
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

All Creatures
Abilities | Monsters | NPCs
All | Families | Templates
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Chakanaj

Featureless, tiny bat-like flaps of pale skin with retractable, squirming legs, chakanajes prey upon people's shame and fears of disclosing humiliating secrets. Extremely diminutive and stealthy, they can slip into buildings or lurk under eaves with ease, making it easier to spy on others and learn their secrets. Chakanajes enjoy ferreting out secrets and tormenting their victims by leaving incriminating hints of the truth in places others might find them, or even messages threatening the victim that someone “knows the truth.” Fear of exposure can drive victims to commit atrocities, which a chakanaj uses to further exacerbate the victim's shame and fear, to the sahkil's ever-increasing enjoyment.
A chakanaj can disguise themself as an item of roughly the same size, like a piece of clothing, and they especially enjoy forcing their victims to carry or wear them while they whisper hateful suggestions and stoke the victim's anxiety and suffering.
While most sahkils don't have much to do with Norgorber, despite their shared alignment, chakanjes' love of secrets has led to more than one alliance over the years between the tiny sahkils and the minions of Norgorber, particularly in Norgorber's aspect of the Reaper of Reputation.

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

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

ChakanajCreature 14

Legacy Content

NE Tiny Fiend Sahkil 
Source Night of the Gray Death pg. 70
Perception +25; (+29 to Sense Motive) darkvision, true seeing
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, Requian; telepathy 100 feet
Skills Acrobatics +28, Deception +27 (+31 to Impersonate clothing), Intimidation +25, Religion +25, Stealth +30, Thievery +26
Str +0, Dex +8, Con +4, Int +2, Wis +5, Cha +7
Ear for Secrets A chakanaj knows when a creature within 30 feet lies unless that creature critically succeeds on its Perception check to lie to the chakanaj. This ability doesn't reveal the truth.
Easy to Call A sahkil'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 is always free to attack or leave instead of negotiate unless the primary caster's check is a critical success.
AC 36; Fort +22, Ref +28, Will +25
HP 300; Immunities fear; Weaknesses good 15
Retaliate [reaction] Trigger A creature within the chakanaj's reach attacks its host; Requirements The chakanaj is Bonded with a Host; Effect The chakanaj makes a leg Strike against the triggering creature. If the chakanaj was Impersonating clothing when it makes this strike, the Impersonation ends.
Speed 10 feet, fly 40 feet
Melee [one-action] leg +29 [+25/+21] (agile, finesse, magical), Damage 3d6+14 slashing plus 2d6 evilDivine Innate Spells DC 34; 7th fear (at will), mask of terror (at will; self only); 5th illusory object (×3); Cantrips (7th) dancing lights, daze, guidance; Constant (7th) true seeing
Bond with Host [one-action] (concentrate, move) Requirements The chakanaj is adjacent to a willing creature; Effect The chakanaj enters the space of the creature (thereafter called its host) and covers a suitable surface on the host, such as the face or back. The chakanaj occupies the same space as its host and moves with its host. It doesn't impair the host's senses or movement. While worn, the chakanaj establishes a constant shield other effect with its host. Attacks that target the chakanaj target the host instead, but use the higher AC or saving throw values between the chakanaj and the host. Area effects apply to both the chakanaj and the host, as normal for an area of effect.Interpose [one-action] Requirements The chakanaj is Bonded with a Host; Effect The chakanaj interposes itself between the host and its foes, granting its host a +2 circumstance bonus to AC until the start of the chakanaj's next turn.Peel Away [one-action] (concentrate, move) Requirements The chakanaj is Bonded with a Host; Effect The chakanaj removes itself from its host, peeling of the host's body and enters an adjacent space.Skip Between [one-action] (conjuration, divine, teleportation) The chakanaj sahkil moves from the Material Plane to the Ethereal Plane or vice versa, with the effects of ethereal jaunt except the effect has an unlimited duration and can be Dismissed. A summoned sahkil can't use Skip Between.

Chakanaj Masks

Chakanajes like to cover a victim’s face and pretend to be a mundane mask. This not only lets them see anything their host does, but it lets them rest their sharp legs against the host’s face, a subtle threat of violence to keep a host in line.

All Monsters in "Sahkil"

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

Sahkil

Source Pathfinder #162: Ruins of the Radiant Siege pg. 84
Dreadful creatures that stoke mortal fears, sahkils lurk on the Ethereal Plane where they slip into nightmares or dark places of the world to torment the living

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.