User:FiddleSticks96/Libris Vampiricus (3.5e Sourcebook)/Chapter 7

=Monsters=

Spine Horror
Spine Horrors are canine like undead monsters first created by some long forgotten cabal of Telboth wizards. They are faintly reminiscent of wolves, except that they have boney armor plating, three rows of serrated teeth, and are covered in extremely sharp spines. Spine Horrors have no eyes; the eye sockets are nothing more than solid bone. They can burrow through soil and rock, and have powerful claws that allow them to climb sheer surfaces.

Spine Horrors almost always travel in packs. They roam the wilderness in search of prey, devouring any wildlife they encounter. They avoid civilized areas, but large packs have been known to attack small communities.


 * Spine Horrors can only track by scent.

COMBAT
Spine Horrors are blind, but they make up for this ability with their tremorsense and scent abilities. They communicate by vibrating their spines to create different rattling and clicking noises. In combat, spine horrors coordinate their attacks in an attempt to flank opponents, using their powerful jaws and rows of teeth to rend flesh from bone, focusing their attacks on spell casters when possible. They have limited intelligence, so they are unable to readily identify a spellcaster until after the caster launches a spell. If multiple opponents bunch together, spine horrors will use their spine volley attack to cause maximum damage. A spine horror pack will stalk adventurer bands for days, learning what they can about their prey before striking. A favorite tactic of spine horror packs is to send one or two pack members out to lure prey where the rest of the pack has burrowed into the ground. The pack will then burst out of the ground right below the unsuspecting prey.

A spine horror can burrow through unworked stone, but it moves at half its normal rate.

Spinney Shell (Ex): A spine horror is covered is foot long sharp spines. These spines regrow over the course of 24hrs when lost or otherwise broken. These spines function as armor spikes.

Spine Volley (Ex): 3 times per day, a spine horror can take a standard action to launch a volley of these spines at any location within 60ft of itself. Everything within a 10ft radius of the targeted location suffers 2d6 piercing damage, DC 16 Reflex save for half. If a spine horror uses this ability 3 times in a 24hr period, its Spinney Shell ability ceases to function for 24hrs.

Tremorsense (Ex): A spine horror can automatically sense the location of anything within 60 feet that is in contact with the ground, so long as it is touching the ground itself.

Trip (Ex): A spine horror that hits with a bite attack can attempt to trip its opponent (+5 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the spine horror.

Skills: A spine horror has a +8 racial bonus on Listen checks, and a +2 bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks.

=Templates=

Below are the new templates that can be used to add more variety to your campaign.

Flesh Craft Templates
Below are the standardized templates that can be applied to creatures by Flesh Craft users.

(Flesh template)
Creation:

Size and Type:

HD:

Natural Armor:

Attack:

Full Attack:

Damage:

Special Attacks:

Special Qualities:

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows:

Challenge Rating:

Arachnid Walker
An Arachnid Walker has had the lower half of its body replaced with that of a giant spider. They some sometimes mistaken as Driders, but their origins are fundamentally different.

Creation: An Arachnid Walker may be created by a DC 15 Flesh Craft check. It requires the corpse of a monstrous spider of a size equal to the base creature, and 24hrs to create. This template may be learned through 1d3 weeks of research and study, followed by a successful DC 15 Knowledge (arcana) check.

Size and Type: The base creature’s type changes to Monstrous Humanoid. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged. The base creature becomes a quadruped if it was not already.

HD: The base creature gains 1 Monstrous Humanoid HD, gaining an appropriate increase to base attack bonus, saves, and skill points.

Movement: An Arachnid Walker gains a climb speed equal to the base creature’s land speed.

Natural Armor: An Arachnid Walker gains a +2 natural armor bonus to its armor class.

Attack: An Arachnid Walker retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. If the base creature does not have a primary natural weapon, the slam attack becomes its primary natural weapon.

Full Attack: An Arachnid Walker can make a Slam Attack as a standard action or it can use its other natural weapons (if it has any).

Damage: An Arachnid Walker has a Slam Attack. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the Arachnid Walker's size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons retain their old damage values or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is higher.

