Ethergaunt (Khen-zai)

Believing themselves to be approaching the apex of mortal development, the mysterious and dispassionate Ethergaunts espouse a utilitarian philosophy of pure logic. The Khen-zai, as they call themselves, have existed in their current forms for over 50,000 years, achieving this advanced state via accelerated, directed evolution on the Ethereal Plane. Their original form and homeworld long forgotten, these creatures ply the universe in massive stone city-ships that take advantage of that plane's lack of gravity and altered physical constants to achieve impossible speeds. The ethergaunts claim to have, as part of their artificial evolution, purged all emotion from their consciousness, leaving pure, cruel logic. Despite these claims, they are apparently still capable of experiencing pride, ambition, greed, and a certain degree of intellectual disgust. They are masters of both technology and arcane magic, with talents leaning towards the direct manipulation of space-time and living tissue. The racial philosophy (Khen) of the ethergaunts is explicitly atheist; they have utterly ignored the gods, divinity, and even many metaphysical concepts in their quest for mental perfection. Given that the gods actually exist, the only possible conclusion is that they must be eliminated from the multiverse. Step one of this process requires the removal of religious faith. Since other creatures have proven unable to comprehend the correctness of the Khen, the ethergaunt's proposed solution is to kill the lot of them. Once their mortal worshipers have been either eliminated or pacified, the Ethergaunts plan to wipe out the gods one at a time. At which point, they will quietly celebrate, then go back to business as usual. Typical ethergaunt behavior on newly-found worlds is to observe the natives and access their weaknesses, then strike without warning. The Ethereal plane lacks much in the way of resources, and while the Khen-zai have long ago transcended the need for physical sustenance, they still require spell components and raw materials to create their technomagical devices. Such resources are most easily obtained after lesser creatures have done the hard work of refining them, and ethergaunts thus often raid foundries and wizard labs. Ethergaunt society is divided into several castes, primarily marked by the color of the individual's mask. Each caste has mildly divergent physical traits and serves a specific purpose; an individual's caste is unalterable, but their quality of performance determines the status of their asexually budded offspring. Reds serve as rank-and-file soldiers, while blues are technicians and explorers. Whites serve as coordinators, philosophers, and scientists, while the rarest black caste represent the absolute overlords of the race. Based on fragmentary evidence and several ruins found on the world of Golarion, the precursors ot the modern ethergaunts were coterminous with the Elder Things, Serpent Folk, and Aboleths. Whether Golarion was their homeworld or simply an attempted colony is unknown. All Ethergaunt castes share the following traits. Blindsight (Ex) An ethergaunt's papillae allow it to percieve reality with perfect clarity out to 40ft. Beyond this range, it relies on conventional vision. Enslave (Su) Three times per day, an Ethergaunt may attempt to enslave one living creature within 30 ft as though using dominate monster (CL 17). An enslaved creature obeys the ethergaunt's telepathic commands to the letter, as though the two shared a common language. The creature can attempt a new saving throw every day to break free of the effect. Otherwise, its servitude can only be ended by break enchantment, dispel magic, the death of the ethergaunt, or if the ethergaunt travels to a different plane. An ethergaunt can only have one enslaved creature at a time per point of charisma modifier (typically 1 for reds, whites, and blues, two for blacks). The Save DC is charisma-based. Spell Immunity (Ex) an Ethergaunt is immune to arcane spells of a certain level or lower, just as if those spells had failed to overcome its spell resistance. The level of spell they are immune to is noted in each stat block. Stupefying Gaze (Su) An ethergaunt can close or open its mask as a free action at the start of its turn. While the mask is open, any creature within 30 ft that can see the ethergaunt's writhing facial organs must make a will save or take 1d4 points of int, wis, and cha damage. A creature that saves against this ability is immune to the gaze of that particular ethergaunt for 24 hours. The save DC is charisma-based. Material Jaunt (Su) An ethergaunt exists on the Ethereal Plane. As a standard action, it may enter the material plane, and remain there for up to one round/hit die. An ethergaunt must remain on the Ethereal Plane for at least 1 hour before it can use this ability again. Ethergaunts who wish to remain on the material for extended periods of time generally make use of Plane Shift. Spells All ethergaunts cast int-based arcane spells as a caster of the indicated class and level. Ethergaunts do not use Spell books or Formula books; they count as having the Spell/Formula Mastery feat for all of their prepared spells. If it ever comes up, Ethergaunts have access to the number spells gained through leveling up, plus a number of additional spells equal to their Intelligence modifier. Immunities An Ethergaunt is immune to all effects with the [Charm] descriptor.

