Kagekuma
Level 8Attacks
Abilities
Creatures killed by a kagekuma are difficult to bring back to life or animate as undead. The kagekuma automatically attempts to counteract any attempt to resurrect or animate as undead any creature that it has killed (counteract modifier +16, counteract rank 4). If the kagekuma who slew the creature is slain, the creature can be brought back from death or become undead normally.
Frequency once per hour Effect The kagekuma manifests a large bundle of straw, reeds, rope, yarn, hair, or the like, all lashed together with cords and strapped to their back. The kagekuma's AC increases to 27 as long as their bundle remains manifested, but their Speed is reduced to 15 feet.
When a kagekuma wields a broken, non-magical weapon, they don't take any of the disadvantages of the weapon being broken. While the kagekuma wields it, the weapon becomes a +1 striking weapon , and it deals an additional 1d6 mental damage on a successful hit.
Requirements The kagekuma is casting a shadow
The kagekuma targets an adjacent creature that's casting a shadow, then their shadow feeds on that creature's shadow. If the kagekuma has a manifested bundle, observers (including the creature whose shadow is being bitten) can notice the kagekuma's Shadow Bite only if they succeed at a DC 38 perception check. The target must succeed at a DC 26 fortitude save or become Drained 1 (Drained 2 on a critical failure).
Requirements The kagekuma has a manifested bundle
The kagekuma causes its bundle to vanish, Strides, and then attempts a kusarigama Strike and a bite Strike. The target is Off-Guard against both of these Strikes.
Description
Kagekumas exist in the periphery, lurking in the very shadows of their prey. Known in some regions as "shadefiends," this nindoru's ability to appear as uninteresting figures in the crowd allows them to feed even in populated areas. A kagekuma appears as a hunched over humanoid with a long neck and a fanged mouth, but when wearing a bundle, the creature's head and neck tuck in tight between its shoulders to become entirely obscured. The kagekuma personifies the cycle of trust being built and broken over and over again through the course of a complex relationship.
Kagekuma Bundles
A kagekuma's bundle is more than just a disguise and armor—it's a physical indication of how many lives they've cut short and how many souls they've supped upon. Whether the bundle is composed of straw, ropes, hair, or other materials, the individual lengths symbolize a sort of "reaper's harvest," with each strand in the bundle representing a metaphorical lifeline that the nindoru has severed and collected—to an extent that the multitude of lives taken overwhelms the nindoru's own presence in the world.