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Nihiloi

A mass of black, bramble-like tentacles writhes from the back of this vague, shifting humanoid. Inky skin covers the creature, and ebon claws curve long and thin from the tips of its fingers. Numerous tendrils of wispy shadow hold the creature aloft while others rise above its shoulders in strange, wriggling wings.

Nihiloi CR 11

Source Pathfinder #29: Mother of Flies pg. 86
XP 12,800
CN Medium outsider (extraplanar)
Init +11; Senses darkvision 90 ft., see in darkness; Perception +18
Aura tendrils

Defense

AC 23, touch 18, flat-footed 15 (+7 Dex, +1 dodge, +5 natural)
hp 135 (10d10+80); fast healing 5 (only in shadows)
Fort +11, Ref +16, Will +12
Defensive Abilities malleable; Immune cold

Offense

Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee 2 claws +13 (2d8+3), 2 slams +13 (1d8+3 plus grab)
Space 5 ft., Reach 20 ft. (with slam)
Special Attacks shadow crafting
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th)
At will - detect thoughts (DC 16)
3/day - deeper darkness

Statistics

Str 17, Dex 24, Con 27, Int 15, Wis 20, Cha 18
Base Atk +10; CMB +17; CMD 31
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility
Skills Acrobatics +20 (+24 to jump), Bluff +17, Diplomacy +17 (+21 against Plane of Shadow natives), Escape Artist +20, Fly +24, Knowledge (planes) +15, Perception +18, Stealth +20 (+30 in dim light); Racial Modifiers +10 Stealth in areas of dim light, +4 Diplomacy when dealing with other Plane of Shadow natives
Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal; broadcast

Ecology

Environment any (Plane of Shadow)
Organization solitary, cell (2-8), or cabal (9-26)
Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Broadcast (Su) Nihilois possess a selective type of long-distance telepathy. All nihilois can communicate telepathically with all other nihilois within 3 miles. An intermediary nihiloi can even pass messages between others of their race separated over long distances. They can also communicate telepathically with members of other races within 50 feet.

Malleable (Su) Nihilois exists as shadow, congealed into tangible but ever-twisting forms. Anytime a nihiloi is aware of imminent attack, it receives the benefit of 20% concealment, as it can warp and shift its body to avoid the blow.

See in Darkness (Su) Nihilois can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by a deeper darkness spell.

Shadow Crafting (Sp) Five times per day, when in an area of dim light or darkness, a nihiloi can manipulate shadow to reproduce an effect identical to shadow evocation. Typically, these effects are DC 19 to resist, but if both the nihiloi and its target are within areas of dim light or darkness, the DC increases by +2. This is a shadow effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Tendrils (Su) Once aware of enemies nearby, as a standard action, a nihiloi can unleash its tendrils in a haze of umbral whips that surrounds the area within 10 feet of it. Any creature that enters this area takes 4d6+3 points of damage from dozens of deadly lashes (Reflex save DC 23 for half damage). A nihiloi must take an additional standard action to end this effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Description

Violent xenophobes, the creatures typically called nihilois, devashades, or shadow lords pose a rising threat to interlopers into their umbral realm. In ages immemorial, these creatures enjoyed vast empires upon the mysterious Plane of Shadow, but through the millennia incursion by immigrants and interlopers have eroded their way of life and scattered their numbers. In the face of spellcasters from the Material Plane striding across their homeland—using it as little more than a umbral thoroughfare—and whole terrible races like kytons migrating to their native reaches, the nihilois have long retreated into the deepest darknesses of their realm. Yet as alien encroachment continues, slowly the nihilois have revealed themselves, and found to their surprise that they are powerful and feared.

Nihilois—as the first travelers from Golarion termed them, believing them to be members of an ancient mythical race—resemble gaunt, vaguely humanoid creatures shrouded in ever-writhing shadow stuff with fountains of dark tendrils jutting from their backs. They often hold these thin limbs in tight bunches that appear like strange, dense wings, but unfurl them easily and with shocking speed to lash out against their enemies. Unable to vocalize words, nihilois are widely distrusted by creatures foreign to the Plane of Shadow. Even a pair of the shadowy natives is unsettling to those encountering them for the first time as they silently gesture and nod, holding secret councils few others can understand. Creatures frequently interacting with them know the nihilois have a shared name for their race, though since these creatures speak only telepathically, the term sounds more like the passage of massive wings than a word pronounceable in most sentient tongues.