All Monsters in "Sahkil"
Source Monster Core 2 pg. 274Ages ago, when this cycle of the multiverse was in its adolescence, a coterie of
psychopomps who felt bored and restrained in their role of ushering souls to their ultimate resting place rebelled against their station. It was this violation of the cycle of souls that transformed these former psychopomps into the first sahkils.
These fiends have drastically changed from their dedicated psychopomp predecessors. Ambivalent to the prescribed order of the multiverse and hateful toward all mortals, sahkils delight in spreading fear and unease to all, clogging up the metaphysical cycle with anxiety-ridden mortals too scared to achieve their potential. They're creatures of spite and torment, fear and disgust. They exploit both the most common and rarest fears for their own perverse satisfaction, utilizing whichever is most effective for their current victim. They want nothing more than to frighten mortals into a distraught and wretched state that makes them question the very reasons for their existence and will utilize all the tools at their disposal in pursuing this goal.
Most sahkils lurk on the
Ethereal Plane, but they frequently invade
the Universe to torment mortal targets and spread terror. They use their innate ability to slip between the veils of the Ethereal Plane and the Universe effortlessly, often stalking their prey for days or weeks before enacting their devious plots.
Check with Players
Sahkils are creatures of fear and terror. Roleplaying encounters with sahkils could be troubling to some players, and delving deep into the kinds of traumas sahkils relish in unleashing could have unintentional effects on your game and friends. Before introducing sahkils into your game, talk with your players to learn about any particular phobias or limits to determine what content you bring to the table, and consider that on your own behalf as well. Some specific elements to be aware of are the
ximtal’s abilities around sensory deprivation and social isolation, as well as the
kimenhul’s trauma-related abilities and themes.
Feeding on Fear
Sahkils are immortal planar beings and don’t require material sustenance, but they do seem to gain some semblance of nourishment from the fear they spread. Whether this is psychological or biological remains to be seen, but their obsession with frightening other creatures is clear. Sahkils recognize that they’re already feared, so it could be that they’re simply fulfilling what they believe is their ultimate purpose.
Planar Relations
Sahkils collaborate with
divs to corrupt mortals.
Velstracs, who appreciate their depredations, sometimes work with these fiends to enact terrible horrors. Nihilistic and disaffected,
daemons tolerate sahkils but view them as useless provocateurs.
Sahkil Tormentors
The most powerful among sahkils are the
sahkil tormentors. These deific beings rule over sahkils as a whole, and many personally direct the actions of their lesser cousins. Others fall into ambivalent routines, focusing more on personal acts of torment rather than launching widespread, ambitious depredations upon unsuspecting mortals.
War Against Hope
Sahkils and
coatls are eternal enemies. Each creature vies for the souls of mortals, but from different sides of a single ideological coin. Sahkils wish to instill only fear into mortal hearts, trying to reduce them into useless piles of flesh who accomplish little. Coatls work to light the fires of hope, inspiring mortals to rise up and achieve their potential.
Xibalba
Within the ghostly realm of the
Ethereal Plane, sahkils inhabit a terrifying domain known as Xibalba. The Land of Dread is a realm of nightmares made manifest. At the center of this demiplane is a tiered structure known as the Black Pyramid, where the sahkil tormentors rule their brethren and sow fear throughout the mortal realm.