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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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PFS StandardIjhyeojin

Ijhyeojins (ee-jyuh-jeens) were once joseung sajas, psychopomps who guided the dead to the Boneyard as divine punishment for their sins. Over time, they rejected their roles and became sakhils. Some did this due to a sense of injustice over having to atone for their sins in the afterlife, but all do so partially out of a desperate desire to reclaim their memories—for ijhyeojins are named for the fear they manifest, the fear of being forgotten. They prey on people who are socially isolated by circumstances or those obsessed with their legacy, slowly cutting their victims off from friends, professional contacts, and family. Ijhyeojins particularly enjoy infiltrating medical facilities to prey on patients who fear about being forgotten in their deaths, snatching away crucial memories from them or their visiting loved ones. Hunting in this way also grants the sahkils ideal positioning to lure joseung sajas to their demise.

Ijhyeojins resemble the pale-skinned psychopomps they used to be, except their faces have no distinguishable features, like a skull with a smooth layer of skin pulled over it. Their bodies continue to twist and grow the longer they live.

Recall Knowledge - Fiend (Religion): DC 32
Unspecific Lore: DC 30
Specific Lore: DC 27

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

IjhyeojinCreature 14

Medium Fiend Sahkil Unholy 
Source Tian Xia World Guide pg. 297
Perception +14; darkvision, lifesense 60 feet
Languages Celestial, Chthonian, Diabolic, Requian; telepathy 100 feet, truespeech
Skills Acrobatics +11, Boneyard Lore +14, Deception +14, Intimidation +14, Religion +14, Stealth +11
Str +6, Dex +5, Con +4, Int +4, Wis +8, Cha +8
Easy to Call An ijhyeojin's level is considered 2 lower for the purpose of being conjured by the planar binding ritual (and potentially other rituals, at the GM's discretion), but they're always free to attack or leave instead of negotiate unless the primary caster's check is a critical success.
AC 21; Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +14
HP 310; Immunities fear; Weaknesses holy 10
Forgotten Presence [reaction] Trigger The ijhyeojin critically succeeds at a saving throw against a spell Effect The ijhyeojin redirects the triggering spell to a new target other than its caster. If the ijhyeojin is wearing that target's face, the new target takes a –2 circumstance penalty to this saving throw.
Speed 30 feet
Melee [one-action] claw +14 [+10/+6] (agile), Damage 3d8+14 slashing plus swipe countenanceDivine Innate Spells DC 20; 4th rewrite memory (at will); 2nd invisibility (at will; self only); Constant (5th) truespeech
Overwrite Memory [two-actions] (emotion, fear, mental) The ijhyeojin alters the memories of a target within 30 feet, insinuating their faceless visage in the place of others. The target must attempt a DC 20 Will save.
Critical Success The target is unaffected.
Success The target is frightened 1 and treats no one as an ally for as long as it's frightened.
Failure The target is frightened 2 and is confused for as long as it's frightened.
Critical Failure The target is frightened 4 and confused for as long as it's frightened. If the target is a joseung saja, they instead realize the fear of being forgotten and become an ijhyeojin.Swipe Countenance [one-action] (mental, visual) Requirements The ijhyeojin's previous action was a successful claw Strike against the target; Effect The ijhyeojin copies the countenance of the target, imprinting it perfectly onto their own blank face. While only their face changes, creatures must Seek them and succeed at a DC 20 Will save to distinguish them visually from the original creature. The sakhil keeps the same visage for 24 hours or until they steal another.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Fatal Feud

Ijhyeojins regard all joseung sajas as brainwashed servants of the Boneyard who need to be “awakened” from their sense of duty through fear. Despite their perception of themselves as liberators, ijhyeojins delight in watching a joseung saja unravel completely as they become consumed and reborn as faceless sakhils by their own fear.

All Monsters in "Sahkil"

NameLevel
Chakanaj14
Esipil1
Ijhyeojin14
Kimenhul20
Nenchuuj19
Nucol4
Pakalchi9
Penqual15
Tumblak18
Wihsaak6
Ximtal17

Sahkil

Source Bestiary 3 pg. 218
Ages ago, when this cycle of the multiverse was still adolescent, a cabal of psychopomps who already felt bored and restrained in their role of ushering souls to their ultimate resting place rebelled against their station. It was this corruption of the cycle of souls that spawned the first sahkils.

