Kuthite Magic
The following section details magic items, an occult ritual, and spells favored by priests and followers of Zon-Kuthon.
Kuthite Magic Items
Priests of the Cathedral of Exquisite Agony often make use of the following magic items.
Fist of the Pit
Source Inner Sea Temples pg. 12
Aura moderate conjuration CL 6th
Slot none; Price 9,305 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
This +1 spiked gauntlet is shaped like a skull studded with metal spikes. Once per day as a standard action, the wearer can strike the ground with the gauntlet, causing a 10-foot-square, 30-foot-deep extradimensional pit filled with spikes to open within 30 feet, as per spiked pit (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide 246). The gauntlet’s enhancement bonus is added to the piercing damage caused by the pit’s spikes. If the wearer increases the gauntlet’s enhancement bonus (such as with greater magic weapon or a paladin’s divine bond ability), the additional weapon enhancement bonus is also added to the damage. Similarly, if the gauntlet has any weapon special abilities that deal extra damage (such as flaming or wounding), this extra damage is likewise added to the damage caused by the pit’s spikes. Weapon special abilities that don’t deal extra damage, or that deal damage to the wielder as well (such as vicious) do not affect the pit’s spikes.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, spiked pitAPG; Price 4,805 gp
Raiment of Chains
Source Inner Sea Temples pg. 12
Aura faint transmutation CL 5th
Slot armor; Price 6,250 gp; Weight 25 lbs.
Description
While unattended, this +1 chain shirt takes the shape of a heap of rusty chains, but when a creature picks up the armor, the shirt immediately starts to assume its true form. The chains eagerly wrap or willingly loosen around the wearer’s body, allowing the wearer to don or remove the armor as a move action. A raiment of chains can’t be “donned hastily.”
Three times per day as a standard action, the wearer can command chains to shoot out from the raiment of chains and attempt a reposition or trip combat maneuver check against a single target within 20 feet. The wearer is considered proficient with the chains and uses her own CMB with a +1 enhancement bonus on the check. The combat maneuver provokes attacks of opportunity as normal. The chains immediately retract back into the armor once the combat maneuver check has been attempted.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, animate objects, chain of perditionUC; Price 3,250 gp
Kuthite Occult Ritual
The priests of the Cathedral of Exquisite Agony use the following occult ritual to allow creatures of the Shadow Plane to cross over to the Material Plane. Full rules for occult rituals can be found on pages 208–209 of Pathfinder RPG Occult Adventures.
Call the Darkness
Source Inner Sea Temples pg. 12
School conjuration (creation or calling); Level 9
Casting Time 90 minutes
Components V, S, M (black diamond dust worth 10,000 gp), SC (at least 8, up to 16)
Skill Checks Knowledge (geography) DC 36, 2 successes; Knowledge (planes) DC 36, 3 successes; Knowledge (religion) DC 36, 2 successes; Spellcraft DC 36, 2 successes
Range close
Effect up to 20 10-ft. cubes/character level of the primary caster
Duration 10 minutes/character level of the primary caster; see text
Saving Throw none; SR no
Backlash The primary caster takes 1 permanent negative level.
Failure All casters must succeed at a Will saving throw (DC = 19 + primary caster’s Charisma modifier) or be transported to a random location on the Shadow Plane, as per plane shift.
Effect
This ritual must be cast on the Material Plane. The primary caster begins the ritual by delineating the boundaries of the area to be affected using the black diamond dust. The casters link hands and chant verses from Zon-Kuthon’s holy book, Umbral Leaves. Upon the ritual’s completion, magical darkness fills the designated area as the Material Plane and Shadow Plane blend together there. The affected area thereafter exists simultaneously on both planes, becoming an amalgam of the two. A thin layer of impenetrable darkness surrounds the affected area, so it is impossible to see beyond the area’s boundaries into either plane. Colors appear faded in the area, but not completely black and white as on the Shadow Plane. The area has the enhanced magic and impeded magic traits of the Shadow Plane, but all other planar traits correspond to those of the Material Plane. As long as the primary caster remains within range of the designated area, this effect lasts for up to 10 minutes per character level of the primary caster, but if the primary caster ever moves beyond the range, the effect immediately ends.
