Sceaduinar
This gargoyle-like creature has long spiky legs and a bat-like head—its body seems to be made of living, dark purple crystal.
Sceaduinars are strange creatures born of pure entropy, the antithesis of creation and life. In the cold heart of the Negative Energy Plane, the un-substance of that realm coalesces into snowflake-like crystals, and it is from these strange formations that sceaduinars arise, breaking free from their jagged “eggs” fully grown. They hate the living and the undead with equal passion, perhaps out of jealousy for those who have a spark of life (even if that spark is provided by a corruption of life in the form of undeath), though they usually ignore creatures from the Outer Sphere. They believe their positive energy counterparts, the jyoti, long ago stole their ability to create, breaking the parallel between the two energy planes and forcing these void-dwellers into an unwanted role of pure destruction. In a way, their hatred parallels that of another native of the Negative Energy Plane—the nightshade. Yet despite their similar goals, the sceaduinars see nightshades as just another corruption of life worthy of destruction— even though very few sceaduinars are powerful enough to directly oppose one of these deadly undead. Sceaduinars are quite intelligent, yet they have no real society to speak of. When they gather together, it is always to form a larger band to strike against a particularly dangerous foe.
NE Medium ()
Init +5; Senses 120 ft., , ; Perception +17
DEFENSE
AC 20, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+5 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 natural)
hp 85 (9d10+36)
Fort +10, Ref +11, Will +5
Defensive Abilities entropic flesh, , void child; 10/adamantine or good; cold, death effects, disease, energy drain, poison; acid 10, electricity 10, sonic 10; 18
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., 90 ft. (good)
Melee bite +14 (1d6+3 plus 1d6 negative energy and energy drain), 2 wings +9 (1d6+1 plus 1d6 negative energy)
Special Attacks (1 level, DC 17), entropic touch
(CL 9th; concentration +12)
Constant—entropic shield, hide from undead (DC 14)
At will—bleed (DC 13), dimension door (self only), dispel magic
3/day—death knell (DC 15), deeper darkness, enervation, inflict serious wounds (DC 16), silence
1/day—antilife shell, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), harm (DC 19), slay living (DC 18)
STATISTICS
Str 17, Dex 20, Con 18, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 17
Base Atk +9; +12; CMD 28
Feats Dodge, Mobility, Skill Focus (Perception), Step Up, Weapon Finesse
Skills Escape Artist +17, Fly +9, Intimidate +15, Knowledge (nature) +13, Knowledge (planes) +17, Perception +17, Sense Motive +14, Stealth +25
Racial Modifiers +4 Knowledge (planes), +8 Stealth
Languages Aklo, Common
ECOLOGY
Environment any (Negative Energy Plane)
Organization solitary or death squad (2–11)
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Entropic Flesh (Ex) Any creature that hits a sceaduinar with a melee attack takes 1d6 points of negative energy damage. Attacking with a weapon that provides reach allows a creature to avoid taking this damage.
Entropic Touch (Ex) A sceaduinar’s natural attacks can strike incorporeal creatures as if they were ghost touch weapons. All of a sceaduinar’s natural attacks deal +1d6 points of negative energy damage to the target. This energy does not heal creatures healed by inflict spells.
Void Child (Ex) Sceaduinars are immune to effects that target souls (such as trap the soul) or require knowledge of a creature’s identity (such as scrying). When one is slain, it cannot be restored to life by magic save by a miracle or wish, or by divine intervention.
Nightwing
This enormous, bat-like creature is shaped from utter darkness, its eyes tiny red stars in the blackest night.
The least of the known types of nightshade, the nightwing is nevertheless a deadly foe. Nightwings often serve more powerful nightshades as aerial support. These nightshades are also the most likely to be found serving a non-undead master—nightwings are often used by powerful mortals as guardians or sentinels. Despite this, nightwings still hope to someday slay any master they serve. They enter servitude primarily as a method of aiding a destructive or murderous mortal in their task of mass murder; once this task is over, or if at any point the nightwing believes its master is slacking in its murderous duties, the nightwing is swift to turn on its one-time ally. A nightwing found on the Material Plane not in the employ of a more powerful master is typically encountered in rugged terrain where there are numerous locations that can provide shelter when the sun rises. The monsters prefer caves and abandoned buildings for this purpose. A nightwing’s body is 20 feet long, but its wingspan is 80 feet. It weighs 4,500 pounds.
