Lifekeeper (3.5e Monster)

''Kssh... I'm not wearing a mask...''

The image of a plague doctor is already an unnerving one, a sign of the times of a world wrapped in disease and decay. The bird masked doctors meant well, and so it turns out the bird-like lifekeepers also come with largely benevolent desires. But sometimes the gifts they bring are not always well received, even if it is what they wanted.

Lifekeepers are strange aberrations which hail from the edges of the Positive Energy Plane. They look like humans in a plague doctor outfit complete with leathery coat and bird-like mask. The horror begins when one realizes these garments are fused to their skin and the mask is actually their real face, small vents or gills along the side near the cheeks revealing their alien nature. They breath but do not appear to eat, though they may be filtering material out of the air. They can also breath on the normally airless positive energy plane without problems. They possess the curious scent of various herbs which seems a natural byproduct of their respiration, and their eyes are black and glassy revealing no hint of emotion. Fitting, for the lifekeepers speak in a very stoic and professional manner using medical terminology and scientific theory as a matter of course. Though of frightening form, they appear on other planes with the offer to help those in peril or suffering, especially if the problem is of a medical nature. And sometimes they can turn a situation into a medical situation, for the lifekeepers are artists of the flesh and they love nothing more than augmenting, changing, and improving the living body. It seems the goal of the lifekeeper, beyond all else, is the preservation of life. Debates between lifekeepers usually stem from if all life is equal or some have more value than others, yet all respect if not reverse and worship life itself, no matter the nature of the being in question. They would save Pazuzu as quick as they would save a saint. Lifekeepers abhor the undead. It is one of the few things that would incite them to violence. They can take lives of their own but resist doing so.

Because of their medical expertise and healing abilities they are seen as miraculous doctors, and they are sometimes summoned via lesser planar binding (even though they are neither an elemental nor outsider). They are more than happy to help in these situations and will often use them as test beds to perform above and beyond what the patient has asked for. What do you mean he's a monster? The piano player's hands were broken and wanted them fixed, it did him a favor and gave him 8 hands, some even more dexterous than human fingers could ever use.

Lifekeepers are typically tall humanoids at about 6 feet, with no real distinction between genders. They weigh 180 lbs and speak Common and their own language which seems to consist of almost purely medical and scientific jargon.

Combat
Lifekeepers rarely engage in combat of their own, but when forced they are casters which employ their spell-like abilities as they make an escape. Because of their aura fights rarely end up fatal, which is to its benefit. Woe be the one who loses to a lifekeeper, for they will be spirited away and experimented on. To the lifekeeper this is not torture or punishment regardless how much pain it inflicts, it usually is seeking a way to correct the opponent's behavior. Even if it means removing parts of the brain they deem nonfunctional.

Aura of Health :  Creatures within a 10 ft radius of the lifekeeper have the effects of any disease or poison suppressed while in the area (though pre-existing damage is not lifted). Death effects are also suppressed in the area. In addition it is difficult for creatures to die; creatures automatically stabilize and the most damage that can be done is up to -9. A creature at -9 which takes damage experiences the pain but does not automatically perish, instead they must make a DC 15 Fortitude save to resist dying. On success they remain at -9. This applies even if the creature is dismembered or otherwise should not be able to survive.

It is through this aura that lifekeepers maintain the disturbing ability to work on still living and still conscious creatures in surgery, or a creature who has had their head cut off continue to move and act without dying. Its also because of this that anesthetic technology is sorely lacking compared to their other medical miracles; they have never needed it.

Extraordinary Vigor : Lifekeepers automatically gain maximized d12s for hit dice, and gain a good Fortitude save.

Grafting : Lifekeepers are treated as having the Craft GraftLM feat, and they are not limited to race when crafting. As long as they have the raw materials they can graft anything.

Heal Expertise : Lifekeepers gain an expanded use of the heal skill. They can pull off the following tricks.


 * Determine Health (Variable DC): Lifekeepers can make a Heal check with a DC of 10 + a creature's hit dice as a move action. A successful check determines the creature's hp total, as well as any status effects they are under.


 * Forensics (DC 15): Lifekeepers can determine cause of death on a corpse, even from hidden wounds such as through poison or internal injury, adding +2 DC for each day the corpse has been dead. This takes 1 minute of study.


 * Harvest Organ (DC 20): As a 1 minute action the lifekeeper can harvest a limb, organ, or other material suitable for grafting or taxidermy from a helpless creature or recently dead body (within 10 minutes). This does not preserve the organ and it will die in 10 minutes if not handled, so other means will need to be had for that.


 * Recovery (DC 10): By expending a use of a healing kit as a standard action, a lifekeeper restores a number of hit points equal to their check result -10.

Immunities : Lifekeeper's are immune to ability damage, ability drain, blinding, dazzling, death effects, energy drain, and petrification. They are immune to the "death by awesome" of the positive energy plane, and continue to gain temporary hit points until they've reached their maximum hp in temporary hit points. They can never become undead, their bodies are too infused with positive energy even as a corpse.

Lifewatch : Lifekeepers can easily see living creatures; to them living creatures shed light as a torch. In addition they are under the constant effects of deathwatch.

Medical Knowledge : A lifekeeper knows a great deal about the biological functions of other species. They may use their Heal check in place of any Knowledge check to identify a creature.

Regeneration :  A lifekeeper's regeneration is bypassed by negative energy and fire damage.

Spell-Like Abilities :  At will- false life, gentle repose, healthful restSpC; 3/day-close woundsSpC, cure serious wounds; 1/day- abberateBoVD, black bagBoVD, death ward, entangling staffSpC, neutralize poison, panaceaSpC, remove blindness/deafness, remove disease, remove paralysis, restoration; 1/month-raise dead. The saving throws are Wisdom based.

Vitae Construct :  This functions like the astral construct power, but composed out of positive energy causing them to glow like a torch. The lifekeeper may use this at will with a duration of 10 minutes, but only one at a time and with a 1 minute cooldown between when the last one was either dismissed, destroyed, or its duration expired. The vitae construct typically does the real fighting while the lifekeeper keeps it healthy.

Skills: A lifekeeper has a +4 racial bonus on Heal and Sense Motive.