Naunet

The other proteans we’ve discussed so far have been schemers, philosophers, and scholars.  Naunets are a bit more straightforward in how they combat Order—they intend to dismantle it one acre at a time, and woe to any mortal that gets in their way.

The Bestiary 2 calls naunets “shock troops” patrolling the border of Limbo(/the Maelstrom/Chaos/Disorder/etc.).  But they could be found in other settings as well.  In a Darklands setting less ordered than Golarion’s (such as the Underdark of Torog as presented in 4e D&D), naunets might congregate in the ever-shifting caverns. And a spiky, tentacled, serpentine creature that destroys matter would also be perfect for a dreamscape encounters or psychedelic one-shots (Adventure Time Pathfinder, anyone?)…

To explore the Primal Storm, a wizard transfers his consciousness into the body of a golem.  He presumes the construct shell can stand up to the elemental chaos, but he did not count on the adaptive strikes of the cacophony of naunets that soon set upon him.  Now he lies crippled and in need of rescue, or his real body will starve while his trapped mind goes mad.

A rage of young chaotic dragons has an unlikely leader—a mad but quite charismatic purple-painted naunet who spurs their destructive flights.  His fog clouds provide perfect cover for them to strafe, burn, and despoil, and it is under his guidance they attack bridges, temples, courthouses, and other symbols of Law and civilization.

All of eight years old, the crown princess lies in a coma.  The court surgeon-seers summon and interrogate a psychopomp, who tells them that the princess in under no shadow from the Queens of the Dead.  The malady must then be deep in her mind.  The psychopomp leads a party of adventurers inside the princess’s psyche, where a naunet is unraveling her mental landscape for reasons unknown.

—Pathfinder Adventure Path #22 86–87 & Pathfinder Bestiary 2 216

Once again, if you dig proteans, “The End of Eternity” in the Legacy of Fire Adventure Path is essential reading.

Got a really nice note from gentleman-nerd, who’s using one of the bulette adventure seeds (oh…the typos…they hurt) in his campaign.  Thanks, g-n!  Be sure to tell us how it works out.  That goes for the rest of you, too!  Leave a comment or email me via Gmail.