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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Neshkefru

Neshkefru has lived for at least 800 years, but she claims to remember times even older. To those who bother to listen, she says she was born on a small, unnamed island in the Iblydos archipelago, but at other times has said she is from the deep deserts of Casmaron or under one of the pyramids of Osirion. The truth is, even Neshkefru doesn't recall exactly where she spent her earliest years. Instead, her oldest memories are a tangle of her experiences, stories she's heard, and her travels.

Born with a powerful gift of prophecy, Neshkefru became a favorite advisor sought out by various budding hero-gods for clues to their futures and instructions for greatness. She enjoyed the attention from these seekers, coyly testing them, dropping hints and suggestions of further truth before demanding a steep price for her wisdom. Most often her payment was something unique to the giver or at least an object with an interesting story. After bargaining, she would usually say what she had foreseen. Sometimes she instead killed and ate these would-be rulers, especially when she saw they were fated to have little consequence in the world. On such occasions the sphinx would later contemplate whether her own actions had been fated too, although she never felt particularly concerned with such philosophical questions.

Over time, the name Neshkefru became known as a source of wisdom as well as danger. This suited her just fine. The added aura and mystery about her personality and actions kept all but the sincerest questioners away. Eventually, the sphinx found a comfortable home in the city-state of Pol-Xamne, where she collaborated with the local pantheon for several centuries by answering their occasional question, lecturing on history to students, and granting bits of prophecy as inspiration struck her—all in exchange for a secure lair and the city-state's resources in continuing her own research. During this time she developed a reputation as an eccentric fixture of the polis: she enjoyed perching atop the tallest buildings in town and pronouncing the fate of the citizens who walked by. As time went on, these proclamations became less prophetic and more jokingly performative, with Neshkefru finding scholarly amusement in studying who changed their behavior based on her claims. Understandably, citizens learned to keep their distance and not pay her too much attention.

After numerous human lifetimes of learning, absorbing, and distributing information, she became an expert on matters of state. She foresaw the fall of Pol-Xamne long before its rulers did, not via prophesy but through close observation. At first she waited for city officials to ask her for advice—the growing problems seemed so obvious and pressing to her, after all.

Instead, caught up in their little games of power, the hero-gods and bureaucrats didn't see the signs. Neshkefru waited, smug satisfaction growing into eventual true concern and finally disgust at the behavior of the rulers. When the hero-god Basilios promised to travel to Amneros in 4524 AR and return with his wife Aneam's spirit, the sphinx saw the destruction that would follow that choice. Unable to wait any longer, she pronounced her Doom of Pol-Xamne and left the island kingdom. By now, however, it was too late. Basilios did not listen, and the island's fate was sealed.

Neshkefru fled Pol-Xamne for a time and traveled throughout Iblydos. It was during these travels that Aroden died in 4606 AR and the power of prophecy broke. With her own abilities so tied up in prophecy, this loss was shattering to the sphinx and damaged her memory considerably. The prophecies she'd pronounced became like chewed-out holes in her mind. While she still knew much of what had happened in the past, the loss of such a vital part of her personality and purpose further aggravated the already eccentric sphinx. She struggled to find a new guidepost to help navigate life. In the ruins of the past, she found it, serving not as the advisor to monarchs, but to the brave few who entered the remains of Pol-Xamne.

Campaign Role

Neshkefru fits the supernatural guide archetype of classical mythology—a mystical, wise, yet dangerous sage comparable to Circe, Chiron, or the Graeae. The sphinx is the PCs' first step toward understanding and controlling their newfound mythic power. However, the sphinx isn't easily impressed. She won't pass up on an interesting opportunity, though, so she presents a challenge to the PCs that will either end in edification or eradication. Both will disrupt her dreary solitude.

However, her first meeting with the PCs begins with an unfamiliar and painful rush of visions tangled in an incomprehensible web. While this isn't true prophecy as it existed before Aroden's death, it is a path for the PCs to follow in their own work of being hero-gods. The sphinx needs relief from the images just as much as the PCs need to find a solution to their mythic burden, so their goals align, at least initially.

If the PCs can't find all the pieces of history to ease the sphinx's pain, however, she becomes a highly dangerous adversary. Should Neshkefru survive, she could become a useful source of information—and perhaps even a cult member—in the future.

Recall Knowledge - Beast (Arcana, Nature): DC 34
Recall Knowledge - Humanoid (Society): DC 34
Unspecific Lore: DC 32
Specific Lore: DC 29

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 NeshkefruCreature 9

Unique Large Beast Humanoid 
Source Pathfinder #217: Death Sails a Wine-Dark Sea pg. 90
Perception +20; darkvision
Languages Common, Draconic, Sphinx; truespeech
Skills Arcana +19, Athletics +20, Bardic Lore +21, Deception +18, Diplomacy +18, Intimidation +20, Occultism +19
Str +6, Dex +1, Con +3, Int +5, Wis +4, Cha +4
Bardic Lore Sphinxes are naturally curious, and their love of puzzles and mysteries leads them to gather information on a broad range of topics. Neshkefru has Bardic Lore, a special Lore skill that can be used only to Recall Knowledge, but on any topic.
AC 29; Fort +18, Ref +16, Will +21
HP 155
Prescient Pounce [reaction] Trigger A creature ends its movement within 30 feet of Neshkefru; Effect Neshkefru moves up to her speed to a location adjacent to the triggering creature and makes a Strike. This movement does not trigger reactions.
Speed 35 feet, fly 40 feet
Melee [one-action] claw +22 [+18/+14] (agile), Damage 2d6+2+9 slashingOccult Innate Spells DC 29 (+4 dmg); 4th clairaudience (at will), clairvoyance (at will), cleanse affliction, read omens; 3rd dispel magic, locate; 2nd see the unseen; Cantrips (4th) detect magic; Constant (5th) truespeech
Claw Rake [three-actions] Neshkefru rears back on her hind legs and makes two claw Strikes at the same target, using the same attack bonus as her highest melee attack. If both attacks deal damage, the target takes extra damage equal to one claw Strike.Riddler's Rune Once per week, Neshkefru can create a magical symbol as the rune trap ritual. She usually shapes it to take the form of a written riddle and sets the password to the answer. A creature that gives the wrong answer or tries to pass without answering must succeed at a DC 28 Will save or be affected by one of the following spells, chosen by the sphinx when creating the symbol: synaptic pulse (5th), charm (4th), fear (4th), phantom pain (4th), sleep (4th). The sphinx learns the identity of any creature that answers the riddle and tends to be friendly to them if they answered correctly.Unleash Visions [one-action] (auditory, mental) Frequency Once per day; Effect Neshkefru howls a torrent of prophecies that overwhelm listeners. All creatures in a 20-foot emanation must attempt a DC 29 Will save.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature takes 1d4 persistent mental damage.
Failure The creature takes 2d4 persistent mental damage and is dazzled until the persistent damage ends.
Critical Failure The creature takes 3d4 persistent mental damage and is confused until the persistent damage ends.