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Psychopomp, Catrina, the Blooming Veil

The Catrina appears as a striking skeletal figure adorned in vivid, elegant attire reminiscent of thearistocracy. Her bones are intricately decorated with colorful floral patterns and glowing motifs. Draped in flowing dresses or tailored suits, often crowned with marigold garlands, she embodies both death’s finality and vibrant celebration. Her hollow eye sockets radiate a gentle, ethereal light, and her lengthy curling hair seems to shimmer with otherworldly grace.

Behavior:
Catrinas carry themselves with graceful solemnity mixed with festive warmth. They are calm and deliberate, speaking softly yet with compelling authority. Rather than instilling fear, they soothe the dying and comfort mourners, using their aura of calm to ease grief and terror. They are patient guides, never hurried or harsh, but resolute in their mission to usher souls onward.

Habitat:
These beings dwell primarily in the liminal spaces between life and death—often found in Purgatory or spiritual crossroads where souls gather. Rarely, they manifest on the Material Plane during moments of significant death or cultural remembrance, especially near graveyards, ancient temples, or sites of powerful ancestral rites.

Modus Operandi:
Catrinas approach those at death’s threshold, cloaking them in a calming aura that dispels panic and sorrow. They gently compel reluctant souls to accept their fate, using subtle mental influence if necessary. Their “kiss of death” is a swift, painless release granted only when the soul resists transition or when their duty demands finality. They avoid unnecessary violence, emphasizing peaceful passage and celebration over fear.

Motivation:
The Catrina’s driving force is the orderly progression of souls from life to afterlife. They are not moved by compassion alone, but by the cosmic need for balance and calm transitions. Their festive garb and floral adornments are deliberate reminders that death, while inevitable, can be met with acceptance and even joy. Their presence embodies the belief that honoring death’s passage with dignity sustains the harmony between worlds.


  • Catrina 5e
  • Catrina, Pathfinder

Medium celestial (psychopomp), neutral


Armor Class: 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 112 (15d8 + 45)
Speed: 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)


STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
12 (+1)18 (+4)16 (+3)14 (+2)16 (+3)20 (+5)

Saving Throws: Dex +8, Wis +7, Cha +9
Skills: Insight +7, Persuasion +9, Stealth +8, Religion +6
Damage Resistances: cold; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities: poison, necrotic
Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned
Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages: Common, Celestial, Infernal, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge: 8 (3,900 XP)


Traits

  • Aura of Celebration.
    At the start of each of the Catrina’s turns, each creature of its choice within 30 feet gains advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed until the start of the Catrina’s next turn.
  • Incorporeal Grace.
    The Catrina can move through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
  • Soul Guide.
    The Catrina can sense the presence of dying or recently deceased creatures within 120 feet.

Actions

  • Multiattack.
    The Catrina makes two slam attacks.
  • Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
    Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage.
  • Kiss of Death (Recharge 5–6).
    The Catrina delivers a long, haunting kiss to a grappled, willing, or helpless target within 5 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or take 27 (6d8) necrotic damage. If a target fails three saving throws against this ability during a single encounter, it dies instantly. Creatures of old age have disadvantage on this saving throw.
  • Compel Passage (Recharge 6).
    The Catrina targets one humanoid within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed for 1 minute. While charmed, the target is compelled to approach the Catrina and remain peacefully calm, unable to attack or flee. The effect ends early if the target takes damage.

Spellcasting

The Catrina is a 9th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks). The Catrina has the following spells prepared:

  • At will: dancing lights, thaumaturgy, mage hand
  • 3/day: calm emotions, major image, hold person
  • 1/day: greater invisibility, teleport

Tactics

  • The Catrina uses Aura of Celebration and spells like calm emotions to pacify enemies and prevent panic or fear.
  • It prefers to grapple important targets and use its Kiss of Death to swiftly end their lives without violence.
  • If threatened, it uses greater invisibility and teleport to reposition or escape.
  • It avoids unnecessary combat, instead focusing on its duty to escort souls and maintain the balance between life and death.

Lore

A Catrina is a psychopomp — a guide who escorts souls with festive grace. Draped in colorful garments and adorned with flowers, it symbolizes the celebration of death’s inevitability. Its presence is a reminder that death is not an end, but a transition worthy of honor and beauty.