Any creature that enters the affected area remains on the same plane as before but can interact with creatures on the other plane as though they were on the same plane. While casting this ritual, the primary caster can set a condition that allows creatures to cross over from the Shadow Plane to the Material Plane or vice versa. This condition can be a password, a specific action that a creature must take (such as stepping through a mirror), or a specific type of item that a creature must carry in order to cross over. Alternatively, the primary caster can grant a creature passage between the two planes as a standard action. If the primary caster does not set a condition or grant passage, creatures cannot cross between the two planes.
Kuthite spells
Priests of Zon-Kuthon enjoy inflicting misery upon the devout and others with the following spells.
Bereave
Source Inner Sea Temples pg. 13
School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 3, cleric 4, mesmerist 3, oracle 4, psychic 4, skald 3, warpriest 4, witch 4
Casting
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M/DF (a broken chain link)
Effect
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Targets all creatures in a 15-ft.-radius burst
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
Description
An overwhelming feeling of loss overcomes the targets, and their allies’ words sound bleak and hollow. Regardless of actual allegiances, affected creatures no longer count as allies for other creatures and always count as enemies for the purposes of abilities, effects, and spells that differentiate between allies and enemies, such as flanking or spells such as bane or bless. Allies of an affected creature must succeed at a melee touch attack to affect the subject with touch spells, and an affected creature cannot voluntarily fail a saving throw even if the effect is harmless (such as cure light wounds). An affected creature still counts as her own ally and can target herself with abilities, effects, and spells normally.
Overstimulate
Source Inner Sea Temples pg. 13
School transmutation; Level alchemist 2, bard 2, bloodrager 2, cleric 2, druid 2, hunter 2, investigator 2, oracle 2, psychic 2, ranger 2, shaman 2, skald 2, summoner 2, summoner (unchained) 2, warpriest 2, witch 2
Casting
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M/DF (smelling salts)
Effect
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
Description
You deprive a creature of the blissful oblivion of unconsciousness, either to keep it going despite grievous injuries or to prolong its suffering. For the duration of the spell, the target gains the ferocity ability (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 300), allowing it to remain conscious and continue fighting even if its hit point total is below 0. The target is still staggered and loses 1 hit point each round, and the target still dies when its hit point total reaches a negative amount equal to its Constitution score.
Scarify
Source Inner Sea Temples pg. 13
School necromancy; Level adept 1, alchemist 1, antipaladin 1, cleric 1, druid 1, hunter 1, inquisitor 1, investigator 1, oracle 1, shaman 1, spiritualist 1, warpriest 1, witch 1
Casting
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Effect
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
Description
Your touch causes a single creature’s skin to produce fibrous tissue that sutures the creature’s wounds, rapidly closing them and leaving jagged scars where the wounds were. The process is painful, and converts 2d6 points of damage + 1 point per caster level (maximum +5) into nonlethal damage. If the target creature is immune to nonlethal damage, the spell fails. Damage resistance against nonlethal damage reduces the amount of damage converted. This effect counts as healing for the purpose of stopping bleed damage. Kuthites are especially fond of this spell, as it gives them permanent physical reminders of the all too brief pain they endured.
Shroud of Darkness
Source Inner Sea Temples pg. 13
School evocation [darkness]; Level antipaladin 4, arcanist 5, bard 5, cleric 5, inquisitor 5, mesmerist 4, oracle 5, shaman 5, skald 5, sorcerer 5, warpriest 5, wizard 5
Casting
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M/DF (a pinch of black sand)
Effect
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Targets one creature/3 levels, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
Description
With a dark incantation and a gesture of your hand over your eyes, you cause a shroud of darkness to descend upon the targets of this spell. The subjects treat the light level as two steps lower than normal for the duration of this spell. Bright light becomes dim light, normal light becomes darkness, and areas of dim light and darkness become supernaturally dark (as darkness, but even creatures with darkvision cannot see).