Feargaunt

This hulking shadow exudes a palpable menace, its form twisting into the shapes of hooks, grasping hands, and writhing tentacles.

Feargaunt CR 9

XP 6,400
CE Large outsider (extraplanar, incorporeal)
Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +18; Aura nightmare (60 ft., DC 20)

DEFENSE

AC 23, touch 23, flat-footed 17 (+7 deflection, +5 Dex, +1 dodge, –1 size)
hp 102 (12d10+36)
Fort +7, Ref +13, Will +11
Defensive Abilities incorporeal

OFFENSE

Speed fly 40 ft. (perfect)
Melee tormenting touch +16 (6d6)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks tormenting touch
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +16)
At willfear (DC 17), ghost sound (DC 14)
3/dayconfusion (DC 17), nightmare (DC 19), phantasmal killer (DC 18)

STATISTICS

Str —, Dex 21, Con 17, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 19
Base Atk +12; CMB +18; CMD 37
Feats Blind-Fight, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Lunge, Skill Focus (Stealth)
Skills Bluff +19, Fly +26, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (planes) +16, Perception +18, Sense Motive +18, Stealth +22
Languages Common (can’t speak); telepathy 100 ft.
SQ never far behind, prideful defense

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Never Far Behind (Su)

A number of times per day equal to its Charisma modifier, a feargaunt can teleport to a square adjacent to a creature that is still shaken from the feargaunt’s nightmare aura or damaged by its tormenting touch. This ability functions as greater teleport. This ability functions only if the feargaunt and the creature are both in the Dimension of Dreams.

Nightmare Aura (Su)

A feargaunt is cloaked in a 60-foot-radius aura of fear, which manifests as darkened shadows, subtle rot, and skewed perspective. The first time a creature ends its turn within the aura, it must succeed at a DC 20 Will save or be shaken for as long as it stays within the aura and for 1d4 rounds thereafter.

Creatures within the aura suffering from any fear effect automatically fail Charisma checks to attempt impossible feats in a dreamscape. The feargaunt can suppress or reactivate this aura as a swift action. If the creature succeeds at the saving throw, it cannot be affected again by the aura for another 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

The DC is Charisma-based.

Prideful Defense (Su)

A feargaunt gains a deflection bonus to its Armor Class equal to its Wisdom modifier, in addition to the deflection bonus an incorporeal creature normally receives based on its Charisma modifier.

Tormenting Touch (Su)

A feargaunt’s touch is an incorporeal touch attack that deals 6d6 points of damage and bypasses damage reduction. A creature that is suffering from a fear effect and is struck by the feargaunt’s tormenting touch also takes 1d2 points of Charisma bleed damage. This bleed damage can be stopped as normal, but also stops when the subject is no longer suffering from a fear effect.

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Dimension of Dreams)
Organization solitary
Treasure none

Certain vivid nightmares endure beyond the sleeper’s awakening, drawing substance from planar flotsam and deriving purpose from their creators’ deepest fears. Shifting their form from moment to moment, these malicious creatures range the Dimension of Dreams, ambushing prey with soul-weakening strikes. Their presence turns dream elements that might otherwise be only frightening into agonizing experiences that can kill their victims. Feargaunts often allow victims to believe they have escaped, only to attack anew from an unexpected direction. The Dimension of Dreams is their home territory, and a feargaunt uses its knowledge of this realm to ensure that no matter how fast or how far victims flee, they can never truly leave the feargaunt behind.

Anywhere a feargaunt steps takes on a darker, more frightening cast. Shadows become impenetrable hiding places for things that lurk out of sight, familiar locations take on ominous twists that lead those who thought they knew their way astray, and comforting faces become masks for monstrous, sadistic enemies. The terror the feargaunt inspires eats away at the mental stability of its victims, ensuring that they can’t navigate dreamscapes without tripping themselves up and letting their own imaginations hamper them.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Bestiary © 2015, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Josh Colon, John Compton, Paris Crenshaw, Adam Daigle, Eleanor Ferron, James Jacobs, Joe Homes, Mikko Kallio, Mike Kimmel, Ron Lundeen, Kate Marshall, Kalervo Oikarinen, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, and F. Wesley Schneider.

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