Special Attacks:

Web (Ex): Arachnid Walkers can make sticky spider webs like normal spiders. A single strand is strong enough to support the Arachnid Walker and one creature of the same size. Arachnid Walkers can use Web as the spell 8 times per day. This is similar to an attack with a net, but has a maximum range of 50ft, with a range increment of 10ft, and is effective against targets up to one size category larger than the Arachnid Walker. An entangled creature can escape with a successful Escape Artist check (DC 10 + the Arachnid Walker’s Constitution Modifier (or Charisma Modifier, whichever is higher)) or burst it with a Strength check (DC same as Escape Artist check, but 4 higher). Both are standard actions.

Arachnid Walkers can create sheets of sticky webbing of any dimension, so long as at least two ends are attached to a solid surface. Approaching creatures must succeed on a DC 20 Spot check to notice a web; otherwise, they stumble into it and become trapped as though by a successful web attack. Attempts to escape or burst the webbing gain a +5 bonus if the trapped creature has something to walk on or grab while pulling free. Each 5ft section has 10 hitpoints and hardness 5, and sheet webs have Damage Reduction 5/—. It takes an Arachnid Walker 1 minute to spin a web for every 5ft of web spun. An Arachnid Walker can spin up to 20ft of web per HD per day.

An Arachnid Walker can move across its own web at its climb speed and can pinpoint the location of any creature touching its web.

Special Qualities:

Spider Empathy (Ex): An Arachnid Walker can befriend spiders as though by a Wild Empathy check by a Druid of a level equal to the Arachnid Walker’s HD. If the Arachnid Walker already has the Wild Empathy ability, it gains its HD as a bonus to all Wild Empathy checks made to befriend spiders.

Tremorsense (Ex): An Arachnid Walker can detect and pinpoint any creature or object within 60ft in contact with the ground, or within any range in contact with its webs.

Skills: An Arachnid Walker gains a +4 racial bonus on all Move Silently checks.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: +2 Str, +4 Dex

Challenge Rating: +1

Brute
Brutes are hulking hideous monsters of great size strength. Their bodies are disproportional masses of fat and muscle. In exchange for their great size and strength, Brutes lose some of their mind and personality.

Creation: A Brute may be created by a DC 15 Flesh Craft check. It requires at least twice the base creature’s weight in raw flesh, half of which must be muscle, and 24hrs to create. This template may be learned through 1d3 weeks of research and study, followed by a successful DC 15 Knowledge (arcana) check.

Size and Type: The base creature’s type changes to Monstrous Humanoid. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is increased by 1 step. HD: The base creature gains 3 Monstrous Humanoid HD, gaining an appropriate increase to base attack bonus, saves, and skill points.

Natural Armor: A Brute gains a +4 natural armor bonus to its armor class.

Attack: A Brute retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. If the base creature does not have a primary natural weapon, the slam attack becomes its primary natural weapon.

Full Attack: A Brute can make a Slam Attack as a standard action or it can use its other natural weapons (if it has any).

Damage: A Brute has a Slam Attack. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the Brute's size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons retain their old damage values or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is higher.

Special Attacks:

Crush (Ex): Once per round on a successful slam attack, a Brute may attempt to deliver a crushing blow against the creature it just hit. The creature is allowed a Reflex save (DC 10 + the Brute’s Strength Modifier). If the creature fails its save, the Brute deals an additional 1d6 + its Strength Modifier in damage to the creature. A creature struck by this ability moves at ½ speed for 1 round. Use of this ability does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Special Qualities:

Ferocious (Ex): A Brute reduced to 0 or less hitpoints does not lose consciousness and may continue to fight until death.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: +6 Str, +4 Con, -4 Dex, -2 Int, -4 Cha

Challenge Rating: +2

Beast Spawn
Beast Spawn is an Acquired Template that can be added to any living corporeal Animal or Vermin. Beast Spawn are created by vampires with the Beast Spawn Vitae Feat. They are completely loyal to the vampire that created them, obeying their every command. Beast Spawn appear as they did in life, except they have a feral look about them, much like a vampire.

