Trait (ghost / dark)

Affinity (Ex) A pokemon who has access to a sorcerer bloodline gains access traits it's bloodline as two levels higher for all sorcerer spells and class abilities. Pokemon who have access to a cleric domain can use their domain powers and spells at +1 caster level. At a GM's approval, this evolution can apply to other class-based traits that are selected by the player at level 1 and cannot be changed, like witch patrons or shaman spirits.

Aura of Despair (Su) A fye continually emanates an aura of despair in a 10-foot radius. Any creature within or entering this area must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or take a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability and skill checks, and weapon damage rolls for as long as they remain within the area. A creature that successfully saves is immune to the aura of despair of that fye for one day. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Aura of Doom (Su) The death coach’s aura acts like an aura of doom with a radius of 30 feet. A creature that succeeds at its save is immune to that death coach’s aura for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Aura of Misfortune (Su) Every creature within 10 feet of the pokemon must roll twice to confirm a critical hit. Also, when these creature attack with a weapon and roll a natural 1, they provoke an attack of opportunity from it's target, even if that creature would not otherwise be entitled to make one. If the creature is wielding a manufactured weapon, it drops it and needs to take a standard action to pick the weapon back up. This provokes another free attack of opportunity from its target. This effect lasts as long as they remain within range of the aura. Furthermore, the affected creature takes a –4 penalty on all checks and saving throws.

• Misfortune Aura (Su) When a living creature attempts an ability check, attack roll, caster level check, skill check, or saving throw within 10 feet of a lesser death, it must roll two d20s and take the lowest roll before applying any modifiers.

Aura of Sobs (Su) All of the voices that this pokemon steals linger around it in an invisible but audible aura of unnerving childlike whimpers, songs, and sobs. Any living creature that enters this area loses the benefit of all bardic performances affecting it and takes a –1 penalty on all attack rolls, damage rolls, and Will saving throws. The pokemon can suppress or reactivate its aura as a free action. This aura is a sonic, mind-affecting effect.

Bleeding Nail (Ex) A Hellcrown attacks by throwing nails. These nails are ranged attacks with a 20 ft. range increment. If a Hellcrown hits with a nail, the target takes 1 point of bleed damage and 1 point of strength damage unless it succeeds on a DC 14 fortitude save. Multiple nail strikes stack. As a move action, a creature can remove the nail to end the bleed damage and remove the strength damage.

Bloodthirst (Su) A leechroot can absorb blood directly from its victims’ cuts and from the soil on which that blood has dripped. The leechroot gains fast healing equal to the number of creatures with the bleed condition within its reach (if any).

Bloody Sap (Su) The viscous resin that exudes from a leechroot’s tentacles is infused with negative energy, preventing both natural and magical healing. The DC of the Heal check to stop the bleeding from a leechroot’s attacks increases by 2. While the bleed damage persists, any magical healing requires a successful DC 15 caster level check or the spell or ability has no effect on the bleeding creature.

Bump in the Night (Su) A bogeyman can create a phantasmagoric image in the mind of a single creature within 200 feet. Such images cause the victim to see and hear things that are not really there or to see and hear things differently than they actually are. Things such as following footsteps, bumps and thumps from an unknown source, a gnarled tree with outstretched limbs scratching on a window or reaching for someone, the idea that someone or something is lurking around the corner, in the closet, or under the bed, and so on. A creature affected by the images takes 1d4 points of Wisdom damage if it fails a DC 19 Will save. The save DC is Charisma-based and includes a +2 bonus from the bogeyman’s Ability Focus feat. The bogeyman can use this ability once every 1d4 rounds. A creature who drops to Wisdom 0 is affected as if by an insanity spell (caster level 8th) until at least 1 point of Wisdom is restored.

Channel Energy (Su) The monster gains the channel energy class feature. As a standard action, the monster releases a burst of energy that affects either all living creatures or all undead creatures in a 30-foot radius. The burst either deals 1d6 points of damage (from negative energy) or heals 1d6 points of damage (from positive energy). A creature that would take damage from this effect can attempt a Will save (DC = the monster’s ability DC – 5) to halve the damage. A monster can use this option 8 times per day. Increase the damage or healing by 1d6 per every two hit die.

