Horror Adventures pg. 240
Acquired/Inherited Template Acquired
Simple Template No
Usable with Summons No
Not all victims of a kyton’s torturous transformations perish from their captors’ exacting ministrations. Some creatures are transfigured into hybrids of their past selves and the dark malevolence of the kytons. These apostle kytons vary from being degenerate and submissive entities wholly subservient to the will of the kytons that massacred their sense of self, to utterly abominable creatures that take glee in their transformation, rising into leadership positions within kyton hierarchy. Creatures that lose themselves completely to the shadowbound corruption (see page 34) also sometimes become apostle kytons, as their souls are twisted to match the kytons’ amoral sensibilities. Those who willingly become apostle kytons tend to share a similar niche with ostiarius kytons (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 4 176), and the two sorts of kytons often collude together in cabals. Other apostles assist interlocutors (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3 174) in their ministrations or even serve the mighty eremites (Bestiary 3 172) directly as seekers of “perfect parts.”
“Apostle kyton” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature of the humanoid or monstrous humanoid type (referred to hereafter as the base creature). Most apostle kytons were once humanoids. An apostle kyton uses the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted here.
Challenge Rating: Base creature’s CR + 2.
Alignment: Lawful evil.
Type: The apostle kyton’s type changes to outsider (kyton, native). Do not recalculate Hit Dice, BAB, or saves. It gains the augmented subtype.
Senses: An apostle kyton gains darkvision 60 feet.
Armor Class: Natural armor bonus increases by 4.
Defensive Abilities: An apostle kyton gains immunity to cold, spell resistance equal to 11 + its total CR, and regeneration equal to 1/2 its Hit Dice that is negated by good weapons, good spells, and silver weapons.
Special Attacks: An apostle kyton gains the following special attacks.
Agonizing Prayer (Su): As a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, an apostle kyton can orate a prayer so profane that it causes any non-kyton listening to erupt in bleeding wounds. Any non-kyton listener must succeed at a Will save (DC = 10 + 1/2 the apostle kyton’s Hit Dice + its Charisma modifier) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per Hit Die of the apostle kyton, take bleed damage as if struck by the apostle kyton’s bleeding touch, and become staggered for 1 round. Creatures that succeed on this save halve the nonlethal damage and negate the staggered effect, but they still take the bleed damage. A creature that has taken nonlethal damage greater than or equal to its current hit points is not normally rendered unconscious by this ability, but such a creature is still helpless, rendering it susceptible to the apostle kyton’s seductive oration ability. This is a sonic painUM effect.
Bleeding Touch (Su): An apostle kyton that touches a creature deals 1 point of damage plus 1d6 points of bleed damage for every 10 Hit Dice of the kyton. If an apostle kyton attacks with natural or manufactured weapons, its weapons also deal this bleed damage.
Seductive Oration (Su): An apostle kyton has a unique perspective due to her transition into her current form. As a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, an apostle kyton can speak to the pleasures and wonders it experienced during its transformation. Any creature that listens to this speech for 1 continuous minute must succeed at a Will save (DC = 10 + 1/2 the apostle kyton’s Hit Dice + the apostle kyton’s Charisma modifier) or take 1d6 points of Wisdom damage. This Wisdom damage increases by 1d6 for every 8 Hit Dice of the apostle kyton. A creature that succeeds at its save can’t be affected by that apostle kyton’s seductive oration ability for 24 hours.
After failing the save to resist the apostle kyton’s seductive oration, the target begins to question the definitions of morality, physicality, and life. Once per week, as long as the affected creature remains in communication with the apostle kyton, it must attempt a saving throw against seductive oration again or have its alignment shift one step toward lawful evil and take 1d6 additional points of Wisdom damage. The save DC increases by 1 per consecutive week of contact with the apostle kyton. A successful save prevents the alignment shift. A creature can’t take Wisdom damage from seductive oration more than once per week, even if it encounters multiple apostle kytons.
When the target’s alignment completely shifts to lawful evil (or if the target is lawful evil when first seduced), the target must immediately succeed at a Will save (with the same DC as seductive oration, including any increases from extended contact) or gain a greater madness (see page 182). If your campaign uses the sanity system (see page 12), then instead of dealing Wisdom damage, seductive oration deals sanity damage equal to 1/2 the apostle kyton’s CR. If the target is turned lawful evil, the greater madness it gains is in addition to any madness it might gain from the sanity damage itself.
Creatures that are driven insane by an apostle kyton often eventually become broken souls (Bestiary 4 24), but some rare individuals gain the shadowbound corruption (see page 34) or even transform into apostle kytons themselves.
Unnerving Gaze (Su): An apostle kyton’s unnerving gaze (see the kyton subtype) causes those who fail their saving throws to be fascinated by the apostle kyton. The apostle kyton’s seductive oration doesn’t break this fascination effect, but other attacks break the effect as normal.
Spell-Like Abilities: An apostle kyton of 11 Hit Dice or higher can cast shadow walk once per day, with a caster level equal to her Hit Dice. An apostle kyton of 20 Hit Dice or higher can use shadow walk at will.
Special Qualities: An apostle kyton gains the following.
Shadow Traveler (Su): When an apostle kyton uses shadow walk, she moves at 100 miles per hour.
Ability Scores: Strength +6, Dexterity +4, Constitution +6, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +6, Charisma +6.
Skills: An apostle kyton gains a +4 racial bonus on Bluff, Heal, and Intimidate checks.
Languages: An apostle kyton learns Infernal as a bonus language.
|