Death, Lesser

Lesser Death CR 16

XP 76,800
NE Medium undead (extraplanar)
Init +14; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see invisibility, status sight; Perception +6; Aura misfortune (10 ft.), unnatural aura

DEFENSE

AC 31, touch 21, flat-footed 20 (+10 Dex, +1 dodge, +10 natural)
hp 276 (24d8+168)
Fort +17, Ref +19, Will +20
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; Immune undead traits; SR 27

OFFENSE

Speed 60 ft.; air walk
Melee +2 keen scythe +30/+30/+25/+20/+15 (2d4+14/19– 20/×4 plus energy drain)
Special Attacks energy drain (2 levels, DC 29)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th; concentration +23)

Constantair walk, haste, see invisibility
3/daycall spirit (DC 22), slay living (DC 22) 1/dayfinger of death (DC 25), plane shift (DC 22)

STATISTICS

Str 27, Dex 30, Con —, Int 15, Wis 23, Cha 24
Base Atk +18; CMB +27; CMD 47
Feats Combat Casting, Critical Focus, Dazing Assault, Furious Focus, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Staggering Critical, Step Up, Stunning Critical, Tiring Critical, Weapon Focus (scythe)
Skills Acrobatics +34, Disguise +34, Intimidate +34, Knowledge (planes) +14, Knowledge (religion) +17, Ride +34, Stealth +37
Languages Celestial, Common, Infernal

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Misfortune Aura (Su)

When a living creature attempts an ability check, attack roll, caster level check, skill check, or saving throw within 10 feet of a lesser death, it must roll two d20s and take the lowest roll before applying any modifiers.

Status Sight (Su)

When a lesser death gazes on a creature, it can see that creature’s emotion aura and that creature’s current health and overall well-being.

This ability acts as the status spell, as well as the emotion aura aspect of the analyze aura spell.

ECOLOGY

Environment any
Organization solitary or murder (2–4)
Treasure standard (+2 keen scythe, other treasure)

Lesser deaths are the weaker cousins of grim reapers. It is whispered among dark cabals and occult fellowships that the first soul unshackled from its mortal coil faced its final judgment with scorn and defiance. This creature was so outraged by the metaphysical order of the multiverse that it became a kind of rogue deity dedicated to the ending of all other lives. Particularly powerful creatures killed by this unforgiving deity become the servants of their slayer, spreading death wherever they wander. The least powerful of these lethal servants are called lesser deaths.

The first creators of the decks of many things captured some of these twisted lesser deaths long ago and bound them to those artifacts. This handful of treacherous artifacts calls forth a lesser death instead of a dire wraith when the skull card is drawn. The vast majority of lesser deaths are not bound within artifacts, though, and are free to wander the multiverse, spreading doom wherever possible. Their choices of victims sometimes seem capricious, and have birthed myriad rumors regarding their nature and purpose. Some claim that these creatures serve the whims of a hidden force in the multiverse, while others claim they select their victims according to some dark logic that only they fathom. While these creatures possess a wicked intelligence, they converse with no one and use their haunting rasps only rarely, in mockery of those who would defy them. On rare occasions, a group of these creatures converges and works together to deal death to a particularly powerful foe. When they do, they often come riding advanced albino cauchemars in a terrifying stampede, trampling the life from any who would impede their dread work.

A lesser death appears much like a typical grim reaper, though those who have encountered both claim that it’s impossible to mistake one for the other, as lesser deaths lack the hopeless gravity of true grim reapers.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 5 © 2015, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, John Bennett, Logan Bonner, Creighton Broadhurst, Robert Brookes, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Thurston Hillman, Eric Hindley, Joe Homes, James Jacobs, Amanda Hamon Kunz, Ben McFarland, Jason Nelson, Thom Phillips, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Alistair Rigg, Alex Riggs, David N. Ross, Wes Schneider, David Schwartz, Mark Seifter, Mike Shel, James L. Sutter, and Linda Zayas-Palmer.

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