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Anophilex

The sight of blood is frightening proof of another’s suffering, and when that blood is one’s own, that fear can turn to blinding terror. Such are the horrors that the skittering, constantly bleeding anophilex sahkil revels in. With a glistening, spiderlike body covered in pulsing sacs of blood caught amid tangles of thorny vines, an anophilex’s head is a freshly skinned skull with sharp fangs and patches of long black hair pulled back to tangle amid the thorns of their bodies. As an anophilex moves, their thorns rip and tear at their bloody blisters and bloated organs, yet the bleeding only flows back along their body to form new thorny lengths in a constant recreation that gives off an unsettling, gurgling susurrus.

An anophilex has little patience for subtlety or manipulation, preferring to skitter through or flap above battlefields, among refugees, or amid any area where the wounded gather, so they can spread fear and drink the wounded’s crimson pain.

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

AnophilexCreature 11

Rare Medium Fiend Sahkil Unholy 
Source Pathfinder #224: Bastion of Blasphemies pg. 244
Recall Knowledge DC 33 (includes +5 from Rare) • Fiend (Religion)
Perception +11; darkvision
Languages Chthonian, Common, Diabolic, Empyrean, Requian; telepathy 100 feet
Skills Acrobatics +10, Athletics +10, Stealth +12
Str +4, Dex +6, Con +5, Int +3, Wis +5, Cha +6
Easy to Call A sahkil's level is considered 2 lower for the purpose of being conjured by the binding circle ritual (and potentially other rituals, at the GM's discretion), but it's always free to attack or leave instead of negotiate unless the primary caster's check is a critical success.
AC 20; Fort +9, Ref +12, Will +11
HP 200; Immunities bleed, fear; Weaknesses holy 10
Fearful Bleeding (auditory, aura, divine, emotion, fear, mental, visual) 30 feet. The sight and sound of the anophilex’s constantly bleeding body fills non-sahkils with fears that their own blood wants to flow and surge from their veins as well. Creatures taking persistent bleed damage become frightened 1 when they enter the aura or start their turn in the aura.
Speed 25 feet, fly 25 feet
Melee [one-action] jaws +12 [+7/+2] (finesse), Damage 2d12+7 plus 1d6 spirit and drain bloodMelee [one-action] thorny lash +12 [+8/+4] (agile, finesse, reach 10 feet), Damage 2d4+7 slashing plus 1d6 spirit and 2d6 persistent bleedDivine Innate Spells DC 15, attack +7; 6th blood vendetta, vampiric exsanguination; 5th translocate, vampiric feast; 4th suggestion; 3rd fear; 2nd blood vendetta (at will); Cantrips (6th) detect magic, divine lance; Constant (6th) fly
Drain Blood When the anophilex uses a jaws strike against a creature that's taking persistent bleed damage, they drink the blood. The creature must succeed at a DC 19 Fortitude save or become enfeebled 1 (enfeebled 2 on a critical failure). The anophilex becomes quickened on the following round, and can use the extra action to Stride or Strike.Skip Between [one-action] The sahkil moves from the Universe to the Ethereal Plane or vice-versa. While in the Ethereal Plane, they're unable to affect anything in the Universe, and they cannot be seen by beings or abilities in the Universe, unless these have an ability that can gaze into the Ethereal Plane. While on the Material Plane the inverse is true for anything on the Ethereal Plane. A summoned sahkil can't use Skip Between.Spray Vile Blood [two-actions] (divine) The anophilex twists their body into a knot, causing their thorns to pierce their body so that unholy blood sprays out in a 30-foot emanation. Non-sahkil creatures in this area take 12d6 spirit damage (DC 19 basic Will save). The anophilex can't Spray Vile Blood again for 1d4 rounds.

Sidebar - Additional Lore About Sahkils

Sahkils are fiends associated with primal fears and phobic terrors that haunt mortal minds. They hail from the depths of the Ethereal Plane and serve sinister demigods known collectively as tormentors, such as Charg himself.

All Monsters in "Sahkil"

NameLevel
Anophilex11
Chakanaj14
Esipil1
Ijhyeojin14
Kimenhul20
Nenchuuj19
Nucol4
Pakalchi9
Penqual15
Tumblak18
Vinlach8
Wihsaak6
Ximtal17

Sahkil

Source Monster Core 2 pg. 274
Ages 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.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules 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.

Sidebar - Additional Lore 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.

Sidebar - Related Creatures 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.

Sidebar - Related Creatures 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.

Sidebar - Related Creatures 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.

Sidebar - Locations 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.

Shelyn's Corner

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