KytonWickedly barbed chains adorn this lean figure, and gaps in the bindings reveal deathly pale flesh etched with jagged scars.Kyton CR 6Source Pathfinder RPG Bestiary pg. 185
XP 2,400
LE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, kyton, lawful)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14DefenseAC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +4 natural)
hp 60 (8d10+16); regeneration 2 (good weapons and spells, silver weapons)
Fort +8, Ref +9, Will +3
DR 5/silver or good; Immune cold; SR 17OffenseSpeed 30 ft.
Melee 4 chains +11 (2d4+2)
Space 5 ft, Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with chains)
Special Attacks dancing chains,unnerving gazeStatisticsStr 15, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 12
Base Atk +8; CMB +10; CMD 23
Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (chain)
Skills Acrobatics +14, Climb +13, Craft (blacksmithing) +11, Escape Artist +14, Intimidate +12, Perception +14
Languages Common, Infernal
SQ chain armorEcologyEnvironment any
Organization solitary, pair, link (3-6), or chain (7-20)
Treasure standardSpecial AbilitiesChain Armor (Ex) The chains that adorn a kyton grant it a +4 armor bonus, but are not treated as armor for the purpose of arcane spell failure, armor check penalties, maximum Dexterity, weight, or proficiency.
Dancing Chains (Su) A kyton can control up to four chains within 20 feet as a standard action, making the chains dance or move as it wishes. In addition, a kyton can increase these chains’ length by up to 15 feet and cause them to sprout razor-edged barbs. These chains attack as effectively as the kyton itself. If a chain is in another creature’s possession, the creature can attempt a DC 15 Will save to break the kyton’s power over that chain. If the save is successful, the kyton cannot attempt to control that particular chain again for 24 hours or until the chain leaves the creature’s possession. A kyton can climb chains it controls at its normal speed without making Climb checks. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Unnerving Gaze (Su) Range 30 ft., Will DC 15 negates. A kyton can make its face resemble one of an opponent’s departed loved ones or bitter enemies. Those who fail their saves become shaken for 1d3 rounds. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.DescriptionOften classified among the ranks of the infernal and called chain devils by the uninitiated, the sadomasochistic kytons are not true devils. Many suggest that kytons were natives of Hell who existed there before the advent of devilkind, while others hypothesize they were later brought to the plane by some sadistic power. Regardless of their origins, kytons roam the planes in their lust to cause and receive suffering, seeking pain through violent abductions and sadistic debauches.
The kyton presented here is a typical member of this fiendish race of outsiders, but is by no means the only type of its kind. Just as there are numerous different species of demon and devil, rumor holds that different kinds of kytons dwell in their jangling cities in Hell and on the Plane of Shadow. These kytons are invariably more powerful than the one presented here, often having spell-like abilities or hideous and unsettling special attacks along the themes of torture and pain. Rumor holds that the most powerful kytons are completely inhuman, and that these monsters are the true progenators of the kyton race-the kyton presented here but the result of unholy dalliances with their unfortunate victims.Creatures in "Kyton" CategorySource Bestiary 3 pg. 170
Despicably cruel and equally horrible to gaze upon, kytons are evil fiends who feed on the fear and suffering of mortals through painful supernatural means. Their monstrous appearances vary, but their stoic and amoral dispositions are universal, for no kyton cares anything for the plights typical of the creatures they prey upon. They are beings wholly dedicated to metamorphosis achieved through horrific trials of self-mutilation and the mystical power provided them by their sapping of mortal anguish.
Despite being often categorized by mortals as shadow-dwelling devils, kytons calmly refute such claims, seeing themselves as above the principles of Hell's denizens. Instead, kytons seek ecstasy through pain in the form of deliberate and violent self-transformation, adhering to the belief that by altering the physical and spiritual matter that makes up their form, they can reach a state of perfect being. Removing aspects of themselves and replacing them with more desirable or powerful pieces one at a time, kytons believe that experiences of heightened emotion and sensation (typically in the forms of terror and pain) lead to greater states of awareness and existence. The dedication with which they practice this belief places them on the level of zealots, their fanatical commitment made all the more disturbing by their eerie composedness and unnaturally cool dispositions.
The original kytons were born of the first truly selfish and depraved thoughts conceived by mortals. These creatures surprised and horrified the early gods with their power and hideous nature, and so the gods chained them in a remote part of Hell. The kytons embraced their chains and, seeking to fulfill their unnatural hunger for pain, escaped to the Plane of Shadow, which lay much closer to their mortal prey. Now, kytons are born of mortal souls that were spiritually and physically tortured in life, victims of their own masochism, sacrifices to gods of suffering, or those promised to the fiends either by their own will or by sadistic cultists. Obscure rituals force the sacrificed souls to bypass the normal judgments of the afterlife and instead become mired in the Plane of Shadow. Over an excruciating and lengthy span of time, these souls are warped and twisted until they emerge as frail new kytons. A kyton's first willing act must be to cut away part of its own flesh, proving it is worthy of its kyton nature—the first step in an immortal lifetime of replacing its own substance with the stronger parts of other creatures. By drawing strength from its new grafts, a kyton grows and becomes both stronger and more terrible to behold. Thus, weaker kytons resemble the mortal creatures they once were, whereas older ones are horrifying patchworks of transplanted material that rarely look like their original forms. Many kytons still proudly wear the chains that bound them (either to Hell or to the torture devices that created them), trophies of their power to defy the gods or mortal fate.
Kytons' need to replace parts of themselves with those of stronger mortals puts them in perpetual danger of attacking creatures that are too powerful for them to kill. For this reason, kytons are pragmatic and ruthless in their battles, scrutinizing all potential outcomes of a situation before taking action. Seeing strength in numbers, kytons often attack or trap a mortal victim as a team, hauling the unfortunate soul to the Plane of Shadow, converting their prey into a new kyton or dividing its body and soul among them for grafting and nourishment.
The kytons of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary are a specific type of kyton (other kytons call them “evangelists”); they have all the traits listed in the kyton subtype (see page 306). The kytons listed here are but a few of the other known types—many more exist on the Plane of Shadow. Kyton Demagogues The powerful kyton rulers called demagogues possess strength hardly fathomable by mortals. They exist within a power structure similar to that of archdevils. Lesser kytons view these overseers as horrid sovereigns among their kind, and though there are many outlying areas on the Plane of Shadow not controlled by demagogues, kytons who find themselves wandering through a demagogue's territory know to show respect for these lords of suffering.
Demagogues are so advanced in their metamorphosis of self-mutilation and augmentation that no two look alike. Some are strangely beautiful, some are horrors beyond sane description. A demagogue's powers are vaster than even many of their kyton brethren dare consider—they construct enormous cities out of the countless bodies of their victims, weaving entire networks of veins and spiritual energy to create breathing, pulsating metropolises. Demagogues seek to control as much of the realm around their organic superstructures as they can, a feat that proves forever challenging in the dark, shifting corners of the Plane of Shadow. Though one rarely finds reason to leave the confines of its home plane, a demagogue's influence is far-reaching, and kytons who value their lives do as they are commanded, lest they incite the awful and calculating rage of a mighty overlord. The following are some of the most powerful kyton demagogues that reside in the Plane of Shadow, watching over their pulsating kingdoms in massive, gory towers. - Barravoclair, Lady of the Final Gasp
- Fharaas, the Seer in Skin
- Inkariax, the White Death
- Morrobahn, the Parasite Seed
- Raetorgash, the Skull-Hoarder
- Sugroz, the Voice in Screams
- Vevelor of the Broken Dream
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