Buy me a coffeeKyton, Augur, “The Bloodthirsty Eye of Shadows”
“Meet the bloodthirsty, flying eyeball that spies on you from the shadowsâand can’t resist the taste of gore!”
The Augur, a grotesque kyton creature from the Plane of Shadow, appears as a floating, orb-like mass roughly one foot in diameter, covered in jagged, blood-stained metal plates. A single, unnervingly large eye peers from this armored shell, while sharp, knife-like protrusions jut from its exterior. Its gaze, piercing and unnatural, strikes fear into those who lock eyes with it.
Behaviorally, the Augur serves as a scout and spy for more powerful kytons, driven by a lust for blood and carnage. Though skilled in stealth, its obsession with bodily fluidsâblood in particularâmakes it reckless. It canât resist indulging in gore, often causing its capture or demise when it revels in freshly spilled blood rather than retreating.
In terms of habitat, they thrive in the shadowy, oppressive realms of the Plane of Shadow, but frequently cross over to the Material Plane for reconnaissance, typically in small groups or under the direction of stronger kytons.
The Augurâs modus operandi revolves around stealthy scouting, using its perfect flight to remain undetected. It observes potential targets for kyton raids, watching lone travelers or weak spots in settlements. Once it finds vulnerable prey, it reports back, though its indulgence in violence can lead to deadly distractions.
Motivated by an unquenchable thirst for blood and the sadistic pleasure of witnessing flesh torn apart, Augurs are driven by both their kyton masters’ commands and their own insatiable, twisted desires. They are as much slaves to their bloodlust as they are to their duties.
Kyton, Augur 5e
Kyton, Augur Pathfinder
Augur
Tiny Fiend (Kyton), Lawful Evil
Armor Class 17 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points 27 (5d4 + 15)
Speed 20 ft., Fly 50 ft. (Perfect)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 (-1) | 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) | 13 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 6 (-2) |
Saving Throws Dex +7, Wis +4, Con +5
Skills Perception +6, Stealth +9, Sleight of Hand +8
Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities Cold
Damage Vulnerabilities Good-aligned or Silver Weapons
Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Deathwatch (see below), Passive Perception 16
Languages Understands Common and Infernal (cannot speak)
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Traits
Regeneration. The Augur regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn. If the Augur takes damage from a good-aligned or silvered weapon, this trait doesnât function until the start of the Augurâs next turn.
Deathwatch. The Augur can sense the exact state of health of all living creatures within 120 feet of it, including whether they are alive, wounded, dying, or dead.
Unnerving Gaze (Recharge 5-6).
As a bonus action, the Augur can fix its unsettling eye on a creature it can see within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or become Shaken for 1 minute. A shaken creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks while it remains within 30 feet of the Augur. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Bleed. When the Augur deals damage with its Gore attack, it causes the target to bleed profusely. The target takes an additional 2 (1d4) damage at the start of its next turn unless it uses an action to staunch the wound or receives magical healing.
Perfect Flight. The Augurâs flight is unaffected by conditions such as wind or changes in gravity. It can hover in place and maneuver with flawless precision.
Stealthy Scout. The Augur has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks when in dim light or darkness.
Actions
Multiattack.
The Augur makes two attacks: one with its Gore and one with Bleed or Mage Hand.
Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage plus 3 (1d4) necrotic damage.
Inflict Wounds (3/day). Melee Spell Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 10 (3d6) necrotic damage.
Bleed (At Will).
The Augur can cause a creature within 30 feet of it to bleed from any minor wound. The target must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or take 3 (1d4) necrotic damage at the start of its next turn. This damage continues until the wound is magically healed or staunched as an action.
Commune (1/week).
The Augur can commune with the Kytons on its plane, asking up to 6 questions, similar to the commune spell. This often serves as reconnaissance for its kyton overlords.
Mage Hand (At Will).
The Augur can cast mage hand at will to manipulate objects in its environment from a distance.
Combat Tactics
- Stealth & Recon: The Augur prefers to strike from the shadows, using its high Dexterity and advantage on Stealth checks to remain hidden until it can spy on enemies or report back to its kyton masters.
- Hit-and-Run: In battle, it will use its perfect flight to remain just out of melee reach, darting in to make a Gore attack before retreating. It hovers just above the ground or over difficult terrain, making it hard to catch.