CE Huge (, nightshade)
Init +8; Senses darksense, 60 ft., detect magic, ; Perception +25
Aura desecrating aura (30 ft.)
DEFENSE
AC 29, touch 12, flat-footed 25 (+4 Dex, +17 natural, –2 size)
hp 195 (17d8+119)
Fort +12, Ref +11, Will +17
15/good and silver; cold, ; 25
Weaknesses light aversion
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., 60 ft. (good)
Melee bite +23 (4d10+18/19– 20 plus 4d6 cold and magic drain)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks channel energy (7d6, DC 28, 8/day)
(CL 14th; concentration +19)
Constant—detect magic, magic fang
At will—contagion (DC 19), deeper darkness, unholy blight (DC 19)
3/day—confusion (DC 19), greater dispel magic, haste, hold monster (DC 20), invisibility
1/day—cone of cold (DC 20), finger of death (DC 22), plane shift (DC 22), (level 6, 2 greater shadows)
STATISTICS
Str 31, Dex 18, Con —, Int 18, Wis 21, Cha 21
Base Atk +12; +24; CMD 38
Feats Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Command Undead, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Snatch
Skills Fly +24, Knowledge (arcana) +24, Knowledge (religion) +24, Perception +25, Sense Motive +25, Spellcraft +24, Stealth +16 (+24 in darkness), Swim +27
Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in dim light and darkness
Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal; 100 ft.
ECOLOGY
Environment any (Negative Energy Plane)
Organization solitary, pair, or flight (3–6)
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Magic Drain (Su) The bite of a nightwing drains magical power and energy. When a nightwing bites a foe, the victim must make a DC 23 Will save or one spell effect currently affecting him immediately ends—determine which spell is drained randomly if the target is under the effects of more than one spell. The nightwing heals damage equal to twice the level of the spell drained—hit points in excess of its maximum are instead gained as temporary hit points that last for 1 hour. If a nightwing attempts to sunder a magic item with its bite, its magic-draining bite renders the item nonmagical for 1d4 rounds (if the item is a permanent magic item), drains 1d8 charges (if the item has charges), or renders it permanently nonmagical (if the item is a one-use item). The item (or its wielder, if the item is attended) can resist this effect with a DC 23 Will save. Damage dealt to an item is applied after the effects of magic drain are applied. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Nightwalker
This towering, night-black giant has demonic features, including a huge pair of ram-like horns. Its arms end in massive blades.
The most commonly encountered nightshade is the giant-like nightwalker. This powerful foe leads armies of undead against the living, but unlike most mortal generals the nightwalker is not content to stand back and observe the battles from safety. The undead creature is ever eager to put its tactics and plans to the test itself, and takes part in battles in every possible occurrence save for those that the creature has determined are self-destructive. This is not to say that the nightwalker never sacrifices its troops to gain a tactical advantage—just that these attacks are the only ones the monster feels no urge to participate in directly. Nightwalkers enjoy inflicting despair before death, particularly by destroying valued objects or murdering loved ones before delivering the final blow to a foe. A nightwalker is 20 feet tall and weighs 5,000 pounds.
CE Huge (, nightshade)
Init +2; Senses darksense, 60 ft., detect magic, ; Perception +29
Aura desecrating
Aura (30 ft.)
