Udaeus

Welcome to the letter U!  I take the holidays seriously, so pretty much the only reason I blogged this week was to give you this Christmas present: our very first Bestiary 4 monster and our first mythic monster in one fell swoop: the udaeus.

Inspired by Greek myths, udaeoi are perfect warriors—originally grown like seedlings from dragon teeth, rather than being born, though they now breed true. Not only are these myrmidons consummate warriors, but they also carry mythic power in their veins—a remnant of the divine spark that created them. 

How mythic they are in your campaign is of course up to you.  They might be a nation of warriors (like the Spartans), a sacred bloodline springing from otherwise human stock, statues brought to life, divine servants of the god of war, and so on.  You might even bring back that whole springing-from-a-dragon’s-teeth trick…

Jarl Snori Siggardson, himself an accomplished sea raider, is stunned when some foreign, bone-white warriors challenge him on his own lands.  Whether they are beaten back or not likely depends on the aid of some adventurers sheltering under his eaves.  Either way, he wishes to know more—these chalky warriors are the best he has ever seen, and they bear the plumed helms of far Tyresia.  He asks the adventurers to travel to that land and find out more.

Every year during the Longnight watch, the king grants an audience to the most unusual supplicants who come to call.  This year a man begs the king to witness him bring his crops forth from seed to harvest in a single midwinter day.  The king agrees, and the next day the man sews his seeds—linnorm teeth—into the frozen earth.  Immediately a squadron of udaeoi spring up and attack.

The Forbidden East is forbidden for a reason: udaeoi guard the only causeways connecting the Known World to the realms beyond.  Groups wishing to pass must defeat the warriors by strength of arms, and without the use of additional magic.  But even receiving this offer is a secret that must be earned: the udaeoi demand six wyvaran heads before even deigning to speak with outsiders.  Another option is to befriend a sphinx—the lion-like riddlers move freely in udaeus towns—but that carries its own risks…

—Pathfinder Bestiary 4 267