• Channel Negative Energy (Su) As a standard action, a hollow serpent can channel negative energy in a 30-foot burst as a 16th-level evil cleric. This ability requires no divine focus. The save DC is Charisma-based.
  

Channel Resistance (Su) An creature becomes less easily affected by the channel energy ability of clerics or paladins. The creature gains a +2 bonus on any saves that are made to resist the effects of channel energy, including effects that rely on the use of channel energy (such as the Command Undead feat). At 7 HD, this bonus is increased to +4. These creatures are usually Undead, or have the traits of Undead.

Charisma Drain (Su) A creature struck by a hupia’s slam attack must succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude save or take 1 point of Charisma drain. A creature already suffering a fear effect instead takes 1d4 points of Charisma drain on a failed save, or 1 point of Charisma drain on a successful save. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Child’s Needs (Su) An infantis is all that remains of the dying consciousness of a small child. The Infantis suffers a -1 morale penalty on attack rolls, skill checks and saving throws when within 30 ft. of a visible crib, toy, child-sized clothing or a nursing or pregnant woman.

Command Wights (Su) A dread wight gargoyle can automatically command all normal wights within 30 feet as a free action. Normal wights never attack a dread wight unless compelled.

Constitution Drain (Su) A llorona causes 1d4 points of Constitution drain on a hit. A successful DC 23 Fortitude save negates this drain. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Corrupting Gaze: The monster has a gaze attack (as the universal monster rule) with a range of 30 feet. The attack deals 2d10 points of damage and 1d4 points of Charisma damage. A successful Fortitude save negates the Charisma damage.

Corrupting Touch: A monster must be incorporeal to have this ability. The monster can make a touch attack. If it hits, the target supernaturally ages and takes 1d6 points of damage per CR the monster possesses (Fortitude half ). Targets immune to magical aging are immune to this damage.

Create Spawn: The monster can create spawn out of those it slays. The victim rises from death as the kind of monster that created it in 1d4 days and is under the command of the monster that created it, remaining enslaved until its master’s destruction. The monster can have enslaved spawn whose HD total no more than 2 × the monster’s CR; any spawn it creates that would exceed this limit become free-willed. The monster can free an enslaved spawn in order to create a new enslaved spawn, but once freed, a creature cannot be enslaved again.

• Create Spawn (Su) Any creature killed by a dread wight gargoyle’s energy drain ability rises as a dread wight in 1d4 rounds. A dread wight created in this manner is under the command of its creator and remains so until either it or the creator is destroyed.
  

Death Rattle (Ex) Once every 1d4 rounds as a standard action, this creature can vibrate its carapace to produce a clicking noise that sets up vibrations in all creatures within 30 feet. Creatures that fail a Fortitude save takes 1d6 damage. Since the effect stems from the vibrations set up in a victim’s body and not from the clicking noise itself, silence offers no protection against this attack. Likewise, a creature that cannot hear can still be affected. A successful save renders the target immune to that creature’s death rattle for 24 hours. The save DC is Constitution-based. This ability can be taken multiple times to increase the damage by 1d6.

Death Throes (Ex) When the creature is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, it explodes. All creatures within a 20-foot burst take 2d6 points of piercing and slashing damage per every four hit die, and 1d6 points of bleed damage. A successful DC 18 Reflex save results in half damage and negates the bleed effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Deathless Spirit (Ex) Members of this creature's race gain resistance 5 against negative energy damage. They do not lose hit points when they gain a negative level, and they gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against death effects, energy drain, negative energy, and spells or spell-like abilities of the necromancy school.

Demanding Aura (Su) All creatures within a 30-foot radius that can see a cursed king must succeed at a DC 20 Will save or be terrified into subservience. A creature that fails its saving throw gains the cowering condition for 1d4 rounds. A creature that successfully saves is not subject to the same cursed king’s demanding aura for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect, and the save DC is Charisma-based.

