SceazirThis winged, six-legged creature seems to be constructed of dark
crystal. Its mouth is disproportionately large for its wolfish head,
gaping open to display rows of jagged teeth, and its spiky, manyjointed
legs bend in unsettling ways.Sceazir CR 9Source Pathfinder #141: Last Watch pg. 86 XP 6,400 NE Large outsider (extraplanar) Init +8; Senses darkvision 120 ft., lifesense, low-light vision;
Perception +9DefenseAC 22, touch 14, flat-footed 17 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +8 natural,
–1 size) hp 114 (12d10+48) Fort +8, Ref +12, Will +10 Defensive Abilities negative energy affinity; DR 10/adamantine or good; Immune cold, death effects, disease,
energy drain, poison; Resist acid 10, electricity 10, sonic 10OffenseSpeed 60 ft., fly 120 ft. (good) Melee bite +16 (1d8+5), 4 claws +17 (1d6+5/19–20) Special Attacks entropic ruin, pounce, voidfuryStatisticsStr 21, Dex 18, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 9 Base Atk +12; CMB +18; CMD 33 (41 vs. trip) Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Improved Critical
(claw), Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (claw) Skills Acrobatics +8, Fly +18, Perception +9, Stealth +16,
Survival +8; Racial Modifiers +4 Fly, +8 Stealth SQ bond of the voidEcologyEnvironment any (Negative Energy Plane) Organization solitary, voidpair (1 plus 1 sceaduinar) or
howling (4–8) Treasure noneSpecial AbilitiesBond of the Void (Su) Sceazirs have an innate connection
with sceaduinars and can intuitively understand their
commands. A sceazir with a sceaduinar rider forms
a telepathic connection with the rider, allowing the
sceaduinar to control its sceazir mount as a free action.
A sceazir follows the commands of a sceaduinar rider to
the best of its ability, but it almost never allows any other
creature to use it as a mount.
Entropic Ruin (Ex) When a sceazir is slain, its body explodes in a
burst of negative energy. All creatures within a 20-foot burst
take 8d6 points of negative energy damage and become
fatigued. A creature can halve this damage and negate the
fatigue with a successful DC 20 Reflex save. If a creature was
already fatigued when it fails this save, it becomes exhausted
instead. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Voidfury (Ex) Sceazirs have an instinctive loathing for positive
energy. When targeted with positive energy (such as a cure
spell or channeled energy), a sceazir immediately flies into
a fury, as the rage spell, for 2d6 rounds.DescriptionVicious and brutal predators, sceazirs are born from
the substance of the Negative Energy Plane in much the
same way as the plane’s more intelligent inhabitants,
sceaduinars. Though they possess only an animalistic
intelligence, sceazirs loathe all forms of life and unlife
and are quick to hunt down anything they detect in their
territory that is not native to the Negative Energy Plane.
They are unnaturally fast, moving with equal ease on the
ground or through the air. Due to sceazirs’ speed and
skill at tracking, sceaduinars often use them as mounts or
beasts of burden. Sceazirs can understand the commands
of a sceaduinar rider through a telepathic bond and carry
out such commands obediently, but they almost never
accept non-sceaduinar riders.
A sceazir is typically 11 feet long, stands 6 feet tall at the
shoulder, and weighs about 900 pounds.EcologyScholars are unsure of the exact catalysts that cause the
“births” of the Negative Energy Plane’s strange entropic
creatures, and due to the plane’s hostile environment,
attempts to study the subject are difficult and limited. Like
sceaduinars, sceazirs are born from crystalline formations
made of the Negative Energy Plane’s hypersaturation
of negative energy, hatching fully grown from egg-like
cocoons. Academics speculate that the similarities in this
creation process are what form the connection that allows
sceaduinars to telepathically command sceazirs.
Sceazirs’ bodies are formed of dark purple crystal, and
their heads are somewhat wolflike, though with mouths far
wider than those of any mortal canines. Their six manyjointed,
insectile legs, terminating in jagged claws, give
them an unnerving, skittering appearance when moving
across the ground. In flight, their wings vibrate at a speed
not easily discernible by the mortal eye, so they appear to
be completely still even as they swoop down on victims.
Their speed, stealth, and ability to sense living creatures
make them highly efficient predators.
It is rumored that even larger and more powerful
sceazirs inhabit the dark reaches of the Negative Energy
Plane, though if such creatures do exist, none who have
encountered them survived to verify these rumors.Habitat and SocietyAs bestial creatures driven primarily by instinctual hatred,
sceazirs do not have anything that could properly be called
a society of their own. They are often influenced more
by sceaduinars than their own inclinations. Though the
egg formations containing sceazirs arise spontaneously,
sceaduinars residing in the area typically tend them to
ensure the eggs hatch safely. This process also ensures
that the newly birthed sceazirs bond to the attending
sceaduinars, providing a ready source of mounts when
needed. A sceazir is loyal to its sceaduinar rider, although
the bond is not necessarily exclusive; sceazirs take
commands from any sceaduinar, provided they do not
conflict with the commands of a sceaduinar that is already
commanding them. It is unusual to see more than a single
sceazir and sceaduinar together, however, and the presence
of multiple pairs always indicates they are joining together
against something they consider to be a significant threat.
Sceazirs birthed into the harsh wilds of the Negative
Energy Plane are left to their own devices unless found by
a sceaduinar with a need for their service. These sceazirs
roam the plane hunting for prey, often forming packs.
Packs have a loose hierarchy, with the strongest sceazir in
the group acting as the leader, without other defined roles.
Although they have no real need to eat, they enjoy
seeking out both living and undead creatures
to devour, gleefully tearing their prey
to pieces. The relative rarity of
intruders to the Negative
Energy Plane means that
sceazirs eagerly track
down any new arrivals
they detect in their
territory. They especially loathe those capable
of using positive energy and target such
foes with particular ferocity.
Whether they are solitary or part of
a pack, sceazirs mark their territory
by digging nests out of the entropic
substance that forms the Negative
Energy Plane’s environs. Sceazir
nests generally take the form
of caves or deep pits, and
they can be identified by
the swirled, geometrical
patterns of claw marks
across the ground and
exterior. These patterns
are unique to each sceazir
or pack, and they cause a disturbing sense of
vertigo to living creatures who look into
them for too long.
Curiously, sceazirs seem to have
an inborn terror of the Negative
Energy Plane’s other inhabitants,
nightshades. This aversion
goes far beyond that of
sceaduinars, who despise
nightshades and avoid them unless they have sufficient
power or numbers to ensure success in the ensuing
conflict. Sceazirs will not approach a nightshade or
its territory under any circumstances, even if directly
commanded to do so by a sceaduinar rider. Speculations
regarding the reason for this vary. Some scholars believe
it is a simple matter of practicality, as the majority of
sceazirs are not powerful enough to survive a conflict
with a nightshade. Others, however, suspect the phobia
may have a deeper cause, with suggestions ranging from
an energy given off by nightshades that sceazirs cannot
tolerate to an ancient war ending in the sceazirs’ defeat
and devolution to the bestial creatures they are now.
Some have even suggested that nightshades are capable of
commanding sceazirs just as sceaduinars are, but use that
ability to keep sceazirs away rather than work with them.
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