Herald, The Stabbing BeastThis towering, scorpion-tailed man stalks with a soundless grace and murderous intent.The Stabbing Beast CR 15Source Inner Sea Gods pg. 300, Pathfinder #59: The Price of Infamy pg. 90
XP 51,200
NE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, herald, shapechanger)
Init +16; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, see in darkness, see invisibility; Perception +26DefenseAC 31, touch 23, flat-footed 18 (+12 Dex, +1 dodge, +8 natural)
hp 212 (17d10+119)
Fort +17, Ref +17, Will +14; +4 vs. mind–affecting
Defensive Abilities all-around vision; DR 10/good and magic; Immune poison; Resist acid 30, cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 26OffenseSpeed 50 ft.
Melee +1 keen short swords +28/+28/+23/+18/+13 (1d6+4/17–20 plus bleed), sting +24 (1d6+4 plus bleed and poison)
Ranged poison stream +29 touch (blindness 1d4+1 rounds)
Special Attacks bleed (2d6), poison, sudden strike
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 17th; concentration +19)
Constant—see invisibility
At will—absorbing touchAPG, alchemical allocationAPG, charm person (DC 13), keen edge, poison (DC 16), true strike
3/day—false alibi (DC 15), greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), invisibility, modify memory (DC 16), suggestion (DC 15), summon (level 6, 1 fiendish deadfall scorpion [Bestiary 3 237] 100%)StatisticsStr 16, Dex 35, Con 24, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 14
Base Atk +17; CMB +20; CMD 43
Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Deflect ArrowsB, Dodge, Greater FeintB, Improved FeintB, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Mobility, Scorpion StyleB, Spring Attack, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon FinesseB
Skills Appraise +12, Bluff +22, Climb +11, Craft (alchemy) +13, Knowledge (arcana, nature) +10, Knowledge (local) +13, Knowledge (planes) +12, Knowledge (religion) +9, Perception +26, Sense Motive +13, Stealth +32; Racial Modifiers +8 Bluff, +4 Perception
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Infernal, Protean; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ change shape (Huge scorpion or scorpion-tailed human; shapechange), murderer’s rewardEcologyEnvironment any land (Axis)
Organization solitary
Treasure standard (2 +1 short swords)Special AbilitiesChange Shape (Su) In its scorpion form, replace or add the following statistics: Size Huge; Init +14; AC 31, touch 21, flat-footed 20 (+10 Dex, +1 dodge, +10 natural); Ref +16; Melee claws +28 (2d6+13 plus bleed and grab), sting +26 (2d6+11 plus bleed and poison); Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.; Special Attacks constrict (2d6+12); Str 32, Dex 31; CMB +30 (+34 grapple); CMD 53 (65 vs. trip); Skills Climb +20, Stealth +24.
Murderer’s Reward (Su) If the Stabbing Beast’s attack reduces a target to fewer than 0 hit points, the herald immediately gains 2d6 temporary hit points (or 3d8, if the attack kills the target), but no more than the target’s maximum hit points. The temporary hit points last for 1 hour.
Poison (Ex) Sting—injury; save Fort DC 25; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d6 Str; cure 2 consecutive saves.
Poison Stream (Ex) As a ranged attack (or in place of a melee sting attack), the Stabbing Beast can fire a stream of poison up to 180 feet at an opponent’s eyes. The target must succeed at a save against the Stabbing Beast’s poison or be blinded for 1d4+1 rounds.
Sudden Strike (Ex) During a surprise round, the herald may act as if it had a full round to act, rather than just one standard action.DescriptionThe Stabbing Beast is the herald of Norgorber, the god of greed, murder, secrets, and poison. It is an incredibly dangerous predator that uses its keen intellect and deadly poison to stalk and kill its prey. Its natural form is that of a huge scorpion, but it can also assume an armored humanoid shape suitable for stealth or interacting with Norgorber’s followers. Though its main purpose for coming to Golarion is to kill, it has also been called to aid great thefts and bury terrible secrets.Creatures in "Herald" CategorySource Inner Sea Gods pg. 274
Heralds are a special class of unique, godly servants. With few exceptions, each of Golarion’s deities has its own herald, a favored minion that serves as a messenger and emissary throughout the planes. Creatures of myth, the heralds’ interventions on the Material Plane mark lives and are events of legend.
Heralds are unique outsiders of approximately CR 15 with 18 or fewer Hit Dice, making them available for summons via greater planar ally. Only a deity’s worshipers can summon its herald; thus, even the most powerful worshiper of Sarenrae can never summon the herald of Iomedae. In addition, only divine spellcasters can summon heralds, preventing arcane casters and spells like planar binding from effectively calling upon such beings. Even if a character proves powerful enough to call out to a herald, a deity has the final say in whether or not its emissary answers a worshiper’s summons, granting its herald’s service only to followers in the most extreme need or whose acts directly further its will.
Herald Subtype: Heralds are unique representatives of their respective gods and sometimes have a specific outsider subtype such as “devil” or “psychopomp” that grants it additional abilities. A herald has the following traits. - Always Armed (Su) Heralds can summon their signature weapon as a standard action. If its herald doesn’t have a signature weapon, it can summon any nonmagical weapon as a standard action (including adamantine, etc.); the weapon disappears if it leaves the herald’s grasp.
- Emissary (Ex) Heralds can always be summoned by the faithful using greater planar ally or gate, regardless of limitations of that spell, even if it’s not an outsider.
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