Desecration Aura (Su) A herecite’s very existence is an embodiment of blasphemy and heresy, and as such it exudes a 30-foot-radius aura of desecration. It and all undead within this area gain a +2 profane bonus on attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws, and the DC to resist negative channeled energy in the area increases by 6. The herecite gains 2 hit points per Hit Die (+24 hit points for most herecites). All of these benefits are calculated into the above statistics, and while they do not stack with those granted by desecrate spells, neither do they vanish if the herecite enters an area under the effect of a consecrate spell.

Desiccation Aura (Su) A cloud of moisture-draining dust fills the air in a 30-foot radius around a hollow serpent. Living creatures within this area must make a DC 26 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Strength damage as water is leached from their flesh. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be affected again by the same hollow serpent’s desiccation aura for 24 hours. Creatures without fleshy bodies are immune to this aura, while creatures with the aquatic or water subtypes take a -4 penalty on the saving throw. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Desiccating Touch (Su) As part of its incorporeal touch attack, a cinderghost draws the moisture from its opponent’s body, causing the victim to wither into ash. The target must succeed at a DC 19 Fortitude check or take 1d8 points of Constitution damage.

Devour Soul (Su) A baykok can take a standard action to devour the soul of an adjacent dead or dying creature. A dying creature can resist this attack with a DC 19 Fortitude save. If it fails, the target is instantly slain. If the creature is already dead, it does not make a saving throw, although the body cannot be more than 1 hour dead. A creature subjected to this attack cannot be brought back to life via raise dead (resurrection and more powerful effects work normally). When a baykok devours a soul in this way, it heals 5d6+10 points of damage and becomes hasted for 4 rounds (as if affected by haste). This is a death effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Deadlights (Su) As a standard action, a gator ghoul can cause a 60 ft. cone of bright light to emit from its eyes for up to 1 minute. All living creatures in the area must succeed a DC 17 Will save or be dazed as long as the light shines on them, unable to move or take any actions. A creature so affected can attempt a DC 17 Will save on its turn as a full round action to break out of the daze. This daze effect is broken the round the creature takes damage from any source. A creature that succeeds its initial saving throw is immune to the deadlights of that gator ghoul for the next 24 hours. A gator ghoul can stop this ability as a swift action on its turn, and can use this ability three times per day. This is a mind-influencing compulsion effect, and the save DC is Charisma based.

Deadspeech (Ex) A goemul has the ability to converse with the dead as if subject to a continual speak with dead spell, and most corpses greet them with an attitude of friendly or helpful.

Dimming Aura (Su) As a swift action, the mulgwishin can emit a dimming aura. This darkness causes the illumination level in a 20-foot-radius burst to drop one step, from bright light to normal light, from normal light to dim light, or from dim light to darkness. This has no effect in an area that is already dark. Creatures that start their turn within 5 feet of the aura have their speed reduced by 10 feet for 1 round. This lasts until it is reduced to 0 hit points or turns it off on its turn.

Energy Bite or Energy Claw (Su) The pokemon’s natural attack damage deals 1d6 extra points of negative energy damage.

Energy Drain: This monster bestows 1 negative level with its attacks (or attacks of a particular type) and gains 5 temporary hit points for each negative level bestowed. The number of negative levels bestowed increases to 2 at CR 10 and 3 at CR 20.

• Kiss (Ex) If a drowned maiden successfully pins an opponent up to Large size that her tresses have successfully grappled, she can embrace it to deadly effect. On each round that the drowned maiden embraces a creature in this manner, she kisses it. Victims kissed by a drowned maiden take 1d4 Strength drain (Fort DC 20; Cha-based).
  

Energy Explosion: Once per day as a standard action, the monster can create a 20-foot-radius negative energy burst within 60 feet. This deals an amount of damage equal to 1d6 + the monster’s HD of the chosen type to all creatures in the burst. A successful Reflex save halves the damage.

Energy Infusion: Choose a damage type. Each time the monster uses a spell, spell-like ability, or supernatural ability that deals energy damage, it can choose to change the energy damage type dealt by that ability to the chosen type instead.

