Protean, NaunetTentacles tipped with snapping jaws emerge from this serpentine creature’s back, complementing the vicious maw in its reptilian face.Naunet CR 7Source Bestiary 2 pg. 216, Pathfinder #22: The End of Eternity pg. 86
XP 3,200
CN Large outsider (chaotic, extraplanar, protean, shapechanger)
Init +7; Senses blindsense 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft., detect law; Perception +15DefenseAC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+3 Dex, +8 natural, –1 size)
hp 94 (9d10+45)
Fort +11, Ref +11, Will +6
Defensive Abilities amorphous anatomy, freedom of movement; DR 5/lawful; Immune acid, polymorph; Resist electricity 10, sonic 10; SR 18OffenseSpeed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (perfect), swim 30 ft.
Melee bite +14 (1d8+5) , tail slap +11 (1d6+2 plus grab), 2 tentacles +11 (1d6+2 plus confusion)
Space 10 ft., Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks adaptive strike, coalesce chaos, constrict (1d6+5)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th; concentration +9)
Constant—detect law
At will—acid arrow, fog cloud, dimension door (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), shatter (DC 14)
1/day—chaos hammer (DC 16)StatisticsStr 20, Dex 17, Con 20, Int 11, Wis 16, Cha 15
Base Atk +9; CMB +15; CMD 28
Feats Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack, Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Acrobatics +15, Fly +9, Intimidate +14, Perception +15, Stealth +11, Survival +15, Swim +25
Languages Abyssal, Protean
SQ change shape (polymorph)EcologyEnvironment any (Limbo)
Organization solitary, pair, or cacophony (3–12)
Treasure noneSpecial AbilitiesAdaptive Strike (Su) A naunet’s natural weapons count as magical and chaotic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. As a free action once per round, a naunet may infuse all of its natural attacks with adamantine, silver, or cold iron, thereby allowing it to overcome damage reduction of those types as well.
Coalesce Chaos (Su) Once per day as a standard action, three or more naunets working together can create a roiling cloud of multicolored chaos matter. This effect is identical to solid fog (CL 12th) and lasts for 2d6 rounds. If six or more naunets are present, the coalesced chaos instead functions as acid fog (CL 12th).
Confusion (Su) A creature struck by a naunet’s tentacle attack is infused with raw chaos, and must make a DC 19 Will save or be confused for 1 round. Rounds of confusion dealt in this manner stack. A creature with a chaotic component to its alignment gains a +4 bonus on saves against this effect, and creatures with the chaotic subtype are immune. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.DescriptionFar more bestial than their kin, naunets are the lowest caste of the true proteans, the shock troops of their race and roving marauders in the cause of chaos. Primarily found in the shifting borderlands between Limbo and other planes, naunets are driven half-insane by the stability and stasis of such areas, and frequently rampage through the edges of other planes, tearing up the very fabric of reality itself and returning vast swaths of land to the beautiful, formless potentiality of their home.
A naunet is 12 feet long and weighs 900 pounds.Creatures in "Protean" CategorySource Bestiary 2 pg. 213
Beings of pure chaos, the serpentine proteans slither through the anarchic improbabilities of Limbo, remaking reality according to their whims. According to their own history, they were already here when the first gods pulled forth the other planes from raw chaos—and they have been battling against the indignity ever since. Hereditary and ideological enemies of Axis, Heaven, and Hell, and especially of the residents of those planes, all proteans see it as their sacred duty to return the bland, static expanses of mundane reality to the beautiful incongruities of Limbo, for the planes' own good and for the greater glory of their mysterious god, a dualistic deity which may be a living aspect of Limbo itself. They are Limbo's living, breathing immune system, rooting out infections of mundanity and replacing them with beautiful entropy.
Primeval in shape and philosophy, proteans are the race that most perfectly embodies the twin aspects of creation and destruction (although certain aeons might contest this claim). Even their language is mutable, evolving so quickly that few outsiders can understand it without magical aid. Ecological study is nearly impossible, as reproduction can take a wide variety of forms, from sexual union to fission to spontaneous generation. Despite their deceptively similar natural appearances, the two things that truly unify the protean race are slavish devotion to their strange god and a fervent desire for the dissolution of reality as we know it.
Proteans are organized into several sub-races or castes, each with its own individual abilities and roles. Other proteans than the four presented here doubtless exist, but they do not interact with other races nearly to the extent that these four types do.
Voidworms: Disowned by greater proteans, who find these tiny beings shameful, voidworms nevertheless retain all the characteristics of true proteans, and are frequently found swimming through Limbo in vast schools or serving as spellcasters' familiars.
Naunets: Possessing little in the way of culture, the powerful naunets are the most bestial of the true proteans, representing the lowest recognized caste. Naunets are the shock troops of the protean race, and patrol the borderlands between Limbo and other planes, seeking out lawful incursions and making daring, savage raids into the realms of their enemies.
Imenteshes: These cunning proteans seek to subvert the forces of order from within their own systems, whispering information and insinuations where they can do the most damage. Endlessly creative, they adore reforming the landscapes of Limbo to suit their fancies, but enjoy warping the vistas and creatures of other planes even more.
Keketars: Priest-kings and voices of Limbo itself, keketars rule their fellows in the name of their bizarre god. Though their forms are extremely mutable, keketars can always be recognized thanks to eyes that glow amber or violet and floating crowns of swirling and changing symbols that often appear above their heads. Organized into cabals called choruses, keketars seek only to understand and follow the will of entropy. Protean Lords While the keketars are the highest caste of the protean race, there exist a few scattered individuals who put even the mightiest chorus to shame. Equal in power to demon lords or empyreal lords, the beings known as protean lords are an enigma, far older than other proteans and perhaps spawned in a previous iteration of the multiverse or somewhere beyond the depths of Limbo. Disdaining direct leadership, protean lords act according to their own desires, occasionally appearing to advise their lesser kin or keep an inscrutable eye on entities whose powers rival their own. Warpwaves Many proteans, particularly the imenteshes, have the ability to create and manipulate ripples in reality known as warpwaves. Yet even a protean can't predict what effects a warpwave might have. When a creature is affected by a warpwave, roll 1d20 and consult the table below to see what effect the entropic energies have.
| d20 | Warpwave effect | | 1 | Target takes 2 Strength damage. | | 2 | Target takes 2 Dexterity damage. | | 3 | Target takes 2 Constitution damage. | | 4 | Target takes 2 Intelligence damage. | | 5 | Target takes 2 Wisdom damage. | | 6 | Target takes 2 Charisma damage. | | 7 | Target gains 1 negative level. | | 8 | Target is blinded or deafened for 1d4 rounds. | | 9 | Target is confused for 1d4 rounds. | | 10 | Target is entangled by filaments of energy for 1d4 rounds. | | 11 | Target becomes fatigued (or exhausted if already fatigued). | | 12 | Target becomes nauseated for 1d4 rounds. | | 13 | Target is stunned for 1d4 rounds. | | 14 | Target is sickened for 1d4 rounds. | | 15 | Target is staggered for 1d4 rounds. | | 16 | Target gains 4d6 temporary hit points. | | 17 | Target is affected by a heal spell (CL = protean's CR). | | 18 | Target is turned to stone. | | 19 | Target is affected by baleful polymorph (CL = protean's CR). | | 20 | Portions of target's body burst with energy of a random type (choose between acid, cold, electricity, or fire), dealing 4d6 points of damage of the appropriate type to the target. |
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