One bleached-bone hand of this robed, skeletal figure grasps a massive, curved scythe.
Grim Reaper CR 22
XP 614,400
NE Medium undead (extraplanar)
Init +14; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see invisibility, status sight, true seeing; Perception +6
Aura misfortune (20 ft.), unnatural aura
Defense
AC 39, touch 29, flat-footed 28 (+10 Dex, +1 dodge, +10 natural, +8 profane)
hp 400 (32d8+256)
Fort +26, Ref +29, Will +32
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, death's grace; DR 10/—; Immune undead traits; SR 33
Offense
Speed 60 ft., fly 90 ft. (perfect)
Melee +5 keen adamantine scythe +40/+40/+35/+30/+25 (2d4+18/19-20/×4 plus death strike and energy drain)
Special Attacks death strike (DC 34), energy drain (2 levels, DC 34), final death
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20th; concentration +27)
Constant—haste, see invisibility, true seeing
At will—call spirit (DC 23)
3/day—finger of death (DC 26), power word kill
1/day—plane shift (DC 23)
Statistics
Str 29, Dex 30, Con —, Int 15, Wis 23, Cha 26
Base Atk +24; CMB +34; CMD 62
Feats Cleave, Cleaving Finish, Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Dazing Assault, Furious Focus, Great Cleave, Improved Cleaving Finish, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Staggering Critical, Step Up, Stunning Critical, Tiring Critical, Weapon Focus (scythe)
Skills Acrobatics +42, Disguise +43, Fly +18, Intimidate +43, Knowledge (planes) +18, Knowledge (religion) +21, Ride +42, Stealth +45
Languages Celestial, Common, Infernal
Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure standard (+5 keen adamantine scythe, other treasure)
Special Abilities
Death Strike (Su) A grim reaper automatically confirms any critical hit. A creature damaged by a critical hit from a grim reaper must succeed at a DC 34 Fortitude saving throw or be instantly killed. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Death's Grace (Su) The dark power stolen from countless souls protects a grim reaper, granting it a profane bonus on all saving throws and to AC equal to its Charisma modifier.
Final Death (Su) A creature killed by a grim reaper can't be brought back to life by any means short of divine intervention.
Misfortune Aura (Su) When a living creature attempts an ability check, attack roll, caster level check, skill check, or saving throw within 20 feet of a grim reaper, it must roll two d20s and take the lowest roll before applying any modifiers.
Status Sight (Su) When a grim reaper gazes on a creature, it can see that creature's emotion aura and that creature's current health and overall well-being. This acts as the status spell, as well as the emotion aura aspect of the analyze aura spell.
As silent as the grave and as inevitable as time, grim reapers are more akin to forces of nature than individual beings, being nothing less than personifications of grim, violent death.
Unlike their lesser kin, grim reapers never work together or with other creatures, save for select ancient dragons and dragon-like undead that sometimes serve these dreaded soul hunters as steeds. This lack of cooperation has led some to speculate that there is only one grim reaper who plagues the multiverse. Others claim that least nine of these creatures stalk the worlds and planes, culling the living as inexplicable servants of true entropy. According to the teaching of some death cults, the final goal of a grim reaper is to end the entire cycle of life and death and to serve as a silent lord of an empty universe.
Grim reapers are so feared that even most outsiders give them a wide berth. This suits the reapers well, as that means less interference with the harvest of doomed souls. A grim reaper stands approximately 6-1/2 feet tall and weighs about 40 pounds.
Lesser Death CR 16
XP 76,800
NE Medium undead (extraplanar)
Init +14; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see invisibility, status sight; Perception +6
Aura misfortune (10 ft.), unnatural aura
Defense
AC 31, touch 21, flat-footed 20 (+10 Dex, +1 Dodge, +10 natural)
hp 276 (24d8+168)
Fort +17, Ref +19, Will +20
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; Immune undead traits; SR 27
Offense
Speed 60 ft.; air walk
Melee +2 keen scythe +30/+30/+25/+20/+15 (2d4+14/19 -20/×4 plus energy drain)
Special Attacks energy drain (2 levels, DC 29)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th; concentration +23)
Constant—air walk, haste, see invisibility
3/day—call spirit(DC 22), slay living (DC 22)
1/day—finger of death (DC 25), plane shift (DC 22)
Statistics
Str 27, Dex 30, Con —, Int 15, Wis 23, Cha 24
Base Atk +18; CMB +27; CMD 47
Feats Combat Casting, Critical Focus, Dazing Assault, Furious Focus, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Staggering Critical, Step Up, Stunning Critical, Tiring Critical, Weapon Focus (scythe)
Skills Acrobatics +34, Disguise +34, Intimidate +34, Knowledge (planes) +14, Knowledge (religion) +17, Ride +34, Stealth +37
Languages Celestial, Common, Infernal
Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary or murder (2-4)
Treasure standard (+2 keen scythe, other treasure)
Special Abilities
Misfortune Aura (Su) When a living creature attempts an ability check, attack roll, caster level check, skill check, or saving throw within 10 feet of a lesser death, it must roll two d20s and take the lowest roll before applying any modifiers.
Status Sight (Su) When a lesser death gazes on a creature, it can see that creature's emotion aura and that creature's current health and overall well-being. This ability acts as the status spell, as well as the emotion aura aspect of the analyze aura spell.
Lesser deaths are the weaker cousins of grim reapers. It is whispered among dark cabals and occult fellowships that the first soul unshackled from its mortal coil faced its final judgment with scorn and defiance. This creature was so outraged by the metaphysical order of the multiverse that it became a kind of rogue deity dedicated to the ending of all other lives. Particularly powerful creatures killed by this unforgiving deity become the servants of their slayer, spreading death wherever they wander. The least powerful of these lethal servants are called lesser deaths.
The first creators of the decks of many things captured some of these twisted lesser deaths long ago and bound them to those artifacts. This handful of treacherous artifacts calls forth a lesser death instead of a dire wraith when the skull card is drawn. The vast majority of lesser deaths are not bound within artifacts, though, and are free to wander the multiverse, spreading doom wherever possible. Their choices of victims sometimes seem capricious, and have birthed myriad rumors regarding their nature and purpose. Some claim that these creatures serve the whims of a hidden force in the multiverse, while others claim they select their victims according to some dark logic that only they fathom. While these creatures possess a wicked intelligence, they converse with no one and use their haunting rasps only rarely, in mockery of those who would defy them. On rare occasions, a group of these creatures converges and works together to deal death to a particularly powerful foe. When they do, they often come riding advanced albino cauchemars in a terrifying stampede, trampling the life from any who would impede their dread work.
A lesser death appears much like a typical grim reaper, though those who have encountered both claim that it's impossible to mistake one for the other, as lesser deaths lack the hopeless gravity of true grim reapers.
