Angels to some, demons to others.

Cenobites are lost souls who, after solving an artifact left on the prime material plane by the forces of hell, find themselves trapped on a hellish plane. Here they undergo years, sometimes decades, occasionally centuries of torture until the very humanity has been stripped from the. At this point they become part of the Cenobite legion, ready at the artifact’s call to return to the prime material plane to gather more victims.

No two Cenobites look the same, but they have common features. First, they are always pale and hairless. They also have a variety of open wounds or instruments of torture hanging from their bodies. A few examples are one female who has her throat opened and held by hooks, another male has his entire head covered in nails, while another female has her scalp opened to the bone, the flesh peeled back and held in place by hooks. Also, they are always clad in black leather armor, which like the cenobites themselves is customized to suit the wearer. Legend refers to the clothing to be a twisted combination of religious garb and fetish wear, and to see it in person is to agree with those sentiments.

These creatures live for the sensation of the flesh. They use strange artifacts known as puzzle boxes as gateways to enter the prime material plane.  One would think that their appearance would be to engage in combat and take those who were unlucky enough to solve the puzzle straight back to their hellish realm, but this is not always the case.  They are more than willing to talk, but they never forget the end game goal they have in mind – to take whoever solved the puzzle box back to their hellish plane of existence.

Sometimes the ruler of hell, known by many names but often referred to as Leviathan, will deem the soul worthy to become a cenobite. Those who fail to meet the rulers demands are either dragged into the pocket dimension to spend eternity being tortured, or are simply destroyed on the spot for the pleasure of the attending cenobites.

Unlike many other denizens from the various torment planes, these creatures are not merely mindless drones. They are free-thinking individuals, who have been known to occasionally question one another and even the very ruler of the hell dimension they reside in. They consider themselves to be explorers, and are always willing to teach those who happen to unlock the secrets of the artifact sensations of the flesh few have ever known. As such, they are viewed as demons by some, angels by others.

The Cenobites are completely amoral, with their dedication to the sensations of the flesh typically taking priority over everything else – be it law, chaos, good or evil, although they strictly adhere to their own sick and twisted laws.

On the occasion, a victim who managed to solve the puzzle box is less than willing to be taken off to see pleasures like they could never imagine. When this happens, the cenobites are willing to fight – no are eager to fight. All carry a specialized knife known as a Soul-Knife and will gleefully use it in combat. They also use this knife during their ‘pleasure rituals’. They can be exceedingly deadly, as mortals who engage in combat with the creatures will quickly discover that unless the weapons they are using are magically imbued by Fusions, or they do not possess spells or spell-like abilities, it is all but impossible to harm a cenobite.  Cenobites will also pick up and use other weapons, including ranged weapons and other types of melee weapons, but prefer to use their stock and trade.

If a victim solves the puzzle box when there are others present, the Cenobites do not discriminate. They will gleefully add any present to the legions already inhabiting the hell dimension they call home.  At the same time, if a foe or group of foes end up being more than a match, they will sometimes put forth a call to other cenobites to join them.

During such engagements, the cenobites will constantly chatter, using their skills to intimidate or even to bluff foes, promising tortures which will be legendary even in hell, or pleasures so mindboggling as to drive them to the point of eternal bliss.

No matter what, if the cenobites have been summoned on purpose or by accident, they are a powerful foe who can lay waste to those not prepared for the encounter.

Starfinder Creature Index

Chris Van Deelen is the creator and contributor to over half of the Wisdom from the Wastelands series, contributor to the Swords of Kos: Hekaton anthology. He also wrote Creatures of the Tropical Wastelands, and 100 Oddities found in a Car. As prolific as he is, Chris Van Deelen continues to write and produce material which will be in publication soon. Not only is he a prolific content creator, he also has a wide selection of fiction and stories! If you like his work, please follow his personal author page on Facebook and on Twitter to keep up with his latest news and game content.