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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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PFS StandardAstradaemon (Void Daemon)

These unnerving daemons represent death by direct assault against a soul or life-force. Rarely seen in the mortal Universe, astradaemons spend most of their time hunting the pathways between the living world and the afterlife. There, they capture migrating souls, snatching them from their rightful rewards or punishments and dragging them to Abaddon as tribute to their undying masters. These horrifying predators of the dead can also be found stalking the banks of the River of Souls in the Astral Plane, where they constantly hunt for new victims.

Recall Knowledge - Fiend (Religion): DC 35
Unspecific Lore: DC 33
Specific Lore: DC 30

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

AstradaemonCreature 16

Large Daemon Fiend Unholy 
Source Monster Core pg. 75
Perception +28; darkvision, lifesense 30 feet, truesight
Languages Common, Daemonic; telepathy 100 feet
Skills Acrobatics +28, Athletics +32, Intimidation +33, Religion +26, Stealth +28, Survival +26
Str +8, Dex +6, Con +7, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +7
AC 39; Fort +27, Ref +30, Will +26; +1 status to all saves vs. magic
HP 240; Immunities death effects, void; Weaknesses holy 15
Soul Siphon (aura, divine, force) 30 feet. An astradaemon draws power from the souls of the recently slain. If a Small or larger living creature dies within their aura, the astradaemon gains 5 temporary Hit Points and a +1 status bonus to attack and damage rolls for 1 round, unless the creature was slain by an astradaemon's Devour Soul ability. Incorporeal undead and living spirits that are traveling outside a body take 1d8 spirit damage each round within the daemon's aura as the astradaemon pulls in fragments of their soul.Bent Light (divine, illusion, visual) An astradaemon appears shifted from their true position, though still in the same space. Creatures targeting the astradaemon must succeed at a DC 11 flat check to do so, as if the astradaemon were hidden, even though the astradaemon remains observed. Abilities that apply to the flat check against hidden creatures also apply against bent light.
Speed 60 feet, fly 60 feet
Melee [one-action] jaws +32 [+27/+22] (magical, reach 10 feet, unholy), Damage 3d6+8 piercing plus essence drain and GrabMelee [one-action] claw +32 [+28/+24] (agile, magical, reach 10 feet, unholy), Damage 2d6+8 slashing plus essence drainMelee [one-action] tail +32 [+27/+22] (magical, reach 15 feet, unholy), Damage 3d10+8 bludgeoning plus essence drainDivine Innate Spells DC 37; 8th execute, pinpoint; 7th interplanar teleport (×2), translocate; 4th translocate (at will); Constant (6th) truesight
Devour Soul [one-action] (divine, incapacitation) Requirements The astradaemon hasn't used an action with the attack trait yet this turn; Effect The astradaemon draws out and consumes the soul of a living creature they have grabbed. The creature must succeed at a DC 35 Fortitude save or instantly die. If it dies, the astradaemon gains 10 temporary Hit Points and a +2 status bonus to attack and damage rolls for 1 minute, or for 1 day if the victim was 15th level or higher. A victim slain in this way can be returned to life normally. A creature that survives is temporarily immune for 1 minute.Essence Drain (divine, void) When an astradaemon hits with their claw, jaws, or tail, they drain the target's spiritual and vital essences. The target takes 2d10 void damage and the astradaemon regains an equal number of Hit Points. The target must succeed at a DC 37 Fortitude save or become doomed 1 and drained 1. If the target was already drained or doomed, it instead increases both conditions' value by 1, to a maximum of 4.

All Monsters in "Daemon"

NameLevel
Astradaemon (Void Daemon)16
Cacodaemon (Harvester Daemon)1
Leukodaemon (Pestilence Daemon)9
Venedaemon (Pact Daemon)5

Daemon

Source Monster Core pg. 72
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.