Bad to the bone!

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Lackblight Swarm

Fine Magical Beast (swarm)
Hit Dice: 5d10+10 (65 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: Fly 30 ft. (good), burrow 5 ft. (flesh only)
Armor Class: 25 (+3 dex, +4 natural, +8 size), touch 21, flat-footed 22
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/-
Attack: Swarm (1d8)
Full Attack: Swarm (1d8)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Blackbelly, bonebore, distraction
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., immunity to weapon damage, low-light vision, scent, sense death
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +3
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 1, Wis 14, Cha 3
Skills: Listen +6, Spot +6
Feats: Ability Focus (bonebore), Great Fortitude(B), Improved Natural Attack
Environment: Any land
Organization: Solitary, smiting (2–4 swarms), or cleansing (5–12 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment: -

Lackblights are the product of an ingenius expirement to breed a successful defense against the undead. The result was the lackblights, verminous creatures with a taste for carrion and able to harmlessly absorb the negative energy ingested from their prey.

Individual lackblights appear much as small, armored grubs with a beautiful black carapace that glimmers purple and blue when the light strikes it and appears to be highly flexible. Twin pairs of dark, membranous wings sprout equidistance about the body from beneath wing cases that come to a sharp point and spread open like a cruel flower. One end of the creature terminates in a pair of ridged mandibles shaped for tearing and burrowing. Its other end is fleshy and devoid of a protective shell, which 'flashes' with flickering darkness, momentarily hiding the creature in shadow.

Combat
Lackblights are voracious creatures that swarm about carrion, quickly consuming flesh and bone to the point it can not longer be risen. Undead creatures however send them into a frenzy, swarming about and burrowing into their flesh.

A lackblight's swarm damage is considered magical for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Blackbelly (Su): Lackblights are mostly immune to negative energy, able to absorb up to their current hit points worth of the foul damage without ill affects. After sustaining half this ammount of negative energy they release it in a flash of dark energy from their rear organs as a free action. If they sustain more than they can absorb they take damage equal to the excess and immediately release what they could absorb. This energy only deals (or heals in the case of undead) 1 point per hit die of damage absorbed, but it affects all in the swarm's space and those within 5 feet.

Other lackblight swarms in this range are affected, requiring them to absorb the excess.

Bonebore (Ex): Any creature sustained by negative energy, such as an undead or one with the Tomb-tainted Soul feat, that takes swarm damage must succeed on a DC 16 reflex save or be infested by the lackblights which burrow within flesh and bone alike. Those who fail this save take 1d6 damage each round, which stacks with the swarm's damage while within its space. The save DC is Constitution-based.

The lackblights can be removed with spells such as Remove Disease or Repel Vermin. Gaseous Form and similar spells halt the damage as the creatures can no longer burrow. Otherwise a DC 15 heal check and a minute of work per round the swarm has infested is required to remove the voracious creatures.

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature vulnerable to a swarm’s damage that begins its turn with a swarm in its square is nauseated for 1 round; a Fortitude save (DC 14) negates the effect. Spellcasting or concentrating on spells within the area of a swarm requires a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level). Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Concentration check.

Sense Death (Ex): A lackblight swarm can sense negative energy within 100 feet. They can also smell carrion at twice the standard range of scent.

[Debby]

Originally Posted by The Vorpal Tribble

Lackblight Swarm
Lackbrights are the product of an ingenius expirement to breed a successful defense against the undead. The result was the lackbrights, verminous creatures with a taste for carrion and able to harmlessly absorb the negative energy ingested from their prey.


Combat
Lackblights are voracious creatures that swarm about carrion, quickly consuming flesh and bone to the point it can not longer be risen. Undead creatures however send them into a frenzy, swarming about and burrowing into their flesh.

These are wonderfully creepy beetles At what rate would a dead animal be consumed? I'm wondering how long it would take for a swarm of the beetles to devour an entire cemetary!
Of course, carrion isn't alway available. I presume that they will eat living flesh too if no carrion is available. Could a zombie be reduced to an animated skeleon befpre being "killed"?

I may never look at lightning bugs the same way again.

Debby

[Corbert]

This is really cool!

I might even use it in my game. The PCs are going to be exploring an undead infested crypt that they have already lost some characters to, and this may give them the edge they need to actually survive it.