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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Phasmadaemon (Terror Daemon)

Known also as terror daemons, the horrifying phasmadaemons make use of illusions and their own frightening appearance (that of a serpent with a bony tail, a horned crocodilian skull for a head, and several insectile pincers) to strike fear into the hearts of others. They represent deaths brought about by fright.

Recall Knowledge - Fiend (Religion): DC 38
Unspecific Lore: DC 36
Specific Lore: DC 33

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

PhasmadaemonCreature 17

Legacy Content

Uncommon NE Large Daemon Fiend 
Source Pathfinder #192: Worst of All Possible Worlds pg. 81
Perception +29; darkvision, true seeing
Languages Common, Daemonic; telepathy 100 feet
Skills Acrobatics +31, Deception +31, Intimidation +33, Religion +29
Str +8, Dex +8, Con +6, Int +3, Wis +4, Cha +6
AC 39; Fort +31, Ref +26, Will +31
HP 340; Immunities death effects, fear; Weaknesses good 15
Frightful Presence (aura, emotion, fear, mental) 60 feet, DC 35Unending Terror Escaping fear near a phasmadaemon is no simple task. Creatures don't automatically reduce their frightened condition while they are within the phasmadaemon's Frightful Presence aura. Instead, they must attempt a Will save at the end of their turn against the DC of the effect that caused the condition. On a success, the creature's frightened condition is reduced by 1.
Speed 25 feet, fly 35 feet
Melee [one-action] jaws +33 [+28/+23] (evil, magical, reach 10 feet), Damage 3d10+16 piercing plus 1d6 evil and GrabMelee [one-action] claw +33 [+29/+25] (agile, evil, magical, reach 10 feet), Damage 3d8+16 slashing plus 1d6 evilDivine Innate Spells DC 38, +30; 9th duplicate foe, weird; 8th mask of terror; 7th phantasmal killer, shadow blast; 6th shadow blast (×2); 5th dimension door, shadow siphon (×2); 4th dimension door (at will), nightmare (at will); 1st detect alignment (at will; good only); Constant (9th) true seeing
Constrict [one-action] 3d10+6 bludgeoning plus 1d6 evil, DC 35Consume Fear [one-action] (emotion, fear, mental) Requirements The phasmadaemon has a creature grabbed; Effect The phasmadaemon feeds on the creature's mortality and innate terror, dealing 6d8 mental damage. The creature must attempt a DC 38 Will save.
Critical Success The creature takes no damage and manages to break free from the phasmadaemon's grab.
Success The creature takes half damage.
Failure The creature takes full damage and increases their frightened conditioned by 1, to a maximum of frightened 4.
Critical Failure The creature takes double damage and increases their frightened condition by 2, to a maximum of frightened 4. If the creature is already frightened 4, it must attempt a DC 38 Fortitude saving throw. If it fails, it is reduced to 0 Hit Points and dies. This effect has the death and incapacitation traits.Inescapable Form The phasmadaemon can Squeeze through tight spaces as if it were a Small creature. While Squeezing, it can move at its full Speed. The phasmadaemon can even Squeeze through spaces that typically fit only a Tiny creature, but does so at the standard speed for Squeezing.Rend [one-action] claw

Sidebar - Additional Lore Fearful Machinations

While daemons don't typically require food, phasmadaemons seem intent on feeding on the emotions, and especially the fears, of mortals. Some believe that the life force and emotions of creatures serves as the fuel for a phasmadaemon's magic, while others believe that phasmadaemons simply enjoy facing a mortal eye-to-eye while feeding, delighting in the fear in their prey's final moments.

All Monsters in "Daemon"

NameLevel
Agradaemon (Conflagration Daemon)19
Astradaemon (Void Daemon)16
Cacodaemon (Harvester Daemon)1
Ceustodaemon (Guardian Daemon)6
Crucidaemon (Torture Daemon)15
Derghodaemon (Ravager Daemon)12
Leukodaemon (Pestilence Daemon)9
Meladaemon (Famine Daemon)11
Obcisidaemon (Obliteration Daemon)19
Olethrodaemon (Apocalypse Daemon)20
Phasmadaemon (Terror Daemon)17
Piscodaemon (Venom Daemon)10
Purrodaemon (War Daemon)18
Sordesdaemon (Pollution Daemon)15
Thanadaemon (Death Daemon)13
Venedaemon (Pact Daemon)5

Daemon

Source Bestiary pg. 70
Denizens of the bleak and terrible plane of Abaddon, daemons are shaped by and devoted to the destruction of life in all its forms. They seek the death of every mortal being by the most painful and horrible means possible, all in service to the apocalyptic entities known as the Four Horsemen. Each kind of daemon represents a different way to die, and their powers are nearly always aimed at spreading that particular form of death. Through the use of these powers, they seek to drag all existence down into a pit of hopelessness and despair, and to commit all souls to oblivion.

