Mark Chance
Boingy! Boingy!
The Corpse Shifter
You lost the thief in the crowd. Curses! She must have the details of the royal guard's schedule on her person. Forcing your way through a knot of people, you notice a narrow alley previously overlooked. It's barely wide enough to walk down without turning your shoulders. The noise of the marketplace dwindles, and the alley opens into a small square surrounded by three-story dwellings. By the well, the rogue lies sprawled on her face. Turning her over, you discover she is dead. A woman pokes her head out a first-story window.
"Two men jumped her," the woman says, pointing to a door. "They went through there."
You thank the woman and turn away when you realize the dead woman's clothes don't match what the rogue was wearing. She wouldn't have had time to change. You whirl about, weapon ready. The woman in the window grins, sliding through the opening to the square.
"It was the clothes, wasn't it?" she says. "Gets me every time."
Sometimes when an evil humanoid with a love for deception and abuse of power dies as a result of wronged parties seeking vengeance, the slain offender does not stay in the grave, but rises to unlife as a corpse shifter.
Corpse shifters are clever undead monsters with a peculiar form of shapechanging. They can assume the form of almost any dead humanoid. The corpse, in turn, takes on the shifter's current form. These monsters feed on humanoid flesh, especially the softer internal organs, and they use their shapechanging powers to assume positions of respect, power, and trust so as to better acquire their meals. Regardless of form, corpse shifters are physically powerful and can spit deadly acid.
A corpse shifter's natural form, which one is seldom encountered in, resembles an extremely emaciated cadaver with blood red eyes devoid of visible pupils.
[sblock=Corpse Shifter]
CR 4; XP 1,200
NE Medium undead (shapechanger)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +11
DEFENSE
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+2 Dex, +5 natural)
hp 37 (5d8+15)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +5
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; Immune undead traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee slam +8 (1d6+7), or
Ranged Touch spittle +5 (2d4 acid)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks spittle
STATISTICS
Str 20, Dex 14, Con --, Int 17, Wis 13, Cha 16
Base Atk +3; CMB +8; CMD 20
Feats Alertness, Improved Initiative, Power Attack
Skills Bluff +11, Climb +13, Intimidate +11, Perception +11, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +10, Use Magic Device +11
SQ change shape (alter self, limited; see below), fake blood
Languages Common, plus 3 others
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Corpse Shifting (Su) As a standard action with a range of touch, a corpse shifter can reshape a dead humanoid body look like the corpse shifter's current appearance. It can make the corpse one size larger or smaller and change anything else about it including its apparent race, gender, or age. Creatures with a reason to suspect deception may make a DC 15 Will save to realize that the corpse was altered. If a corpse shifter makes the corpse look like a specific individual, anyone who knows that individual can make a DC 15 Will save to realize that the corpse is not actually that person. The save DC is Charisma-based. However, if a creature fails its Will save by 5 or less they believe the corpse is that of someone who closely resembled the person they knew rather than a deliberate fake. This ability merely changes the appearance of the corpse. Any spell or effect that targets the corpse (such as speak with dead or raise dead) treats it as if it still had its original appearance.
When a corpse shifter uses this ability, it assumes the original form of the corpse. With this power, a corpse shifter can assume the form of a Small or Medium creature of the humanoid type. If the form it assumes has any of the following abilities, the corpse shifter gains the listed ability: darkvision 60 feet, low-light vision, scent, and swim 30 feet. If the form a corpse shifter takes is that of a Small humanoid, it gains a +2 size bonus to your Dexterity. If the form a corpse shifter takes is that of a Medium humanoid, it gains a +2 size bonus to your Strength.
A destroyed corpse shifter reverts to its natural form.
Fake Blood (Ex) A corpse shifter, when injured, appears to bleed. A DC 20 Heal or Perception check can determine the monster's blood isn't real. Owing to its fake blood and undead nature, a corpse shifter is immune to attacks such as blood drain and bleed.
Spittle (Ex) As a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity as a ranged attack, a corpse shifter can spew a mouthful of acid to a range of 30 feet with no range increment. The acid, unless neutralized, lasts for another round, dealing another 2d4 points of damage.
