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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Kanker

Endinyon Greethe was Sandpoint's first alchemist. After arriving in the bustling new town a mere 2 years after it was founded in 4666 ar, the talented Nidalese expatriate set up shop near the southern waterfront and achieved moderate success, providing the townsfolk with a ready source of herbal remedies, alchemically enhanced fishing bait, and other helpful elixirs and tinctures. Yet Endinyon kept his biggest source of income a secret, for it was this that had gotten him run out of Nidal—he was an accomplished body snatcher. For the next three years, he supplied corpses to disreputable sorts in Magnimar to the south and smaller villages like Galduria, Wolf's Ear, and even Ravenmoor to the north. But when a particularly large and complicated order to Riddleport involving bodies that weren't quite dead yet backfired, the citizens of Sandpoint rose up and burned his shop to the ground. Endinyon fled into the smuggler's tunnels underneath the city, traveling away from Sandpoint where his enemies were searching high and low for him. Ironically, he followed the smuggler's tunnels into a network of ghoul warrens and eventually ended up below Pauper's Graves to the east of town: a site where he'd stolen many bodies in the past. Unfortunately, those thefts had particularly enraged the ghasts who still dwelt there. Endinyon died, captured and tortured by the ghasts whose “pantry” he'd raided too often, only to rise as a ghast himself. Over the next several years, the man who was once Endinyon reinvented himself into something new—a ghast called Kanker. It was in the deeper ghoul caves below Pauper's Graves that he first discovered Kabriri's faith, and it wasn't long before he converted. Eventually, Kanker's enterprising nature and leadership skills helped him rise to power among the undead who dwelt below the Sandpoint hinterlands. Yet he always harbored anger and a need for revenge against the people of Sandpoint for ruining what he had started to build.

Kanker left the other ghasts, explored the Darklands below the Lost Coast, and eventually found his way into the chambers surrounding the Pit. There, he discovered the ancient temple that occupied its lowest reaches, and he knew he'd found his new calling. He began the task of clearing out the temple to be one appropriate to the demon lord of ghouls and secrets kept by the dead, and in time he was joined by a small following of like-minded Kanker ghast cultists—most of whom also bore grudges against the ghouls of the Lost Coast and the citizens of Sandpoint alike.

For years, Kanker was content to study and worship, but during a trip through the Sandpoint hinterlands to forage for alchemical supplies, a chance meeting with a looming presence who possessed haunting red eyes gave the ghast a new direction. His encounter with the Red Bishop inspired Kanker, making him realize that he deserved more than just an ancient crypt temple in the hinterlands. He and his ghasts deserved Sandpoint, and if Kanker would aid the Red Bishop by assisting another group who had become active in the region, the Midnight Dawn, the dooms that would soon come to Sandpoint would give Kanker all he needed to turn the town into his own domain of undeath.

Campaign Use

Kanker is no fool. He suspects the Red Bishop has his own hidden agenda, but the idea of returning to Sandpoint after all these years to rule his former home is too tempting for the ghast to resist, and so he has made his temple and its resources available to the Midnight Dawn and introduced Tiluatchek to his pawn, Aliver Podiker. Now he bides his time, waiting for the right moment to strike.

This adventure assumes Kanker largely remains in the shadows until the PCs reach the lowest level below the Pit, where he becomes the most significant threat they'll face. In combat, Kanker prefers to fight at range with his alchemical bombs but won't shy away from melee if he can avoid being surrounded by foes. His typical attack is to use Toxic Effluvium, strike with his flail, and then strike with a claw—he prefers to avoid using his jaws attacks on living foes, since he regards ghastly undeath as a gift and is choosy on who and what he potentially inflicts ghast fever upon.

If the PCs don't defeat Kanker during their first encounter with him, he won't hesitate to gather new allies through the use of his rituals.

