Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Garnfellow" data-source="post: 1809719" data-attributes="member: 1223">The Theraltean GuardianAs the PCs are contemplating an assault on Hecatesseus's lair, I've started detailing the wizard's cavern complex, which is filled with the requisite magical traps and guardians. The following monster is one such detail.Hecatesseus discovered the Theraltean Guardian while traveling in distant lands, as he sought the means to reanimate the fallen Colossus of the Limites. While hunting around some ancient Tynan ruins, Hecatesseus chanced upon a strange tomb fashioned in the Aeptean manner; protecting the tomb was the Theraltean Guardian. Hecatesseus managed to subdue the horror and had it transported at great expense to his mountain fastness, where he had constructed a maze to house this terrible find. A trap plunges unwary intruders into this maze, where they are stalked by the relentless Theraltean Guardian.The Guardian was created by taking a minotaur, adding 6 levels of fighter, adding the Mummified template from Savage Species, then adding the Spellstitched template from Monster Manual II, and finally the swarm-shifter template from Libris Mortis. The Improved Toughness feat is from the Complete Warrior.====The Theraltean Guardian: swarm-shifter spellstiched mummified minotaur fighter 6; CR 15; Large Undead (Augmented Monstrous Humanoid, Shapechanger); HD 6d12+6 plus 6d12+6; hp 90; Init +0; Spd 20 ft; AC 26, touch 9, flat-footed –; BAB +12; Grp +27; Atk +17 melee (2d6+19/19–20 and mummy rot, gore); Full Atk +17 melee (2d6+19/19–20 and mummy rot, gore) and +11 melee (2d6+11 and mummy rot, slam); Space/Reach 10 ft/10 ft; SA despair, mummy rot, powerful charge, spell-like abilities; SQ damage reduction 10/magic silver, darkvision 60 ft, natural cunning, scent, spell resistance 20, swarm form, turn resistance +2, undead traits, vulnerability to fire; AL LE; SV Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +14; Str 32, Dex 10, Con –, Int 3, Wis 20, Cha 20.Skills: Concentration +5, Intimidate +14, Jump +14, Listen +11, Search +3, Spot +11.Feats: Combat Casting, Improved Critical (gore)*, Improved Natural Attack (gore)*, Improved Sunder, Improved Toughness*, Power Attack*, Track, Weapon Focus (gore)*, Weapon Specialization (gore)*. *Reflected in the statistics above.Despair (Su): At the mere sight of the Guardian, the viewer must succeed on a DC 21 Will save or be paralyzed with fear for 1d4 rounds. Whether or not the save is successful, that creature cannot be affected again by the same mummy’s despair ability for 24 hours.Mummy Rot (Su): Supernatural disease—slam or gore, Fortitude DC 21, incubation period 1 minute; damage 1d6 Con and 1d6 Cha.Unlike normal diseases, mummy rot continues until the victim reaches Constitution 0 (and dies) or is cured as described below.Mummy rot is a powerful curse, not a natural disease. A character attempting to cast any conjuration (healing) spell on a creature afflicted with mummy rot must succeed on a DC 20 caster level check, or the spell has no effect on the afflicted character.To eliminate mummy rot, the curse must first be broken with break enchantment or remove curse (requiring a DC 20 caster level check for either spell), after which a caster level check is no longer necessary to cast healing spells on the victim, and the mummy rot can be magically cured as any normal disease.An afflicted creature who dies of mummy rot shrivels away into sand and dust that blow away into nothing at the first wind.Powerful Charge (Ex): The Guardian typically begins a battle by charging at an opponent, lowering its head to bring its mighty horns into play. In addition to the normal benefits and hazards of a charge, this allows the beast to make a single gore attack with a +17 attack bonus that deals 4d6+24 points of damage and mummy rot.Spell-Like Abilities: 2/day—blindness/deafness (DC 17), darkness, obscuring mist, ray of enfeeblement; 1/day—bestow curse (DC 19), eyebite (DC 21), fear (DC 19), ray of exhaustion (DC 18), vampiric touch, wall of stone (DC 20), waves of fatigue. Caster level 12th.Natural Cunning (Ex): Although the Guardian is not especially intelligent, it possesses innate cunning and logical ability. This gives it immunity to maze spells, prevents it from ever becoming lost, and enables it to track enemies. Further, it is never caught flat-footed.Scent (Ex): The Guardian can detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell.Swarm Form (Su): The Guardian is able to turn into a swarm of undead sand at will. Changing shape to or from the swarm form is a standard action that infuses the Guardian with negative energy and heals 12 hit points. The Guardian 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 Guardian’s items are absorbed into the swarm form and provide no benefit. When it would normally be dispersed due to damage taken, the swarm reverts to the Guardian’s normal 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 Guardian in swarm form does not change into its normal shape in an antimagic field. True seeing and similar magic reveals both forms.Turn Resistance (Ex): The Guardian is treated as a 14 Hit Dice undead for purposes of turn, rebuke, command, or bolster attempts.Undead Traits: Immune to all mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save unless it also works on objects or is harmless. Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage to physical ability scores, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or death from massive damage. Cannot be raised, and resurrection works only if willing.Vulnerability to Fire (Ex): The Guardian takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from fire attacks.Possessions: +4 studded leather armor.Physical Description: A shambling nightmare with a bull's head and red baleful eyes, strange glyphs etched onto every inch of its tattered yellowed wrappings and carved into its massive horns.Tactics:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Round 1: All characters viewing the Guardian must save against its despair effect. The Guardian uses its Powerful Charge against the first fighter it sees. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Round 2: The guardian casts waves of fatigue at the front line (30 ft, cone shaped burst, causes all living creatures to become fatigued. A fatigued character can neither run nor charge and takes a –2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity.) </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Round 3: The Guardian uses eyebite against the nearest target. (55 ft, DC 21 Fort save, sickened for 2 hours. A sickened creature takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.) </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Round 4, 5, and 6: Targets new character with eyebite and attack same target or, if unavailable, a new one, with gore.</li> </ul>If the Guardian is reduced to less than 40 hit points, it will assume swarm form (healing 12 hp) and then move into the space of the nearest character.If the Guardian is successfully turned it will fall back, assume swarm form, and pretend to have been destroyed.The Theraltean Guardian, Sand Swarm Form: swarm-shifter spellstiched mummified minotaur fighter 6; CR 15; Fine Undead (Augmented Monstrous Humanoid, Shapechanger, Swarm); HD 6d12+6 plus 6d12+6; hp 90; Init +6; Spd fly 60 ft (perfect); AC 33, touch 25, flat-footed —; BAB +12; Grp —; Atk/Full Atk swarm (3d6, swarm); Space/Reach 10 ft/0 ft; SA distraction, swarm; SQ damage reduction 10/magic silver, darkvision 60 ft, hive mind, immune to weapon damage, natural cunning, scent, spell resistance 20, swarm form, swarm traits, turn resistance +2, undead traits, vulnerability to fire; AL LE; SV Fort +9, Ref +18, Will +14; Str 14, Dex 22, Con —, Int 3, Wis 20, Cha 20.Skills: Concentration +5, Disguise +5 (+15 when acting like inanimate sand), Intimidate +10, Jump +5, Listen +11, Search +3, Spot +11.Hive Mind (Ex): Immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate), with the exception of effects that command, control, turn, rebuke, bolster, or destroy undead specifically. While in swarm form the Guardian is affected by turn and rebuke attempts as a 14 HD creature.Swarm Traits: Not subject to critical hits or flanking. Never staggered or reduced to a dying state by damage. Cannot be tripped, grappled, or bull rushed, and they cannot grapple an opponent. A swarm takes half again as much damage (+50%) from spells or effects that affect an area, such as splash weapons and many evocation spells.While in sand swarm form the Guardian is susceptible to high winds such as that created by a gust of wind spell. For purposes of determining the effects of wind on a swarm, treat the swarm as a creature of the same size as its constituent creatures.</blockquote>

Verification