Hallowed LynxWithin a halo of brilliant, glowing orbs are the distinctive features of a compact feline with tufted ears, a short tail, and keen, piercing eyes.Hallowed Lynx CR 17Source Pathfinder #138: Rise of New Thassilon pg. 88
XP 102,400
NE Small magical beast
Init +5; Senses arcane sight, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +0
Aura hallowed lights (60 ft., DC 26)DefenseAC 29, touch 17, flat-footed 23 (+5 Dex, +1 dodge, +12 natural, +1 size)
hp 241 (23d10+115)
Fort +17, Ref +20, Will +14
Immune blindness, fire, light effectsOffenseSpeed 40 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee bite +29 (1d6+1), 2 claws +29 (1d6+1)
Ranged blinding orb +24 touch (10d8 plus blindness)
Special Attacks blinding orb (DC 26), pounce, rake (2 claws +29, 1d6+1), release shining child, sneak attack +6d6
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 23rd; concentration +28)
Constant—arcane sight
At will—daylight, major image (DC 18), mirror image, rainbow pattern (DC 19)
3/day—quickened dispel magic, prismatic spray (DC 22), scintillating patternStatisticsStr 12, Dex 21, Con 19, Int 4, Wis 10, Cha 21
Base Atk +23; CMB +23; CMD 39 (43 vs. trip)
Feats Dodge, Following Step, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (dispel magic), Skill Focus (Acrobatics), Spring Attack, Step Up, Step Up And StrikeAPG, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +37 (+41 when jumping), Climb +9
Languages Azlanti, Thassilonian (can’t speak)EcologyEnvironment any
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure standardSpecial AbilitiesBlinding Orb (Su) A hallowed lynx has a halo of seven orbs of brilliant light. It can hurl an orb as a ranged touch attack with a range of 120 feet. A creature hit by the hallowed lynx’s blinding orb takes 10d8 points of fire damage and must succeed at a DC 26 Fortitude save or be permanently blinded. Once hurled, an orb loses its innate brilliance and cannot be used again until 24 hours have passed, after which time its energy refreshes and it resumes glowing. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Hallowed Lights (Su) The glowing orbs surrounding a hallowed lynx radiate light out to a distance of 60 feet. This light counters and is countered by darkness as though it were an 8th-level spell. Allies in this light, including the hallowed lynx, gain an insight bonus on Charisma-based skill checks and Will saving throws equal to the lynx’s Charisma modifier. Enemies in the light at the start of the lynx’s turn must succeed at a DC 26 Will save or become blinded for 1 round. If the hallowed lynx has expended all seven of its orbs through its blinding orb or release shining child ability, the hallowed lights cease until at least one of the hallowed lynx’s orbs has refreshed. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Release Shining Child (Su) As a standard action, a hallowed lynx can release the shining child encapsulated within any one of its glowing orbs. This functions as if the shining child had been summoned using a summon monster IX spell (CL 23rd). Once an orb has been used in this manner, it loses its innate brilliance and cannot be used again until 24 hours have passed, after which time its energy refreshes and it resumes glowing.DescriptionA mid-sized feline adorned with a halo of blinding orbs of light, the hallowed lynx is a creature widely thought to be mere myth or long extinct. Only a handful of hallowed lynxes exist, most held in stasis within long-buried Thassilonian ruins, though rumored sightings of the blindingly bright cats suggest that small populations may have survived to the present day. Created from keen hunters and imbued with potent light-based magic distilled from powerful outsiders, hallowed lynxes are deadly predators whose mere presence bolsters their allies. Aside from the brilliant orbs that surround them, a hallowed lynx resembles its mundane kin, having a short tail, large paws, spotted tawny fur, and distinctive tufts of fur extending from its ears. It is the same size as an ordinary lynx: just over 2 feet tall, around 3 feet long, and weighing about 35 pounds.EcologyHallowed lynxes are not natural creatures, though they are descended from the mundane lynxes still found across Varisia. Their origin can be traced to the height of the Thassilonian empire in the realm of Eurythnia, where the runelord Sorshen created the first hallowed lynxes to serve her as favored pets and guardians similar to the way in which animals served the gods.
Creating the original hallowed lynxes involved powerful conjuration magic, wherein the terrible creatures known as shining children were summoned and bound into the physical form of a living lynx. The outsiders’ intellect bolstered that of the host, and the host channeled the outsiders’ magic and light for its own benefit. The shining children continue a half-existence after their integration, orbiting the hallowed lynx and shedding their light as a powerful aura. A hallowed lynx can utilize this energy in one of two ways: either hurling the orbs at a foe, or temporarily releasing shining children from within the orbs.
While several other creatures were also magically “hallowed” in a similar manner during Sorshen’s rule, the hallowed lynx was by far her favorite, eventually spreading beyond her court as demand for the creatures grew among Thassilonian nobility. These noble felines served as pets and guardians for the realm’s elite, their owners benefitting from the same aura that made the creatures so effective against intruders and foes. The small size of hallowed lynxes made them ideal indoor pets but still large enough to present a significant threat to anyone or anything that crossed their path. As status symbols, hallowed lynxes typically led plush, pampered lives in which their stalking and hunting was conducted for their own amusement rather than sustenance. More intelligent than a common lynx, a hallowed lynx can— with sufficient exposure—understand the languages spoken around it, and it can perform far more complex tasks than its mundane kin; though, as with most felines, it can be challenging to convince a hallowed lynx that undertaking a given effort is worth its time.
Scattered historical records, most of which were poorly kept to begin with, make it difficult to determine how many hallowed lynxes were created within the empire, but historians agree the number was exceptionally low, and likely only in the hundreds. Given their scarcity even at their peak, scholars conclude that hallowed lynxes met their end along with the empire that created them. Today, the creatures are known from only a handful of surviving mosaics, engravings, and other artwork, and occasional references in written documents that have connected the image with their name.Habitat and SocietyMuch like other lynxes, the hallowed lynx is a solitary creature. Some form bonds with their keepers, with records suggesting that Sorshen had a particularly powerful hallowed lynx that followed her as dutifully as any of the runelord’s sycophants. But even within the empire that created them, it was rare for hallowed lynxes to encounter one another due to their scarcity, and such encounters have become rarer still since the empire’s fall.
Being savvy and sturdy creatures, however, not all hallowed lynxes perished during Earthfall. A few were caught up in the Thassilonians’ various efforts to survive the catastrophe, held in stasis or otherwise preserved within the homes and temples they once prowled. A few others escaped, fleeing the collapse of Thassilonian civilization and taking shelter deep in the forests of Varisia. The persistence of the hallowed lynx as a creature in rumors and folktales suggests that the creatures managed to survive and reproduce, yet they remain so rare and hide themselves so well that their existence remains unconfirmed. Whether the creatures simply seek to remain hidden for their own safety or whether they’re guarding long-buried secrets of Thassilon has yet to be determined.
Few predators—natural or otherwise—pose a serious threat to a hallowed lynx. Their small size and unambitious nature places them below the notice of tyrants and chromatic dragons, but they are tremendously powerful creatures in their own right, apex predators in those few habitats where they remain. If cornered, confronted, or challenged, a hallowed lynx first hurls its blinding orbs in an attempt to debilitate its foes, then pounces to attack its target’s weak points. Against multiple foes, it releases the shining children bound to it and flanks foes, or else it employs its spell-like abilities to weaken, distract, and entrance enemies.
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