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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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PFS StandardShikigami

Shikigami are the least powerful of all kami and the most common. Unlike most other kami, which are bound to their wards by a more powerful spirit or deity, shikigami are minor spirits that even mortal practitioners can sometimes bind into a tiny paper form and task with guarding small works, such as garden statues and vases. Landowners delight in having shikigami protect their gardens, whether they paid a wandering spellcaster to entreat the shikigami or simply had the fortune of another spirit assigning a shikigami to their land. Travelers who come across a shikigami-graced milestone or waypost believe that such encounters are good omens for the journey ahead.

For their part, shikigami have mixed opinions on civilization and the humanoids who dwell therein. While shikigami will fight to protect their ward against invaders and desecrators, these kami are just as likely to leave—their ward in tow—if locals begin to despoil the area or show a disregard for nature. Most practitioners capable of binding a shikigami wouldn't engage in this type of disrespect, but should the kami catch wind of such practices, shikigami across the land might abandon their contracts en masse, leaving an uncomfortable vacuum with their unexpected exodus. In this way, shikigami exemplify the precarious balance between the expansion of civilization and the preservation of the natural world.

Not all shikigami protect gardens, so you can substitute the shikigami's spade for any sort of mundane tool that's useful to the shikigami's task and their ward. The kami wields any such weapon with the same damage dice, modifiers, and traits listed for their spade Strike, but change the damage type as appropriate for the new weapon.

Recall Knowledge - Spirit (Occultism): DC 15
Unspecific Lore: DC 13
Specific Lore: DC 10

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 ShikigamiCreature -1

Legacy Content

LN Tiny Kami Spirit 
Source Bestiary 3 pg. 142
Perception +10; darkvision
Languages Common
Skills Diplomacy +4, Medicine +5, Nature +5, Society +4, Stealth +3
Str +2, Dex +2, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +4, Cha +3
Ward (abjuration, divine) Every kami is bound to a ward: a specific animal, plant, object, or location. A kami can merge with or emerge from their ward as a single action, which has the concentrate trait. While merged, the kami can observe their surroundings with their usual senses as well as the senses of their ward, but can't move, communicate with, or control their ward. Additionally, a kami merged with their ward recovers Hit Points each minute as if they spent an entire day resting.
A shikigami's ward is typically a minor work of art or symbol of civilization, such as a milestone, trail sign, personal garden, or tiny statue.
AC 13; Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +7
HP 15; Immunities bleed; Weaknesses cold iron 3
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] fist +5 [+1/-3] (agile), Damage 1d4-2+2 bludgeoningMelee [one-action] spade +5 [+1/-3] (agile, versatile S), Damage 1d6-2+2 piercingRanged [one-action] spade +5 [+1/-3] (agile, thrown 10 feet, versatile S), Damage 1d6-2+2 piercingInnate Divine Spells DC 15 (-4 dmg); 2nd animal messenger, invisibility (self only); 1st purify food and drink; Cantrips (1st) forbidding ward

All Monsters in "Kami"

NameLevel
Kodama5
Shikigami1
Toshigami15
Zuishin10

Kami

Source Bestiary 3 pg. 141
Kami are divine nature spirits native to the lands of Tian Xia, far to the east of the Inner Sea region. They serve as guardians of natural objects and places they protect—their “wards”—and are ancient enemies of the oni. Kami can merge with their wards, allowing them to surreptitiously watch anyone who treads upon their sacred grounds. Kami leave those who they deem harmless alone, but the spirits fight vigilantly to scare away anyone perceived as a threat. Kami choose their own wards, though many mortals seek to attract them to sites that might require protection, leading to a proliferation of certain trees, statues, gates, and other symbolic elements in areas where kami are known to dwell.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Attracting a Kami

Different cultures have different beliefs about the best way to attract a kami spirit such as a zuishin. Societies that strive to preserve the natural world—like elven tree-cities and small villages that balance their own population with those of other local creatures—are the most likely to be graced by a kami's presence.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Kami Allies

Kami are friends to arboreals, dryad, and other beings with spiritual ties to the natural world. Among mortals, druids are the most common recipients of kami aid, though these spirits might help anyone whose mission involves the protection of their particular ward.

Sidebar - Treasure and Rewards Kami Treasure

Kami have no use for valuables or other material possessions, but the sites they protect are often rich with natural resources or even sometimes dotted with relics from bygone eras. One of the greatest kami treasures is a kodama's straw rope. Although these ropes grant no power to mortals, a freely gifted kodama rope is seen as a mark of the utmost purity and worthiness.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Kami Worship

Although kami aren't gods, people sometimes worship or pray at a tree or location where a kami is known to reside. Kami regard this behavior as a curious affectation of mortals, and they make no attempts to dissuade or encourage such reverential treatment as long as it doesn't threaten the safety of their wards.