DEFENSE
AC 31, touch 10, flat-footed 29 (+2 Dex, +21 natural, –2 size)
hp 241 (21d8+147)
Fort +14, Ref +11, Will +19
15/good and silver; cold, ; 27
Weaknesses light aversion
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +28 (3d6+15/19–20 plus 4d6 cold)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks channel energy (8d6, DC 29, 8/day), fear , swift sundering
(CL 16th; concentration +21)
Constant—air walk, detect magic, magic fang
At will—contagion (DC 19), deeper darkness, greater dispel magic, unholy blight (DC 19)
3/day—confusion (DC 19), haste, hold monster (DC 20), invisibility, quickened unholy blight (DC 19)
1/day—cone of cold (DC 20), finger of death (DC 22), plane shift (DC 22), (level 7, 4 greater shadows)
STATISTICS
Str 35, Dex 14, Con —, Int 20, Wis 21, Cha 21
Base Atk +15; +29; CMD 41
Feats Combat Expertise, Command Undead, Greater Sunder, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Critical (claws), Improved Disarm, Improved Sunder, Improved Vital Strike, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (unholy blight), Vital Strike
Skills Intimidate +29, Knowledge (arcana) +29, Knowledge (planes) +26, Knowledge (religion) +29, Perception +29, Sense Motive +29, Spellcraft +29, Stealth +18 (+26 in darkness), Swim +33
Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in dim light and darkness
Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal; 100 ft.
ECOLOGY
Environment any (Negative Energy Plane)
Organization solitary, pair, or gang (3–4)
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Fear Gaze (Su) Cower in fear for 1 round, 30 feet, Will DC 25 negates. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Swift Sundering (Su) A nightwalker can make a sunder attempt as a swift action with one of its claws.
Nightcrawler
This immense worm is covered with plates of dead-black, chitinous armor. Its toothy maw yawns like a cave.
Although the nightcrawler might appear to be little more than an immense and frightening vermin, with its centipede-like body and numerous glowing eyes, it is actually incredibly intelligent. When not cleansing the deep caverns of life, the nightcrawler spends its time plotting how best to carry out its own private stages of the overall nightshade plan to expunge life from all worlds, conferring with its undead minions and, when necessary, observing living creatures from afar while invisible to learn about hidden enclaves that its depredations might otherwise have missed. It would be one thing if the nightcrawlers remained in the deep caverns, for these regions are rife with foul life the world is better off without. Yet unfortunately for those who dwell upon the surface, nightcrawlers often crawl up through the tunnels to bring their devastation to the night above. Although they always retreat underground before the first tentative rays of dawn color the eastern skies, they can spread an incredible amount of ruin in the span of a few short hours each night. A nightcrawler is 60 feet long and weighs 10,000 pounds.
CE Gargantuan (, nightshade)
Init +4; Senses darksense, 120 ft., detect magic, , 120 ft.; Perception +33
Aura desecrating aura (30 ft.)
DEFENSE
AC 33, touch 6, flat-footed 33 (+27 natural, –4 size)
hp 312 (25d8+200)
Fort +16, Ref +10, Will +23
15/good and silver; cold, ; 29
Weaknesses light aversion
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., 60 ft.
Melee bite +32 (4d10+18/19–20 plus 4d6 cold and ), sting +32 (4d6+18/19–20 plus 4d6 cold and poison)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft.
Special Attacks channel negative energy (9d6, DC 31, 9/day), energy drain (1 level, DC 28), (4d10+22 bludgeoning plus , AC 23, 31 hp)
(CL 18th; concentration +24)
Constant—air walk, detect magic, magic fang
At will—contagion (DC 20), deeper darkness, greater dispel magic, invisibility, unholy blight (DC 20)
3/day—quickened cone of cold (DC 21), confusion (DC 20), haste, hold monster (DC 21)
1/day—finger of death (DC 23), mass hold monster (DC 25), plane shift (DC 23), (level 8, 6 greater shadows)
STATISTICS
Str 41, Dex 10, Con —, Int 20, Wis 21, Cha 23
Base Atk +18; +37 (+41 grapple); CMD 47 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Combat Expertise, Command Undead, Critical Focus, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Critical (sting), Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Iron Will, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (cone of cold), Staggering Critical, Vital Strike
Skills Intimidate +34, Knowledge (arcana) +33, Knowledge (planes) +30, Knowledge (religion) +33, Perception +33, Sense Motive +33, Spellcraft +33, Stealth +16 (+24 in darkness), Swim +40
Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in dim light and darkness
Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal; 100 ft.
