Paper Golem!
Okay, this isn't quite ready IMO, but I'm posting it for Jdvn1's sake.
It's technically ready to go, but I feel like it's missing something and I can't quite figure out what it is. This isn't an NPC, but is just a miscellaneous creature, a Golem, if you will, so it doesn't have a background or adventure hook, though it does have a brief idea of how I pictured it.
I used the base Paper Golem found in this thread:
http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2857025&postcount=1 and modified it a little, giving it a base Intelligence [personal thing; I like the idea of Intelligent Golems].
Modifications: Add a couple of abilities such as Changing Attack and Wounding, advanced it several HD, and gave it a modified Swarm-Shifter because I thought it was fitting and believe it should be allowed for more than just Undead as long as it is fitting in a theme [Normal shape was bats, but I changed it to paper]. I also gave it a couple of qualities from the Ablative Template, the ones I thought most fitting.
I'm not entirely sure CR 7 sounds right though. It just doesn't seem QUITE that buff, but it does have several useful abilities. Couple levels of Fighter would make it scary.
Oh, and if anyone has any additional options for variant versions, that would be great.
Advanced Paper Golem Swarm-Shifter (CR 7)
Medium Construct
HD: 6d10 ; 67 hp
Init +7
Spd: 30 ft
AC: 16 (+3 Dex, +3 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 13
BA/Grapple: +4/+5
Attack: 2 Paper Cut +7 melee (1d8+1)
S/R: 5 ft./5 ft.
SA: Changing Attack, Flaming Limbs, Swarm Attack 2d6, Wounding
SQ: Construct Traits, Darkvision 60ft, DR 5/Slashing, Flammable, Immunity to Magic, Swarm Form
AL Chaotic evil
Fort +2,
Ref +5,
Will +2
Str 12,
Dex 17,
Con -,
Int 6,
Wis 10,
Cha 1
Skills: Listen +5, Spot +4
Languages: Common [understands commands in common, but cannot speak it]
Feats: Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack, Weapon Finesse
Advancement:
Changing Attack (Ex): A Paper Golem may, at will as a move equivolent action, change its form to accomodate either a Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing attack, bypassing the appropriate DR.
Shapelessness (Ex): By spending one full-round action to become shapeless, a Paper Golem can squeeze through openings of incredibly small size (as little as 1 inch in diameter). The creature can move along small fissures, ooze under doors, pour into containers of its size or larger, and perform other similar feats. Land speed, climbing speed, and burrowing speed in this formless state is reduced by half, and the creature retains many vague, distorted features of the base creature. A shapeless amorphous cannot fly using wings. Another full-round action is required to regain the base creature’s original shape. While in shapeless form, the creature’s natural armor bonus is halved. A shapeless amorphous can bear any object it carries along with it, but such equipment may impede the creature’s movement in shapeless form. For instance, the static shape of his plate armor would burden an amorphous knight. Many amorphous creatures elect to eschew cumbersome equipment for this reason.
Stretch (Ex): An amorphous can double its natural reach by stretching its arms, legs, tail, and other appendages in combat. This increase of reach can be initiated as a move action and maintained for a number of rounds equal to 1 + the amorphous creature’s Constitution bonus (minimum of 1 round). The creature may use the ability again 1d3 rounds later.
Wounding (Ex): A living creature damaged by the swarm attack continues to bleed, losing 1 hit point per round thereafter. Multiple wounds result in cumulative bleeding loss. The bleeding can be stopped with a DC 10 Heal check or the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic. This can only be used when the Paper Golem is using a Slashing attack.
Paper Swarm
Diminutive Construct (Swarm)
Speed: 5 ft, fly 40 ft. (good).
Special Attacks: A Paper Golem in Paper Swarm form has the following additional special attack.
Wounding (Ex): A living creature damaged by the swarm attack continues to bleed, losing 1 hit point per round thereafter. Multiple wounds do no result in cumulative bleeding loss. The bleeding can be stopped with a DC 10 Heal check or the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic.
Special Qualities: A Paper Golem in Paper Swarm form has the following additional special qualities, in addition to darkvision out to 60 feet and undead traits.
Immune to Weapon Damage (Ex): Weapon attacks are useless against a swarm of Diminutive creatures.
Hive Mind (Ex): A swarm-shifter with this ability is immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate).
