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Aeon, Othaos

Four limbs—two black and two white—reach out from a swirling vortex of pulsing light and deep darkness.

Othaos CR 5

Source Bestiary 5 pg. 10
XP 1,600
N Medium outsider (aeon, extraplanar)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; Perception +12

Defense

AC 18, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+2 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 Dodge, +2 natural)
hp 57 (6d10+24)
Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +8
Immune cold, critical hits, poison; Resist electricity 10, fire 10; SR 16

Offense

Speed fly 30 ft. (average)
Melee 4 slams +10 (1d4+4)
Special Attacks banish darkness, consume light
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +8)
At will—dancing lights
3/day—darkness
1/day—daylight, deeper darkness

Statistics

Str 18, Dex 16, Con 19, Int 11, Wis 17, Cha 14
Base Atk +6; CMB +9; CMD 25
Feats Dodge, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative
Skills Fly +12, Knowledge (arcana, history, nature, planes) +9, Perception +12, Sense Motive +12, Stealth +12
Languages envisaging
SQ chiaroscuro, extension of all, void form

Ecology

Environment any (Outer Planes)
Organization solitary
Treasure none

Special Abilities

Banish Darkness (Su) An othaos in an area of dim light or darkness (including supernatural darkness) can radiate intense light and heat. The light level in the square the othaos occupies increases by two levels for 1 round and the light level in all adjacent squares increases by one level. Apply this adjustment after determining the light level from all other sources (adjusting to include spells cast after the othaos uses this ability). All creatures adjacent to the othaos take 4d6 points of fire damage (Will DC 15 half). The save DC is Charisma-based.

Chiaroscuro (Su) An othaos aeon’s physical form changes depending on the level of light present in its space. While in areas of dim light or darkness (as well as supernatural darkness), an othaos becomes invisible and gains the incorporeal subtype. While incorporeal, an othaos has no Strength score, can’t make natural attacks, and loses its natural armor bonus (giving it a total AC of 16).

Consume Light (Su) As a standard action, an othaos in an area of normal or bright light can consume the light and heat around its body. The light level in the square the othaos occupies drops by two levels for 1 round and the light level in all adjacent squares drops by one level. Apply this adjustment after determining the light level from all other sources (adjusting further to include spells cast after the othaos uses this ability). All creatures adjacent to the othaos take 4d6 points of cold damage (Will DC 15 half). The save DC is Charisma-based.

Description

Enigmatic and ephemeral, othaoses are stewards of the balance between light and darkness. Othaoses seek out supernatural sources of light and dark that unnaturally prolong exposure to one or the other and work to restore the natural order. They may be encountered studying sources of light or observing large objects casting shadows—they’re just as likely to assist in the repair of a light source as they are to seek the destruction of an object casting too much shadow. These aeons also scout for breaches between the Material Plane and the Plane of Shadow, seeking to mend these rifts whenever possible.

Creatures in "Aeon" Category

NameCR
Agnoia14
Akhana12
Bythos16
Lipika18
Othaos5
Paracletus2
Pleroma20
Synesis4
Theletos7

Aeon

Source Bestiary 2 pg. 8
Beyond passion, beyond mercy, beyond reason, the faceless caretakers of reality toil without end, silently struggling to preserve the tenuous balance upon which all existence depends. These voiceless forces are the aeons, inscrutable shapers and eliminators of the multiverse. They exist beyond the understanding of most mortals, endlessly striving toward goals unfathomable even to many of the planes' eldest inhabitants. Aeons build order from the chaos of the Maelstrom, seed new life upon barren worlds, and halt the rampages of forces grown overbold. They rend nations to vapor, dismantle planets into cosmic dust, and pave the way for calamities. Their ways are at one moment beneficent and in the next utterly devastating, but always without ardor, compassion, or malice. Every aeon dispassionately but determinedly strives toward the same objective—an ever changing, amending, and readjusting pursuit of multiplanar equilibrium. United in this eternal and perhaps impossible pursuit, aeons embody the planes-spanning hand of a metaphorical omnipotent clockmaker, endlessly tuning and adjusting the myriad gears of reality in pursuit of ultimate perfection.

The balance aeons seek in all things begins with themselves. Most aeons embody a powerful dichotomy sustained in equilibrium. From the potency of birth and death meeting in akhanas to the philosophies of fate and freedom embodied by theletos, the workings of existence take on form and will within their living manifestations. Even the lesser paracletus unite diverse elements of creation in their intricate orbits. Such stability reaches beyond the shapes of aeons to inspire and direct their minds, imbuing each with a singular purpose and area of control. Thus, each embodies the realm of reality it would seek to balance, attempting to enforce a harmony as perfect as that of its physical form upon all things. The forms of various types directly suggest their abilities and objectives, with pleroma aeons, for example, exhibiting the power to create or annihilate, and using such influence to alter that which has grown either too abundant or sterile.