Red Ethergaunt
XP 4,800

CR 8

NE medium aberration (ethergaunt, extraplanar) Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Blindsight 40 ft; Perception +19
Defense

AC 21, touch 17, flat-footed 14 (+1 Dex, +6 insight, +4 natural) hp 75 (10d8+30) Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +9 Defensive abilities Analytical Insight, Spell Immunity (2nd or lower) Immune charm, SR 13 (arcane only)
Offense

Speed 30 ft. Melee Etherblade +17/+11 (1d10+5, 19-20/x3), or +15/+9/Spell Ranged Etherblade +16/+10 (1d10+2, 19-20/x3) or +14+8/spell Special Attacks Spell Combat, Spellstrike, Unnerving Gaze (DC 16), Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Spell-Like Abilities: Enslave 3/day (DC 16) Spells Known (CL 7th, Concentration +13) 3rddispel magic, force hook charge 2ndglitterdust (DC 18), frigid touch, fog cloud, blur, brow gnasher 1stexpeditious retreat, shield (2), shocking grasp (3), 0detect magic, light, mage hand, open/close, read magic
Statistics

Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 23, Wis 15, Cha 13 Base Atk +7/+2; CMB +9; CMD 20 Feats Combat Casting, Toughness, Weapon focus (etherblade), Arcane Strike, Combat Expertise Skills Knowledge (arcana, history, planes, dungeoneering) +19, Perception +15, Heal +15, Survival +15, Spellcraft +19, Use Magic Device +14, Stealth +16 Languages Khen-Zai SQ Material Jaunt
Ecolo gy

Environment any (Ethereal Plane, Dark Tapestry) Organization solitary or killteam (2-6) Treasure standard, etherblade
Special Abilities

Analytical Insight (Ex) a red ethergaunt adds its Int modifier as an Insight bonus to its Armor Class, and on Attack rolls. An ethergaunt denied its dexterity bonus to AC is also denied this Insight bonus. Spellstrike and Spell Combat: see the Magus class features of the same name, save that ethergaunts do not require a free hand to use Spell Combat. Spells Red Ethergaunts cast spells as a 7th-level magus. By far the most frequently-encountered caste of ethergaunts, reds serve the race as scouts, foot-soldiers, and low-level diplomats (particularly when diplomacy in fact means exterminating natives to send a political message). Though they hold an arrogant opinion of their own importance in relation to other beings, the reds fully understand their role as the rank-and-file of the ether legions. They have yet to purge the more firey emotions from their minds, and thus view the struggle against other sentient beings as one of the cultured vs crude barbarians. Combat A red Ethergaunt uses min-maxed powergamer tactics worthy of a PC. They always fight while under the effects of Shield, and usually cast brow gnasher and blur before using Material Jaunt to ambush foes. They cast force hook charge with spell combat to full attack on the first round of combat, expending brow gnasher, then continue to fight using Combat Expertise. Etherblade: This two-handed exotic weapon deals 1d10 slashing damage, and is always masterwork. (19-20/x2) It also functions as a firearm with a 40 ft range increment, dealing 1d8 points of Force damage, ignoring armor up to the first range increment, with a crit multiplier of x3. It may be fired 50 times in this fashion before being recharged by a technique known only to the Khen-zai. Ethergaunts are automatically proficient with the Etherblade. A fully-charged Etherblade is worth 6000 gp.

Blue Ethergaunt
XP 9,600

CR 10

NE medium aberration (ethergaunt, extraplanar) Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Blindsight 40 ft; Perception +18
Defense

Author's Note: Anti-guant tactics The Ethergaunts's ability to randomly pop in and sling around spells with absurdly high save DCs, or using bullshit tactics like fogging up the battlefield, is bound to infuriate players. Not to mention, their personal manner can be really grating. (they act like a bad parody of evil vulcans). Luckily, they can be defeated. Like munchkins who've found their perfect build, they don't change tactics much, which is very easy to exploit. Also, they rely HEAVILY on buff spells to have Armor Class and defenses on par with other creatures of their CR. A Dispel Magic or two would leave them horribly exposed.

AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+3 Dex +8 natural) hp 100 (12d8+36) Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +10 Defensive abilities Spell Immunity (3nd or lower) Immune charm, SR 15 (arcane only) DR 10/Resist Fire 5, Cold 5, Electricity 5
Offense

Speed 30 ft. Melee inoculator +11/+6 touch (1d4+1 plus poison) Ranged Bomb +12/+7 (5d6+7, 14 splash plus fog cloud, DC 20), or +10//+10/+5. Special Attacks Swift Poisoning, Unnerving Gaze (DC 17), Bombs 15/day, point blank shot. Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Spell-Like Abilities: Enslave 3/day (DC 17) Extracts Known (CL 9th, Concentration +15) 3rdfly, gaseous form, ablative armor, heroism 2ndbarkskin, resist energy (2), false life (2), bear's endurance, 1stShield (2), Cure Light Wounds (5)
Statistics

Str 12, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 23, Wis 16, Cha 13 Base Atk +9/+4; CMB +10; CMD 22 Feats Extra Discoveries (infusions, fast bombs, smoke bombs), Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Brew Potion Skills Craft (alchemy) +21, Disable Device +21, Knowledge (arcana, planes, dungeoneering, nature) +21, Perception +18, Heal +18, Spellcraft +21, Use Magic Device +16 Languages Khen-Zai SQ Material Jaunt, Poison Use (swift action)
Ecolo gy

Inoculator this silver gauntlet bears a telescoping spike beneath the outer edge of the hand. This spike exists partially outside the material plane, passing through metal and flesh as it twists and ruptures both. Attacks with an Innoculator are always touch attacks. The Inoculator is a masterwork light exotic weapon that deals 1d4 piercing damage.

An Inoculator bears a rotating reservoir for poisons Environment any (Ethereal Plane, Dark Tapestry) or potions, and can inject the contents into a Organization solitary or expedition (1 blue and two reds) target. Selecting a poison is a free action, but Treasure standard, Inoculator, 6 doses of poison (see below), Thought Bomb arming the blade with it requires the normal action for using poison (a standard action, or a move or Special Abilities swift action for some ninjas and alchemists). th Alchemy blue ethergaunts create extracts and throw bombs as 9 level alchemists. Poison Blue ethergaunts have access to a vast array of deadly compounds for any occasion. The power source that allows an inoculator to These can be fabricated and tuned in the field; assume that a blue has whatever dosage it phase through matter is not infinite. After 50 uses requires, with a maximum of 6 (whether or not they are successful), it must be All ethergaunt poisons share the following traits: recharged by a process known only to the Kheninjury; save Fort DC 18; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; cure 2 saves. zai. The possible effects are: Doubt: 1d6 wis damage, and target is shaken during any round in which they failed a save. value: 3000 gp Muscle Spasms: 2d6 nonlethal damage, and target is staggered during any round in which they failed a save Wasting 1d4 str and 1d4 con. Spellblight: 1 int, target must make a concentration check equal to 20+the spell's level in order to cast arcane spells during any round in which they failed a save. Hallucinogen: 1d4 cha, target is confused during any round in which they failed a save. Exile: the target begins to fade from view. If the target fails three saving throws, they are transported to the Ethereal Plane as if by Plane Shift. Blue Ethergaunts are the explorers and technicians of Khen-zai society. Rather than the elite arrogance of the reds, they are consumed by an endless, insatiable curiosity. Of course, this is paired with a distinct lack of any trace of empathy or ethics. Blue Ethergaunts constantly modify their bodies, strengthening their flesh with an injected resin and sending their internal organs into a fine-tuned state of crisis. Anyone who manages to stab through the resin is met with a shockingly high-pressure gout of blood-like fluids, which then clots instantly, hinting at the strange internal processes of these creatures. Combat Blues inject themselves and their allies with a bewildering array of compounds before any battle. They first throw bombs not so much to cause damage as to cover the battlefield with obscuring fog. Once foes have been effectively blinded,they begin throwing successive salvos at single targets. Blues ignore physical damage to their bodies, seeming almost to enjoy the unique sensations of injury, and retreat only when reduced to 20 HP or less, flying away to heal, analyze, and return with improved tactics.