Size and Type: The base creature’s type changes to Undead. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.

HD: All current and future HD become d12s.

Attack: A Beast Spawn retains all the attacks of the base creature and also very sharp serrated teeth that it can use as a Bite attack. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons.

Full Attack: A Beast Spawn can make a Bite Attack as a standard action or it can use its other natural weapons (if it has any).

Damage: A Beast Spawn has a Bite Attack. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the Beast Spawn's size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons retain their old damage values or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is higher.

Special Attacks:

Death’s Caress (Su): As a full-round action, a Beast Spawn may draw out the life force of a Dying creature. This duplicates the effects of a Death Knell spell, except the Beast Spawn’s master gains the benefits. The caster level is equal to the Beast Spawn’s HD.

Impose Will (Su): If a Beast Spawn makes a successful Bite attack against a creature, its vampire master may automatically attempt to use one of its Charm, Command, or Dominate abilities on the creature in question regardless of distance or cover. The creature is still allowed a saving throw to resist the effects. No single creature can be affected by this ability more than once per round, regardless of how many Beast Spawn make a bite attack against it. This ability only functions if the Beast Spawn is in range of its Empathic Link ability.

Special Qualities:

Empathic Link (Su): A Beast Spawn has an empathic link with its creator vampire out to a distance of a number of miles equal to 1 + 1 x (the vampire’s Age + the vampire’s GV (if positive)). The vampire cannot see through the Beast Spawn’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated.

Fast Healing (Ex): A Beast Spawn heals a number of hitpoints per round equal to 1 + its creator’s Age + its creator’s GV (if positive) so long as it has at least 1 hitpoint. Use the Age and GV at the time the spawn was made.

Necromantic Intelligence (Ex): A Beast Spawn gains a bonus to its Intelligence equal to 1 + the Age of its vampire master + the GV (if positive) of its vampire master. Depending on its Intelligence, a Beast Spawn might understand Common, or some other language, but it cannot speak such languages.

Speak with Master (Ex): If an Beast Spawn’s vampire creator has an Age Category of Mature or older, both the Beast Spawn and its master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: +4 Str, +2 Dex.

Alignment: Same as vampire master

Challenge Rating: +1

Tainted One
Tainted Ones are the remains of living creatures slain by a Pureblood’s Nether Lightning attack. The powerful unholy energies released by the Pureblood twist and corrupt the creature’s body and mind. Tainted Ones are vile undead monstrosities that know only pain and seek only destruction. The release of true destruction is denied to Tainted Ones, which only serves to fuel their hatred of life and goodness. The soul of the original creature departs to the afterlife upon its death, but it cannot be restored to life by any means until its body, the Tainted One, is slain. The soul of the original creature will occasionally lapse into episodes of crushing despair or have haunting visions of its previous life, no matter where the creature’s soul might reside. Such is the power of a Tainted One’s self-loathing.

Tainted Ones have no eyes. There are two pinpoints of a sickly yellow light where their eyes should be. Their skin is darkened and shriveled, and their bodies are half rotted.

Tainted One is an acquired template that can be applied to any living corporeal creature. This template is acquired by living corporeal creatures that are killed by a Pureblood's Nether Lightning attack or by a Tainted One’s Tainted Touch attack. A Tainted One uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

A Tainted One speaks and understands any languages it knew in life.

Size and Type: The base creature’s type changes to Undead. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.

HD: All current and future Hit Dice become d12s.

Speed: A Tainted One gains a +10ft bonus to its base speed.

Attack: A Tainted One retains all the attacks of the base creature and also grows boney claws that it can use as a natural weapon. If the base creature can use weapons, the Tainted One retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A Tainted One fighting without weapons uses either its claw attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has one). If the base creature does not have a primary natural weapon, the claw attack becomes its primary natural weapon. A Tainted One armed with a weapon uses its claw or weapon, as it desires.

Full Attack: A Tainted One fighting without weapons can make two claw attacks as a Full Round action or it can use its other natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack, along with a claw or other natural weapon as a natural secondary attack.

Damage: Tainted Ones have claw attacks. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the Tainted One's size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons retain their old damage values or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is higher.

