Sacristan

Medium Fiend (Kyton), Lawful Evil

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Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 168 (16d10 + 80)
Speed 30 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	16 (+3)	21 (+5)	13 (+1)	14 (+2)	17 (+3)

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Saving Throws Constitution +9, Wisdom +6, Charisma +7
Skills Perception +10, Stealth +7, Intimidation +7
Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities Cold
Damage Vulnerabilities Radiant, Silvered Weapons
Condition Immunities Frightened, Charmed, Deafened
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 20
Languages Common, Infernal
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

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Regeneration. It regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point. If the Sacristan is hit by a silvered weapon or takes radiant damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the Sacristan’s next turn.

Shadowborn. It can use its action to meld into shadows, becoming invisible in dim light or darkness until it moves or attacks.

Innate Spellcasting. It’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

• At will: darkness
• 1/day: fear, dimension door

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Actions

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Multiattack. It makes two claw attacks or two attacks with its spiked chain.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d8 + 6) slashing damage.

Spiked Chain. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d4 + 6) piercing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be grappled (escape DC 15).

Shadow Scream (Recharge 5–6).
As a horrifying action, the Sacristan bursts the chains binding its mouth and releases the Shadow Scream.

• Effect: A 30-foot radius centered on the Sacristan is plunged into an unnatural, deeper darkness for 1 minute. Any creature within the radius is deafened while in the area and must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be confused as per the confusion spell. While in the area, creatures have disadvantage on saving throws against fear effects.
• Insanity Effect: If a creature is reduced to 0 hit points or rendered unconscious within the area of effect, it must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or roll on the Short-Term Madness table.

Unnerving Gaze.
Ranged Action: The Sacristan fixes its gaze on a creature it can see within 30 feet. That creature must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

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Bonus Actions

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Chain Lure.
It can attempt to hook a target within 10 feet using its chain. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be pulled 10 feet toward the Sacristan and become grappled (escape DC 15).

Meld into Shadows.
If it is in dim light or darkness, it can use a bonus action to become invisible until the start of its next turn.

Reactions

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Grasping Chains (Recharge 6).
When the Sacristan is hit by a melee attack, it can use its reaction to entangle its attacker in spectral chains. The attacker must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be restrained until the start of its next turn.

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Tactics

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The Sacristan fights like a brutal but calculated predator, employing a mix of controlling tactics and overwhelming power. Here’s how it would fight:

• Ambush and Terror: It prefers to use darkness to conceal itself, striking from the shadows with its chains, grappling weaker targets to isolate and dominate them. It uses Meld into Shadows to avoid direct confrontation if the odds turn against it.
• Area Control with Shadow Scream: When facing multiple enemies, it will use Shadow Scream early in the fight, plunging the area into deeper darkness and confusing or frightening its enemies. It then weaves through the shadows, picking off enemies one by one.
• Targeting Weakness: It seeks to control the battlefield using Chain Lure, pulling weaker enemies into its zone of control while using Unnerving Gaze to spread fear and disrupt coordination among its foes.
• Close-Quarters Combat: Once it grapples a target with its spiked chain, the Sacristan will use Grasping Chains to hinder attacks against it while finishing its opponents with powerful claw strikes.

Chains and piercings torture this being’s bloodless flesh. The greatest violations invade its face and mouth.

Source Bestiary 4 pg. 177
Originally posted in Archives of Nethys

Every kyton considers itself some manner of artiste, working and reworking its avant-garde visions in various mediums ‘flesh, minds, darkness, and others both natural and fragile. But for every masterpiece, there are countless failures. Sacristans number among the most useful failures of the kyton race.

Born from scraps of imperfect flesh, bent chain, and scarred minds, sacristans are bound together by kyton sculptor-surgeons. They lack the burden of free will, and their minds are etched with the ability to serve, making them utterly obedient to other kytons. While much more than automatons, sacristans are a potent slave caste, one manufactured to take ecstatic pleasure from serving their brethren.

Their other blessing is a miniature, permanent portal to the Shadow Plane sealed within their mouths. Kept restrained, this portal endlessly howls the music of the kytons’ realms of shadowed torture and veiled delights. When threatened, sacristans burst open their mouths and allow the song of their collective race to seduce their foes in a way these brutes never could.

They vary in their appearance, but always look like tortured and maimed humanoids, often with redundant or absent features. They typically stand between 6 and 8 feet tall and weigh from 80 to 160 pounds.

Sacristan CR 10

XP 9,600 LE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, kyton, lawful) Init +3; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +17

DEFENSE

AC 22, touch 13, flat-footed 19 (+3 Dexterity, +9 natural) hp 126 (12d10+60); regeneration 5 (good spells and weapons, silver) Fort +13, Ref +7, Will +10 DR 10/silver or good; Immune cold; SR 21

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft. Melee mwk spiked chain +18/+13/+8 (2d4+7) or 2 claws +17 (1d4+5) Space 5 ft., Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with spiked chain) Special Attacks shadow scream, unnerving gaze (30 ft., DC 18)

STATISTICS

Strength 20, Dexterity 16, Constitution 21, Intelligence 13, Wisdom 14, Charisma 15 Base Atk +12; CMB +17 (+19 bull rush); CMD 30 (32 vs. bull rush) Feats Bleeding Critical, Cleave, Critical Focus, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack Skills Acrobatics +15, Bluff +17, Climb +17, Intimidate +17, Perception +17, Sense Motive +17, Stealth +18 Languages Common, Infernal

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Shadow Scream (Su) Once per hour as a standard action, a sacristan can burst the bonds sealing its mouth and unleash a cacophony of darkness and soul-shaking howls from the pits of the Shadow Plane. The area within 25 feet of the sacristan is affected by deeper darkness. All creatures within the area are deafened for as long as they remain in the area and must succeed at a DC 18 Will save or be confused. The confusion effect lasts for as long as the creature is in the shadow scream’s area of effect and for 1d4 rounds after leaving. Any creature that falls unconscious while under the effects of this confusion effect must succeed at an additional DC 18 Will save or be afflicted by a random insanity roll on the insanity table on page 250 of the Pathfinder RPG Game Mastery Guide to determine which. A sacristan’s shadow scream lasts for 3 rounds and remains centered on the kyton even if it moves. The sacristan can end the shadow scream at will. The scream also ends if the sacristan is killed or is affected by the spell dimensional lock, which prevents this ability’s use for as long as the spell in effect. The save DCs are Charisma-based. Unnerving Gaze (Ex) A creature that succumbs to an augur’s unnerving gaze becomes staggered for 1 round.

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Plane of Shadow) Organization solitary, pair, bodyguard (1d4 plus 1 kyton of lower CR [usually an ostiarius]), or entourage (2d6 plus 1 kyton of higher CR) Treasure standard