frankthedm
First Post
Hello all, I’ve been advancing the particularly unpleasant Devourer and noticed a handful of rules questions that could pop up when using them. Also the 3.5 SRD entry left off a sentence in their “Trap Essence” ability that is quite important. I went to the 3.0 MM to snag enough text to make sense of it, but a question or two still remains…
1. Spectral hands are incorporeal. Does this mean that the devourer can deliver the energy drain by overcoming touch AC with the Spectral Hand rather than normal AC?
2. Does the energy drain happen whenever the Devourer lands a touch attack with one of its other spell like abilities?
3. Can it make a touch attack just with the spectral hand or is it only able to use the spectral hand if it entitled to a touch attack [Ghoul Touch]?
4. Can it treat the Spectral Hand as a manufactured weapon for BAB based attack progression?
5. Can it replace claw attack
6. Does the 3.5 MM list “Trap Essence” as a Death / Negative Energy effect [so Death Ward can stop it]?
7. Does “Trap Essence” leave the dead body and gear behind in the square the victim was last in? [I used to assume everything got yoinked into the Devourer's form.]
8. What would it take to restore to life someone who suffered the ”the essence is destroyed” effect?
9. Does “If an essence is freed, the restored creature…” mean the victim can go back to their body if it is available, or are they still dead [though raise / resurrect-able]?
10. Which spells do what to the trapped essence?
11. What does “eliminate the trapped essence” mean? ‘Splat goes the soul’ or mercifuly ejected as in “If an essence is freed, the restored creature…”?
12. Can the essence be damaged enough to eliminate it or are the trapped essence’s previous HP meaningless?
13. Will a Mazed essence automatically re-enter the Devourer at the end of the maze spell?
14. How should the trapped essence's alignment be determined to determine how alignment based spells will effect the essence?
[sblock= DEVOURER srd stat block]
Large Undead (Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 12d12 (78 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 24 (–1 size, +15 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 24
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+19
Attack: Claw +15 melee (1d6+9)
Full Attack: 2 claws +15 melee (1d6+9)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Energy drain, trap essence, spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., spell deflection, spell resistance 21, undead traits
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +11
Abilities: Str 28, Dex 10, Con —, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 17
Skills: Climb +24, Concentration +18, Diplomacy +5, Jump +24, Listen +18, Move Silently +15, Search +10, Sense Motive +11, Spot +18, Survival +3 (+5 following tracks)
Feats: Blind-Fight, Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (claw)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 11
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: 13–24 HD (Large); 25–36 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: —[/sblock]
Devourers lurk on the Ethereal Plane and the Astral Plane, stalking both natives and travelers with equal sadistic glee.
A devourer is about 9 feet tall and weighs 500 pounds.
Devourers speak Common.
COMBAT
Even if it had no special abilities, a devourer would be a terrible opponent, for its bony claws can flay enemies alive.
Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a devourer’s claw attack or spectral hand ability gain one negative level. The DC is 19 for the Fortitude save to remove a negative level. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Trap Essence (Su): The devourer is named for its ability to consume an enemy’s life essence. To do so, it must forgo its normal melee attacks and make a trap essence attack. This requires a normal attack roll but deals no damage. 3.0 MM>>>The affected creature must succeed a Fortitude save (DC 19) or die instantly.<<< 3.0 MM The save DC is Charisma-based. A slain creature’s essence is trapped within the devourer’s ribs, and the tiny figure takes on that victim’s features. The trapped essence cannot be raised or resurrected, but a limited wish, miracle, or wish spell frees it, as does destroying the devourer. A devourer can hold only one essence at a time.
The trapped essence provides a devourer with enough power to use five spell-like abilities for each Hit Die or level of the trapped creature. As this energy is expended, the twisted soul fades away until it evaporates completely. The trapped essence gains one negative level for every five times the devourer uses one of its spell-like abilities. When the essence’s number of negative levels equals the creature’s total Hit Dice or level, the essence is destroyed. If an essence is freed, the restored creature must succeed on a DC 19 Fortitude save for each negative level or lose that level permanently.
Spell-Like Abilities: At the start of any encounter, the trapped essence within a devourer is assumed to have 3d4+3 levels (enough fuel for thirty to seventy-five uses). Once per round, a devourer can use one of the following abilities: confusion (DC 17), control undead (DC 20), ghoul touch (DC 15), lesser planar ally, ray of enfeeblement (DC 14), spectral hand, suggestion (DC 16), true seeing. Caster level 18th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Spell Deflection (Su): The trapped essence provides a measure of magical protection. If any of the following spells are cast at the devourer and overcome its spell resistance, they affect the imprisoned essence instead: banishment, chaos hammer, confusion, crushing despair, detect thoughts, dispel evil, dominate person, fear, geas/quest, holy word, hypnosis, imprisonment, magic jar, maze, suggestion, trap the soul, or any form of charm or compulsion. In many cases, this deflection effectively neutralizes the spell. Some of these effects might eliminate the trapped essence, depriving the devourer of its spell-like abilities until it can consume another victim. [sblock=Spectral Hand]
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: One spectral hand
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
A ghostly, glowing hand shaped from your life force materializes and moves as you desire, allowing you to deliver low-level, touch range spells at a distance. On casting the spell, you lose 1d4 hit points that return when the spell ends (even if it is dispelled), but not if the hand is destroyed. (The hit points can be healed as normal.) For as long as the spell lasts, any touch range spell of 4th level or lower that you cast can be delivered by the spectral hand. The spell gives you a +2 bonus on your melee touch attack roll, and attacking with the hand counts normally as an attack. The hand always strikes from your direction. The hand cannot flank targets like a creature can. After it delivers a spell, or if the hand goes beyond the spell range, goes out of your sight, the hand returns to you and hovers.
The hand is incorporeal and thus cannot be harmed by normal weapons. It has improved evasion (half damage on a failed Reflex save and no damage on a successful save), your save bonuses, and an AC of at least 22. Your Intelligence modifier applies to the hand’s AC as if it were the hand’s Dexterity modifier. The hand has 1 to 4 hit points, the same number that you lost in creating it. [/sblock]
[sblock=Maze]
Conjuration (Teleportation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes
You banish the subject into an extradimensional labyrinth of force planes. Each round on its turn, it may attempt a DC 20 Intelligence check to escape the labyrinth as a full-round action. If the subject doesn’t escape, the maze disappears after 10 minutes, forcing the subject to leave.
On escaping or leaving the maze, the subject reappears where it had been when the maze spell was cast. If this location is filled with a solid object, the subject appears in the nearest open space. Spells and abilities that move a creature within a plane, such as teleport and dimension door, do not help a creature escape a maze spell, although a plane shift spell allows it to exit to whatever plane is designated in that spell. Minotaurs are not affected by this spell. [/sblock]
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), and while these may or may not be RAW, this is how I would rule they interact in my game.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
