Kayal
Source: Starfinder #12: Heart of Night
CR: 7 XP: 3,200
— — —
Init.: +7 Senses: darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision Perception: +15
Defense
HP: 100
EAC: 19 KAC: 20
Fort: +6 Ref: +9 Will: +10
Offense
Speed: 40 ft.
Melee: tactical knife +15 (2d4+8 S)
Ranged: red star plasma pistol +13 (1d8+7 E & F; critical burn 1d8) or triple focus rifle +13 (3d4+7 F; critical burn 2d4)
Offensive Abilities: debilitating trick, trick attack +4d8
Statistics
Str: +1 Dex: +5 Con: +1 Wis: +0 Int: +4 Cha: +2
Skills: Acrobatics +20, Bluff 20, Mysticism +15, Sleight of Hand +15, Stealth +20, Survival +15
Languages: Common, Shadowtongue
Gear: d-suit II, red star plasma pistol with 2 batteries (20 charges each), triple focus rifle with 1 high-capacity battery (40 charges), tactical knife
Ecology
Environment: any (Shadow Plane)
Organization: solitary, hunting party (2–6), or collective (7–20)
Special Abilities
Shadow Blending (Su) Attacks against a kayal in dim light have a 50% miss chance instead of the normal 20% miss chance. This ability does not grant total concealment; it just increases the miss chance.
Description
Also known as fetchlings, kayals are descendants of humans trapped on the Shadow Plane millennia ago. The ambient essence of shadow has long since permeated their forms, making them their own unique species. Their time spent without direct access to light has left them bleached of color. Dark, pale, or gray of skin tone, with white or pitch-black hair and yellow eyes, kayals have tall, lithe bodies that seem to blend in and out of darkness effortlessly. Some kayals are said to be able to command the shadows themselves, manipulating their appearance or using them as a conduit to travel across space and even between the planes.
Kayals have spent hundreds of centuries dealing with creatures native to the Shadow Plane, which requires a certain amount of moral ambiguity. As a result, they have made deals and agreements with creatures that most other species would consider dangerous or evil. For kayals, these agreements were a matter of simple survival—the pragmatic decision is always the right one, even if it involves shaking hands with those others might consider to be monsters.
Kayals on the Material Plane tend to conceal their appearances with hooded cloaks or masks, even though they are not sensitive to bright light. These kayals hide themselves either out of fear of prejudice from those who had bad dealings with their ancestors or because they are embarking on nefarious deeds and don’t wish to be recognized by local authorities.