Ethereal Hop (Su) A gøgelid is able to turn incorporeal for a number of rounds equal to its hit dice as a swift action. After turning incorporeal, a gøgelid cannot use ethereal hop for 1d4+1 rounds. A gøgelid can end an ethereal hop as a free action.

False Humanity (Su) During the day, a huecuva is cloaked in an illusion that makes it look, sound, and feel like the living creature it once was. This effect functions similarly to disguise self—if a creature interacts directly with a huecuva, it can attempt a DC 12 Will save to see through the illusion. Regardless, the huecuva’s scent never changes—it always exudes a faint stench of grave dust and decay. Creatures with the scent ability receive a +4 bonus on any Will saving throw made to see through this illusion. At night (regardless of whether the huecuva itself knows night has fallen) this illusion fades and reveals the creature for what it truly is. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Fear Light (Su) A lantern goat can emit an ugly yellow light from the lantern around its neck as a free action. All creatures within 60 feet that view this light must succeed on a DC 17 Will save or be panicked for 1d4+4 rounds. A creature that succeeds on its save is immune to the fear light of that lantern goat for one day. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Fear Sense (Su) A hupia can detect a creature with the shaken, frightened, or panicked condition within 100 feet as if it had blindsight.

Feed on Fear (Su) Any time an atoth is within 15 feet of a dying creature or creature subject to a fear effect, it gains fast healing 10.

Fell Magic (3 EP) Members of this creature's race gain +1 to the DC of any saving throws against necromancy spells that they cast. Members of this creature's race with a Wisdom score of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities (the caster level is equal to the user’s character level): 1/day—bleed, chill touch, detect poison, touch of fatigue. The DC is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the user’s Wisdom modifier.

Foresee Doom (Su) The gwishin can sense impending danger. This works like the foresight spell, but with a duration of 10 minutes.

Gaseous Form: As a standard action, the monster can use gaseous form at will, and it can remain in this form indefinitely. While it does, it has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability.

Ghost Touch (Su) A festering spirit can manipulate corporeal objects that weigh up to 25 pounds as if those objects had the ghost touch special ability.

• Ghost Touch Jaws (Su) A drocha swarm’s many biting jaws are considered to have the ghost touch special ability. This allows it to deal its swarm damage to corporeal foes, and to deal normal damage to incorporeal creatures such as ghosts, shadow demons, and even other drocha swarms.

Grasping Hands (Su) Despite being incorporeal, a llorona can perform grapple combat maneuvers against Medium or smaller creatures. She adds her Charisma modifier to her grapple combat maneuver checks. Using this ability doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity. If a llorona successfully maintains a grapple, she automatically deals 4d6 points of negative energy damage and 2d4 points of Constitution drain upon her victim. A creature can reduce the Constitution drain to 1d4 points with a successful DC 23 Fortitude save. When a llorona causes Constitution drain in this manner, she has 5 hit points restored. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Hypnotic Lights (Su) The corpse candle possesses the ability to create a dancing, twisting pattern of ever-shifting lights that slowly change colors. The corpse candle can create these lights within 20 feet of itself, covering an area in a 10-foot radius spread (usually underwater). Creatures viewing the pattern within 50 feet must make a successful Will save (DC 18) or become fascinated. If the save is successful, that creature cannot be affected again by that corpse candle’s hypnotic lights for one day. The lights remain for as long as the corpse candle concentrates plus 1 minute. The save DC is Charisma-based and includes a +2 racial bonus. A fascinated victim moves toward the lights, taking the most direct route available at its normal movement rate. The creature avoids certain dangers (walking off a cliff, walking through fire, etc.) and skirts around such obstructions if possible, but it will swim towards the light if necessary, paying no heed to the need for air. If no path to the light is available, the fascination is broken. Any living creature within the area of light at the end of its turn takes 1d2 points of Constitution damage. This is a death effect.

Immunity to Death Effects (Ex) These creatures are immune to any effect that instantly slays it, such as finger of death, slay living, and so on.

Incorporeal (Su) As a standard action, a darnoc can become incorporeal for up to 10 minutes each day. While incorporeal, the darnoc has AC 14 (+2 Dex, +2 deflection) and can use its slam attack as an incorporeal touch against corporeal targets dealing 1d6+1 points of negative energy damage as well as curse of the grave.