ECOLOGY
Environment any (Negative Energy Plane)
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Energy Drain (Su) A creature that has been swallowed whole by a nightcrawler gains 1 negative level each round.
Poison (Su) Sting—injury; save Fort DC 28; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4 Constitution drain and 1 negative level; cure 3 consecutive saves. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Nightwave
Immense almost beyond belief, this sleek, midnight-black shark rises from the sea like an unholy island heaved up from below.
The most powerful of the known types of nightshade is the ravenous nightwave, an unholy personification of the remorseless gluttony of death given the form of a shark the size of the largest whales. Although the nightwave is most at home in the ocean’s deeps, it has no need to breathe, and its constant fly spell-like ability allows it to bring ruin above the waves as the need presents itself. A nightwave is 100 feet long and weighs 200 tons.
CE Colossal (aquatic, , nightshade)
Init +7; Senses darksense, 120 ft., detect magic, ; Perception +37
Aura blackest depths (60 ft.), desecrating aura (30 ft.)
DEFENSE
AC 36, touch 5, flat-footed 33 (+3 Dex, +31 natural, –8 size)
hp 391 (29d8+261)
Fort +18, Ref +16, Will +25
15/good and silver; cold, ; 29
Weaknesses light aversion
OFFENSE
Speed 60 ft. (good), 60 ft.
Melee bite +35 (5d10+22/19–20 plus 4d6 cold, energy drain, and ), tail slap +30 (4d8+12/19–20 plus 4d6 cold)
Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft.
Special Attacks channel energy (10d6, DC 33, 10/day), energy drain (2 levels, DC 31), (5d10+28 bludgeoning plus , AC 25, 39 hp)
(CL 20th; concentration +27)
Constant—detect magic, magic fang, see invisibility
At will—confusion (DC 21), contagion (DC 21), deeper darkness, greater dispel magic, invisibility, unholy blight (DC 21)
3/day—quickened cone of cold (DC 22), finger of death (DC 24), haste, hold monster (DC 22)
1/day—mass hold monster (DC 26), plane shift (DC 24), (level 9, 1 nightwing), wail of the banshee (DC 26)
STATISTICS
Str 49, Dex 16, Con —, Int 22, Wis 21, Cha 25
Base Atk +21; +48 (+52 grapple); CMD 61 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Combat Reflexes, Command Undead, Critical Focus, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite, tail slap), Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Quicken Spell Like Ability (cone of cold), Staggering Critical, Vital Strike
Skills Fly +31, Intimidate +39, Knowledge (arcana) +38, Knowledge (planes) +35, Knowledge (religion) +38, Perception +37, Sense Motive +37, Spellcraft +38, Stealth +19 (+27 in darkness), Swim +59
Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in dim light and darkness
Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal; 100 ft.
ECOLOGY
Environment any (Negative Energy Plane)
Organization solitary
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Blackest Depths (Su) The waters in which a nightwave swims become as chill, dark, and heavy as those in the ocean’s deepest reaches. All waters within 60 feet are completely dark (as deeper darkness), and creatures within this radius take 6d6 points of damage (half cold, half bludgeoning) at the end of their turn each round if they remain in the area at this time. A DC 31 Fortitude save negates the crushing damage. Incorporeal creatures and creatures with the aquatic or water subtypes native to deep waters do not take this damage, and freedom of movement protects completely against the damage. Any magical light effect within this radius at the beginning of the nightwave’s turn is dispelled (treat as greater dispel magic). This effect does not extend out of the water. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Energy Drain (Su) A creature that has been swallowed whole by a nightwave gains 2 negative levels each round.
Oblivion
A single sinister eye glares from the heart of this roiling cloud of darkness as tentacles of smoke coil and writhe beneath it.