White Ethergaunt
XP 19,200

CR 12

NE medium aberration (ethergaunt, extraplanar) Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Blindsight 40 ft; Perception +20
Defense

AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural) hp 122 (15d8+45) Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +11 Defensive abilities Spell Immunity (4th or lower) Immune charm, sleep, SR 17 (arcane only)
Offense

Speed 30 ft. Melee +2 Etherblade +14/+9/+4 (1d10+6) or Spell Combat +12/+7/+2/spell Ranged +2 Etherblade +16/+11/+6 (1d10+5) or Spell Combat +14/+9/+4/spell, or Thought Bomb +12/spell Special Attacks Unnerving Gaze (DC 20), Arcane Strike +3, Spell Combat Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Spell-Like Abilities: Enslave 3/day (DC 18) Spells Known (CL 12th , Concentration +20) 4/6/6/6/5/4/3 6thcloak of dreams (DC 26), chain lightning (DC 24), persistent mass daze (DC 24) 5thmind fog (DC 25), teleport, selective confusion (DC 24), selective black tentacles (DC 22), telekinesis 4thmass daze (DC 24), persistent glitterdust (DC 20), selective fireball (DC 21) (3) 3rdhaste, ablative armor, call of the void (DC 21), dispel magic, fly 2ndricochet shot, resist energy, scorching ray (2), invisibility, false life 1st mage armor (2), sleep, shield (2), silent image 0detect magic, mage hand, open/close, read magic
Statistics

Str 12, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 27, Wis 15, Cha 13 Base Atk +11/+6/+1; CMB +12; CMD 25 Feats Ability Focus (unnerving gaze), Spell Focus (enchantment), Greater Spell Focus (enchantment), Persistent Spell, Improved Initiative, Toughness, Arcane Strike, Selective Spell Skills Knowledge (arcana, history, planes, dungeoneering, nature, geography, engineering) +26, Perception +20, Spellcraft +26, Use Magic Device +19, Intimidate +19, Sense Motive +20 Languages Khen-Zai Thought Bomb SQ Material Jaunt developed by the Black Ethergaunts as a weapon against Ecolo gy the servants of the gods (and other quasi-divine entities, Environment any (Ethereal Plane, Dark Tapestry) such as gaia-tier nature spirits), these sinister metal spheres Organization solitary, envoy (1 white, 2-5 reds), or combine (2 whites, 1 blue, 3-9 can be used as a grenade-like weapon. Thrown with a 20-ft range increment, the bomb creates a 10-ft radius cloud of reds) noxious gasses that overstimulate the doubt centers of the Treasure standard, +2 etherblade, thought bomb (2), scroll of plane shift (2) brain. Special Abilities Spells White Ethergaunts cast spells as a 12th-level wizard. Spell Combat This ability functions as the Magus class ability of the same name, save that an ethergaunt does not require a free hand to utilize it. Contingency if a white ethergaunt is reduced to 20 hp or less, dimension door removes them from the combat. contact; save Fort DC 18; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4 Wis damage ; cure 1 saves. Value: 800 gp

The cruel middle management of the Ethergaunt race, Whites serve as scholars, philosophers, diplomats, and bureaucrats, occasionally parleying with lesser races in order to serve the greater goal of planar domination. Cunning schemers, whites attempt to purge all emotion from their dealings, instead dedicating themselves to an objective (in their view) pragmatism. Whites seldom give an inch, and negotiations generally boil down to suggestions that fighting off inevitable genocide will only result in unnecessary struggle and needless destruction of material resources. Combat Even more intelligent that reds and blues, whites have gone beyond powergaming and into the realm of munchkinism. They never engage in combat without having mage armor, ricochet shot, ablative armor, shield, and haste active, using call of the void and cloak of dreams directly before using Material Jaunt. They open every combat with a mind fog, open their masks to expose foged enemies to their gaze, then nuke them with a persistent mass daze, giving allies a free round in which to take up position. They then follow with a punishing succession of enchantment spells. Vs foes resistant to such tactics, they switch to evocation spells tuned to ignore allies. Whites disdain melee combat; they take potshots with the etherblade while buffing allies and debuffing enemies. They view actually being engaged in melee as a failure.

Black Ethergaunt
XP 76,800

CR 16

NE medium aberration (ethergaunt, extraplanar) Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Blindsight 40 ft; Perception +25
Defense

AC 29, touch 19, flat-footed 25 (+4 Dex, +10 natural, +5 deflection) hp 150 (20d8+60) Fort +8, Ref +9, Will +16 Defensive abilities Spell Immunity (6th or lower) Immune charm, fear, sleep SR 21 (arcane only) DR 15/Offense

