DnDChick
Demon Queen of Templates
Someone requested my Skull Child (from Mongoose's Necromancy: Beyond the Grave) as a template. Here it is! Note: I can't reference the Monster Manual page number in the OGC portion of the stat block, but the size change rules are on pg. 291.
Skull Child (Template)
“Skull child” is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid. It uses all the special abilities of the base creature, except as noted below.
Size and Type: The base creature’s type changes to “undead,” and it loses all racial subtypes. Reduce its size by at least one size category. This change in size affect’s the base creatures natural armor bonus, Strength, and Dexterity (see below).
Hit Dice: Change all current and future hit dice to d12. Remove all hit dice from class levels and add 1 HD.
Speed: Since it is smaller and represents a juvenile member of its race, reduce the base creature’s speed for all movement types by 10 ft.
Armor Class: Reduce the base creature’s natural armor bonus (if any) according to the rules for size change in the Monster Manual.
Attack: Recalculate the skull child's base attack bonus as an undead (1/2 it's hit dice). A skull child gains a claw and bite attack if it didn’t already have one. The damage is found on the table below.
Tiny = claw 1, bite 1d3
Small = claw 1d3, bite 1d4
Medium = claw 1d4, bite 1d6
Large = claw 1d6, bite 1d8
Special Attacks: The skull child retains all of the special attacks of the base creature and gains the following. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 the skull child’s hit dice + the skull child’s Charisma modifier.
Terrifying Gaze (Su): A living creature that meets the blazing gaze of a skull child must succeed on a a Will save or be shaken for 1d4 rounds. Creatures with greater than 5 HD are immune to this effect.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a skill child must hit an opponent up to one size larger with both claw attacks. It can then start a grapple check as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can try to use its life drain ability on the foe following round.
Life Drain (Su): The touch of a skull child inflicts one temporary negative level on its opponent if its opponent fails a Fortitude save.
Ability Score Drain (Su): The bite of a skull child drains 1d6 points of temporary Constitution unless the victim succeeds on a Fortitude save.
Special Qualities: The skull child retains all of the special qualities of the base creature and gains the following. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 the skull child’s hit dice + the skull child’s Charisma modifier.
Masquerade (Su): Between the hours of dawn and dusk, it is impossible to tell a skull child from another, normal, child of the race it is posing as. Any form of detection, such as detect undead reveals nothing. True seeing or similar spells show a dark haze around a skull child during the day but nothing else.
Create Spawn (Su): If a skull child manages to slay a juvenile humanoid by draining its Constitution to 0, the unlucky victim rises in 1d4 days as a free-willed skull child. A bless spell cast on the body before that time ceases the transformation. Adults are simply slain by this Constitution drain and do not rise as undead.
Undead Traits (Ex): Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects. Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, abil¬i¬ty damage, ability drain, ener¬gy drain, death from massive damage, or any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect works on objects); cannot be raised, resurrection works if the creature is willing; darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Abilities: Str +4, Dex +2, Int -2. Reduce the base creature’s Strength and increase its Dexterity using the size change rules in the Monster Manual. Being undead, a skull child has no Constitution score. A skull child’s Wisdom and Charisma are both 11
Saves: Same as base creature.
Skills: A skull child retains all of its racial skills and skill ranks.
Feats: A skull child retains all of its racial feats and bonus feats.
Environment: Any land and underground
Organization: Solitary or gang (2-7)
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: —
Skull children are small and pathetic but sadistic undead creatures, often spoken of in folklore and myth, though few actually believe in their existence. By day, a skull child is virtually indiscernible from any humanoid child of its size and apparent age. They appear as happy, playful youngsters who mix with other, more normal children. At night, however, their true nature becomes all too apparent. As the sun sinks below the horizon, the flesh retreats from the head of a skull child, revealing a bare skull with blazing eye sockets and sharp, needle-like teeth. The rest of their diminutive bodies become putrid and rotten. Skull children feed on the life force of living creatures, draining the essence of their victims, though they may only do this at night. A solitary skull child often poses as a young orphan in order to be taken in by a well-meaning but unsuspecting family, whilst others operate as gangs of destitute children in larger cities.
A skull child seeks to insinuate itself into groups of children, camouflaging themselves amongst the living and slowly preying upon them, one by one. It is not known whether these monsters prefer to stalk children in order to create more of their own kind or simply because they are far easier targets.
