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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Scalliwing

Couatls are large, brightly colored serpents with feathered wings. Good-natured, these creatures aid mortals and oppose evildoers, but sighting one presents a momentous occasion—these magnificent, albeit reclusive creatures rarely appear.

The smallest members of the couatl family, Scalliwings resemble their larger kin but are roughly the size of a house cat, and a irascible mischievous streak tempers their kindly nature. While most couatls seek to right the world's wrongs or guide mortal civilization toward societal advancement, scalliwings work on a more individual level. They claim their role is to teach goodhearted spellcasters the ways of magic, and indeed they sometimes serve—or “assist,” as they're swift to correct—such spellcasters as familiars.

With iridescent scales and bright feathers, scalliwings are remarkably pretty creatures. They seem well aware of this fact and use their appearance to ingratiate themselves with others. This beauty makes some of them slightly self-aggrandizing, but other scalliwings find that their small size and relatively weak defenses put them at the mercy of cruel, larger creatures who seek to imprison them as beautiful pets and trophies. While scalliwings might cheerfully reside in a single residence indefinitely of their own volition, captive scalliwings have orchestrated devious escapes, coordinating their efforts with other creatures to cause spectacular property damage in the process.

Scalliwings measure about 2 feet long from nose to tail with wingspans of about the same length. They have life spans nearly as long as a human's. While a scalliwing appears slightly more common than their larger, reclusive kin, many mortals live entire lifetimes without ever encountering a scalliwing.

Recall Knowledge - Beast (Arcana, Nature): DC 20
Unspecific Lore: DC 18
Specific Lore: DC 15

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

ScalliwingCreature 3

Legacy Content

Uncommon CG Tiny Beast Couatl 
Source Troubles in Otari pg. 62
Perception +9; darkvision
Languages Common
Skills Acrobatics +7, Diplomacy +6, Nature +6, Religion +6
Str +1, Dex +4, Con +0, Int +0, Wis +3, Cha +3
AC 16; Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +8
HP 45
Speed 10 feet, fly 40 feet
Melee [one-action] fangs +7 [+3/-1] (agile, finesse), Damage 1d4+1 piercing plus 1d4 persistent poisonDivine Innate Spells DC 17; 2nd heal (×2), invisibility (self only); 1st command, heal, sanctuary; Cantrips (2nd) daze, guidance, mage hand, message, shield
Wing Flash [two-actions] (mental, visual) The scalliwing spreads their iridescent wings and flutters them in a hypnotizing pattern. Each creature within 30 feet that can see the scalliwing must attempt a DC 17 Will save.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature is flat-footed until the start of its next turn.
Failure The creature is flat-footed until the start of its next turn, and it must spend its first action on its next turn admiring the scalliwing.
Critical Failure The creature is flat-footed until the start of its next turn. For 1 minute, the creature must spend its first action each turn admiring the scalliwing. This effect ends if the scalliwing attacks or uses another hostile action against the affected creature.

All Monsters in "Couatl"

NameLevel
Mix Couatl8
Quetz Couatl10
Scalliwing3
Xiuh Couatl12

Couatl

Source Bestiary 3 pg. 56
Couatls are serpentine celestials who tirelessly help mortals reach their greatest potential all across the planes. Some serve benevolent deities as intermediaries while others serve the cause of good as they see fit.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Couatl Deities

Most good gods make use of couatls as their agents. There are three couatl deities, however, whose word takes precedence over others in the hearts of couatls. These are Cihua Couatl, the dualistic god of childbirth, protection, and warfare; Pahti Couatl, the goddess of retribution, investigation, and rehabilitation; and Tolte Couatl, the god of knowledge, memories, and migration.

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 - Related Creatures Other Couatls

The quetz couatl presented here is the most common of its kind, and while most adventurers and scholars refer to them simply as “couatls,” other kinds exist as well, such as the fierce xiuh couatl, the nomadic auwaz couatl, the wise mix couatl, the nurturing chicome couatl, and the furious tletli couatl.