Nosoi

Nosoi
(Creature)
Common N Tiny Monitor Psychopomp Level 1 Alignment LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE Images of nosois Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 270 Type Outsider (extraplanar, psychopomp) CR 2 Environment Any (Boneyard) Alignment LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE Images of nosois Source: Ashes at Dawn, pg(s). 86–87

Nosois, also known as scribe psychopomps, death's messengers, and yanakeion, are psychopomps who serve as scribes and messengers for Pharasma. They record the deaths of every mortal and keep records of Pharasma's judgments on them, and also maintain the Catalogue of Last Days.

Appearance

Nosois have the bodies of masked songbirds, including whipoorwills, crows, and sparrows, and as such typically are about one foot long; however, they weigh between 10 and 15 pounds, much more than their animal counterparts. Many craft large decorative tails from various materials that trail trinkets behind them in flight.

Ecology

Most psychopomps began as a nosoi ascending to become more powerful classes of psychopomp over time and for good service.

Nosois make their homes atop Pharasma's Spire, but also travel broadly across both the Boneyard and other planes, including the Material Plane. Like other outsiders, they do not need to eat to survive; however, they enjoy and covet bread and sweets, and sometimes take the forms of songbirds on the Material Plane simply to acquire them. Their pursuit of these treats means they can sometimes be bribed for information in exchange.

A nosoi's toil often leads to either ascension to a higher form of psychopomp, or reincarnation as a new mortal creature.

Habitat and society

Although they are meticulous and tireless scribes of an unfathomable amount of knowledge, nosois are also whimsical, easily distracted, musical, and lovers of games and contests—to such a point at times that shades sometimes slip away from nosois for days thanks to a game of chance.

Nosois are musical singers, and their songs tend to mirror the atmosphere of the Boneyard's courts.

On Golarion

A nosoi serves as a familiar to a halfling spiritualist.

Many superstitions surround nosois on Golarion, many of them false. Despite their pliability in exchange for snacks, nosois cannot be bartered with to return a soul to life, and trapping a nosoi cannot lead to the resurrection of a fallen mortal. Despite their love of games, a nosoi on the losing end of a card game or wager does not have the power to restore a shade to its mortal life.

Nosois most frequently travel to the Material Plane to provide counsel to restless dead or escort them to judgment. Such assignments are prime opportunities for nosois to also steal prized items from mortal funerals, such as ribbons and beads, for use in crafting ever more beautiful tails. They prize these trophies so much that, in their occasional promises of great rewards to mortals in exchange for favors or service, often return to bestow such relatively worthless items.

As familiars

Spellcasters who focus on death can summon a nosoi as a familiar, and they make excellent assistants for those who maintain collections of works or records—even without hands, they can adeptly wield writing utensils and inscribe scrolls. However, their capricious nature and penchant for theft follow them to their mortal service.

Like all psychopomps, nosois abhor the undead and refuse to serve them.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.