- Bleed Manipulation: The Augur focuses on weakening its opponents with constant Bleed effects, making targets use their turns healing or suffering continuous damage. It pairs this with its Inflict Wounds spell to maximize its damage output.
- Unnerving Gaze: When confronted with powerful melee fighters or spellcasters, it will use its Unnerving Gaze to force them into disadvantage, using its flight to stay just out of range while tormenting them from a distance.
- Strategic Retreat: If the fight turns against it, the Augur is not above retreating into the shadows to escape, using its Deathwatch ability to stay aware of nearby threats.
The Augur thrives as a cunning scout and tormentor, leveraging its speed and debilitating abilities to weaken foes from a distance before more powerful allies arrive. Its tactics revolve around patience, observation, and striking when enemies are at their weakest.
A single eye peers from behind the armor plates and keen-edged blades that compose the cage-like exterior of this tiny flying orb.
Source Bestiary 3 pg. 1
Originally posted in Archives of Nethys
Gory sentinels with a lust for flesh and the myriad bodily fluids contained within, augurs number among the most common ‘as well as most despicable’ kytons on the Plane of Shadow. Having given up their humanoid bodies in favor of the more stealthy and wretched guise of a singular large eye armored in bloodied metal plates, augurs act as spies and sycophants for more powerful kytons. Their miniscule size, sturdy exterior, and unnerving gazes make them ideally equipped for dangerous reconnaissance missions to the Material Plane, where the augurs are able to scout out potential raiding locations or spot vulnerable, lone travelers before their more powerful kyton brethren cross the planes to attack.
While their usefulness in tasks of stealth and guile makes augurs deadly companions, their insatiable lust for blood often proves their ultimate downfall. Augurs, like most kytons, find themselves in a heightened state of arousal when witness to the destruction of flesh, but the extent to which these muscular orbs find pleasure in blood is far more treacherous than their more disciplined peers. Many of them cannot help but indulge themselves when exposed to gore ‘rolling within and dipping their blades into freshly spilled pools’ an unfortunate trait which has led many careless augurs to their capture or doom.
An augur’s gruesome appearance is not always self-inflicted. They are sometimes constructed by other kytons who seek to impose an everlasting punishment upon a particularly unwilling mortal sacrifice; the defiant individual’s body is cast aside for scraps as its mind and soul are transferred into the monocular shell, producing an
augur when the ritual is complete. Augurs are the least pragmatic type of all kytons, and thus the least respected among their peers. The condemnation of an individual’s spirit to the cage-like body of a kyton augur is the precedent for a truly agonizing and lonely existence.
A lawful evil spellcaster can gain an augur as a familiar at 7th level by taking the Improved Familiar feat.
A typical augur kyton is 1 foot in diameter and weighs 30 pounds.
| Augur CR 2 |
| XP 600 LE Tiny outsider (evil, extraplanar, kyton, lawful) Init +7; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., deathwatch; Perception +7 |
| DEFENSE |
| AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dexterity, +2 natural, +2 size) hp 19 (3d10+3); regeneration 2 (good weapons and spells, silver weapons) Fort +2, Ref +8, Will +4 DR 5/good or silver; Immune cold |
| OFFENSE |
| Speed 20 ft., Fly 50 ft. (perfect) Melee gore +4 (1d4-1 plus bleed) Space 2-1/2 ft., Reach 0 ft. Special Attacks bleed (1d2), unnerving gaze (30 ft., DC 9) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +4) ConstantÂdeathwatch At will – bleed (DC 8), mage hand, open/close 3/day – inflict light wounds (DC 10) 1/week – commune (CL 12th, 6 questions) |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 8, Dexterity 17, Constitution 12, Intelligence 13, Wisdom 12, Charisma 7 Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 13 (can’t be tripped) Feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes Skills Bluff +4, Escape Artist +9, Fly +11, Intimidate +4, Perception +7, Sense Motive +7, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +17 Languages Common, Infernal (cannot speak) |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Unnerving Gaze (Ex) A creature that succumbs to an augur’s unnerving gaze becomes shaken for 1 round. |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment any (Plane of Shadow) Organization solitary, pair, pack (3-5), or squad (6-8) Treasure standard |