Spirit Template!

[Gish Makai]

Spirit

Spirits are what are left of the essence of evil, intelligent beings. Truly malevolent, these spirits usually inhabit places where they died, but is not always the case. Some people call them entities while others call them poltergeists, but are actually just mean spirits out for a good time.
Some spirits prefer to just scare their victims into running away so as to be left alone. Other spirits really try to cause undue harm upon the weaker, more susceptible victims. Spirits are often mistaken for ghosts except that spirits prefer to cause commotion and like to kill without reason.
Since spirits are those of evil beings, controlling them is almost impossible. Destroying one is out of the question.

Creating a Spirit
“Spirit” is a template that can be added to any abberation, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, or shapechanger. The creature (referred to hereafter as the ‘base creature’) must have an Intelligence score of at least 8. The creature’s type changes to ‘undead’. It loses all the base creatures abilities and statistics change slightly.

Hit Dice: Increase to d12
Speed: Spirits move at base speed of 30 feet.
AC: The spirit loses natural armor due to its incorporeal state. Natural armor value is +0, but it gains a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma modifier or +1, which ever is higher.
Attacks: The spirit retains the number of attacks that the base creature had in life. All damage is reduced to unarmed damage.
Damage: The spirit deals very little damage physically upon the living. It prefers to use its abilities.
Special Attacks: The spirit does not retain any of the base creature’s special attacks. It instead gains the following listed below. Saves have a DC of 10 + ½ spirit’s HD + spirit’s Charisma modifier unless otherwise noted.
Chill Aura (Su): All spirits radiate a 60-foot-radius aura of utter cold. While this aura does not damage living things, it spoils food and drink. In addition, it ruins holy water and magic potions, oils, and ointments unless the items succeed a Fortitude save. Items successfully saving cannot be affected again by the same spirit.
Detect Living (Su): An apparition can sense living creatures up to 100 feet away.
Incorporeal: Only harmed by +1 or better magic weapons, or magic, with a 50% chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source. Can pass through solid objects at will, and own attacks pass through armor. Always moves silently.
Chill Touch (Su): When a spirit gropes a victim, the victim must make a Fortitude save or lose an additional 1d6 damage due to the extreme coldness of the spirit.
Possession (Su): Once per round, a spirit can attempt to take over the body and mind of a victim. If the attack succeeds, the spirit enters the body. The target cam resist the attack with a successful Will save (DC 15 + spirit’s Charisma modiifier.
Telekinesis (Su): The spirit can use telekinesis once per round as a free action, as cast by a sorcerer whose level equals the ghost’s HD or 12, whichever is higher. The spirit is limited to a maximum of 5 lbs.
Special Qualities: A spirit gains the following special qualities plus the ones it had in life. It gains the undead type and incorporeal subtype.
Turn Resistance (Ex): A spirit has a turn resistance of +4.
Heat Immunity (Ex): Spirits are unaffected by fire and heat attacks.
Electricity/Cold Vulnerability (Ex): Spirits are especially vulnerable to cold and electrucal attacks. They take double damage from such attacks unless they make their saves (in which case they take half damage).
Spell Vulnerability (Ex): Certain spells can cause a spirit to vacate a body and leave for 2d6 rounds. Such spells are banishment, basphemy, dispel evil, disrupt undead, holy word, magic circle against evil, and protection from evil. Such spells drive the creature back to the Negative Energy Plane but do not hold it there. After 1 day, the spirit returns to the place it haunts.
Unnatural Aura (Su): Both wild and domesticated animals can sense the unnatural presence of an apparition at a distance of 30 feet. They will not willingly approach nearer than that and panic if forced to do so; they remain panicked as long as they are within that range.
Saves: Same as base creature.
Abilities: Same as base creature except that spirits have no Constitution score, and its Charisma increases by +4.
Skills: Spirits receive a +8 racial bonus to Hide, Listen, Search and Spot checks. Otherwise same as base creature.
Feats: Same as base creature.

Climate/Terrain: Any land or underground
Organization: Solitary, gang (2-4) or mob (7-12)
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Any Evil
Advancement: Same as base creature

SAMPLE SPIRIT
This example uses a 5th-level spidorc fighter as the base creature.

Spidorc spirit
Medium-sized Undead (Incorporeal)
Hit Dice: 5d12 (32 hp)
Initiative: +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 30 ft.
AC: 12 (+1 Dex, +1 Deflection Bonus)
Attacks: Incorporeal touch +6 plus chill touch
Damage: Incorporeal touch 1d2+2
Face/Reach: 5 ft. x 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Possession, Chill Aura, Telekinesis, Detect Living, Chill Touch
Special Qualities: Undead, Turn Resistance +4, Unnatural Aura, Heat Immunity, Cold/Electrical Vulnerability, Spell Vulnerability
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +2
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 13, Con --, Int 8, Wis 4, Cha 12
Skills: Hide +17*, Listen +13*, Search +15*, Spot +13*
Feats: Blindfight, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (Touch)

The Will save against possession is DC 16.
Undead: Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and disease. Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, energy drain, or death from massive damage.
Incorporeal: Can only be harmed by other incorporeal creatures, +1 or better magic weapons, or magic. Can pass through solid objects at will, and own attacks pass through armor. Always moves silently.
CR: 4
Alignment: Chaotic Evil (Usually)

[Krishnath]

Hmm...Isn't this just a ghost variant? It's nice though.

[Gish Makai]

Originally posted by Krishnath
Hmm...Isn't this just a ghost variant? It's nice though.

It's a variant but I don't much care for the 3e version. This one is mainly for the evil NPC's that die in the hands if the PCs. It should be a good template for the DM.

[Krishnath]

Well, as I said it's nice. But I'm still just going to treat it as a ghost variant...Nasty Thought: Half-Dragon (Red)/Tarrasque with the spirit template, the ultimate PC killer?