Catrina 1
Catrina – AI Generated Artwork – NightCafe Creator

With lengthy curling hair, a dancer’s dress, and a bouquet of flowers, this woman remains beautiful, despite having no flesh.

Catrinas welcome the dead into the afterlife, doing what they can to lessen the shock and terror experienced by mortals who haven’t accepted their own deaths or who still grieve for themselves. Eschewing the funereal themes and colors preferred by most other psychopomps, catrinas dress in festive shades, surrounding themselves with light and color to dispel a measure of death’s gloom. However, they don’t disguise their skeletal bodies, for despite any gilding they might put on the moment, they don’t seek to disguise the finality of death.

A catrina’s motivation for easing the transition from life to death has more to do with making the soul’s progression calm than compassion for the soul, after all, screaming and outrage disrupts the processing of the dead.

They rarely ever visit the Material Plane, but when they do so it’s typically at the command of a more powerful psychopomp or deity of death who seeks to ease the passing of a mortal of singular importance, such as a high-ranking priest of a death goddess. In such instances they serve as companions and ushers into the realm of the dead, not executioners. However, they’re capable of serving in both capacities, especially if misguided mortals try to keep them from their duty, using their deadly but painless kisses to end a life in an instant.

Catrinas always appear as festively dressed skeletons, usually in women’s garb but sometimes in colorful men’s formal wear, and usually decorated with or carrying flowers. They do not have true genders, but an individual catrina may have a more masculine or feminine voice and personality. They typically stand between 5 and 6 feet tall and weigh about 20 to 30 pounds.


Catrina
CR 5

XP 1,600

N Medium outsider (extraplanar, psychopomp)

Init +7; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision, spiritsense; Perception +11

Aura calm emotions (30 ft., DC 17)
DEFENSE
AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dexterity, +6 natural)

hp 51 (6d10+18)

Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +9

DR 5/adamantine; Immune death effects, disease, poison; Resist cold 10, electricity 10; SR 16
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.

Melee 2 slams +6 (1d8)

Special Attacks compel condemned, kiss of death

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +10)  

At will – dancing lights, death watch, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), invisibility (self only), speak with dead

3/day – major image (DC 20)
STATISTICS
Strength 10, Dexterity 17, Constitution 16, Intelligence 13, Wisdom 14, Charisma 19

Base Atk +6; CMB +6; CMD 19

Feats Combat Expertise, Improved Initiative, Iron Will

Skills Diplomacy +13, Heal +8, Knowledge (planes) +10, Knowledge (religion) +10, Perception +11, Stealth +12, Use Magic Device +10

Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Infernal; tongues, telepathy 100 ft.

SQ spirit touch
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Calm Emotions Aura (Su)   A catrina’s aura acts like a calm emotions spell with a radius of 30 feet. A creature that succeeds at its save is immune to that catrina’s aura for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.  

Compel Condemned (Su)   As a standard action, a catrina can force one humanoid within 30 feet to make a DC 17 Will save or be affected as per the spell dominate person. This ability functions exactly as that spell, but the catrina can only command an affected creature to approach and kiss her. This action is not considered to be against the target’s nature or self-destructive. Any damage taken by the target (other than damage the catrina deals) immediately ends this effect.  

Kiss of Death (Su) A catrina can kill a grappled, helpless, or willing target with a long, passionate kiss. The target must succeed at a DC 17 Fortitude save or take 5d6 points of damage. Any creature damaged by the same catrina’s kiss for three consecutive rounds instantly dies, regardless of how many hit points it has remaining. Creatures of the old age category take a -2 penalty on saving throws to resist this ability, while those in the venerable age category take a -4 penalty. This is a death effect. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
ECOLOGY
Environment any (Purgatory)

Organization solitary, pair, or reception (3-10)

Treasure standard

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 4 © 2013, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Savannah Broadway, Ross Byers, Adam Daigle, Tim Hitchcock, Tracy Hurley, James Jacobs, Matt James, Rob McCreary, Jason Nelson, Tom Phillips, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, Tork Shaw, and Russ Taylor.

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