#Pathfinder 84 Pyramid of the Sky Pharaoh

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Roleplaying Races 10: Shabti

 To western civilization, the idea of “taking it with you” after death is a mark of hubris and arrogance, and yet it wasn’t viewed as such by the ancient Egyptians who believed that whatever one is buried with would have otherworldly copies of in the afterlife. (The idea that the dead might physically take their wealth with them after death was solidly dashed the moment the profession of grave robber was invented, so pretty much immediately, but it was still considered a grave crime, as stealing grave goods would in turn rob the deceased of their otherworldly copies)

In any case, one such funerary good among the wealthy pharaohs and nobility were the shabti, or ushabti or even shawabti: tiny figurine statues of humanoid figures, whom were believed to animate into servants for the wealthy upon entering the afterlife.

This practice arose as a replacement for what the ancient Egyptians did before: when such a wealthy figure died, in order to give them servants to go along with all their stuff, said servants and slaves would be sacrificed and entombed alongside their former master, giving them an entourage in the afterlife.

Needless to say, that practice was not very popular among the common folk, and presented a lot of problems in maintaining a healthy population. Hence why the practice of creating shabti came to be.

Now, Pathfinder’s core setting has its own Egypt-analogue, and in a fit of brilliance, came up with a race inspired y that ancient practice!

 In Pathfinder, a shabti is a sort of “artificial soul” created by a magical effigy called a sovereign shabti, which is made to be a near-exact copy of a mortal’s soul. Such beings were created to serve as a proxy for the soul in question, usually one of great wealth and power in life in order to be able to afford the process, and take the punishment of that soul instead.

In theory, the shabti was meant to be mistaken for the original soul, and sent on to final judgement, taking the brunt of their afterlife punishment, whereas the actual deceased is processed according to their alignment like any mortal soul.

Naturally, this process is used by the wicked elite to give themselves a headstart into integrating themselves into their afterlife without being immediately set upon by fiends, or else by reformed evil folk that wish to avoid any karmic backlash for their past and being judged based on who they were at the time of death.

However, all of this hinges upon the bureaucracy of death actually being fooled by the shabti, which doesn’t always happen.

If the psychopomps catch the deception, either during judgement or after the fact while patrolling the lower planes, shabti can be rehabilitated, and set free on the lawful neutral plane of Axis, where some migrate to the material plane.

For their part, shabti resemble golden replicas of the people they were made to be copies of, often with markings reflecting of ancient Egyptian/Osirian fashion, like eyeshadow and whatnot. Their composition of quintessence combined with their inherently mortal nature makes them native outsiders as well.

Mentally, shabti are very human-like, which makes sense as that is what they were designed to be. In fact, when created they earnestly believe that they are the person that they are a copy of, all the better to exploit them as scapegoats.

This set of false memories means that when shabti are informed of their true nature, they tend to struggle with their identity. Some may revel in the opportunity to forge their own path, but plenty of others struggle to find themselves.

Due to their extreme rarity, shabti don’t really have a culture or society of their own, though they do tend to have a fondness for the culture of the mortal they were templated off of.

 Shabti have durable bodies and the charm of a leader.

As beings of quintessence, shabti are immortal, being immune to age, though they can still be slain by other methods.

Thanks to a curiosity of their composition, shabti cannot rise as the undead, never fearing that horrible fate. What’s more, energy drain does not seem to affect their bodies, though enough can still kill them.

Having a whole lifetime that isn’t theirs in their minds, they can prove to be surprisingly knowledgible about a multitude of topics.

As artificial souls, shabti tend to be difficult to resurrect, their spirits either breaking down too easily, or perhaps a reluctance of deities to grant such a blessing to a creature that defies the natural order somewhat.

Supernaturally charming, many shabti can implant ideas into the minds of others.

 Additionally, there are a few minor variations on the shabti. This includes those that are more human-like, Lack inherited memories but are full of potential, able to inflict feedback upon those that drain their energy, and express extreme willfulness to resist magic that bends the mind.

 Charming and durable, shabti can be social and spellcasting masters, as well as front-line warriors as well. In fact, because they have no real weakness, they can excel at pretty much any class. Whether they embrace the nature of their past life, seeking to relive past glories that were never theirs, or seek to distance themselves with their actions, many might choose the path of adventure.