All | Unique
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Families | Templates | Types | Subtypes | Universal Monster Rules


Zana

This stunningly beautiful and athletic woman has skin of various shades of gray. She wears a pearlescent breastplate and wields a shimmering longspear.

Zana CR 14

Source Pathfinder #107: Scourge of the Godclaw pg. 90
XP 38,400
NG Medium fey
Init +7; Senses low-light vision; Perception +26
Aura protective aura (10 ft.)

Defense

AC 26, touch 18, flat-footed 23 (+8 armor, +5 deflection, +3 Dex)
hp 170 (20d6+100)
Fort +15, Ref +20, Will +20
Defensive Abilities unearthly grace; Immune charm, fear

Offense

Speed 30 ft.
Melee +2 keen thundering longspear +19/+14/+9 (1d8+13/19–20/×3) or +2 keen thundering longsword +19/+14/+9 (1d8+11/17–20)
Special Attacks petrifying glance (5/day, DC 26)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th; concentration +15)
5/day—cure light wounds, sanctuary (DC 16)
3/day—calm emotions, cure moderate wounds

Statistics

Str 21, Dex 17, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 20
Base Atk +10; CMB +15; CMD 33
Feats Greater Weapon Focus (longspear), Greater Weapon Focus (longsword), Greater Weapon Specialization (longspear), Greater Weapon Specialization (longsword), Improved Initiative, Toughness, Weapon Focus (longspear), Weapon Focus (longsword), Weapon Specialization (longspear), Weapon Specialization (longsword)
Skills Climb +18, Heal +23, Knowledge (geography) +25, Knowledge (local) +15, Knowledge (nature) +25, Perception +26, Sense Motive +26, Stealth +26, Survival +13, Swim +18
Languages Common, Sylvan, Terran
SQ fighter training, instant armament, sitebound

Ecology

Environment any mountains
Organization solitary
Treasure incidental

Special Abilities

Fighter Training (Ex) Zanas treat their Hit Dice as fighter levels for the purpose of qualifying for feats and other abilities. They are proficient with the longsword, the longspear, heavy armor, and all shields (except tower shields).

Instant Armament (Su) As a swift action, zanas can instantly equip themselves with magical armor and weapons. This grants a zana a +8 armor bonus to AC. A zana’s weapon can take one of two forms, which the zana can switch between as a swift action: a +2 keen thundering longspear or a +2 keen thundering longsword and light shield. When wielding the shield, the zana gains a +3 shield bonus to AC. This armament is a manifestation of the zana’s life force and disappears if the zana is killed. A zana can dismiss these armaments as a free action.

Petrifying Glance (Su) As a standard action, a zana can target a creature within 30 feet with a petrifying glance. The target must succeed at a DC 25 Fortitude saving throw or be turned to stone permanently. A zana can use this ability a number of times per day equal to their Charisma modifier (minimum 1). The zana can later touch the petrified creature to return it to normal as if they had cast stone to flesh. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Protective Aura (Su) All allied creatures within a 10-foot radius of the zana are immune to charm and fear effects.

Sitebound (Ex) A zana is bound to the mountain they call home and can never stray beyond its foot. Each day the zana spends away from the mountain, they must succeed at a DC 25 Fortitude saving throw or take 1d6 points of Constitution damage that cannot be healed until the zana returns to their mountain. Eventually, any zana separated from their mountain dies from this damage.

Unearthly Grace (Su) Zanas are imbued with unnatural grace. A zana adds their Charisma bonus as a resistance bonus on saving throws and as a deflection bonus to AC.

Description

From Cheliax to the Mwangi Expanse to far-flung Tian Xia, nearly every culture on Golarion has legends about fierce and beautiful fey warriors who defend their wild, lofty homes and the innocents who visit them. These wondrous, protective spirits are called zanas, the guardians of the mountains.

Ecology

Zanas are both male and female, possessing the ability to shift from one gender to the other. Each zana has a unique identity in either form, but both forms have the same strength and skill. They sometimes favor one identity over another, but often use both to confuse others, making visitors think that the mountain is populated by more than one protective spirit. If zanas are familiar with a visitor, they might playfully shift between forms without warning, just to see what kind of reaction they can get.

Zanas most closely resemble half-elves, though they are rarely mistaken for members of a humanoid race. Poets who write of them have said they embody the best physical qualities of many races in one being. Zanas tend to be tall and athletically built with slightly pointed ears and almond-shaped eyes. They are usually clad in light clothing or wear no clothing at all. When threatened or moved to defend others, they can conjure forth armor and weapons with but a simple thought.

Habitat and Society

A zana calls a single mountain home, though not all mountains host one. Why one mountain hosts one of these fey and another will not is a mystery. Those mountains that do are known as places of power, but also places of peace where one shows respect to nature and is kind to children for fear of the spirits’ reprisals.

Zanas follow those who travel on the mountainside. If they determine the travelers are worthy, or if bribed with milk, sugar, and other good foods, zanas may reveal themselves and serve as teachers or guardians. Sagas have been recounted of noble scions retreating into the mountains for decades after their houses fell, only to return to the world with impressive fighting skills. Zanas have been responsible for at least some of the cases in which those stories are true.

Zanas tend to be secretive, but are sometimes found lounging in pools or gently running streams. They are usually good-natured, especially if approached peacefully. They might even be persuaded to assist their visitors if they deem the cause worthy. In particular, they always help children in need. Many lost children have returned to their families and told of a powerful man or woman who protected them from monsters or “bad people” and then helped them find their way home.

Those who invade a zana’s territory with the intent to harm the land or people under the fey’s protection find they face a dangerous foe. When hunters discover strangely realistic “statues” on a mountain’s slope, they know that hapless fools somehow managed to enrage a zana, who can petrify enemies with a single glance. When thunder rolls down from certain mountains, the locals say that zanas are battling enemies with their magical weapons.

Zanas are related to bardhas—the “white ones.” While zanas are spirits of mountains’ sides and peaks, bardhas dwell underground and are even quicker to anger. The two kinds of fey may work together if they discover derro, the bardhas’ hated enemies, using tunnels beneath a zana’s mountain to carry out raids on the surface world. Most of the time, however, zanas simply wander the mountainside, enjoying its majesty and watching for signs that a creature needs protection.

Notable Zanas

The following are a few zanas of the Inner Sea region.

Eilia and Leimrin: Mount Aremetrus and Gristleknob in Ustalav lie on either side of the Cauldheart. Some believe the same zana guards both mountains, but in truth, Eilia and Leimrin are twins, torn asunder by the eldritch forces that created the strange valley between them. The fey often seek goodhearted adventurers to take gifts for one another across the Cauldheart, through which the zanas cannot pass.

Marovania: The zana of Arazlant Mox on the isle of Kortos is especially powerful. Marovania may have been changed by the magic that lifted the island above the waters of the Inner Sea, for the zana has the skills of a great warrior and the magic of a mighty sorcerer. Marovania considers all of Kortos to be part of their mountain and can go wherever they wish—even entering Absalom—as long as the zana never leaves the island’s shores.

Rhyadid: Mount Anantisha, in the Menador Mountains, is said to hold the source of the Katharevousa River. The mountain’s zana, Rhyadid, is hated and feared in Egorian because they help escaping slaves cross from central Cheliax and pass downriver to Kintargo. Rhyadid is strongly connected with the mountain’s wild animals and wages war on Chelish forces who dare enter the zana’s domain.