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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Evangelist

The velstracs’ unofficial ambassadors, evangelists roam the farthest reaches of the planes to spread the word of their kind’s abhorrent belief in perfection through pain. They are therefore the most frequently encountered velstracs on the Material Plane, often leading covens of hedonistic mortal flesh-sculptors or serving as wardens of horrific dungeons. In regions ruled by infernal powers, evangelists may serve as lieutenants or advisors, whispering secret paths to power in exchange for mortals’ souls or choice mortal flesh.

Evangelists are the same size as humans, although with their heavy chains, they often weigh 350 pounds or more.

Recall Knowledge - Fiend (Religion): DC 24
Unspecific Lore: DC 22
Specific Lore: DC 19

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

EvangelistCreature 6

Legacy Content

Uncommon LE Medium Fiend Velstrac 
Source Pathfinder #147: Tomorrow Must Burn pg. 83, Bestiary 2 pg. 282 2.0; There is a more recent version of this monster. Click here to view.
Perception +13; darkvision, painsight
Languages Common, Infernal, Shadowtongue
Skills Acrobatics +13, Athletics +15, Crafting +10, Intimidation +15, Religion +11, Torture Lore +12
Str +4, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +1
Painsight (divination, divine) An evangelist automatically knows whether a creature it sees has any of the doomed, dying, and wounded conditions, as well as the value of those conditions.
AC 24; Fort +15, Ref +14, Will +11; +1 status to all saves vs. magic
HP 90, regeneration 10 (deactivated by good or silver); Immunities cold; Weaknesses good 10, silver 10
Unnerving Gaze (aura, divine, enchantment, fear, mental, visual) 30 feet. When a creature ends its turn in the aura, it sees the face of a departed loved one in place of the evangelist's face. The creature must succeed at a DC 21 Will save or become frightened 2 (frightened 3 on a critical failure).Attack of Opportunity [reaction]
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] chain +17 [+12/+7] (disarm, reach 10 feet, trip), Damage 2d8+7 piercing plus 1d6 persistent bleed and impaling chainAnimate Chains (divine, transmutation) Chains in the evangelist’s vicinity sprout barbs and writhe menacingly. The evangelist can make chain Strikes against any creature that is adjacent to an unattended chain within 20 feet, in addition to within the reach of its own chain Strike.Focus Gaze [one-action] (concentrate, divine, enchantment, fear, mental, visual) The evangelist stares at a creature it can see within 30 feet. The target must immediately attempt a Will save against the evangelist’s unnerving gaze. In addition, if the creature was already frightened, on a failed save, the evangelist is concealed from the creature for as long as the creature remains frightened. After attempting this save, the creature is then temporarily immune until the start of the evangelist’s next turn. Impaling Chain When the evangelist critically hits with a chain Strike, the target is impaled and anchored in place, becoming grabbed by the chain. It’s unable to recover from persistent bleed damage until it gets free (Escape DC 25).

All Monsters in "Velstrac"

NameLevel
Augur1
Ephialtes16
Eremite20
Evangelist6
Interlocutor12
Ostiarius5
Precentor16
Sacristan10
Vincuvicar18

Velstrac

Source Pathfinder #147: Tomorrow Must Burn pg. 82
Velstracs are horrific, shadow-dwelling fiends who seek ultimate sensation through self-mutilation. They transcend their stoic detachment only when inflicting pain and terror upon their victims, practicing new forms of debasement and torture before then turning their knives on themselves. Although velstracs consider themselves beyond such limitations as morality or mortal taboos, their victims know them as emotionless tormentors who inflict debased, sadistic suffering. They claim to seek perfection in thought, form, and action, although they don’t recognize any refinement that doesn’t require the painful excision of the flesh or spirit.

Velstracs manifest from the souls of masochistic or sadistic mortals that are diverted into the Shadow Plane and then forged into forms that suit their vile predilections, ranging from the low-ranking augurs to the aesthetics-obsessed interlocutors.

Some mortals refer to velstracs as “kytons,” a misattribution that the velstracs tolerate with cold amusement. The term “kyton” denotes a master or virtuoso among their kind, and these fiends enjoy being labeled masters of their horrid paths to perfection through agony.

Sidebar - Additional Lore A Mortal Name

Some mortals refer to velstracs as “kytons,” a misattribution that the velstracs tolerate with cold amusement. The term “kyton” denotes a master or virtuoso among their kind, and these fiends enjoy being labeled as masters of their horrid paths of perfection through agony.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Despicable Origins

Velstracs originated with the first debased thoughts of mortals, which divine beings found so deplorable that they locked all velstracs away in Hell. It wasn't long, however, before the newly formed beings escaped their infernal prison to the Shadow Plane.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Velstracs

Scholars grimly joke that there are as many different kinds of velstracs as there are ways to skin a cat. The relatively diminutive cantor velstrac poisons the minds of its victims so that they believe they are being clawed from the inside out. The mighty eremites, on the other hand, seek out the most powerful beings to subsume into their own form and lord over all other velstracs save the demagogues.

Sidebar - Related Creatures The Shadow Forge

Many velstracs forge their own chains, but others outsource the task to unique velstracs known as almoners. These blind, deaf, and mute velstracs resemble six-armed halflings severed at the waist that toil away endlessly at a great burning foundry called the Shadow Forge. Almoners operate under mysterious strictures, and are just as likely to turn a velstrac away empty-handed as they are to hand one a finely crafted chain before the request has even been uttered.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Velstrac Divinities

The most powerful velstracs are unique divinities known collectively as demagogues—powerful creatures often worshipped by mortals who seek to experience agonizing new revelations and gain power by enhancing the body through pain.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Velstracs on Golarion

Velstracs are most often encountered in the shadowy realm of Nidal, where the state worship of Zon-Kuthon is rigidly enforced. Indeed, many velstracs are created from the souls of Joyful Things, devotees of Zon-Kuthon who have had their limbs amputated to focus their minds on the veneration of pain, sacrifice, and torment.