Bogeyman

APPEARANCE

Dressed in a long dark coat and a tall hat, this lanky, fanged humanoid exudes an almost palpable aura of horror.

Mythic Bogeyman CR 12/MR 5

XP 19,200
NE Medium fey (mythic)
Init +10; Senses low-light vision, see in darkness^MA; Perception +23
Aura deepest dread^MA (30 ft., DC 28)

DEFENSE

AC 29, touch 24, flat-footed 22 (+7 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +5 natural)
hp 123 (17d6+64); terrible rejuvenation^MA 10
Fort +9, Ref +16, Will +13
DR 15/cold iron and epic; SR 23

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 claws +14 (1d8+6/19–20 plus dread strike^MA)
Special Attacks mythic power (5/day, surge +1d8), sneak attack +6d6 Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th; concentration +18)

• Constant—detect thoughts, tongues
• At will—deeper darkness, gaseous form, ghost sound (DC 18), invisibility, scare (DC 20), suggestion (DC 21)
• 3/day—crushing despair (DC 22), hold monster (DC 23), quickened phantasmal killer (DC 22)
• 1/day—hungry darknessism (DC 25), nightmare (DC 23)

STATISTICS

Str 12, Dex 23, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 16, Cha 27
Base Atk +8; CMB +9; CMD 33
Feats Dodge, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Mobility, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (phantasmal killer), Skill Focus (Stealth)^MF, Spring Attack^MF, Weapon Finesse^MF
Skills Bluff +28, Diplomacy +21, Disable Device +16, Escape Artist +19, Intimidate +29, Knowledge (local) +16, Perception +23, Sense Motive +23, Spellcraft +12, Stealth +36; Racial Modifiers +4 Intimidate, +4 Stealth
Languages Aklo, Common; tongues

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Deepest Dread (Su)

A mythic bogeyman is cloaked in a 30-foot aura of dread. This aura manifests as a shifting haze of images that reflect the viewer’s deepest fears. Each round an opponent ends its turn within the aura, it must succeed at a DC 28 Will save or become shaken for as long as it stays within the aura and 1d4+1 rounds thereafter. If a mythic bogeyman spends one use of mythic power as a swift action, non-mythic opponents within its aura that are normally immune to fear lose that immunity for 1 minute. In addition, opponents that are not immune to fear but which are not currently suffering a fear effect must immediately make a Will save against the creature’s deepest dread aura. This is a fear effect. The DC is Charisma-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.

Dread Strike (Su)

If a mythic bogeyman succeeds with a claw attack on a target currently suffering a fear effect, that creature is flat-footed to the rest of the mythic bogeyman’s attacks until the end of the mythic bogeyman’s next turn. This includes any additional attacks the mythic bogeyman makes in the same round as the initial claw attack. If a mythic bogeyman confirms a critical hit or a sneak attack with one of its claws on a target currently suffering a fear effect, that effect automatically becomes one step more severe (shaken creatures become frightened, frightened creatures become panicked, and panicked creatures cower in fear). A DC 28 Will save negates this increase. In addition, a critical hit or a sneak attack from a mythic bogeyman’s claw forces any target that has successfully saved against the creature’s deepest dread aura to make another Will save against its effects. This is a fear effect. The DC is Charisma-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.

Terrible Rejuvenation (Su)

A mythic bogeyman gains fast healing 10 while any creature within its deepest fear aura is suffering from a fear effect, including any fear effect created by the aura itself. In addition, if a mythic bogeyman is destroyed by a creature suffering from a fear effect, the mythic bogeyman’s body dissolves into shadowstuff and its essence merges with the Plane of Shadow where it begins reforming. In 3d4 days, the mythic bogeyman reappears fully healed (albeit without any gear it left behind on its old body), on the Material Plane within a 1 mile radius of the place where it was destroyed and with an obsession for revenge against those who previously destroyed it. While a destroyed mythic bogeyman is reforming, every time the creature that destroyed it sleeps in a location that is coterminous with the Plane of Shadow (such as the Material Plane), it must make a DC 28 Will save or suffer the effects of a nightmare spell. If the creature fails this save at any point, the mythic bogeyman can choose to reappear within a 30-foot radius of the creature’s location at the time its rejuvenation is complete.

The rejuvenation of a destroyed mythic bogeyman can be prevented if dispel evil is cast at the place on the Plane of Shadow that corresponds to the place on the coterminous plane at which the mythic bogeyman was destroyed. The caster must overcome the mythic bogeyman’s SR +2 per use of mythic power the mythic bogeyman had remaining when it was destroyed for the rejuvenation to be prevented.

ABOUT

Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure double

Many believe that the most cruel and mischievous fey become bogeymen as a punishment or a reward for their actions. Others see bogeymen as supernatural manifestations of society’s willingness to do itself harm.

Bogeymen use their powers to haunt houses or secluded natural places where they can hunt prey unobserved. They relish using their minor illusion power to hint at their presence long before they fully reveal themselves. It is not uncommon for a bogeyman to hide under a bed, or in a closet left slightly ajar, for days or even weeks, all the while feeding on its victims’ growing realization that they are not alone.

The most evil bogeymen are those who abandon the tactic of feeding on one person’s fears at a time and take up roles of mass murderers or serial killers, or other pursuits designed to drive fear into the hearts of an entire city of victims. True to their name, all bogeymen are male. Sometimes, children whom they steal away to secret lairs emerge years later, transformed into new bogeymen, and return home to continue their supernatural father’s work.