Papinu

Papinu CR 8

XP 4,800
CE Small fey
Init +8; Senses low-light vision; Perception +11

DEFENSE

AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 17 (+4 Dex, +6 natural, +1 size)
hp 84 (13d6+26 plus 13)
Fort +8; Ref +14; Will +8
Immune cold
Weaknesses cruel delight

DEFENSE

Speed 20 ft.
Melee forsaken touch +11 touch (4d6 cold plus forsaken)
Special Attacks forsaken touch (Will DC 18)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 13th)

3/day—frost fall (DC 14), meld into ice*
1/day—icicle shower* (DC 16), icy future, icy past

STATISTICS

Str 10, Dex18, Con15, Int15, Wis10, Cha15
Base Atk +6; CMB +5; CMD 19
Feats Alertness, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +13 (+9 when jumping), Bluff +11, Climb +9, Craft (sculpture) +15, Diplomacy +9, Escape Artist +11, Heal +2, Knowledge (geography) +13, Knowledge (local) +11, Knowledge (nature) +15, Perception +11, Perform (comedy) +13, Sense Motive +11, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +21, Survival +4, Swim +5, Use Magic Device +9; Racial Modifiers –4 Acrobatics when jumping
Languages Common, Sylvan
SQ snow walking

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Cruel Delight (Ex)

When a creature within 60 feet of the papinu takes damage from a natural hazard, a man made trap, or a creature other than the papinu (excluding self-inflicted injuries), the papinu breaks into peals of laughter, causing it to be staggered until the end of its next turn. The papinu must be able to see the injured creature and cannot suffer this effect again for 1 minute.

Forsaken Touch (Su)

A papinu can make a touch attack to impart its chilly soul and profound mistrust into the target. The touch deals 4d6 points of cold damage and causes the creature to treat all creatures other than itself as enemies for 1d4 rounds. It must attempt attacks of opportunity whenever any creature provokes them and it cannot use the aid another action.

A successful DC 18 Will saving throw negates the forsaken effect, but not the cold damage. Whether or not the save is successful, the creature cannot be affected by the same papinu’s forsaken effect for 24 hours, though the target still takes cold damage on a successful hit. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Snow Walking (Ex)

A papinu can walk on snow or thin ice as if affected by water walk. It may leave a trail on such surfaces if it chooses to do so.

ECOLOGY

Environment cold forests
Organization solitary
Treasure standard (sculpting tools)

Icicles dangle from the nose and earlobes of a slight humanoid creature with pale blue skin, spiky silver hair, gray eyes, and white lips. It wears clothing made from moss, which covers its torso and spindly limbs.

Taiga supports life far better than its polar counterparts do, yet it remains remote and lonely. The cold forests can stretch for thousands of miles in every direction, reaching into the high latitudes and descending down into the mid-latitudes. A lone humanoid trekking through this vast wilderness can travel for weeks or even months without seeing another sentient soul.

Such extreme isolation torments even the strongest minds. Mad thoughts creep into the brain’s dimmest recesses as the person struggles to maintain his sanity and survive in this harsh, unforgiving environment.

When darkness falls over the traveler’s psyche, legends claim a malevolent winter spirit whispers vile promises into their deranged yet receptive ears. The indigenous residents believe the sinister being to be the living embodiment of winter, a viewpoint they share with the talvikind, a brand of cleric who worships winter as a divine entity. Those corrupted by the evil voice and their accursed descendants are the papinu, a race of surprisingly artistic fey who become obsessed with sowing violence and spreading mayhem wherever they go.

Papinu predominately lead a nomadic, solitary existence wandering along the edges of civilization seeking mortals to tease, trouble, and ultimately slay.

The creatures possess a perverse sense of humor rooted in watching others suffer through cruel pranks and dangerous stunts. They take fiendish delight meting out misfortune and pain to any humanoid unlucky enough to cross their paths. Papinu frequently lure victims onto patches of thin ice, into the jaws of a forgotten spring trap concealed beneath fresh snow, or into the lair of a hibernating beast. When a creature falls prey to one of its mean tricks, the monster literally dances with joy at the sight. However, their fleeting mirth soon yields to their innate depravity. After a few laughs at the victim’s expense, the papinu moves in for the kill.

Unfortunately, even death fails to end the ignominious show. To commemorate its success, the fey monster encases its murdered victim within an elaborate ice sculpture. With enough time and privacy, the papinu can spend days carving gruesome facial expressions, graphic wounds, and compound fractures onto the frozen surface of its disgusting creation. The bizarre ritual’s purpose defies rational explanation, but popular folklore suggests the papinu use these artistic creations as status symbols within their splintered community. In support of this seemingly farfetched theory, papinu occasionally gather together with others of their kin to marvel and evaluate these ice sculptures. The demented fey never agree on anything, especially when it comes to judging a competitor’s handiwork.

The slightest criticism, whether real or unfounded, quickly devolves into an ugly shouting contest, though they oddly never attack another of their kin. When the tumult dies down, the papinu finally reach a consensus, deciding to not meet again until at least another year passes.

Despite being immune to the ravages of the elements, papinu always wear clothing made from pine wreaths, moss, and other vegetation harvested from their chilly environment. The gaunt creatures stand no more than 4 feet tall and weigh a meager 60 pounds. Their spindly limbs are disproportionately too long for their seemingly fragile torso. They have pale blue skin, spiky, silver hair, gray eyes, and white lips. Their noses and ears are where they normally would be found on a human, though their sensory organs differ wildly in appearance. Their noses are triangular in shape with a wide base, while their ears feature elongated lobes with a smaller upper ear structure. Icicles and droplets of water often cling to their cool bodily surfaces. Papinu are overwhelming male, adding another wrinkle to the debate regarding the purpose of their macabre ice sculptures, which leads some indigenous residents to suggest they may play a significant role in their mating rituals. of course, papinu’s actions often display no rhyme nor reason, and this odd means of artistic expression may fall into the same category as well.

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