Rare and powerful denizens of the Negative Energy Plane, oblivions are void and nothingness given terrible will. They lurk among crystalline sheets of accumulated entropy that line their home plane’s darkest interior, hungering to unmake the walls of reality and drag all of the cosmos down to its eventual end, allowing themselves to also finally end. Once unleashed upon mortal worlds, oblivions crisscross the globe, destroying its denizens and laying waste to the land until destroyed themselves or until they strip a planet bare of substance, life, and heat. Despite its vast bulk, a single oblivion must often dedicate years or even centuries to ending a world, and each is so adept at scrubbing away all traces a being leaves upon the cosmos that people, nations, and entire worlds annihilated by an oblivion are soon forgotten by outsiders. Some gods claim that the brutal efficiency of the oblivions are intended to someday be released upon the multiverse to cleanse away creation so a new cycle of life can begin from chaotic nothing, while other deities insist the oblivions’ work is nearly complete, leaving only isolated specks of life floating in a vast, unfeeling void. Unlike nightshades or other noteworthy denizens of their dark realm, oblivions serve no masters or agendas. They believe themselves to be the way all things must end. Though cunning, they rarely find reason to communicate with other creatures, leaving much of their motives, origins, and philosophy in the cosmos a mystery. Like grim doll makers, oblivions can recreate slain victims from their own dark substance, transforming a world’s heroes and villains into hollow pawns they can dispatch to slay would-be heroes or undermine organized resistance. Lacking any inherent ability to traverse the planes, most oblivions rely on such servants created in the shapes of powerful spellcasters or outsiders to provide routes to new worlds. These hollow reproductions know little of their masters’ will beyond sharing comfort in the coming end of days, and most desperately fill in the gaps with appealing philosophies. Some of the most powerful servants form doomsday cults on distant planets to prepare them for an oblivion’s arrival. Oblivions share a symbiosis with the artifacts known as spheres of annihilation, coveting their powerful, highly destructive magic. The towering oozes are unaffected by the artifact’s destructive powers, and can move them as easily as a child might carry a toy. Some speculate that the spheres are in fact the eggs or spores of these apocalyptic beings, as rare survivors recount tales of spheres spontaneously birthing the roiling, devouring entities. Oblivions typically measure several dozen feet across, though their presence corrupts and consumes life, making the roiling darkness that most people mistake for their bodies seem much larger. Despite their size, oblivions have no mass. Upon destruction, an oblivion collapses thunderously into nothing.
NE Colossal
Init +17; Senses 120 ft., ; Perception +17
Aura dubiety (60 ft.)
DEFENSE
AC 36, touch 15, flat-footed 23 (+13 Dex, +21 natural, –8 size)
hp 377 (26d8+260); 15 (positive energy or inspiration)
Fort +20, Ref +23, Will +19
Defensive Abilities all-around vision, ; 15/epic and good; annihilation, banishment, electricity, ; fire 30; 31
Weaknesses susceptible to creation, talisman of the sphere
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., 30 ft., 30 ft. (perfect)
Melee 4 slams +27 (2d8+16/19–20 plus 2d6 negative energy and )
Space 30 ft.; Reach 60 ft.
Special Attacks annihilation, (4d8+24), servants of entropy
(CL 20th; concentration +25)
At will—deeper darkness, disintegrate (DC 21)
3/day—quickened disintegrate (DC 21)
1/day—time stop
STATISTICS
Str 43, Dex 36, Con 31, Int 7, Wis 28, Cha 21
Base Atk +19; +43; CMD 66
Feats Blinding Critical, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Flyby Attack, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (slam), Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (disintegrate), Vital Strike
Skills Fly +21, Knowledge (planes) +3, Perception +17, Stealth +21
Racial Modifiers +16 Stealth
Languages Common (cannot speak); 100 ft.
