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Drude

A drude is a gorga who embodies the fear of haunted places at night. This shadowy, shapeshifting fey is drawn to places of great tragedy, loss, or conflict, where they prey on their victim's fear of their surroundings. A drude takes perverse pleasure in toying with their quarry, whom they terrorize and exhaust over the course of the night. Malicious but not truly malevolent, a drude typically stops short of causing death since that would put an end to their fun. When faced with a situation they can't win, this fey is more likely to flee than fight.

A drude's true form resembles an emaciated, tailless fox made of darkness and ghostly shadows, though a drude rarely reveals this true self to others. When a drude has set their sights on a target, they prefer to shift into a form better suited to infiltrating the victim's sleeping space, such as a stray dog, a nearby shrub, or an item nestled among the target's gear.

If the drude can't find a suitable location for their fun, they'll make one. They find the most isolated area they can and put on a great show to bring out the fear of any residents. The unfortunate people in the drude's chosen territory are stalked by strange figures, assailed by wailing sounds, and haunted by terrible nightmares—all tricks by the shapeshifting drude to create the perfect environment for themself. Very rarely, a drude might become attached to a particular victim and follow them to other locations, choosing to haunt them instead of a singular location.

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

DrudeCreature 2

Uncommon Small Fey 
Source Pathfinder #222: Hellbreakers pg. 231
Recall Knowledge DC 18 (includes +2 from Uncommon) • Fey (Nature)
Perception +8; greater darkvision
Languages Common, Fey; telepathy 100 feet
Skills Deception +6, Society +5, Stealth +6
Str +0, Dex +3, Con +0, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4
AC 16; Fort +3, Ref +9, Will +6
HP 25; Weaknesses cold iron 3
Lay Bare When a drude using Change Shape is reduced to fewer than half their Hit Points, they revert to their true form.Nightmare Herald (aura) 90 feet. A creature that sleeps within the drude's aura is tormented with horrific nightmares and must attempt a DC 16 Will save. On a failure, it's enfeebled 1 for 24 hours when it awakens. On a critical failure, it's also fatigued.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] jaws +6 [+2/-2] (agile, finesse, magical), Damage 1d6+3 piercingInnate Primal Spells DC 14; Constant (1st) vanishing tracks
Change Shape [one-action] (concentrate, polymorph, primal) The drude takes on the appearance of a Small animal or inanimate object. This doesn't affect their statistics, but it could change the damage type of their Strikes while in animal form.Haunting Echoes [two-actions] (concentrate, illusion, emotion, fear, mental, primal) The drude targets a creature they can see within 30 feet and assaults it with illusions of ghosts and nightly terrors. The creature must attempt a DC 16 Will save.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected and temporarily immune for 24 hours.
Success The creature takes 1d6 mental damage.
Failure The creature takes 1d6 mental damage and is frightened 1.
Critical Failure The creature takes 2d6 mental damage and is frightened 2.

Cruel Pranksters

Drudes are very sociable with other sadists and often team up with gremlins, sahkils, and other gorgas who wish to cause suffering. More than a few drudes have been discovered serving as pets and companions for serial killers and torturers who amuse the fey with their brutal activities.

All Monsters in "Gorga"

NameLevel
Drude2
Ocluai3
Temagyr1

Gorga

Source Gatewalkers (Hardcover) pg. 260
Gorgas are fey embodiments of diurnal creatures’ fear of the dark. Beings of shadow and hunger, they love to prey upon light-loving creatures. Many different kinds of gorgas exist, and each embodies a different facet of the night’s countless terrors.

Gorgas are common in the First World realm of Nighthold, where they once served the mysterious Count Ranalc. After Ranalc’s disappearance, the gorgas quickly lost what little compassion they had, scattered into small bands led by their strongest members, and began hunting any fey they could find. All gorgas carry shrouds of shadow within them, and most find daylight unpleasant, tending to remain within Nighthold’s perpetual gloom or hole up in caverns or deep forests until night falls. Their bizarre eyes—hollow pools of magical shadow—allow them to see even in magical darkness.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Gorgas and Elves

For thousands of years, gorgas have sought vengeance for the loss of their beloved Count Ranalc. A few centuries ago, a fey schemer named Kaneepo the Slim saw in the shadowy creatures’ grudge an opportunity to carry out their own vendetta. The slick‑tongued fey convinced a group of gorgas that elves were behind Count Ranalc’s disappearance and that the gorgas could achieve vengeance if they joined Kaneepo’s assaults on the Universe. Though some of the brighter gorgas have seen through the ruse, most are content to have an outlet for their fury.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Gorgas

As many different types of gorgas exist as there are ways to fear the dark. The fear of losing one’s sole source of illumination—a flickering torch in a rainstorm, the last candle on a moonless night—manifests as a notua, capable of snuffing lights as well as lives. When the dark makes distant objects appear to be something other than they are—a tree trunk seems to be a crouching beast, a drape of moss becoming a dangling snake—the gaiomyr gorga dances with delight and brings its victims’ imagined dangers to horrific life. Some gorgas, it’s said, represent nocturnal fears that defy description altogether—the fear of unknown unknowns, perhaps.

Shelyn's Corner

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