government officials, the bibliodaemons worsen the problems, forging or losing important documents and escalating the complexity of the bureaucracy. Eventually, major infractions—such as the imprisonment or execution of an innocent person—begin to tear the community apart. The people descend into paranoia and mistrust of their officials, leading to either a revolt against these local governments or complete apathy due to the lack of power to affect change.

Most bibliodaemons work alone to cause this kind of chaos, but in some instances, these fiends have been used strategically. After all, once an area has descended into turmoil, it's easy for another party to step in and take over. During the civil war in Cheliax, bibliodaemons were sometimes summoned to destabilize areas in grabs for power. While none will admit it, bibliodaemons have been present during the various coups and government changes throughout the Shining Kingdoms.

Recall Knowledge - Fiend (Religion): DC 26
Unspecific Lore: DC 24
Specific Lore: DC 21

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

BibliodaemonCreature 8

Uncommon Medium Daemon Fiend Unholy 
Source Shining Kingdoms pg. 178
Perception +18; darkvision, thoughtsense (imprecise) 60 feet
Languages Common, Daemonic; telepathy 100 feet
Skills Deception +18, Diplomacy +16, Intimidation +16, Legal Lore +18, Society +18, Stealth +16
Str +2, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +6, Wis +2, Cha +4
Thoughtsense (mental) The bibliodaemon is aware of non-mindless creatures within 60 feet as an imprecise sense.
Items gavel (as +1 striking light mace)
AC 26; Fort +15, Ref +16, Will +19
HP 130; Immunities death effects; Resistances mental 10; Weaknesses holy 10
Red Tape (aura, divine) 30 feet. When a non-daemon enters or begins its turn within the aura, it must attempt a DC 23 Will save. On a failure, it takes a –2 status penalty to saving throws against linguistic effects for 1 round.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] gavel +18 [+13/+8] (finesse, magical), Damage 2d4+8 bludgeoningMelee [one-action] claw +18 [+14/+10] (agile, finesse), Damage 2d8+8 slashingDivine Innate Spells DC 26, attack +18; 4th dull ambition; 3rd crisis of faith, dispel magic; 2nd dispel magic, silence; 1st command, enfeeble; Cantrips (4th) detect magic, divine lance, sigil
Change Shape [one-action] (concentrate, divine, polymorph) The bibliodaemon can take on the appearance of any Small or Medium humanoid. This doesn't change their Speed or their attack and damage modifiers with their Strikes, but it might change the damage type their claw Strikes deal (typically to bludgeoning).Death by 1,000 Papercuts [two-actions] (divine) The bibliodaemon launches a torrent of sharp papers from the sleeves of their robes. All creatures in a 15-foot cone take 9d6 slashing damage (DC 23 basic Reflex save). Creatures that fail their save also take 2d4 persistent bleed damage. The bibliodaemon can't use Death by 1,000 Papercuts again for 1d4 rounds.Inevitable Delays [one-action] (auditory, concentrate, divine, linguistic, mental) Requirements The bibliodaemon's last action was a successful Strike that dealt damage; Effect The bibliodaemon intuits the next actions the creature they just damaged will take and explains how it doesn't have the proper clearance to perform those actions. The creature must succeed at a DC 23 Will save or become slowed 1.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Preventative Measures

The fear of bibliodaemons runs through much of the Shining Kingdoms’ governments, fostering several superstitions to prevent them from corrupting the daily work.
  • Starting on the first day of a new position, one must walk the perimeter of your assigned district three times a week for a month.
  • If one encounters a weasel, they must not return to the office for the rest of the day to prevent the daemon from sneaking in with the official.
  • Learning falconry or owning a bird of prey can make the official more alert of missing errors or keeping an eye out for the fiend.

All Monsters in "Daemon"

NameLevel
Agradaemon (Conflagration Daemon)19
Astradaemon (Void Daemon)16
Bibliodaemon8
Cacodaemon (Harvester Daemon)1
Ceustodaemon (Guardian Daemon)6
Crucidaemon (Torture Daemon)15
Derghodaemon (Ravager Daemon)12
Leukodaemon (Pestilence Daemon)9
Meladaemon (Famine Daemon)11
Obcisidaemon (Obliteration Daemon)19
Olethrodaemon (Apocalypse Daemon)20
Phasmadaemon (Terror Daemon)17
Piscodaemon (Venom Daemon)10
Purrodaemon (War Daemon)18
Sordesdaemon (Pollution Daemon)15
Thanadaemon (Death Daemon)13
Venedaemon (Pact Daemon)5

Daemon

Source Monster Core pg. 72 1.1
Denizens of the bleak and terrible plane of Abaddon, daemons are shaped by and devoted to the destruction of life in all its forms. They seek the death of every mortal being by the most painful and horrible means possible, in service to the Apocalypse Riders. Each kind of daemon represents a different way to die, and their powers are nearly always aimed at spreading that particular form of death. Through the use of these powers, they seek to drag all existence down into a pit of hopelessness and despair, and to commit all souls to oblivion.

While mortals who summon daemons usually seek to use the creatures' destructive and corrupting powers for their own ends, daemons always look for ways to spread fear, doubt, and despair wherever they go. Often, daemons disguise their plots as the workings of other fiends, knowing that such confusion compounds mortals' fear and keeps those mortals from bringing the most effective weapons. As a result, learned mortals sometimes refer to daemons as “riders” after their leaders or “soul mongers” after their largest industry.

While many fiends seek to tempt mortals into lives of nihilistic evil to increase their own numbers and power on their native planes, daemons are further driven by a supernatural hunger for mortal souls and use a variety of methods—not least of which is the cacodaemons' soul gems—to entrap them. On Abaddon and in other forbidding places across the multiverse, souls are simultaneously a delicacy, a trade good, and a source of magical power, and the daemons are among the greatest gluttons, merchants, and abusers of this spiritual “resource.”

Sidebar - Additional Lore Daemonic Divinities

Numerous powerful and unique daemon demigods, known collectively as harbingers, rule over swaths of Abaddon. Above these demigods, though, are entities of even greater power—the four Apocalypse Riders. As the eons go on, the names and identities of specific Riders change. Currently, they consist of Apollyon (Rider of Pestilence), Charon (Rider of Death), Szuriel (Rider of War), and Trelmarixian (Rider of Famine). Of these, only Charon has never fallen to an upstart. Some hold that a “Fifth Rider” once ruled over the other four, while others maintain that the eternally eclipsed sun in the skies above Abaddon is all that remains of this long-dead god.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Daemons

As many daemons exist as there are awful ways to die. The bloody sangudaemon personifies death by blood loss, while the skeletal thanadaemon represents death from old age. The most powerful daemons are the olethrodaemons, who represent the massive deaths caused by apocalypses and the end of entire worlds.

Sidebar - Treasure and Rewards Soul Gems as Treasure

Soul gems are traded in illicit markets, a tradition celestials and psychopomps alike find vile. Soul gems' value varies, but they're generally worth an amount relative to the level of a gem's captive soul.

Sidebar - Additional Lore The Daemonic Paradox

Daemons embody a fundamental paradox—while they are incarnations of death and seek to devour all that lives, they are themselves living creatures. Some speak of a glorious end time after which reality will finally be free of the contagion that is life itself. Most daemons give no thought to this paradox.