SQ , master of annihilation
ECOLOGY
Environment any (Negative Energy Plane)
Organization solitary
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Annihilation (Su) Any spaces an oblivion moves through are left fallow and lifeless in its wake. Ground that it moves over using its base speed becomes barren and is treated as if affected by a diminish plants spell to stunt growth. Dead bodies that the oblivion moves through immediately crumble into dust. Any constrict damage an oblivion deals to a creature automatically bypasses all damage reduction. A creature reduced to 0 or fewer hit points by this constrict damage is immediately slain and its remains (but not its gear) are disintegrated. Once per round as a free action, an oblivion can target a single object in its space. A nonmagical object so targeted is immediately destroyed. A magical item must succeed at a DC 33 Fortitude save or be destroyed. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Aura of Dubiety (Su) An oblivion’s presence is anathema to the gods and the forces that bind creation together. Its presence warps divine magic and severs living beings from the power of life. Any living creature that begins its turn within range of an oblivion’s Aura of dubiety takes 2d6 points of negative energy damage. This negative energy has no beneficial effect on undead. A creature attempting to cast a divine spell within 60 feet of an oblivion must succeed at a concentration check as if casting defensively (DC = 15 + double the spell level) or the spell is automatically subverted, allowing the oblivion to decide the spell’s target and effect as if it were the original caster. If the affected spell uses positive energy, the subverted spell instead uses negative energy.
Immunity to Annihilation (Ex) An oblivion is immune to destruction spells, disintegrate effects, spheres of annihilation, and similar effects that completely destroy living creatures.
Immunity to Banishment (Ex) An oblivion is never treated as having the subtype, regardless of what plane it currently inhabits, rendering it immune to banishment, dismissal, and similar effects. In addition to this, effects that force the oblivion onto another plane (such as plane shift or the violet beam of a prismatic spray) do not function against an oblivion unless the effect comes from an artifact, a creature capable of granting spells to its worshipers, or a mythic source.
Master of Annihilation (Ex) An oblivion can establish control over a sphere of annihilation as far away as 100 feet. When an oblivion controls a sphere of annihilation, it does so through force of will and an inborn understanding of the sphere’s reality—the oblivion’s control check is 1d20 + the oblivion’s Hit Dice + its Charisma modifier (the typical oblivion has a control check bonus of +31, and thus can never fail to control a sphere of annihilation unless control of the sphere is opposed). When an oblivion establishes control, it can maintain control at a distance of 100 feet + 20 feet per Hit Die (620 feet for the typical oblivion), and the sphere’s speed under the oblivion’s control is 20 feet + 5 feet for every 5 points by which the oblivion’s control check result in that round exceeded 30.
Servants of Entropy (Su) As a full-round action, an oblivion can reform any living creature it has slain within the past hour, forging an obedient duplicate from its own dark mass. Servants created in this manner are identical to their original forms, with all their associated memories, racial abilities, and class abilities, except the duplicate loses any divine spellcasting ability its original form had. A servant’s alignment changes to neutral evil, its type changes to native outsider (do not recalculate hit points, saving throws, or similar abilities), and it gains negative energy affinity. An oblivion can communicate telepathically with its servants anywhere on the same plane and can destroy a servant as a free action. An oblivion can manifest a total number of Hit Dice worth of servants equal to twice its own Hit Dice (52 for a typical oblivion), but no single servant can have more Hit Dice than the oblivion’s CR. An oblivion cannot manifest more than one copy of any given creature at one time.
Susceptible to Creation (Ex) An oblivion is a manifestation of disbelief and decay, and the forces of compassion and creativity are anathema to it. It is vulnerable to positive energy, taking damage as if it were undead, though it retains its control over any divine spells, allowing it to often usurp and corrupt cure spells and similar curative magic. An oblivion loses its regeneration any round in which it either takes damage from positive energy or is within 30 feet of a creature that succeeds at a DC 35 Perform check. Creatures under the effect of a good hope spell, an inspire courage bardic performance, or any spell effect of 5th level or higher that grants a morale bonus gain immunity to the negative energy damage dealt by an oblivion’s slams and Aura of dubiety.
Talisman of the Sphere (Ex) The talisman of the sphere is anathema to an oblivion. A character who carries a talisman of the sphere can penetrate an oblivion’s damage reduction with ease, ignores its spell resistance, is immune to its aura, and gains a +10 bonus on saving throws against the oblivion’s special attacks and spell-like abilities.
Hundun
The wrinkled, blotchy skin of this giant hangs from its body like hooded robes, masking its face.
