10. Chyzaedu/Haeshi-Shaa - Pathfinder, PF2E, Starfinder
Ok so I know this is kind of cheating. But here me out. In a lot of ways, the chyzaedu and haeshi-shaa serve the same purpose, even while both of them offer unique possible ties that can’t be ignored. Both creatures serve as the clerical tier of the Dominion of the Black, a facet that is fascinating because it seems to have a lot of creatures that fall under it and yet several times Paizo makes it clear that the Dominion doesn’t have much use for faith. So that’s a bit conflicting but we’ll ignore it since I think I have a decent explanation. But I couldn’t leave either of these entities out and it would’ve felt wrong to have two creatures with such similar concepts in different places on the list so instead we’re gonna push them together. Not only do they serve a similar purpose but even from the story given they are intrinsically linked. And together I felt them to serve as the absolute best Big Monster Evil Guy aberration from both the Dominion and from Starfinder in totality (ok actually only the haeshi-shaa are from Starfinder only but the Chyzaedu would also exist there).
Let’s talk about them individually, starting with the chyzaedu. For one, we come to find another psychic worm creature, a staple of Paizo that we’re not quite finished with even as of today. That doesn’t mean they should be so easily put to rest with that thought alone though, because the chyzaedu has a fascinating mechanic completely unique to it (as far as I can think). As well as being massive, being able to swallow opponents whole, and having fairly high divine casting which points to their zealotry, they have two other fascinating aspects to them. The first is the sacred vestments that almost all chyzaedu wear on them that not only has a significant chance of turning critical attacks, but also gives them absolute immunity to mind-affecting effects. The other attribute is the aura that lies around them that fills opponents to feel a chilling hunger that drives at their psyche so hard that they feel compelled to stop fighting and consume every scrap of food on their person, including all of their potions, which may be a great waste.
And so you will have joined in its divine revelry, for the chyzaedu finds religious further in the act of consumption. To be distinct however, it is not only considered an act of faith to consume, but also to be consumed and the creature actually is confused when others are not ecstatic to be consumed by it. This faith was begun long ago, when their planet was itself swallowed up by a black hole that the Dominion itself manipulated in order to destroy them. The chyzaedu worshipped this display of raw entropy as their true purpose and joined the ranks of the Dominion to spread the word of such cosmic beauty. They now serve to manipulate lesser species with this entropic belief system. The chyzaedu want for life and mortality to flourish more than most amongst the Dominion. How else can they abuse it. Chyzaedu do not only hunger for physical pleasures though, and also are comforted by the hunger for knowledge, though never sated. Their faith is far from even this benign however. Every other year, the chyzaedu throw thousands of sentient species into a black hole in a ritual known as the Banquet. I wanna take a moment to acknowledge how insane of a number that is. You can’t get those kinds of numbers of influence in any of the editions we talk about but for Starfinder.
The chyzaedu are incredibly social creatures and preach the word of the ineffable void to all who will hear it. In fact, they’re quite friendly, even if their conversations typically come to eating eventually. They also study the activities of purple worms, considering them avatars of their faith in their continuous consumption. You can bet they have similar fascination with the dozens upon dozens of pages of ‘really hungry’ creatures between D&D and Pathfinder’s pages (there are a few too many perhaps). Ironically as a social creature that works deeply within the Dominion, they cannot spend large amounts of time in the presence of others of their kind. Which is... curious. There’s no hint about how they survived together before a black hole changed their world and we get no insight as to why they don’t stick around each other, but that only leaves more mysteries for the DM to have the pleasure of filling in. We do know that their consumptive habits had already spread to many planets before this instance, but nothing about their inner social relations.
Then we come to the haeshi-shaa, which is just as zealous itself. There are two forms of the haeshi-shaa, which are, get this, the haeshi and the shaa form. In haeshi form, a haeshi-shaa has slightly more limited spell casting which consists of simple mental assaults and fear-inducers. Those close enough to it can be sickened by the stench it gives off and might be at risk of massive psychic damage if it is killed while near them, as it unleashes a frenetic tantrum that disrupts minds in its death throes. It also has properties that give it the advantages of oozes and physically can shoot out sonic blasts or resort to simple slams that leave a crippling disease which literally can slowly turn victims into vapor, which as we’ll learn plays into their faith system. The shaa form is slightly more powerful, with everything its lesser form has as well as the ability to thicken or expand its form as defenses to different styles of threat to it. It gains a couple of spells which let it create threatening illusions, have more investigative mental properties, gain healing potential, or even, on the flip side, crush someone’s head in with a thought.
Just as the chyzaedu, the haeshi-shaa finds divinity in destruction, although through a slightly different means. They find divinity in the absolute disintegration of matter, wanting the universe to be sieved down into the finest particles possible. It is their belief that they are able to see the infinite pathways towards this inevitable ending and constantly preach for the most direct route. They have two distinctive forms that reflect this very process and approach the faith in different ways. Haeshi are aggressive, while shaa are introspective. All haeshi-shaa seek to transition between forms constantly, but the change is random and unpredictable. They believe that proximity to spacial anomalies can accelerate this change.
The chyzaedu and haeshi-shaa are even connected through their origins, as it is believed that they were created through the same black hole. The haeshi-shaa were a completely sonic based species once upon a time before being transformed into what they are now. They also once spoke of a similar consumptive faith as the chyzaedu. These factors lead some to believe that their origins stem from the same now annihilated planet.
Now, there’s something a bit funky about these two creatures. They’re supposed to be preaching the faith of oblivion to the cosmos. But... to who? The Dominion seeks the utter annihilation of aberrations. So are they just manipulators to keep the peace until such a time as the Dominion can destroy them? Or... are they preaching to aberrations to join the Dominion. But... how does that work anyway. Like... aberration is just a qualifier we have from a mechanics stand point. It’s not like you’d be able to look at something and instantly be like ‘Oh that’s an aberration.’ Does the Dominion know a mind flayer is an aberration and therefore can exist in its realm. Kinda looks like the humanoids they hate. Is their a requisite number of tentacles. I’m rambling now. And I’m not hating. Any of these answers are fine, but I feel like it isn’t very well specified. Anyways, we’re in the final gauntlet now. The absolute best of the Dominion, which looms large over all of Starfinder, is a phenomenal way to start it off.
https://aerial-ace97.tumblr.com/post/671597484730138624/intro-to-bmeg