Ez-azaelThis goat-like creature has a thick, snowy-white woolen coat. Its eyes gleam with a metallic golden sheen. Its hooves have sharpened, serrated edges and are soaked in blood. A single strand of scarlet thread is tangled between its curled ram horns.Ez-azael CR 12Source Pathfinder #107: Scourge of the Godclaw pg. 84
XP 19,200
LG Large outsider (good, lawful, native)
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., scent, true seeing; Perception +23DefenseAC 28, touch 14, flat-footed 23 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +14 natural, –1 size)
hp 168 (16d10+80)
Fort +15, Ref +9, Will +16
DR 10/cold iron and evil; Immune fire, poison, death effects; Resist acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10; SR 23OffenseSpeed 40 ft.
Melee slam +25 (2d6+10), 2 hooves +20 (1d8+5 plus bleed)
Space 10 ft., Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks bleed 1, fiendbane headbutt, smiting absolution
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th; concentration +19)
Constant—true seeing
At will—detect evil, light, protection from evil, virtue
3/day—break enchantment, dispel chaos (DC 21), dispel evil (DC 21), find the path, holy smite (DC 17)
1/day—atonementStatisticsStr 30, Dex 18, Con 20, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 16
Base Atk +16; CMB +27; CMD 42 (46 vs. trip)
Feats Ability Focus (smiting absolution), Cleave, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mobility, Power Attack, Spring Attack
Skills Acrobatics +24 (+28 when jumping), Climb +18, Intimidate +22, Knowledge (local) +20, Knowledge (planes) +20, Perception +23, Sense Motive +23, Survival +23; Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics (+8 when jumping), +8 Perception
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common
SQ ritual of atonement, sacrificial wound, true resurrectionEcologyEnvironment any (Material Plane)
Organization solitary
Treasure noneSpecial AbilitiesFiendbane Headbutt (Ex) An ez-azael’s slam attack gains a +2 enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls against outsiders with the evil subtype, and it deals an additional 2d6 points of damage to such targets.
Ritual of Atonement (Su) An ez-azael can perform a ritual of atonement for a group of willing participants upon some high precipice. As a full-round action, it can unravel the scarlet thread from around its horns, allowing the thread to be grasped by up to 8 Medium or Small creatures (or 4 Large creatures or 16 Tiny creatures). Once the participants have all grasped the woolen strand, the ez-azael flings itself from the precipice to its death as a move action while the participants continue to hang on to the thread. The fall is always fatal to the ez-azael, and it cannot be saved by any means, magical or mundane. As the ez-azael falls, the thread breaks and the portion remaining in the participants’ hands changes from scarlet to pure white. Those participants of a nonevil alignment who are holding the thread immediately receive the benefits of an atonement, a greater restoration, and a bless spell (with a duration of 24 hours).
As an additional benefit of the atonement ritual, if the participants who grasp the thread are officially appointed representatives of a specific population (such as city leaders, high priests, heads of families, etc.), all members of the group they represent within a quarter mile of where the ritual occurs receive the above benefits.
The effects granted by an ez-azael through this ritual never requires an expenditure of incense or other monetary offerings. The sacrifice of the ez-azael itself satisfies any such requirements.
Sacrificial Wound (Su) Once per day as an immediate action, an ez-azael can convert hit point damage it takes from any single attack into a boost for its allies. The ez-azael takes the full amount of damage (even if such damage would kill the ez-azael), but any allies within 60 feet receive a number of temporary hit points equal to half of the amount of damage the ez-azael sustained (rounded down). These temporary hit points last for 1 hour. The number of temporary hit points a recipient gains through the use of this ability can’t exceed double its normal maximum hit points.
Smiting Absolution (Su) As a standard action once every 1d4 rounds, an ez-azael can cause its golden eyes to flash with an almost blinding light that affects all evil creatures within a 40-foot radius centered on the ez-azael. The purifying rays of this light affect evil creatures differently according to their alignments if they fail a DC 23 Will saving throw. Chaotic evil creatures that fail the save are paralyzed for 1d10 rounds, neutral evil creatures are stunned for 1d4 rounds, and lawful evil creatures are confused for 1d4 rounds. Sinspawn (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 246) are destroyed on a failed save. The save DC is Charisma-based with a +2 bonus from Ability Focus.
True Resurrection (Su) An ez-azael can, as a standard action, give up its own life in order to cast a true resurrection spell on one target of its choice. Alternately, an ez-azael can use this ability to cast destruction on one evil target within 60 feet. This use of the spell deals 160 points of damage to the target unless it succeeds at a DC 22 Fortitude saving throw, in which case it deals only 10d6 points of damage. In either use of this ability, the ez-azael is utterly destroyed, having fulfilled its purpose for existence. The save DC is Wisdom-based.DescriptionThe ways of Heaven are often unknown or opaque in purpose and meaning to mortals, and the ritual of the ez-azael is no exception. In the eternal battle between the powers of good and evil, powerful angelic beings occasionally capture a type of goat-like demon called a schir (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3 74) and subject it to a powerful cleansing ritual in which it is used as an offering of atonement for some mortal population to relieve them of both the physical and spiritual burdens of their sins or other acts of moral error they have committed. Upon the ritual’s completion, the mortal population receives absolution and the schir is released to wander free with its new burden of forgiven mortal sin. Almost invariably, these demons die from the trauma of being used as a vessel for divine mercy. However, sometimes the ritual of clemency changes the schir in a fundamental way, in which case it transforms into an ez-azael.EcologyAn ez-azael is a rare creature occasionally created from a specific type of demon through a redemptive ritual conducted by powerful celestial beings. Though of extraplanar origin, its new existence is bound to the pardon of mortal sins, which creates a strong affinity to the mortal world. An ez-azael is always found on the Material Plane and has the native subtype. As a being formed of mortal atonement, an ez-azael’s reason for existence is to continue this role and use its special status to further free goodly mortals from their bondage to iniquity—especially the bonds imposed on them through the manipulation or temptations of evil outsiders. An ez-azael lives to die in this endeavor and has no qualms about doing so.Habitat and SocietyAn ez-azael wanders desolate areas where it can have the most impact on a needful mortal individual or community. It always travels alone, and it is entirely possible that only one ez-azael exists at a time, and that when it is slain, it simply reincarnates after another schir is ritually cleansed. The very existence of an ez-azael is anathema to demons, and the presence of one of these celestial creatures draws an ever-escalating series of attacks when demons become aware of its presence in a region. An ez-azael knows its days are numbered and always seeks to find mortals in need of redemption in the limited time it has.Ez-azael in Ancient LiteratureThe ez-azael is loosely based on the concept of the sacrificial goat offering mentioned in the book of Leviticus in the Hebrew Torah (Leviticus 16:8–10). The meaning of the phrase used there is uncertain, and it has been the subject of debate for theologians and religious scholars for centuries. One possible meaning is: “the goat [ez] that was sent away [azal].” It is this interpretation that was used by William Tyndale when he coined the term (e)scapegoat in his 1530 English translation of the Bible. Interpretations over the centuries of who or what Azazel is have ranged from a demon to an angel to a precipitous fall. This monster is, perhaps, the first version that interprets it to mean “all of the above.” Given its inspiration, we have specifically not tied the ez-azael to any of the faiths or deities in the Pathfinder campaign setting, so GMs can use them as they best see fit.
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