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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

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Abilities | Monsters | NPCs

Xin Yue

Xin Yue remembers all of their previous lives. They originally saw this ability as a blessing from the gods which allowed them to use their accumulated knowledge to better their station in life each time they died and were reincarnated. While they slightly preferred being reincarnated as a woman, because it matched their first body, they quickly grew to enjoy their lives in a man's body as well. Ultimately, to Xin Yue, the actual form of their body was unimportant as long as their soul remained whole.

As a follower of Sangpotshi, each lifetime they lived saw them growing ever-nearer to enlightenment. They befriended long-lived spirits who were always happy for them to visit in their latest body. As their lives continued on, they eventually attained enlightenment. It was during what would have been her final reincarnation that she came to the Tan Sugi monastery and drew Kugaptee's attention. Though trapped in death below the Tan Sugi when Zhi Hui passed away, Kugaptee crept his influence into Xin Yue's dreams when her grief was most profound. Over the awful months to follow, the nindoru's influence over Xin Yue grew. In these dreams, Xin Yue and Kugaptee increasingly engaged in lively debates over the value of reincarnation, and over time, this corruption grew to the point that Xin Yue dedicated herself to the nindoru demigod, whom she had come to consider as the Lord who “opened her eyes to the frivolity of enlightenment.”

Xin Yue then turned her attention to the few remaining monks at the monastery and began to lure them over to the worship of Kugaptee. However, it wasn't until Xin Yue offered herself as a sacrifice to the fiend before the other monks' eyes—only to be reincarnated into her current body—that they converted as well. To them, Xin Yue had revealed that the Tan Sugi monastery wasn't a place for peace, but a cage-tomb that, if they could release its bound prisoner, would grant great power and rewards immediately, rather than waiting for countless reincarnations through a chance at something they might never even earn.

Xin Yue's current body has the form of a human woman with a short build, shoulder-length cropped hair and a long black braid that hangs to her calves. She strikes fearful respect into her followers by saying terrible things with a cheery attitude and a kind smile on her face. Always polite even as she threatens and promises punishment, her politeness isn't a facade. Even while butchering her victims in the most prolonged and painful way possible, she smiles at them and earnestly thanks them for their sacrifice. When Governor Heh Shan-Bao's ritual slew the people of Willowshore and plunged the region into a mindscape, Xin Yue and her monks perished as well. However, they didn't return to life within the mindscape. Their proximity and devotion to Kugaptee kept them from life, and they've spent each cycle of the past 115 years as undead. To Xin Yue, this new body is a shameful and horrific burden, and she only hopes that by helping Kugaptee to achieve what he desires—using the incarnation of his old enemy's body, now the sugi tree that grows over his grave, as the raw building blocks of a new living body—that she too shall be reborn into a new body. She has little interest in what kind of body she might attain, just that it be one of living flesh.

Campaign Role

Xin Yue fabricated the circumstances for the Tan Sugi monastery to fall and for Kugaptee to awaken, and she has been working toward his revival ever since. Like the heroes, Xin Yue has been trapped in the mindscape for the past 115 years, but due to her connection with Kugaptee, she has retained the memories of each passing cycle. She has kept tabs on the townsfolk of Willowshore, but after a century of repeated failures to break their own cycle, she discounted them as a threat to her work. As such, she was truly surprised when she received a vision from Kugaptee that showed the PCs opening the Wall of Ghosts.

Despite her nearly skeletal, undead appearance, Xin Yue continues to foster her politeness; she doesn't hide her intent in any way. She has no personal grudge against the heroes. Although she might come across as reasonable, as long as Kugaptee's presence remains within the mindscape, she can't be reasoned with to stop her pursuits and will fight to the bitter end to achieve her goal.

Recall Knowledge - Undead (Religion): DC 33
Unspecific Lore: DC 31
Specific Lore: DC 28

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

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

Elite Xin YueCreature 8

Legacy Content

Unique CE Medium Undead 
Source Pathfinder #197: Let the Leaves Fall pg. 90
Perception +17; darkvision
Languages Aklo, Common, Necril
Skills Acrobatics +15, Athletics +19, Deception +17, Diplomacy +19, Intimidation +19, Occultism +15, Religion +17, Sangpotshi Lore +17, Society +15
Str +4, Dex +2, Con +0, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +6
Items +1 striking wounding shortsword
AC 27; Fort +13, Ref +15, Will +19
HP 110; Immunities death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, unconscious
Field of Past Regrets (aura, divine, necromancy) 40 feet. All creatures within the aura who have at least one past life (including all PCs in Season of Ghosts) recall failures in their past lives and are bolstered against repeating them, gaining a +1 status bonus to saving throws against mental effects. Living, non-nindoru creatures within the aura feel the pain of all their past lives, as well as their own current pain when they endure mental attacks, and gain weakness 3 to mental damage. Chastise Heretic [reaction] Trigger a creature within 60 feet who Xin Yue can see casts a divine spell; Effect Xin Yue attempts to counteract the triggering spell using her spell attack modifier and a counteract level of 4. If the spell is counteracted, the caster takes 1d10 persistent mental damage. If Xin Yue fails to counteract the spell, the caster is temporarily immune to further uses of this ability for 24 hours.Profane Reincarnation [free-action] Frequency once every 1,000 days; Trigger Xin Yue is reduced to 0 Hit Points; Effect Xin Yue utters a shriek as her undead body splits open and her shortsword becomes broken. She's instantly reincarnated as a sojiruh nindoru with the elite creature adjustment.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] shortsword +18 [+14/+10] (agile, finesse, magical, versatile S), Damage 2d6+2+6 piercing plus 1d6 persistent bleedDivine Spontaneous Spells DC 27, attack +19 (+4 dmg); 4th air walk, divine wrath, harm (3 slots); 3rd crisis of faith, dispel magic, harm, vampiric touch (4 slots); 2nd deafness, harm, sound burst, spiritual weapon (shortsword); 1st command, fear, ray of enfeeblement, sanctuary (4 slots); Cantrips (4th) daze, divine lance, guidance, read aura, shield
Near-Death Experience [reaction] (divine, emotion, mental, necromancy) Trigger Xin Yue reduces a creature to 0 Hit Points and causes them to gain the dying condition; Effect Time appears to slow down to the dying creature as the immense stress of their near-death experience pushes their brain into overdrive. The target sees their life flash before their eyes, and the urge to resist death grows strong. The target reduces the DC of their recovery checks by 2, but if they lose the dying condition, they must attempt a DC 27 Will save.
Critical Success The creature is empowered by the experience and gains fast healing 5 for 1 minute.
Success The creature is empowered by the experience and gains fast healing 1 for 1 minute.
Failure The creature becomes depressed by the experience and becomes stupefied 1 for 24 hours.
Critical Failure The creature reels from the experience. They become stupefied 1 and doomed 1.