Publication:Dread Codex/Monsters/Jikini

''A bone-white serpent slithers clumsily into your view. Its bulk protrudes disgustingly with undigested bones. Powerful jaw snap together as it notes your presence.''

Fashioned from common vipers, jikini were created for a good purpose—to dispose of dead bodies after a plague swept through the region. Unfortunately, their undead nature turned these snakes to evil, mutating their poisonous bite into a disease and increasing their mental attributes to dangerous levels.

When they were finished with their task of corpse clean-up, they turned on those creators and caused the destruction of several communities. Since that time their kind has dispersed to claim marshes all over the continent.

Some sages speculate that these undead are controlled by a Large jikini of great power and intelligence but this theory is, thankfully, as yet unsubstantiated. The jikini can speak Common and one language native to the region they are in (GM's choice). Their speech is raspy and accented by soft squish from their throats at the end of every statement.

Combat
Jikini prefer to attack from a hidden position if at all possible, climbing to a decent height before dropping on their victims being a preferable tactic. The jikini is also capable of making use of nearby areas of water to both attack from and lead victims into.

 (Su): Disease — bite, Fortitude DC 12, incubation period 1 day, 1 Con and 1 Con. The save DC is Charismabased.

Due to their ever ravenous hunger, corpse-eaters are prone to falling upon any fresh corpse they encounter, including those of their fallen comrades, becoming momentarily oblivious to their surroundings while they feed. To avoid this potentially suicidal behavior, jikini must succeed a Will save (DC 15) or spend a full round greedily gulping down chunks of flesh, thus losing their Dexterity bonus to AC and granting opponents a +4 bonus to their attack rolls.

Skills: Like the snakes they are created from, jikini have a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, and Spot checks and a +8 racial bonus on Balance and Climb checks. Jikini can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened. Jikini use either their Strength modifier or Dexterity modifier for Climb checks, whichever is higher. It has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. Jikini can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

Treasure
None — If the jikini have goals, collecting treasure is not one of them.

In Your Campaign
Any character hailing from a region with temperate marshes may have heard of the jikini and know about their origins (Knowledge (local) check DC 17). Such knowledge can grant a distinct advantage especially in light of the undead's eat corpse quality.

Instead of the origin story given above, the jikini can make for a good one-shot adventure by twisting the story. Perhaps the jikini are the result of one tribe of humanoids being cursed into this form. They beg the PCs to help them escape undeath and the curse by slaying a nearby sorcerer. But after further investigation and a hasty explanation by the sorcerer at the end of the characters' blades, circumstances may reveal that these jikini were cursed for a very good reason.