Recall Knowledge - Undead (Religion): DC 40
Unspecific Lore: DC 38
Specific Lore: DC 35

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 KankerCreature 11

Legacy Content

Unique CE Medium Ghoul Undead 
Source Pathfinder #200: Seven Dooms for Sandpoint pg. 194
Perception +22; darkvision
Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Common, Necril, Thassilonian, Undercommon, Varisian
Skills Acrobatics +18, Arcana +23, Crafting +23, Deception +21, Intimidation +21, Occultism +21, Religion +20, Stealth +22
Str +5, Dex +6, Con +5, Int +7, Wis +4, Cha +5
Items alchemist's tools, +2 striking nightmare flail (page 185), formula book, +1 resilient studded leather armor, pouch of black onyx worth 3,000 gp, incense and offerings for planar ally worth 1,440 gp
Infused Items Kanker carries the following infused items, which last for 24 hours or until the next time he makes his daily preparations: greater acid flask (8), greater alchemist's fire (8), blightburn resin, greater cheetah's elixir (2), refined midnight milk (5), greater mistform elixir, shadow essence (5), greater thunderstone (8)
AC 31; Fort +21, Ref +22, Will +20
HP 180 (negative healing); Immunities death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances fire 10
Evasion When Kanker rolls a success on a Reflex save, he gets a critical success instead.Stench (aura, olfactory) 10 feet. A creature entering the aura or starting its turn in the aura must succeed at a DC 27 Fortitude save or become sickened 1 (plus slowed 1 as long as it's sickened on a critical failure). While within the aura, the creature takes a –2 circumstance penalty to saves against disease and to recover from the sickened condition. A creature that succeeds at its save is temporarily immune for 1 minute.
Speed 30 feet, burrow 5 feet
Melee [one-action] flail +23 [+18/+13] (disarm, magical, sweep, trip), Damage 2d6-2+11 bludgeoning and 1d6 mentalMelee [one-action] jaws +22 [+17/+12] (finesse), Damage 3d6-2+11 piercing plus ghast fever and paralysisMelee [one-action] claw +22 [+18/+14] (agile, finesse), Damage 3d4-2+11 slashing plus paralysisRanged [one-action] greater acid flask +24 [+19/+14] (range increment 30 feet), Effect 1 acid damage, 3d6 persistent acid damage, and 2 acid splash damageRanged [one-action] greater alchemist's fire +24 [+19/+14] (range increment 30 feet), Damage 3d8-2 fire damage, 3 persistent fire damage, and 3 fire splash damageRanged [one-action] greater thunderstone +24 [+19/+14] (range increment 30 feet), Damage 3d4-2 sonic damage and 3 sonic splash damage plus deafened until the end of the target's next turn (Fort DC 28)Rituals DC 30 (-4 dmg); 5th planar ally; 2nd create undead
Consume Flesh [one-action] (manipulate) Requirements The ghast is adjacent to the corpse of a creature that died within the last hour. Effect The ghast devours a chunk of the corpse and regains 7d6 Hit Points. It can regain Hit Points from any given corpse only once. Kanker can Consume Flesh from the trough of gore in the northern alcove of his laboratory (area J12) if he's adjacent to it.Expanded Splash When Kanker throws a bomb, he can maximize the bomb's explosive potential, allowing him to cause the bomb to deal 7 splash damage rather than the normal amount, and the splash damage affects every creature within 10 feet of the target.Ghast Fever (disease) Saving Throw Fortitude DC 14; Stage 1 carrier with no ill effect (1 day); Stage 2 3d8 negative damage and regains half as many Hit Points from all healing (1 day); Stage 3 as stage 2 (1 day); Stage 4 3d8 negative damage and gains no benefit from healing (1 day); Stage 5 as stage 4 (1 day); Stage 6 dead, and rises as a ghast the next midnightParalysis (incapacitation, necromancy, occult) Any living creature (including elves) hit by a ghast's attack must succeed at a DC 30 Fortitude save or become paralyzed. It can attempt a new save at the end of each of its turns, and the DC cumulatively decreases by 1 on each such save.Quick Bomber [one-action] Kanker draws an alchemical bomb with an Interact action and throws it as a ranged Strike.Swift Leap [one-action] (move) The ghast jumps up to half its Speed. This movement doesn't trigger reactions.Toxic Effluvium [one-action] (occult, poison) Kanker has exposed himself to so many toxins and poisons over the years that it's all seeped into his undead flesh. When he activates Toxic Effluvium, these foul-smelling fluids seep from his flesh, causing his jaws and claws to secrete drooling rivulets of foul green venom that coat his teeth and talons, as well as any weapon he wields. Until the start of his next turn, Kanker's melee Strikes deal an additional 2d6 poison damage.