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Father Skinsaw

Creature 20 (unique) — illusion, mental, unholy

ShadeFlankerLANDAERIALillusionmentalunholyoccult

A rumor can become so vivid and so persistent that it comes to life, creating a brainchild-a living illusion that hatches from an intense belief in a remorseless and implacable killer. Often, these rumors swirl around the victims of a Phantasmal Killer spell. A brainchild's capabilities grow when they pursue a believer but deflate against skeptics, making them only as bad as one thinks they are. A simple drive to stalk, terrify, and kill propels a brainchild, but the creature might also exhibit

Source: curtain-call-bestiary

Perception +33; greater-darkvision
Languages Telepathy 100 feet, Universal language
Skills athletics +37, deception +38, intimidation +40, Norgorber Lore +36, occultism +34, religion +33, society +36, stealth +38
Str
+7
Dex
+8
Con
+7
Int
+6
Wis
+5
Cha
+10
Items Retribution
AC 44 Fort +33 Ref +38 Will +31
HP 380
Immunities death-effects, disease, doomed, scrying, detection
Resistances physical (except cold-iron) 15
Weaknesses mental 15
Speed 30 feet, fly 30 feet

Offense

Melee Retribution (agile, backstabber, deadly-d8, finesse, magical) +41, Damage 3d4+17 slashing plus 1d6 bleed

Abilities

Telepathy 100 feet (aura, magical) — A monster with telepathy can communicate mentally with any creatures within the listed radius, as long as they share a language. This doesn't give any special access to their thoughts, and communicates no more information than normal speech would.
Universal Language — Anything spoken by the brainchild is perceived by the listener in its native language.
Urban Legend — As brainchild except Father Skinsaw's abilities are determined by the collective memories of his worshippers and Norgorber himself. Instead of using Seek or Sense Motive to disbelieve any of his abilities, a character who's discovered some of Norgorber's secrets can confront Father Skinsaw with these truths by using Demoralize (DC 41), or they can taunt him with these secrets by Creating a Diversion (DC 43). On a success, in addition to the normal effects, that person can disbelieve one of Father Skinsaw's following abilities: resistance to physical damage, the extra bleed damage caused by his Strikes, his occult innate spells, or his Grievous Cut ability.
A brainchild is sustained only by the reputation that precedes them. Mindless creatures are immune to a brainchild and can't perceive them.

The brainchild's size, features, and items, as well as the appearance of their attacks, match what the foes perceiving them expect. If foes expect to see different things, the brainchild chooses which to manifest. If any creature that can perceive the brainchild believes the brainchild has one of the abilities below, the brainchild has that ability.

A creature can Seek or Sense Motive (against the brainchild's Deception DC) to attempt to disbelieve an individual ability. If at any point no creature perceiving the brainchild believes in the ability, the brainchild loses that ability immediately. If foes expect different particulars, such as one believing the brainchild is immune to fire and another believing they're immune to divinations, the brainchild chooses one to have.

Tremorsense (imprecise) 100 feet

Immunity to one damage type, magic school, or condition

Weakness 10 to one damage type other than mental

Resistance 10 to physical damage, with an exception for either cold iron or silver

Frightful Presence (aura, emotion, fear, mental) 100 feet, DC 28

1d6 Extra Damage on Strikes, of a type one foe believes in

Additional Spells Phantom Pain and Shadow Blast at 6th rank
Persistence of Memory (illusion, mental, occult) — As brainchild, except the time is chosen by Norgorber.
When a brainchild is destroyed, it returns if anyone still fully believes it exists, re-forming within 100 feet of any believer after 2d4 days.
Bloodletting
Cut Across SpaceFrequency once per round
Effect Father Skinsaw makes a war razor Strike against a target within 120 feet.
Grievous Cut — Father Skinsaw attempts a war razor Strike against an adjacent target. If he hits, the blade cuts deep and creates a grievous wound. In addition to the normal damage caused by the attack, the creature struck takes 4d6 bleed damage and becomes Wounded 1 (or increases the value of an existing wounded condition by 1, to a maximum of Wounded 4).
Sneak Attack — Father Skinsaw deals 3d6 extra precision damage to creatures who are Off-Guard.
Occult Innate Spells DC 41, attack +33
9th Massacre, Phantasmagoria
8th Disappearance
6th Vampiric Exsanguination
5th Truespeech (Constant)
2nd Blood Vendetta (At Will)

WORKS WELL WITH

SnareLANDA controller that inflicts Off-Guard or restrains targets multiplies this assassin's precision damage on every hit that lands.
AnvilLANDA frontline body holds the party's action economy while this elusive killer closes in to strike from an unexpected angle.
WeaverLANDA spellcaster adds a second unavoidable threat, since defenses raised against a melee assassin rarely also cover mental spell attacks.

PUNISHES

✖ low Will✖ isolated targets✖ detection reliance
Avoid a second stealth-reliant striker; once the party commits to locating one hidden threat, a redundant ambusher gets caught in the open with little to show for it.
Works well with · Punishes · Pairing advice Unlock with Tactics

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Stat block data sourced from the Foundry VTT PF2E system under the Apache License 2.0. Source book: Pathfinder #206: Bring the House Down.

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