While those who summon daemons to the Material Plane usually seek to use the creatures’ destructive and corrupting powers for their own ends, daemons always look for ways to spread fear, doubt, and despair wherever they go. Often, daemons disguise their plots as the workings of other fiends, knowing that such confusion compounds mortals’ fear.

While all fiends seek to tempt mortals into lives of evil to increase their own numbers and power on their native planes, daemons are further driven by a supernatural hunger for mortal souls and use a variety of methods—not least of which is the cacodaemons’ soul gems—to entrap them. On Abaddon and in other forbidding places across the multiverse, souls are simultaneously a delicacy, a trade good, and a source of magical power, and the daemons are among the greatest gluttons, merchants, and abusers of this spiritual “resource.”

Sidebar - Locations Abaddon

Daemons hail from Abaddon, a plane of pure evil for only the most corrupt souls. If Hell is a realm of torture and systematic depravity, Abaddon is its twisted cousin—a place where one can find only misery and despair in ample quantities, with neither the strictures of Hell nor the chaotic freedom of the Abyss. For evildoers who seek simply to inflict their wickedness on others, Abaddon is a rich hunting ground where one can revel in turpitude, though visitors be forewarned: the competition is fierce.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Daemon Harbingers

The four Horsemen are the most powerful of the daemonic demigods, but they are only four of many. Far more daemonic harbingers dwell on Abaddon, each a unique and powerful demigod in their own right that enjoys sweeping influence among daemonkind. Jacarkas the Collector (ruler of the slave city of Awaiting Consumption), Vorasha the Ophidian (consort to the Horseman of Famine), and Zelishkar the Bitter Flame (patron to arsonists and agent of the Horseman of War) are but three of the dozens of harbingers who rule realms in Abaddon.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Daemonic Deacons

Each of the four Horsemen is served by a specific category of servitor daemons known as deacons. Leukodaemons serve as deacons to the Horseman of Pestilence. Meladaemons serve as deacons to the Horseman of Famine, while thanadaemons serve as deacons to the Horseman of Death. Purrodaemons are currently the most powerful of the deacons, and serve the Horseman of War—yet over time, which category of deacon is the most powerful can wax and wane.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Daemonic Divinities

Numerous powerful and unique daemon demigods, known collectively as harbingers, rule over swaths of Abaddon. Above these demigods, though, are entities of even greater power—the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. As the eons go on, the names and identities of specific horsemen change. Currently, they consist of Apollyon (Horseman of Pestilence), Charon (Horseman of Death), Szuriel (Horseman of War), and Trelmarixian (Horseman of Famine). Of these, only Charon has never fallen to an upstart. Some hold that a “Fifth Horseman” once ruled over the other four, while others maintain that the eternally eclipsed sun in the skies above Abaddon is all that remains of this long-dead god.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Daemons

As many daemons exist as there are awful ways to die. The bloody sangudaemon personifies death by blood loss, while the skeletal thanadaemon represents death from old age. The most powerful daemons are the olethrodaemons, who represent the massive deaths caused by apocalypses and the end of entire worlds.

Sidebar - Treasure and Rewards Soul Gems as Gear

Daemons often carry soul gems either as trophies or for powering an ability. Cacodaemons are the most common source for soul gems, but they can also be created by spells like bind soul. If a daemon crushes a soul gem to power an ability, the trapped soul is released into the afterlife and can be resurrected normally.

Sidebar - Treasure and Rewards Soul Gems as Treasure

Soul gems are traded in illicit markets, a tradition celestials and psychopomps alike find vile. Soul gems' value varies, but is generally worth an amount relative to the level of a gem's captive soul.

Sidebar - Additional Lore The Daemonic Paradox

Daemons embody a fundamental paradox—while they are incarnations of death and seek to devour all that lives, they are themselves living creatures. Some speak of a glorious end time after which reality will finally be free of the contagion that is life itself. Most daemons give no thought to this paradox.