
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG Starfinder RPG (2nd Edition)

All Creatures
Abilities | Monsters | NPCs
All | Families | Templates
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

There is a Legacy version here.

Thatchling

Source Season of Ghosts (Hardcover) pg. 349
In rural Shenmen, some branches of Sangpotshi warn of what can happen if a soul bound for reincarnation is prevented from entering the River of Souls and rejoining the cycle. These souls become frustrated, confused, and then furious at what they feel is a denial of the body they deserve, and in turn, they force vegetation to serve as their new body. Others theorize that when a body is buried in a shallow grave, the roots of grass growing down into the remains can tangle the soul and capture it.

Thatchlings are intelligent and capable of speaking but rarely do so— they generally have little to say to those whose lives they covet. Rarely, one might attempt to lure someone into an area of tall grass or dense undergrowth by calling out to them for aid, but they have little skill at deception, so such tactics aren’t particularly effective at making them seem like actual living creatures in need of help.

Members

Red-Hooded Thatchling (Creature 2), Thatchling (Creature 0)

Sidebar - Additional Lore Forever Senseless

The thatchling’s curse robs the sense of direction from those it falls upon, leading to a whole category of insults in Shenmen that compare someone’s ability to get something done to “a thatchling’s sense.” For example, someone who has a hard time making friends might be said to have “a thatchling’s sense of friendship,” while someone who constantly ruins meals might be said to have “a thatchling’s kitchen sense.”

Sidebar - Additional Lore Nindoru Butterflies

One of the strangest shared traits of the various types of nindoru are the blood-red butterflies that seem to follow them around, nest on their bodies, or periodically emerge from their wounds. These unnerving insects are physical manifestations of the nindorus’ thoughts and symbolize the countless past lives they once lived but turned their backs on. Nindoru butterflies never last long once they flutter more than a few feet from their source, fading away into smoke that quickly dissipates into the air.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Nindoru Demigods

The most powerful nindorus are demigods, although their cults are quite rare. Prone to reincarnation after death, nindoru demigods like Kugaptee are more properly known as “nindoru ascetics.”

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Nindoru Trait

Nindorus are unholy fiends who rise from corruptions to the cycle of reincarnating souls and live within the Universe. Although they often have elements in their appearance that make them seem undead, they’re actually living beings. Most nindorus have darkvision, are immune to death effects, have weakness to silver, and possess the power to manifest objects or creatures from their thoughts.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Nindoru Traitors

While most nindorus are purely evil and unholy in nature, legends tell of exceptionally rare nindorus who manage to escape their own nature and ascend, reincarnating after death into kami or other more benevolent spirits and shedding the nindoru trait as they do so. Of course, these “traitors” are regarded as the most delicious meals imaginable by the nindorus left behind.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Old Friends

The source of Willowshore’s thatchlings is the simple fact that the souls who would normally have been reincarnated upon death can’t do so, thus rising as thatchlings. Of course, since each year “resets” things, those who died during the year and became thatchlings are reborn alive once more on every first day of summer, with no memories of their previous doomed existence. While still driven by instinct to attack the living, Willowshore’s thatchlings do feel a sense of remorse—if the GM judges it especially appropriate, they might take a –2 circumstance penalty to attack rolls and saving throws against creatures they knew in life.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Reincarnated Souls

In some cases, you’ll know if a creature a nindoru attacks has a reincarnated soul. Ancestries like samsarans are always reincarnated souls, and a PC’s backstory or even their background can often indicate the presence of a previous life. All of the PCs in the Season of Ghosts Adventure Path qualify as reincarnated souls, as they’ve relived their lives over and over for decades. If you ever need to determine if a creature’s soul is reincarnated for the purpose of adjudicating a nindoru’s ability, attempt a DC 11 flat check—on a success, it has a reincarnated soul.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Weapons of Choice

Several of the nindorus presented here have preferred types of weapons to wield and might even have special abilities associated with that type of weapon. A nindoru who wields a different weapon can still make use of those associated abilities, but the flavor of that ability should be adjusted as appropriate.