Ambivalent to the prescribed order of the multiverse and spiteful of mortals, sahkils delight in spreading fear and unease to all beings, clogging up the metaphysical cycle with anxiety-ridden mortals too scared to achieve their potential. These fiends have drastically changed from their dedicated psychopomp predecessors. They are creatures of spite and torment, fear and disgust. They exploit the most common and rare fears for their own perverse satisfaction, and they want nothing more than to frighten mortals and make them question their reason for existence.

Most sahkils lurk on the Ethereal Plane, but they frequently invade the Material Plane to torment mortals and spread terror. They use their innate ability to slip between the veils of the Ethereal and Material effortlessly, often stalking their targets for days or weeks before enacting their devious plots.

Sidebar - Locations At Home in Cities

Both penquals and nenchuujes are at home in large cities, but for different reasons. Penquals like slipping in among throngs of people, where they can inflict their terrors upon the lost or disoriented. Nenchuujes stalk magic academies, universities, or other places where spellcasters learn their craft, preying upon spellcasters' imposter syndrome.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Check with Friends

Sahkils are creatures of fear and terror. Roleplaying encounters with sahkils could be troubling to some players, and delving deep into the kinds of traumas sahkils relish in unleashing could have unintentional effects on your game and your friends. Before introducing sahkils into your game, talk with your players to learn about any particular phobias or limits to determine what content you bring to the table, and consider that on your own behalf as well. Some specific elements to be aware of are the ximtal's abilities around sensory deprivation and social isolation, as well as the kimenhul's trauma-related abilities and themes.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Couatls and Sahkils

Legends in Arcadia say that couatls and sahkils both rose to prominence as the first mortals walked on Golarion. Each saw unique potential in the mortals; couatls saw hope and the potential to rise to achieve great feats, while sahkils saw the potential for fear. Fearful mortals would never accomplish anything, becoming useless piles of flesh whose souls would languish. These withered souls would be unable to properly travel the River of Souls, disrupting the delicate balance of the afterlife. To this day, couatls work to inspire mortals and push them toward greater tasks while striving to keep the sahkils' terror at bay

Sidebar - Additional Lore Embodiments of Fear

All sahkils have horrifying appearances, and each type specializes in exacerbating a specific fear in mortals. Penquals embody not only a fear of crowds, but also of confined spaces and of being lost within a sea of unfamiliar faces. Nenchuujes embody both the fear of magic's horrifying side effects as well as the fear that one's own magic might be twisted to an unexpected or tragic end.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Feeding on Fear

Sahkils are immortal planar beings and don't require material sustenance, but they do seem to gain some semblance of nourishment from the fear they spread. Whether this is psychological or biological remains to be seen, but their obsession with frightening other creatures is clear. Sahkils recognize that they are already feared, so it may be that they are simply fulfilling what they believe is their ultimate purpose.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Planar Relations

Sahkils collaborate with divs to corrupt and corrode mortals. Velstracs, who appreciate sahkils' depredations, sometimes work with these fiends to enact terrible horror on their victims. Nihilistic and disaffected, daemons tolerate sahkils but tend to view them as useless provocateurs.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Sahkil Tormentors

The most powerful among sahkils are the sahkil tormentors. These deific beings rule over sahkils as a whole, and many personally direct the actions of their lesser cousins. Others fall into ambivalent routines, focusing more on their own personal acts of torment rather than launching widespread, ambitious depredations upon unsuspecting mortals.

Sidebar - Related Creatures War Against Hope

Sahkils and couatls are eternal enemies. The creatures each vie for the hearts of mortals, but from different sides of a single ideological coin. Sahkils wish to instill only fear into mortal hearts, trying to reduce them into useless piles of flesh who accomplish little. Couatls work to light the fires of hope, inspiring mortals to rise up and achieve their potential.

Sidebar - Locations Xibalba

Within the ghostly realm of the Ethereal Plane, sahkils inhabit a terrifying realm known as Xibalba. The Land of Dread is a realm of nightmares made manifest. At the center of this demiplane is a tiered pyramid known as the Black Pyramid, where the sahkil tormentors rule their brethren and sow fear through the mortal realm.