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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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PFS StandardOstiarius

Ostiariuses, as emissaries of the velstracs, tend to the portals between the Shadow Plane and the Material Plane. They not only escort other velstracs into the world of mortals, but also work to entice mortals into the realms of the velstracs— from which most mortals never leave. Among the most pleasant and persuasive of the velstracs, ostiariuses are prepared to converse for hours upon any topic, and they are skilled at returning, again and again, to the subject of the delights found in their perverse philosophies. Ostiariuses stand over 6 feet tall, and individuals range from skeletally thin to hugely corpulent.

Recall Knowledge - Fiend (Religion): DC 20
Unspecific Lore: DC 18
Specific Lore: DC 15

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Changes from being Weak are marked in red below.
NOTE: The -2 damage penalty to non-strike offensive abilities (-4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.

Weak OstiariusCreature 4

Legacy Content

LE Medium Fiend Velstrac 
Source Bestiary 2 pg. 281 2.0
Perception +15; greater darkvision, painsight, sense portal
Languages Common, Infernal, Shadowtongue; telepathy 100 feet
Skills Acrobatics +11, Deception +10, Diplomacy +10, Intimidation +14, Religion +9, Torture Lore +9
Str +0, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +5
Painsight (divination, divine) A velstrac automatically knows whether a creature it sees has any of the doomed, dying, and wounded conditions, as well as the value of those conditions
Sense Portal (divination, divine) The ostiarius always knows the direction and distance to the closest portal between the Shadow Plane and the Material Plane. This sense functions only on these two planes.
AC 19; Fort +7, Ref +13, Will +11; +1 status to all saves vs. magic
HP 52, regeneration 5 (deactivated by good or silver); Immunities cold; Weaknesses good 5, silver 5
Whispering Wounds (aura, divine, enchantment, mental, visual) 30 feet. When a creature ends its turn in the aura, it hears the wounds on the ostiarius's body whisper obscene truths. The creature must succeed at a DC 19 Will save or become sickened 1.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] claw +11 [+7/+3] (agile, evil, finesse, magical), Damage 2d6-2+2 slashing plus 2d6-2 persistent bleedDivine Innate Spells DC 22 (-4 dmg); 3rd enthrall, wanderer's guide; 2nd calm emotions (at will), darkness, silence; Cantrips (3rd) shield
Rituals DC 20 (-4 dmg); 2nd inveigle
Compel Courage [one-action] (auditory, divine, emotion, enchantment, linguistic, mental) The ostiarius inspires their willing allies and themself by whispering words of courage from their wounds. The ostiarius and their allies in a 50-foot emanation gain a +1 status bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, and saves against fear effects. The ostiarius can Sustain Compel Courage. Non-velstracs who accept this compelled courage find bleeding wounds opening on their own bodies to whisper in thanks. They take 1 persistent bleed damage and can't attempt a flat check to end this damage as long as they're compelled.Focus Gaze [one-action] (concentrate, divine, enchantment, fear, mental, visual, incapacitation) The ostiarius stares at a creature they can see within 30 feet. The creature must immediately attempt a Will save against Whispering Wounds. In addition, if the creature was already sickened and fails its save, the creature is fascinated by the ostiarius and can't use hostile actions. This fascination lasts for 1 round or until the ostiarius takes any hostile action against the creature or the creature's allies. Whether the creature succeeds at or fails the save, it is temporarily immune for 1 hour.

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.