In the nightmare dimensions of unreality beyond space and time, the power of alien Gods is sufficient to give life to intention. Hunduns are the incarnation of the desire to reduce the multiverse to a space filled with nothing but randomly fluctuating energy fields and gravitic curvatures. Hunduns are primordial alien monks who embody aspects of the gaping, formless void that preceded the creation of the multiverse. They are out of step with reality, which accommodates their individual existences as intractable errors that must be continually accounted for yet that can never fully be corrected. These bizarre aberrations of life are sustained by negative energy—life’s antithetical force—yet they are not undead, nor do they differentiate between the living and the unliving in the pursuit of their purpose. Few beings can exist on the Negative Energy Plane for long, making the hunduns, who often make their homes there, something of an anomaly. Some scholars speculate that early hunduns came to the Negative Energy Plane as explorers, and remained there, addicted to the mixture of pain and euphoric release caused by the effects of negative energy on their skin. Hunduns are tireless antagonists of archons, asuras, axiomites, devils, inevitables, kytons, and other exemplars of law. They oppose any effort to impose or maintain discipline, structure, or regulation. They loathe and undermine the prospect of peace or tranquility, and relish confusion, disorder, and destruction. Though these attitudes would seem to make them ideological allies of the proteans, hunduns hold those creatures in contempt, caring nothing for that race’s strange religion, nor the spontaneous, ephemeral acts of creation in which proteans delight. Hunduns believe that the freedom and truth of pure entropy are preferable to the artificial illusions of structure, and they seek to spread this brand of enlightenment to others as part of their goal to free all creation from order’s fetters. Hunduns appear as gigantic humanoids with faces hidden by voluminous, hooded robes made out of their own wrinkled skin. In truth, their faces are not hidden, for they are faceless; the interiors of their hoods are just filled with more folds of skin. They carry staff-like objects known as strange attractors, which appear as different things to different observers but always as something that causes some form of revulsion or nausea: a shaft of knotted intestines and vital organs, studded with colored, weeping eyes; a polished metallic rod on which distorted ref lections of the observer indulge in extreme self-harm; a column of darkness in which worlds spiral toward a black heart that snuffs out the life on them. These implements are not artificial objects, but part of a hundun’s body. As well as being weapons and snares, they are methods of reproduction. Two hunduns can bring their strange attractors together, causing them to merge into an egg-shaped object under the control of one of the parents; the other parent must create a new strange attractor. This ovoid is still a strange attractor in all respects save for its shape, but if it is moved, the development of the embryonic hundun within must begin anew. The gestation of the new hundun takes many years. When the egg hatches, the strange attractor is destroyed and a fully formed hundun emerges. Reproduction between hunduns doesn’t involve any sort of love or even affection. Rather, the two hunduns feel a premonition that another hundun will be needed to fight order in the future, then meet and breed wordlessly. Hunduns can be found floating in the Negative Energy Plane or within stable voids in the planes of chaos, meditating on ways to corrupt universal truths and undermine the laws of nature on a cosmic scale—anything they can exploit to trigger the collapse and implosion of entire dimensions or planes of existence. Though they spend the majority of their time in solitary contemplation or action, hunduns sometimes gather to oppose forms of creation or manifestations of law that require greater numbers to counteract. The creatures come together spontaneously, drawn by an innate sensitivity to the structuring forces that operate on reality. Hunduns stand around 10 feet tall, yet weigh only about 700 pounds. Sustained entirely by negative energy, hunduns never eat or rest and are immune to aging; they are effectively immortal and die only through violence.
