Buy me a coffeeDaemon, Vulnadaemon
A bloody, tooth-filled mouth that looks almost like a horrific gash gasps in the neck of this pale, childlike horror.
[This content was created for the Pathfinder rules by Paizo Publishing LLC and is part of the Pathfinder RPG product line.]
These deceptive daemons personify death resulting from murder accented with betrayal. Most often formed from the souls of evil creatures killed by family or friends, vulnudaemons spread their insanity throughout the worlds by deceiving and killing all creatures they meet.
Vulnudaemons stalk their prey, infecting them with a sense of impending doom and watching their reactions, learning their responses before attacking and savoring their death.
These daemons serve as excellent assassins, hiding in the shadows before debilitating their enemies, or striking from the protection of invisibility in order to deliver the killing blow. When facing stronger enemies, vulnudaemons seek to wear them down through a series of attacks, nicking at them and darting off, then repeating the process until their opponents bleed out.
Vulnudaemons often find themselves called to the Material Plane by cultists of deities associated with murder and assassination. These cultists often see vulnudaemons as sacred creatures favored by their deity, and rather than simply use the daemons as assassins, cultists often grant them a shocking degree of freedom to wander the region as they will, picking victims to fit their own agendas and murdering whomever they wish.
Cultists who conjure vulnudaemons into the world usually take care to show the daemons a secret hand sign or other code that members of the cult can show them, lest the monsters decide to target one of the believers for an attack. Whether or not an accidentally targeted cultist has the time to flash her safety sign to the daemon should the creature attack her at a later date is, of course, another matter.
Vulnudaemons stand 3 feet tall and weigh 25 pounds.
| Vulnadaemon CR 4 |
| XP 1,200 NE Small outsider (daemon, evil, extraplanar) Init +3; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., detect good, detect magic; Perception +10 Aura aura of doom (30 ft., DC 18) |
| DEFENSE |
| AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dexterity, +3 natural, +1 size) hp 39 (6d10+6) Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +6 DR 5/good or silver; Immune acid, death effects, disease, poison; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10 |
| OFFENSE |
| Speed 30 ft. Melee short sword +10/+5 (1d4+2/19-20 plus bleed), bite +5 (1d3+1) Special Attacks bleed (1d4), sneak attack +1d6 Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th; Concentration +10) Constant – detect good, detect magic 3/day – blur, death knell (DC 15), invisibility, minor image (DC 14) 1/day – inflict critical wounds (DC 17), summon (level 2, 1d4 cacodaemons 40%) |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 14, Dexterity 17, Constitution 13, Intelligence 12, Wisdom 13, Charisma 16 Base Atk +6; CMB +7; CMD 20 Feats Ability Focus (aura of doom), Combat Casting, Weapon Finesse Skills Bluff +12, Diplomacy +10, Fly +11, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (planes) +8, Perception +10, Sense Motive +10, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +16 Languages Abyssal, Draconic, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft. |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Aura of Doom (Su) As a free action, a vulnudaemon can radiate an aura of dread and hopelessness. Any creature within 30 feet of the vulnudaemon must succeed at a DC 18 Will save or become shaken for as long as it remains in the aura. |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment any (Abaddon) Organization solitary, pair, or murder (3-12) Treasure standard |
About this Daemon Type
Preferring to disguise themselves as mortals or other creatures, vulnudaemons rarely assume their true forms unless they are forced to do so or are in the presence of a greater daemon. When they do, they appear as partially coalescent clouds of bloody mist in the form of a ghostly, cloaked figure, perpetually dripping and reabsorbing a crimson trail. In Abaddon, they often pose as the hunted, hiding among them and killing them one by one, escalating the violence each time.
On the Material Plane, vulnudaemons also dwell among their prey, insinuating themselves into settlements as traders or other mundane member of society. From there, the deaths spread. Such killing sprees are exceptional difficult to combat, as vulnudaemons frequently switch personae, adopting the lives and covers of their victims, confounding investigations before vanishing without a trace, leaving only fear and rumors in their wake.
- Personification of Death: Murder.
- Preferred Sacrifice: A bound and helpless intelligent creature for the vulnudaemon to kill and impersonate.
Source Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Book of the Damned, Vol. 3 © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Todd Stewart.
Section 15: Copyright Notice – Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3, © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Jesse Benner, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, James Jacobs, Michael Kenway, Rob McCreary, Patrick Renie, Chris Sims, F. Wesley Schneider, James L. Sutter, and Russ Taylor, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.