Speed 30 ft. Melee unarmed strike +16/+11/+6 (1d3+1, provokes AoO) Special Attacks Unnerving Gaze (DC 22), Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Spell-Like Abilities: Enslave 3/day (DC 22) Spells Known (CL 16th, Concentration +26) 4/7/7/6/6/6/5/4/3 8thheightened persistent disintegrate (DC 29) (2), extended telekinetic sphere (DC 30) 7thplane shift, project image, reverse gravity, schrodinger's spell 6thquickened force punch (DC 23) (3), flesh to stone (DC 28), quickened dispel magic 5thpersistent scrying (DC 24) (2), extended wall of force, extended overland flight, telekinesis (2) 4thquickened magic missile (3), confusion, stone shape, greater false life 3rddispel magic (3), extended call the void (2), arcane sight 2ndextended alter self, invisibility, extended false life, whispering wind (2), resist energy (2) 1stmage armor, extended shield (2), break (DC 21) (4) 0detect magic, mage hand, message, read magic
Statistics

Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 31, Wis 15, Cha 15 Base Atk +15/+10/+5; CMB +16; CMD 29 Feats Toughness, Improved Initiative, Quicken Spell, Persistent Spell, Spell Focus (transmutation), Greater Spell Focus (transmutation), Heighten Spell, Extend Spell, Iron Will, Improved Iron Will Ghost Carapace Skills Knowledge (arcana, history, planes, dungeoneering, nature) +33, Craft (alchemy, A technological marvel worn only by the Black caste, Ethergaunt Technology) +33 Perception +25, Spellcraft +33, Use Magic Device +25, this hinged silver harness can be adjusted to fit around Intimidate +25, Sense Motive +25, Heal +25, Diplomacy +25 the torso of any medium-sized creature. When active, Languages Khen-Zai the wearer is surrounded by invisible planes of force SQ Material Jaunt, Metamagic Mastery, Schrodinger's Spell that react to instinctive mental commands, deflecting Ecolo gy incoming attacks while still allowing normal interaction with surroundings. The wearer gains a +5 deflection Environment any (Ethereal Plane, Dark Tapestry) bonus to AC, as well as Damage Reduction 15/-. While Organization solitary, honor guard (1 black and 2 elite reds [fighter 2/eldritch knight 4], wearing the Ghost Carapace, the creature benefits from or council (1 black, 5 whites, 3 blues, and 10 reds) the effects of Planar Adaptation and Planetary Treasure standard, Ghost Carapace adaptation. The Ghost Carapace can only absorb 150 Special Abilities points of damage before needing to be recharged via a Spells White Ethergaunts cast spells as a 16th-level wizard. technique known only to the Khen-Zai. An empty Metamagic Mastery Black Ethergaunts have unlocked the deepest, fundamental ghost carapace does not grant any benefits to the secrets of magic, exploiting loopholes in the laws of reality. All of their spells enhanced by wearer. metamagic feats take up a spell slot one level lower than normal. Price: 30,000 gp Schrodinger's Spell A Black Ethergaunt has powergamed and minmaxed itself to the degree of cheating at the rules of the game. One of its prepared spells (of one level lower than the highest spell it can cast) is undetermined. This spell can be any spell in existence, as long as it is on the wizard spell list, and enhanced by any combination of metamagic feats Author's Note: metagaming the Black has. This includes spells from previous, quasi-compatible editions, as well as 3rd-party Ethergaunts, Blacks in particular, have supplements, no matter how broken. ridiculously high intelligence scores. Contingency if a black ethergaunt is reduced to 40 hp or less, a telekinetic sphere activates centered Just like fat neckbearded oafs can have a hard time roleplaying a 18-cha bard, on the ethergaunt. properly portraying an entity far in advance of your own faculties can be The uncontested overlords of the Khen-zai race, the black caste are responsible for many of the daunting. I tried to address this by technomagical devices used in their genocidal war against the denizens of the material plane. Shorter optimizing the Ethergaunts as best I and even more emaciated than their lesser bretheren, the blacks disdain any sort of physical weapon. The plethora of overlapping buff spells wreathing a black causes the air to crackle and snap as they pass. could, and suggesting powergamer combat tactics. The Black's ability to pull a spell out of their ass is supposed Combat to represent a Aha, just as I predicted black ethergaunts are schemers and masterminds. If forced to engage foes directly, things are going moment, but could just as easily be a very, very badly for them. They fight accordingly, seeking to disable, isolated, and disorient foes while suspiciously illegible squiggle on their minions handle the work of dispatching them. Foes that reach melee range are sent flying with a list of prepared spells. Having blacks quickened force punch or telekinesis. metagame constantly is kind of gimmicky, but your players will at least remember encountering one.