Khisanth the Ancient
Explorer
GRAVE NEXUS
Medium Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 2d10+2 (13 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 5 ft. (1 square)
Armor Class: 16 (+6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+3
Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d6+1/19-20/x2 and 1 Con)
Full Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d6+1/19-20/x2 and 1 Con)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Constitution damage
Special Qualities: Tendrils, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 4, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Hide +9
Feats: Improved Initiative
Environment: Any land
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: Standard coins; 50% goods; standard items
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Advancement: 3–4 HD (Medium); 5–6 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: —
A grave nexus appears to be an old, gnarled tree stump. Anyone approaching it soon discovers that it is a deadly monster, however. Grave nexuses are, on average, 6 feet high and 4 feet in diameter, weighing 500 pounds. A grave nexus has several tendrils, 40 feet long and 2 inches thick. They are not protected by the chitin-coated bark-like shell that protects the rest of the grave nexus, but are still tough and rubbery.
COMBAT
A grave nexus sends its zombies to attack. If forced into melee, it relies on its bite in combat. Though it is slow moving, its jaws can attack with surprising speed.
Constitution Damage (Su): On a successful critical hit, the grave nexus deals 1 point of Constitution damage.
Tendrils (Su): A grave nexus has 2 tendrils that extend 40 feet each. A tendril touched to a corpse of a Medium or smaller creature allows the grave nexus to animate the corpse as a zombie, as if the grave nexus had cast animate dead (caster level 5th). This is a standard action. When this occurs the tendril burrows into the flesh of the corpse, allowing the grave nexus to control the zombie utterly. The tendril remains attached to the zombie until the zombie is slain, and cannot animate another zombie while it is attached to a zombie. A grave nexus can control a maximum of 8 HD of zombies. Zombies animated by a grave nexus’s tendrils cannot travel farther than 40 feet from the grave nexus. A tendril can be attacked only if it is attached to a zombie (otherwise, they remain beneath the ground's surface). Tendrils have 5 hp and AC 16 (+4 size, +2 natural). If a tendril is severed, the zombie attached to it is freed from the grave nexus’s control and immediately takes 2d10 points of damage. The tendrils are not immediately obvious (Spot DC 15 to detect).
Skills: Grave nexuses have a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks due to their coloration and appearance.
Medium Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 2d10+2 (13 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 5 ft. (1 square)
Armor Class: 16 (+6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+3
Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d6+1/19-20/x2 and 1 Con)
Full Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d6+1/19-20/x2 and 1 Con)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Constitution damage
Special Qualities: Tendrils, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 4, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Hide +9
Feats: Improved Initiative
Environment: Any land
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: Standard coins; 50% goods; standard items
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Advancement: 3–4 HD (Medium); 5–6 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: —
A grave nexus appears to be an old, gnarled tree stump. Anyone approaching it soon discovers that it is a deadly monster, however. Grave nexuses are, on average, 6 feet high and 4 feet in diameter, weighing 500 pounds. A grave nexus has several tendrils, 40 feet long and 2 inches thick. They are not protected by the chitin-coated bark-like shell that protects the rest of the grave nexus, but are still tough and rubbery.
COMBAT
A grave nexus sends its zombies to attack. If forced into melee, it relies on its bite in combat. Though it is slow moving, its jaws can attack with surprising speed.
Constitution Damage (Su): On a successful critical hit, the grave nexus deals 1 point of Constitution damage.
Tendrils (Su): A grave nexus has 2 tendrils that extend 40 feet each. A tendril touched to a corpse of a Medium or smaller creature allows the grave nexus to animate the corpse as a zombie, as if the grave nexus had cast animate dead (caster level 5th). This is a standard action. When this occurs the tendril burrows into the flesh of the corpse, allowing the grave nexus to control the zombie utterly. The tendril remains attached to the zombie until the zombie is slain, and cannot animate another zombie while it is attached to a zombie. A grave nexus can control a maximum of 8 HD of zombies. Zombies animated by a grave nexus’s tendrils cannot travel farther than 40 feet from the grave nexus. A tendril can be attacked only if it is attached to a zombie (otherwise, they remain beneath the ground's surface). Tendrils have 5 hp and AC 16 (+4 size, +2 natural). If a tendril is severed, the zombie attached to it is freed from the grave nexus’s control and immediately takes 2d10 points of damage. The tendrils are not immediately obvious (Spot DC 15 to detect).
Skills: Grave nexuses have a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks due to their coloration and appearance.