15. 15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Skull Child from Necromancy: Beyond the Grave, Copyright 2001, Mongoose Publishing
Skull Child (Template)
“Skull child” is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid. It uses all the special abilities of the base creature, except as noted below.
Size and Type: The base creature’s type changes to “undead,” and it loses all racial subtypes. Reduce its size by at least one size category. This change in size affect’s the base creatures natural armor bonus, Strength, and Dexterity (see below).
Hit Dice: Change all current and future hit dice to d12. Remove all hit dice from class levels and add 1 HD.
Speed: Since it is smaller and represents a juvenile member of its race, reduce the base creature’s speed for all movement types by 10 ft.
Armor Class: Reduce the base creature’s natural armor bonus (if any) according to the rules for size change in the Monster Manual.
Attack: Recalculate the skull child's base attack bonus as an undead (1/2 it's hit dice). A skull child gains a claw and bite attack if it didn’t already have one. The damage is found on the table below.
Tiny = claw 1, bite 1d3
Small = claw 1d3, bite 1d4
Medium = claw 1d4, bite 1d6
Large = claw 1d6, bite 1d8
Special Attacks: The skull child retains all of the special attacks of the base creature and gains the following. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 the skull child’s hit dice + the skull child’s Charisma modifier.
Terrifying Gaze (Su): A living creature that meets the blazing gaze of a skull child must succeed on a a Will save or be shaken for 1d4 rounds. Creatures with greater than 5 HD are immune to this effect.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a skill child must hit an opponent up to one size larger with both claw attacks. It can then start a grapple check as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can try to use its life drain ability on the foe following round.
Life Drain (Su): The touch of a skull child inflicts one temporary negative level on its opponent if its opponent fails a Fortitude save.
Ability Score Drain (Su): The bite of a skull child drains 1d6 points of temporary Constitution unless the victim succeeds on a Fortitude save.
Special Qualities: The skull child retains all of the special qualities of the base creature and gains the following. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 the skull child’s hit dice + the skull child’s Charisma modifier.
Masquerade (Su): Between the hours of dawn and dusk, it is impossible to tell a skull child from another, normal, child of the race it is posing as. Any form of detection, such as detect undead reveals nothing. True seeing or similar spells show a dark haze around a skull child during the day but nothing else.
Create Spawn (Su): If a skull child manages to slay a juvenile humanoid by draining its Constitution to 0, the unlucky victim rises in 1d4 days as a free-willed skull child. A bless spell cast on the body before that time ceases the transformation. Adults are simply slain by this Constitution drain and do not rise as undead.
Undead Traits (Ex): Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects. Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, abil¬i¬ty damage, ability drain, ener¬gy drain, death from massive damage, or any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect works on objects); cannot be raised, resurrection works if the creature is willing; darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Abilities: Str +4, Dex +2, Int -2. Reduce the base creature’s Strength and increase its Dexterity using the size change rules in the Monster Manual. Being undead, a skull child has no Constitution score. A skull child’s Wisdom and Charisma are both 11
Saves: Same as base creature.
Skills: A skull child retains all of its racial skills and skill ranks.
Feats: A skull child retains all of its racial feats and bonus feats.
Environment: Any land and underground
Organization: Solitary or gang (2-7)
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: —
Skull children are small and pathetic but sadistic undead creatures, often spoken of in folklore and myth, though few actually believe in their existence. By day, a skull child is virtually indiscernible from any humanoid child of its size and apparent age. They appear as happy, playful youngsters who mix with other, more normal children. At night, however, their true nature becomes all too apparent. As the sun sinks below the horizon, the flesh retreats from the head of a skull child, revealing a bare skull with blazing eye sockets and sharp, needle-like teeth. The rest of their diminutive bodies become putrid and rotten. Skull children feed on the life force of living creatures, draining the essence of their victims, though they may only do this at night. A solitary skull child often poses as a young orphan in order to be taken in by a well-meaning but unsuspecting family, whilst others operate as gangs of destitute children in larger cities.
A skull child seeks to insinuate itself into groups of children, camouflaging themselves amongst the living and slowly preying upon them, one by one. It is not known whether these monsters prefer to stalk children in order to create more of their own kind or simply because they are far easier targets.
15. 15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Skull Child from Necromancy: Beyond the Grave, Copyright 2001, Mongoose Publishing
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