Jagged Maw (Su) A lovelorn’s bite threatens a critical hit on a roll of 19–20. If a lovelorn confirms a critical hit with its bite, it also inflicts a negative level. This negative level can be removed with a successful DC 15 Fortitude save. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Kiss of Death (Ex) If a breathless one succeeds at a grapple check against an adjacent opponent, it clamps its mouth over the opponent’s nose and mouth to suffocate it. Each round the breathless one maintains a grapple and its target fails a DC 21 Fortitude save its condition worsens: it becomes staggered for 1 round, it falls unconscious and is reduced to 0 hp, it drops to -1 hp and is dying, it dies. The save DC is Charisma-based.

• Breath Weapon (Su) This pokemon breathes a stream of energy which does 1d6 negative energy damage for every 2 levels (minimum 1). This breath weapon has a range of either 60 ft or a 10ft cone, and requires a reflex save to halve the damage. The pokemon can use this ability twice per day (although it must wait 1d4 rounds between uses). Breath weapon does not replace lesser breath weapon.

Life-Draining Coils (Su) A hollow serpent seethes with negative energy capable of sapping the life force of creatures trapped within its coils. Every time a creature takes constriction damage from a hollow serpent, it gains one negative level. The hollow serpent also gains 5 temporary hit points for each negative level it bestows.

Lifebound (Ex)  Members of this creature's race gain a +2 racial bonus on all saving throws made to resist death effects, saving throws against negative energy effects, Fortitude saves made to remove negative levels, and Constitution checks made to stabilize if reduced to negative hit points.

Lifesense (Ex)  An creature can pinpoint living creatures with ease. The creature notices and locates living creatures within 60 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsight evolution. The creature must possess the undead appearance evolution to take this evolution. This is a supernatural ability.

Lifesense (Su) A lantern goat notices and locates living creatures within 60 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsight ability. It also senses the strength of their life force automatically, as if it had cast deathwatch.

Light and Dark (1 EP)   Members of this creature's race gain the following supernatural ability: Once per day as an immediate action, a member of this creature's race can treat positive and negative energies as if it were an undead creature, taking damage from positive energy and healing damage from negative energy. This ability lasts for 1 minute once activated.

Malevolence (Ex) Once per round, the monster can attempt to merge its body with a creature within its reach. The target can resist the attack with a successful Will save. A target that succeeds at its save becomes immune to the monster’s malevolence for 24 hours. This ability is similar to magic jar, except that it doesn’t require a receptacle.

Misdirected Appearance (Su) The first time a creature sees a hupia, instead of a frightening undead monster it sees either the form the hupia had in life or that of someone dear to the creature. An observer can see past this illusion with a successful DC 18 Will save. A creature immune to mind-affecting effects or that has other protections against creatures reading its mind is immune to this effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Negative Energy Affinity (Ex) The creature is alive, but is treated as undead for all effects that affect undead differently than living creatures, such as cure spells and channeled energy. Format: negative energy affinity; Location: Defensive Abilities.    Format: negative energy affinity; Location: Defensive Abilities.

Paralyzing Touch (Su) Any living creature a lich hits with its touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (with a DC equal to the lich’s save DC). The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by a lich seems dead, though a DC 20 Perception check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive.

Bewildering Touch (Su) Any living creature a psychic lich hits with its touch attack must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw or be permanently confused as its nervous system continuously sends false signals. The creature doesn’t automatically attack the psychic lich if it is targeted by further attacks. Calm emotions or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the bestow curse spell description) with a DC equal to the bewildering touch’s save DC. As a full-round action, a creature that rolls a result of “act normally” can attempt a new saving throw to end this effect.

Phase Lurch (Su) An ectoplasmic creature has the ability to pass through walls or material obstacles. To use this ability, the ectoplasmic creature must begin and end its turn outside of whatever wall or obstacle it’s moving through. An ectoplasmic creature cannot move through corporeal creatures with this ability, and its movement speed is halved while moving through a wall or obstacle. Any surface it moves through is coated with a thin, silvery mucus that lingers for 1 minute.

