Prince in Chains
The Prince in Chains is the herald of the god of darkness, Zon-Kuthon, and serves as the manifestation of his will on Golarion, but he was once so much more. Before his transformation into a herald, the Prince in Chains was a spirit creature who had fathered both Zon-Kuthon and his half sister Shelyn. Now the Prince in Chains is a hateful creature of broken flesh, pain and chains. 1
Appearance
The Prince in Chains appears as a skinless wolf wrapped in whipping chains that stands taller than a house. Amongst the chains and skinless flesh, gnashing, teeth-filled mouths gnash wildly at the air then melt back into its writhing flesh. Instead of eyes the Prince in Chains has two dark shadowy cavities in which rumour has it you can see into the thoughts of the dark god Zon-Kuthon. The chains that enshroud the beast seem to move of their own accord as if animated by some other force, all the while constricting and tearing at the Prince in Chain's flesh. The creatures tongue is pierce by multiple hooks and barbs turning it into a horrific slashing weapon that makes its bite even more potent.1
Habitat and ecology
As a herald, the Prince in Chains can be found where ever his dark liege Zon-Kuthon wills him to go. There is no place the Prince will not visit to spread the misery and suffering preached by his master. If the Prince in Chains does have a favored environment then it is probably Zon-Kuthon's realm of Xoviakain on the Netherworld. The Prince in Chains can often be found either roaming the shadowy corridors of this steel maze or at his lord's heel, mewing like a new born pup desperate for attention. If given the chance, he will happily torture and mutilate any living thing with a preference for sentient creatures. The Prince in Chains completely lacks any flesh of his own, for when Zon-Kuthon created him his torture was so extensive that his stripped all the original flesh from him and replaced it with chains, rotting necrotic flesh from other creatures, and leather.2
History
The Prince in Chains was not always the wretched creature of pain and misery that he is today; he was once a noble creature, a spirit-wolf known as Thron, the Prince That Howls. Thron was a free-spirited creature that roamed the forest and mountains howling his songs to the stars and the sky. Thron loved life, song and love itself and had many trysts with the other spirit creatures, the most famous results of which were the two gods he sired, Shelyn and Dou-Bral, who would later become Zon-Kuthon. His children were minor deities of art and beauty but they squabbled and after one of these squabble Dou-Bral departed the material plane to wander the dark places between the planes. Upon his return Thron greeted Dou-Bral with joy, a joy that was soon choked out of him as the being that was once Dou-Bral wrapped his father in razor sharp chains and dragged him back to his lair as a play thing. There he mercilessly tortured his father, stripping away his flesh and fashioning his own minions out of them. As a deity who believes torture to be the highest form of art, the Prince in Chains must surely be Zon-Kuthon's masterpiece for the hateful creature that emerged after the endless torture bore no resemblance to Thron. It was a mutilated being filled with hate and a lust to cause the same hideous pain that had been inflicted upon it.2
Abilities
Rules elements should be stated in in-world terms and integrated into the body of the article. |
- Chainstorm
- The area surrounding the Prince in Chains is filled with flailing whipping chains that attack and ensnare any who come too close.
- Exaction
- The Prince in Chains takes pleasure in other peoples pain and can heal himself by hurting other creatures.
- Howl of Despair
- The pain-filled howl of the Prince in Chains actually damages the psyche of his opponents, sometimes causing them to go insane.12
References
For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 . “Bestiary” in Skeletons of Scarwall, 84. Paizo Inc., 2008
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 . “Bestiary” in Skeletons of Scarwall, 85. Paizo Inc., 2008