Lantern Archon

Supposedly it’s better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.  But DR-ignoring 1d6 damage light rays work against the darkness, too.

Lantern archons are the newbies of the lawful good planes (typically known as Heaven or the Heavens)—freshly promoted good souls.  They mostly act as scouts and messengers, but with their gestalt ability they are also living symbols of the power that can come from good people working together.  On warning, though: Despite being lanterns, at Int 6 they’re not that bright.  *rimshot*

When Priambus Ironbrand died in a swamp, he was carrying a family heirloom—a sword of legendary power whose abilities he had just begun to unlock.  Now a lantern archon named Primus with only dim memories of its previous life, the young paladin’s soul has nevertheless been sent back to ensure the sword finds its way into helpful hands.  Unfortunately, Primus is not the only glowing ball in the vicinity—the swamp is infested with will-o-wisps—so it is having difficulty convincing others of its good intentions.

All the lanterns in an abandoned mansion, once the home of a vampire death cleric, are actually lantern archons bound in some kind of unhallow effect.  Driven mad by their imprisonment, if freed each archon will spend several (1d6+1) rounds attacking randomly until it is calmed or driven off.  If all are released at once, they form two gestalt whirlwind entities that attack with even greater ferocity.

In its zeal to help battle the forces of darkness, a lantern archon attaches itself to an adventuring party whose cleric shares its patron deity.  But the archon has little notion of concerns like stealth, failing to shield its light while scouting ahead, calling out sinners with truespeech, and otherwise making a nuisance of itself.  The surest way to get rid of it without angering the Heavenly Hosts is to find a good cause or site for the archon to protect.

—Pathfinder Bestiary 20

Mailbag!  Will has some tweaks to the augnagar and aurumvorax; see his notes in the comments.  (That link may not work for Safari users, because Blogger sucks and I shouldn't have tried to fix it.  #thisiswhywecan’thavenicethings)  Both syringesin and therealkendrickdane had things to say about the kyton here.  And therealkendrickdane also caught the prelapsarian vibe of my lammasu post, writing, “Eden, much?”

Did I miss anyone/thing?  Write me!

Speaking of the kyton: Is it time I finally see the Hellraiser franchise?  I’m not a horror fan at all except for The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror short fiction series, but I’m at the point where I wonder if I’m missing out on canon.