Swarm Form (Su): The base creature can take the form of a swarm of papers at will. Changing shape to or from swarm form is a standard action The golem cannot change from swarm form to its normal form in an area where its body could not normally fit. As with the alter self spell, the base creature's items are absorbed into the swarm form and provide no benefit. When it would normally be dispersed to damage taken, the swarm reverts to the base creature's form and is destroyed. Although the use of this ability is a supernatural effect, remaining in one form or another is not supernatural, and the base creature in swarm form does not change into its normal shape in an antimagic field. True seeing and similar magic reveals both forms.
Encounter:
Paper Golems are frequently found in libraries or laboratories, guardians of the information inside. They tend to hide among the papers, appearing as nothing more than papers spread out on tables tops or even places within books, but not bound to the spines. When someone approaches who is not their creator, the papers fly out from their positions and turn into the Paper Golem. Frequently, there is writing on the pages to give the further appearance of being normal papers, but most often, these pages contain pointless writing, poetry, for example.
Variants:
Not all Paper Golems are created the same. Several optional variants are listed below.
Fire resistant
These Paper Golems are dipped and soaked thoroughly and repeated in a substance to prevent them from starting on fire. These Golems lose their Flammable Quality, but they also lose their Flaming Limbs attack.
CR: +0.
Spellruned
Some casters write runes on the papers, giving an added surprising. When one of these runes strikes a person, the spell is triggered. These spells can only be touch spells or ranged touch spells which losed their range aspects but can only target a single creature. Unlike normal, these do not become touch attacks, so the Golem must make a normal attack, but these spells also do not need to be cast. [Treat these spells as being held charges, released only when the Golem specifically attacks with that page] Otherwise, treat all spells as normal.
Spell Runes: The Spellruned Paper Golem gains 2 first level spells of which can be cast a total number of 4 times per day, the numbers which must be set when created. Thus a Golem who has the spells Shocking Grasp and Ray of Enfeeble can be created to cast 3 Shocking Grasps and 1 Ray of Enfeeblement per day. Neither the spell nor the number of times can be changed. If made by a Cleric, the Spellruned Golem can cast Cleric spells; if made by a Wizard, the Spellruned Golem can cast Wizard spells. The Caster Level is equal to 1/2 the Golem's HD and the DC is equal to the level of the spell + Wis modifier.
Abilities: Wis +2.
CR: +1.
Playtest notes: Two things I noticed: I think the creature should have a 16 Strength instead of 12. I know Strength is desirable, but even with the Wounding, the 1d8+1 really isn't enough damage against characters of levels 5-7 where they might be fighting it to be threatening much. The Spell Runes may give it enough damage to make up for the low Strength, but at 1-2 attacks per round and a maximum of four damaging spells, they may or may not enough overall.
It is a fairly defensive creature, however, and our group realized that in Swarm Form, since it's a golem, it's immune to pretty much everything they could conceive of to attack with it. Most spells were already not an option, but as the Wizard was about to cast an Orb spell, he realized that it was immune to non-ae spells in Swarm form and that physical attacks couldn't even damage it.
Also, I ended up having the swarm-form change as part of a move action. The tactics became as followed, but the group never noticed it, for some reason: if it can hit multiple creatures within the 10' swarm-form, it did that. If it couldn't, it stayed in humanoid form. This was something I did in order to prevent it from being immune to the current characters by always staying in swarm form [and not to make it more powerful, actually], which I wouldn't really see any reason why it wouldn't, honestly. This tended to allow it to switch forms every 1-2 rounds depending on the characters' movement.
I also thought of two different variants, neither of which I used:
Paper Shred: By taking 25% damage upon itself, it can shoot a great amount of the papers currently holding it together. This allows it to take an attack on all opponents within a 15 foot cone. It uses the creature's current attack and damage values. It can do this however often as it likes unless subtracting 25% damage from it's current total would drop it to below zero.
CR: +0
Absorb Paper: If there is paper around the golem, which there frequently is because it's usually placed within a library of sorts, it can take a standard action to grab several books and rip out the paper, absorbing the papers into it's own body. It 'repairs' 3d8+6 damage. Caster level is the same as the HD and the spell used is equal to the max spell level a cleric of equal HD could cast. Therefore a normal one cast use a 3rd level spell due to effectively having a caster level of 6, which can cast 3rd level spells. A 17th HD golem could use a 9th level spell to cure itself of 9d6+4/level. Well, this is how it works in my campaign. I guess normally, it would go until Cure Crit at 7HD+.
CR: +1.
Ablative Template [Modified]: Book of Templates [Silverthorn Games]
Paper Golem: http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2857025&postcount=1
Swarm-Shifter [Modified]: Libris Mortis
