Buy me a coffeeGaki
“Beware the hungry spirits: Gaki, the insatiable skeletal horrors that stalk the night for forbidden feasts!”
The Gaki is a skeletal creature with a long, thin neck that seems to float above the ground. Its jaw is elongated, showing sharp, worn teeth, giving it a ghastly and menacing appearance.
Behavior: Gaki are cursed, pitiable creatures with an insatiable hunger for material things, particularly meat, wine, blood, flowers, and even souls. They are perpetually starving and will consume anything they believe will sustain them, often fixating on evil beings but not passing up any mortal flesh. They have short memories and little sense of perspective, making them desperate and dangerous.
Habitat: Gaki prefer to lurk in the shadows of ruins or deep caves and tunnels below the surface, where they scrounge for meals and hide during the day. In urban areas, they stalk the slums, leaping upon victims and retreating to hiding places like abandoned buildings or sewers.
Modus Operandi: When hunting, Gaki either wander alone or form packs to bring down large animals or groups of people. However, they often squabble among themselves, each greedily trying to claim the entire prize. They turn invisible and bide their time until the dark of night comes, attacking victims and leaving them bleeding and disoriented.
Motivation: The Gaki’s primary motivation is to alleviate its eternal hunger by consuming anything it believes will sustain it, whether it’s material goods or living beings. They are driven by their insatiable appetite, which fuels their desperate and often reckless behavior.
Gaki 5e
Gaki Pathfinder
Gaki
Medium Undead, Chaotic Evil
Armor Class: 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 52 (8d8 + 16)
Speed: 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 (+0) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 8 (-1) | 10 (+0) | 8 (-1) |
Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +5
Damage Resistances: Necrotic
Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: Poisoned
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 14
Languages: Understands Common but can’t speak
Challenge: 3 (700 XP)
Keen Smell. The gaki has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the gaki to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the gaki drops to 1 hit point instead.
Traits
Supernatural Hunger. The gaki is driven by an insatiable hunger for living flesh. It has advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track creatures it can see or smell.
Actions
Multiattack. The gaki makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Reactions
Ethereal Jaunt. When the gaki takes damage from a nonmagical source, it can use its reaction to turn ethereal until the start of its next turn or until it attacks or deals damage. While ethereal, the gaki can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain.
This skeletal creature with a long, thin neck seems to float above the ground. Its jaw is elongated, showing sharp, worn teeth.
Source Bestiary 4 pg. 118
Originally posted in Archives of Nethys
When an especially jealous or greedy evil person dies, it sometimes returns as a gaki, a misshapen creature with a supernatural hunger for things of the material world. Mistakenly called ‘hungry ghosts’ because of their ability to fly and turn invisible, gakis believe that if they consume the right material typically meat, wine, blood, flowers, and souls’ they can form a new body resembling their former mortal shapes. Its long, thin neck restricts how much it can eat, and the creature is perpetually starving. It prefers to consume evil creatures, believing it gains more sustenance from a sinful being than a righteous one, but it won’t pass up any mortal flesh.
Some gakis believe they must consume flesh from demons or undead, and fixate on these creatures to the aversion of all others. Gakis are cursed, pitiable creatures with nothing to lose, which makes them very dangerous. Some that have existed for many years as undead grow desperate and try consuming earth, sewage, or more vile substances in an attempt to find the missing ingredient for their transformation. Particularly unfortunate ones bear an onerous curse that causes anything they try to eat to burst into flame or wither away into dust. These creatures have short memories and little sense of perspective. They’re smart enough to pursue what they want cannily, but fail at making long-term plans.
Most gakis wander alone, pursuing their search for nourishment in solitude. When they do form packs, they use their numbers to surround and bring down large animals or groups of people, but then throw cooperation aside to squabble and shove as each one greedily tries to claim the entire prize they’ve taken. Strangely, gakis are scorched by moonlight and frozen by sunlight.
Because of this, they’re forced to lurk in the shadows of ruins. Some wander the deep caves and tunnels below the surface, scrounging whatever meals they can find. In urban areas, they group together to stalk the slums, often leaping upon victims, tearing away small morsels of flesh before they retreat, leaving victims bleeding and disoriented. They find hiding places’ often in abandoned buildings or sewers’ to stay during the day, turning invisible and biding their time till the dark of night comes.
| Gaki CR 7 |
| NE Medium undead Init +6; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., detect evil; Perception +13 |
| DEFENSE |
| AC 20, touch 13, flat-footed 17 (+2 Dexterity, +1 Dodge, +7 natural) hp 74 (9d8+32) Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +9 Immune undead traits Weaknesses aversion to sun and moon, compulsive hunger, vulnerable to cold and fire |
| OFFENSE |
| Speed 30 ft., Fly 30 ft. (average) Melee 2 claws +9 (2d6+3), bite +9 (2d6+3 plus grab) Space 5 ft., Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with bite) Special Attacks blood drain (1d2 Constitution), fear cone (30 ft., DC 16) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th; concentration +9) Constant – detect evil At will – invisibility 1/day – disguise self |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 16, Dexterity 15, Constitution -, Intelligence 9, Wisdom 12, Charisma 18 Base Atk +6; CMB +9 (+13 grapple); CMD 22 Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes Skills Intimidate +14, Perception +13, Stealth +14 Languages Common |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Aversion to Sun and Moon (Ex) A gaki takes 1d4 points of fire damage every round it’s exposed to the light of a full moon. It takes 1d4 points of cold damage every round it is exposed to direct sunlight. Compulsive Hunger (Ex) Despite being undead, a gaki is plagued by an insatiable hunger, and believes it can gain a normal body or rest in peace if it consumes the right mixture of flesh, food, and drink. A gaki that finds a corpse or is offered food, wine, holy water, or flowers must succeed at a DC 20 Will save or spend one turn trying to grab and consume it. Its narrow neck prevents it from swallowing more than a tiny amount, and it gives up after 1 round of attempting to do so. A gaki that consumes holy water in this way is not harmed by it. |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment any land Organization solitary or gang (2-4) Treasure incidental |