A Tainted One's natural weapons are treated as magic and evil weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Special Attacks: A Tainted One does not retain any of the base creature’s special attacks except for extraordinary abilities.

Electric Skin (Ex): Electricity constantly surges up and down a Tainted One’s body. This electricity is harmful upon physical contact with a Tainted One. Whenever a Tainted One touches, or is touched by, a creature, it deals 1d6 electricity damage to that creature. This damage is dealt through a Tainted One’s natural weapons, whenever it makes a touch attack, and each round it maintains a grapple. Conversely, this damage is also dealt when another creature uses a natural weapon, makes a touch attack, and grapples a Tainted One.

Tainted Touch (Su): As a standard action, a Tainted One may make a touch attack that deals 2d6 damage, half of which is unholy damage. A Tainted One automatically makes a Tainted Touch each round it maintains a grapple with another creature. This does not occur when the Tainted One is being grappled, only when it grapples. A living creature killed by this ability rises as a free willed Tainted One in 24hrs unless it is fully submerged in holy water or buried in consecrated or holy ground.

Special Qualities: A Tainted One does not retain any of the base creature’s special qualities except for extraordinary abilities.

Immunity to Electricity (Ex): Tainted Ones are not affected by electricity.

Prevent Resurrection (Ex): Raise Dead and similar effects have no effect on a Tainted One. The base creature cannot be brought back to life by any means until the Tainted One is slain.

Regeneration (Ex): A Tainted One suffers normal damage from good-aligned magic weapons and from spells and effects with the good descriptor.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: +4 Str, +2 Dex, +4 Cha. As an undead creature, a Tainted One has no constitution score.

Skills: Tainted Ones have a +4 racial bonus to Hide, Move Silently, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.

Environment: Any

Organization: Solitary or gang (2-5)

Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +2

Treasure: Double standard.

Alignment: Always Chaotic Evil

Advancement: None

Level Adjustment: Tainted Ones cannot gain levels. It retains all class levels and class abilities it had in life.

Vampire Spawn
For the purposes of this overhaul Spawn means any vampire under the control of another vampire, and does not refer to Vamprie Spawn, which is described below.

Vampires with the Create Spawn Vitae Feat can choose to create vampire spawn, and those that select that feat invariably do at one point or another. Vampire Spawn are undead creatures very similar to vampires, although they are not true vampires. They are slaves to their sire’s will, considered little more than servants, and much less than a vampire’s free willed childer. Vampire Spawn and vampires under the control of another typically despise their master. They can do nothing about it however, except to wait and hope for their master’s demise or for their own release. Time, after all, is all they have.

Only humanoids and monstrous humanoids of less than 5HD can become vampire spawn. A humanoid or monstrous humanoid with 5 or more HD that is created by a vampire’s Create Spawn ability rises as a Category C Vampire of the same Bloodline as their sire, with all the normal benefits, except they are not free-willed; they still gain the Infallible Will of the Master quality. They are otherwise normal Category C Vampires. Vampires created with the Create Spawn Vitae Feat rise 1d4 days after they are killed. This does not mean that humanoids and monstrous humanoids of less than 5HD cannot become true vampires, they can. It’s just that humanoids or monstrous humanoids of 5 or more HD cannot become vampire spawn.

Vampire Spawn have the standard vampire appearance (pale skin, cold flesh, red tinted eyes, etc), even if their sire is of a bloodline with an altered appearance, such as Whet-Fang or Yekef vampires. If a Vamprie Spawn becomes a true vampire, their appearance changes to an appearance normal for their bloodline (depending on their bloodline, their appearance may not change at all).

Purebloods typically do not make Vampire Spawn, since they can easily create true vampires under their complete control. The only reason why a Pureblood would use this ability is to exponentially increase the number of vampires they can create that are under their control, since vampires created by Vampire Familiars are not under the control of the Pureblood.

The statistics listed below are the abilities of Vampire Spawn. These are not the abilities of true vampires under the control of a vampire with the Create Spawn feat. Vampire Spawn are weaker than normal vampires, possessing all their weaknesses but few of their strengths. A Vampire Spawn does not possess any abilities that normal vampires possess unless otherwise noted.

Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.

HD: All current and future HD become d12s.

Armor Class: The base creature gains a +3 Natural Armor bonus.

Bloodline: Vampire spawn are of the same bloodline as their sire, but they do not gain any of the benefits of their bloodline. They are members of a bloodline in name only.


 * Attack: The base creature gains a Bite Attack and 2 Claw Attacks as a Category C Vampire of the same size as they are, except they do not gain a bonus to their attack roll while using their Bite Attack or damage roll while using their Claw Attack.

Enhanced Physical and Mental Abilities: The base creature gains all the benefits/drawbacks listed under the section Enhanced Physical and Mental Abilities except where otherwise noted.
 * Feats: The base creature gains the following feats in place of those listed under the section Enhanced Physical and Mental Abilities. Alertness, Lightning Reflexes, Improved Initiative.


 * Age: A vampire spawn does not advance in Age Category as normal vampires do. They are stuck at Neonate (Age 0).


 * Skills: A vampire spawn does not gain bonus skill points per level like normal vampires do. A vampire spawn gains a +4 Racial Bonus (instead of +8) on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks.


 * Special Abilities: A vampire spawn has all of the special abilities of the base creature and gains the Charm Gaze, Blood Drain, Energy Drain, and Vampiric Touch special abilities, but no others. A vampire spawn may only use its Charm Gaze and Vampiric Touch abilities once per day.

Vitae Feats: A vampire spawn gains 1 Vitae Feat + a number of bonus Vitae Feats equal to their master’s Age at the time their master created them. Vampire spawn created by Category B Vampires gain 1 additional Vitae Feat. Vampire spawn created by a Pureblood gain additional Vitae Feats, but this is handled by the Pureblood’s Enhanced Childer ability. They count as a Neonate vampire as the same bloodline as their sire for the purposes of meeting prerequisites.

Special Qualities: A vampire spawn has all the special qualities of the base creature and gains the Light Sensitivity, Spider Climb, Sunlight Powerlessness, and Sunlight Vulnerability special qualities in addition to those listed below.


 * Fast Healing (Ex): A vampire spawn heals 3 hitpoints per round so long as it has at least 1 hitpoint. A vampire spawn reduced to 0 hitpoints is utterly destroyed.

Lesser Embrace: Vampire Spawn can create vampires in the same ways that true vampries can; however, they may only create other Vampire Spawn. These Vamipre Spawn fall under the control of the vampire that created the original Vampire Spawn. Vampire Spawn cannot embrace creatures with 5 or more HD, such creatures killed by embrace attempts do not rise as true vampires, they simply die.


 * Resistance (Ex): A vampire spawn gains Resistance to Cold 10 and Resistance to Electricity 10. A vampire spawn has Vulnerability to Fire.


 * Damage Reduction (Ex): A vampire spawn gains Damage Reduction 5/(anti-vampire or magic)


 * Vision: A vampire spawn gains Darkvision out to 60ft and Lowlight vision.


 * Limited Advancement: A vampire spawn can gain levels as normal, but only to an extent. They cannot advance beyond 4th level. If they have racial HD, they cannot advance in levels that would bring them beyond 4HD (example: a vampire spawn with 2 racial HD cannot advance beyond 2nd level, because that would bring it beyond 4HD).


 * Infallible Will of the Master: Vampire spawn are under the complete control of their master. They must obey his every word, even if it means the True Death. The vampire spawn’s master has complete control over them even if the spawn is in a frenzy.

Abilities: The base creature gains the following adjustments to its ability scores: +6 Str, +4 Dex, +2 Int, +2 Wis, +4 Cha, and an Undead, Vampire Spawn do not have a Constitution Score.

If a Vampire Spawn is ever released by their master, or if their master is ever destroyed, they immediately become free willed vampires. They lose the vampire spawn template and gain the Category C Vampire template of the same bloodline as their master and begin advancing in Age Category at a normal rate. They retain any Vitae Feats they have, and may select additional Vitae Feats as at a normal rate (see the Vitae Feats section for more details).