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Khulan

Khulan CR 7

XP 3,200
LN Medium fey (fire, incorporeal)
Init +4; Senses blindsight 60 ft. (vibration), detect radiation, low-light vision; Perception +14

DEFENSE

HP 95
EAC 19; KAC 20
Fort +8; Ref +8; Will +10
Defensive Abilities geomagnetic field, incorporeal;
Immunities fire, radiation
Weaknesses vulnerable to cold

OFFENSE

Speed fly 40 ft. (Su, perfect)
Melee leeching touch +12 (3d6 C; see text) or claw +14 (1d8+7 S)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th; ranged +12)

  • 1/day—explosive blast (DC 18)
  • Constant—detect radiation

STATISTICS

Str +0; Dex +4; Con +1; Int +1; Wis +5; Cha +2
Skills Acrobatics +19 (+27 to fly), Intimidate +19, Physical Science +14, Sense Motive +19, Stealth +14, Survival +14
Languages Akitonian, Common, Ignan, Terran

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Geomagnetic Field (Su)

As a move action while on a planet that has a thin atmosphere and a very low mass, a khulan can generate a 10-foot-radius protective field that grants resistance to cold, electricity, and fire damage within the protected area. If the planet’s atmosphere is thin, this resistance value is 5, and the resistance increases to 7 or 10 if the atmosphere is normal or thick, respectively. A khulan’s attacks ignore any energy resistance granted by a khulan’s geomagnetic field ability. The barrier also grants all creatures in its area a +4 circumstance bonus to saves against radiation.

The barrier is an emanation that is centered on and moves with the khulan, and the field persists until the khulan is incapacitated or it dismisses the field; this doesn’t require an action.

Leeching Touch (Su)

As a standard action, a khulan can strike with their incorporeal limbs, making an attack that targets EAC. On a hit against a living creature, this attack deals 3d6 cold damage, and the khulan regains a number of Hit Points equal to half the damage dealt.

ECOLOGY

Environment any mountains or underground
Organization solitary, pair, or patrol (3–9)

Khulans are glossy-eyed fey that act as enigmatic custodians of worlds’ molten cores, the resulting geomagnetic fields, and the pyroclastic gases that help insulate worlds so that their surfaces can sustain life. Most often, khulans appear as vaguely humanoid beings with large heads, ephemeral bodies, and limbs that seem to trail away into nothingness. A typical khulan is 7-1/2 feet tall.

These ghostly fey spend most of their time deep below-ground, drifting through the mantles and blazingly hot metallic cores of many rocky planets. When they surface, khulans often travel through convective conduits, old lava tubes, or active volcanoes, emerging with minimal fanfare to survey the upper ecosystems’ health. Where they sense disturbances in their planets’ cosmic defenses, khulans silently study the causes and swiftly retaliate against any mortal tampering they deem harmful. Otherwise, the surface’s relative chill displeases the fey, who either retreat deep underground or sap warmth from living creatures in order to sustain a healthy body temperature.

On occasion, a khulan adopts a surface settlement or population under threat, most often one at risk from environmental degradation or unnatural weather. In some cases, this involves shepherding the fey’s charges to safety underground, and in others weaving a shield from the planet’s geomagnetic and atmospheric power to deflect the oncoming threat. Enough of these stories survive to suggest the fey are benign or even benevolent. However, just as many tales describe instances in which khulans’ charges have disappeared forever, owed the fey impossible debts as payment for khulan intervention, or been found as frozen corpses in warm fields, suggesting that the ghostly beings adhere to utterly alien motivations.

Dozens of khulans patrol a partly subterranean bazaar in an extinct volcano. There the fey attack anyone who engages in theft or attempts to seize control of the site by force, yet they almost never stop legitimate business, no matter how heinous the transaction. Ongoing university studies documenting the khulans’ behavior and anatomy elicit varied reactions from the fey ranging from silent disdain to violent outbursts and to cryptically brief interviews that only trigger more questions.

These khulans’ visibility makes them one of the best-studied populations in the galaxy, thus most assume that khulans both are naturally legless ghost beings.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Starfinder Alien Archive 4 © 2020, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Kate Baker, Tineke Bolleman, James Case, Jessica Catalan, JN Childs, Ed Chuck, John Compton, John Curtin, Adam Daigle, Katina Davis, Crystal Frasier, Leo Glass, Basheer Ghouse, Amanda Hamon, Sasha Laranoa Harving, Thurston Hillman, Joan Hong, Jenny Jarzabski, Jason Keeley, Mike Kimmel, Avi Kool, Chris Lambertz, Luis Loza, Ron Lundeen, Carmen Marin, Hilary Moon Murphy, Adrian Ng, Emily Parks, Joe Pasini, Lu Pellazar, Samantha Phelan, Jessica Redekop, James Rodehaver, Simone Sallé, Chris S. Sims, Kendra Leigh Speedling, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Viditya Voleti.