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure standard
[/sblock]
You lost the thief in the crowd. Curses! She must have the details of the royal guard's schedule on her person. Forcing your way through a knot of people, you notice a narrow alley previously overlooked. It's barely wide enough to walk down without turning your shoulders. The noise of the marketplace dwindles, and the alley opens into a small square surrounded by three-story dwellings. By the well, the rogue lies sprawled on her face. Turning her over, you discover she is dead. A woman pokes her head out a first-story window.
"Two men jumped her," the woman says, pointing to a door. "They went through there."
You thank the woman and turn away when you realize the dead woman's clothes don't match what the rogue was wearing. She wouldn't have had time to change. You whirl about, weapon ready. The woman in the window grins, sliding through the opening to the square.
"It was the clothes, wasn't it?" she says. "Gets me every time."
Sometimes when an evil humanoid with a love for deception and abuse of power dies as a result of wronged parties seeking vengeance, the slain offender does not stay in the grave, but rises to unlife as a corpse shifter.
Corpse shifters are clever undead monsters with a peculiar form of shapechanging. They can assume the form of almost any dead humanoid. The corpse, in turn, takes on the shifter's current form. These monsters feed on humanoid flesh, especially the softer internal organs, and they use their shapechanging powers to assume positions of respect, power, and trust so as to better acquire their meals. Regardless of form, corpse shifters are physically powerful and can spit deadly acid.
A corpse shifter's natural form, which one is seldom encountered in, resembles an extremely emaciated cadaver with blood red eyes devoid of visible pupils.
[sblock=Corpse Shifter]
CR 4; XP 1,200
NE Medium undead (shapechanger)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +11
DEFENSE
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+2 Dex, +5 natural)
hp 37 (5d8+15)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +5
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; Immune undead traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee slam +8 (1d6+7), or
Ranged Touch spittle +5 (2d4 acid)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks spittle
STATISTICS
Str 20, Dex 14, Con --, Int 17, Wis 13, Cha 16
Base Atk +3; CMB +8; CMD 20
Feats Alertness, Improved Initiative, Power Attack
Skills Bluff +11, Climb +13, Intimidate +11, Perception +11, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +10, Use Magic Device +11
SQ change shape (alter self, limited; see below), fake blood
Languages Common, plus 3 others
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Corpse Shifting (Su) As a standard action with a range of touch, a corpse shifter can reshape a dead humanoid body look like the corpse shifter's current appearance. It can make the corpse one size larger or smaller and change anything else about it including its apparent race, gender, or age. Creatures with a reason to suspect deception may make a DC 15 Will save to realize that the corpse was altered. If a corpse shifter makes the corpse look like a specific individual, anyone who knows that individual can make a DC 15 Will save to realize that the corpse is not actually that person. The save DC is Charisma-based. However, if a creature fails its Will save by 5 or less they believe the corpse is that of someone who closely resembled the person they knew rather than a deliberate fake. This ability merely changes the appearance of the corpse. Any spell or effect that targets the corpse (such as speak with dead or raise dead) treats it as if it still had its original appearance.
When a corpse shifter uses this ability, it assumes the original form of the corpse. With this power, a corpse shifter can assume the form of a Small or Medium creature of the humanoid type. If the form it assumes has any of the following abilities, the corpse shifter gains the listed ability: darkvision 60 feet, low-light vision, scent, and swim 30 feet. If the form a corpse shifter takes is that of a Small humanoid, it gains a +2 size bonus to your Dexterity. If the form a corpse shifter takes is that of a Medium humanoid, it gains a +2 size bonus to your Strength.
A destroyed corpse shifter reverts to its natural form.
Fake Blood (Ex) A corpse shifter, when injured, appears to bleed. A DC 20 Heal or Perception check can determine the monster's blood isn't real. Owing to its fake blood and undead nature, a corpse shifter is immune to attacks such as blood drain and bleed.
Spittle (Ex) As a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity as a ranged attack, a corpse shifter can spew a mouthful of acid to a range of 30 feet with no range increment. The acid, unless neutralized, lasts for another round, dealing another 2d4 points of damage.
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure standard
[/sblock]
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