CE Large (, )
Init +10; Senses 300 ft., detect law; Perception +36
DEFENSE
AC 37, touch 23, flat-footed 31 (+8 deflection, +6 Dex, +14 natural, −1 size)
hp 364 (27d8+243)
Fort +18, Ref +23, Will +21
Defensive Abilities entropic mind, evasion, , spacetime shifting; 15/lawful and piercing; aging effects, cold, disease, mind-affecting effects, petrification, poison; fire 30; 32
OFFENSE
Speed 60 ft.; air walk
Melee unarmed strike +32/+32/+27/+27/+22/+22/+17 (4d8+12/19–20 plus 1d6 negative energy)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks befuddling strike (6/day, DC 29), punishing kick (6/day, DC 29), strange attractor
(CL 21st; concentration +29)
Constant—air walk, detect law
At will—chaos hammer (DC 22), dimension door, enervation, greater dispel magic, mass inflict moderate wounds (DC 24), plane shift (DC 23)
3/day—quickened dimension door, disintegrate (DC 24), quickened mass inflict moderate wounds (DC 24), word of chaos (DC 25)
1/day—orb of the void (DC 26)
STATISTICS
Str 34, Dex 22, Con 29, Int 18, Wis 23, Cha 27
Base Atk +20; +33; CMD 57
Feats Befuddling Strike, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Dimensional Agility, Dimensional Assault, Dimensional Dervish, Greater Blind-Fight, Improved Blind-Fight, Improved Critical (unarmed strike), Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Punishing Kick, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (dimension door), Quicken Spell-Like Ability (mass inflict moderate wounds), Weapon Focus (unarmed strike)
Skills Acrobatics +36, Climb +30, Escape Artist +36, Intimidate +38, Knowledge (planes) +22, Perception +36, Sense Motive +27, Spellcraft +22, Stealth +32, Swim +30
Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Protean (can’t speak any languages); 300 ft.
SQ faceless,
ECOLOGY
Environment any (Abyss, Maelstrom, or Negative Energy Plane)
Organization solitary, pair, or mob (3–5)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Entropic Mind (Ex) A hundun’s mind is a maelstrom of utter chaos. A hundun is immune to mind-affecting effects, and any creature that attempts to affect a hundun with a mind-affecting effect gains 1d4 temporary negative levels (Will DC 31 negates) from entropic feedback. These negative levels disappear automatically after 8 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Faceless (Ex) A hundun has no eyes, but detects infinitesimal gravitic distortions through its skin, gaining blindsense 300 feet. A hundun is blind and deaf, and is immune to effects that depend on sight or hearing. It subsists on negative energy and doesn’t breathe, eat, or drink.
Spacetime Shifting (Ex) Reality constantly reconfigures in the vicinity of a hundun, correcting the paradoxes the creature’s existence in space and time generates. This causes all attacks against the hundun to suffer a 20% miss chance, and grants the hundun a deflection bonus to AC and a racial bonus on Reflex saves equal to its Charisma modifier.
Strange Attractor (Sp) A hundun can activate or deactivate the stafflike strange attractor it carries as a free action. While active, a strange attractor hovers in place, and the hundun can mentally move it up to 60 feet through space as a move action, to a maximum range of 300 feet. If it enters a space with a creature, it stops moving for the round and that creature must attempt a DC 31 Will saving throw. The creature falls unconscious for 1 round if it fails this save, or is nauseated for 1 round if it succeeds. The space around an active strange attractor twists and warps, trapping creatures within its gravity well. This functions like repulsion but in reverse: creatures within 60 feet attempting to move away from it are prevented from doing so, wasting their move actions (Reflex DC 31 negates). Lawful creatures beginning their turn within 60 feet of an active strange attractor are nauseated for 1 round (Will DC 31 negates). Nausea caused by a strange attractor is a mind-affecting effect. Creatures with the chaotic subtype are immune to all effects of the strange attractor. The save DCs are Charisma-based. A strange attractor can’t be attacked or harmed by physical attacks, but disintegrate, mage’s disjunction, a sphere of annihilation, or a rod of cancellation affect it. A strange attractor’s touch AC is 18 (+8 deflection), and attacks against it suffer a 20% miss chance. If a hundun’s strange attractor is destroyed, the hundun can create a new one after 1d8 hours of uninterrupted meditation. If a hundun is slain, its strange attractor disappears.
Unarmed Strikes (Ex) A hundun’s unarmed strikes deal 4d8 points of damage, and function as chaotic, magic, and adamantine weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. A hundun can make a flurry of blows attack with its unarmed strikes as a 20th-level monk, without increasing its base attack bonus or taking the –2 penalty on attack rolls. This ability also grants the hundun the befuddling strike rogue talent and the punishing kick hungry ghost monk class feature.