While aeons are not malicious creatures, they care nothing for individual beings or the struggles and emotions central to most life. The ruin of an entire city or burning of a vast forest means equally little in their manipulation of symmetry. By the same right, creating new life or constructing defenses against impending calamities are equally characteristic acts. For aeons, only the final tally matters, and a land overpopulated by humanoids is just as much in need of culling as a land overrun by ravenous fungi. Just as a body's natural defenses have neither mercy nor malice for invading parasites, aeons don't muddy their objectives with emotion. Such impartiality extends to the interactions between aeons as well. Without culture, society, or even memory beyond the immediate needs of the multiverse, they build no relationships and, in general, have no personalities beyond an automaton-like directness. A vague caste system exists, with aeons that hold influence over greater multiversal principles acknowledged as superior by their lesser brethren. This caste system rarely translates to actual direction and obedience, though. Should the acts of a greater aeon jeopardize the works or even lives of a multitude of lesser aeons, the efforts of the more potent aeon proceed without hesitation. Only in matters of great existential concern do multiple aeons cooperate, directed into doing so by the united consciousness of their race and the multiverse itself, and even then rarely for long.

Many mistake aeons for friends or allies of nature and its creatures. While this might be true at times—and is definitely true if reality as a whole is considered a vast, united organism—aeons care no more for the trees of the forest than for the towers of civilization. For them, all life is life and all death is death, to be preserved or scoured regardless of its arbitrary shape.

In rare cases, aeons have been known to deviate from the whims of the multiverse. Such rogue aeons typically arise from interacting with other races excessively, living beyond their intended times, being exposed to unusual ideas, or being forced to perform acts they otherwise wouldn't contemplate. These aeons typically take on extreme personalities, coming to favor one aspect of their being over the other—an akhana is just as likely to become an artist of life as a mass murderer. Normal aeons perceive their rogue brethren as high-priority disturbances in the balance of the multiverse and seek the destruction of such rarities with all haste.

Monad, the Condition of All

All aeons are bound in a state they know as “the condition of all” or “monad,” a supreme oneness with all members of their race and the multiverse itself. Therefore, aeons exist as an extension of the multiverse; in a fashion similar to the way bones, muscle, and the various humors create a mortal, they exist as part of a greater being. When destroyed or upon accomplishing specific goals, their energies simply dissipate and become reabsorbed into the monad. They do not die, but are instead recycled. They have no discernible memories and seem to exist only in the present, arriving to repair balance. Relationships with non-aeons are generally nonexistent, and they feel no sense of affection, remorse, vengeance, or similar emotions. Aeons deal with each task as its own action, independent from all other tasks. Thus, an individual once at violent odds with an aeon may, upon their next encounter, have the aeon's full and undaunted support.

Aeon Subtype

Aeons are a race of neutral outsiders who roam the planes maintaining the balance of reality. Aeons possess the following traits.
  • Immunity to cold, poison, and critical hits.
  • Resistance to electricity 10 and fire 10.
  • Envisaging (Su) Aeons communicate wordlessly, almost incomprehensibly. Caring little for the wants and desires of other creatures, they have no need to engage in exchanges of dialogue. Instead, aeons mentally scan beings for their thoughts and intentions, and then retaliate with flashes of psychic projections that emit a single concept in response to whatever the other being was thinking. The flash is usually a combination of a visual and aural stimulation, which displays how the aeon perceives future events might work out. For instance, an aeon seeking to raze a city communicates this concept to non-aeons by sending them a vivid image of the city crumbling to ash. An aeon's envisaging functions as a non-verbal form of telepathy. Aeons cannot read the thoughts of any creature immune to mind-affecting effects.
  • Extension of All (Ex) Through an aeon's connection to the multiverse, it gains access to strange and abstruse knowledge that filters through all existence. Much of the knowledge is timeless, comprised of events long past, present, and potentially even those yet to come. Aeons gain a racial bonus equal to half their racial Hit Dice on all Knowledge skill checks. This same connection also binds them to other aeons. As a result, they can communicate with each other freely, over great distances as if using telepathy. This ability also works across planes, albeit less effectively, allowing the communication of vague impressions or feelings, not specific details or sights. Due to the vast scope of the aeon race's multiplanar concerns, though, even the most dire reports of a single aeon rarely inspire dramatic or immediate action.
  • Void Form (Su) Though aeons aren't incorporeal, their forms are only a semi-tangible manifestation of something greater. An aeon's void form grants it a deflection bonus equal to 1/4 its Hit Dice (rounded down).