Project Death (Su) As a standard action, a drocha swarm can target a creature within 30 feet and cry mournful wails that fill the listener with images of its own death. The targeted creature must succeed at a DC 18 Will save to steel itself against this morbid onslaught. If that save fails, the victim must succeed at a Fortitude save or die from fear. Even if the Fortitude save succeeds, the victim takes 4d6 points of damage. A creature that successfully saves against the initial Will save is not subject to the same drocha swarm’s project death ability for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Reanimation (Su) When reduced to 0 hit points or less, a cadaver is not destroyed; rather it falls inert and begins the process of reanimating by regaining 1 hit point per round. Hit points lost to magical weapons or spells are not regained. When the creature reaches its full hit point total (minus damage dealt by magical attacks and weapons), it stands up, ready to fight again. If the creature is destroyed by channeled positive energy, it cannot reanimate. If a cleric casts gentle repose on the cadaver when it is reduced to 0 hit points, it cannot reanimate. A bless spell delays the reanimation, causing the creature to regain hit points at half the normal rate (i.e. 1 hit point every other round).

Rejuvenation (Su) Once destroyed or killed, the monster restores itself after a set period of time (typically 1d10 days). The specific means for permanently destroying the monster and the time it takes before reforming vary between monsters.

• Rejuvenation (Su) After being destroyed, a hupia reforms at the site of its death in 1d6 days. To permanently destroy a hupia, a special ritual must be performed involving a personal item of the hupia and 100 gp worth of rare herbs that are burned during the ceremony.
• Rejuvenation (Su) When a lich is destroyed, its phylactery (which is generally hidden by the lich in a safe place far from where it chooses to dwell) immediately begins to rebuild the undead spellcaster’s body nearby. This process takes 1d10 days—if the body is destroyed before that time passes, the phylactery merely starts the process anew. After this time passes, the lich wakens fully healed (albeit without any gear it left behind on its old body), usually with a burning need for revenge against those who previously destroyed it. The most common form of phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed. The box is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40. Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.

Resist Level Drain (Su) Prerequisites: Negative energy affinity racial trait. Benefit: Members of this creature's race take no penalty from energy-draining effects, though a member of this creature's race can still be killed if it accrues more negative levels than it has Hit Dice. After 24 hours, any negative levels a member of this creature's race has accrued are removed without the need for any additional saving throws.   

Sacrilegious Aura (Su) The monster emits an aura of intense evil and negative energy in a 30-foot radius. The aura functions as the desecrate spell cast on an altar. In addition, any creature that attempts to use a positive energy effect in this area must succeed at a concentration check or the positive energy has no effect.Shadow Blend (Su) (2 EP)  In any condition of illumination other than bright light, the creature disappears into the shadows, giving it concealment (20% miss chance). If it has the shadow form evolution, it instead gains total concealment (50% miss chance). The creature can suspend or resume this ability as a free action.

Shadow Form (Su) The creature’s body becomes shadowy and more indistinct. This shadow form grants the creature constant concealment (20% miss chance), and its melee attacks affect incorporeal creatures as if it had the ghost touch weapon property. The creature’s melee attacks deal only half damage to corporeal creatures.

Shadow Shift (Su) A bogeyman has the ability to travel between shadows as if by means of a dimension door spell. The limitation is that the magical transport must begin and end in an area with at least some shadow. A bogeyman can shift up to a total of 80 feet each day in this way; this may be a single jump of 80 feet or multiple jumps of 10 feet each. This amount can be split among many jumps, but each one, no matter how small, counts as a 10-foot increment.

Shriek of Hunger (Su) A target who is damaged by an infantis’ shriek ranged attack must succeed at a DC 13 Will save or become fatigued. This fatigue cannot be removed by any means until the target eats at least a day’s worth of rations. If the target is already fatigued, they become exhausted instead. Exhausted targets fall unconscious for 2d6 hours, or until roused.

Spectral Strangulation (Su) An apparition attacks an opponent by implanting a suggestion in the victim’s mind, convincing it that it is being strangled by the apparition’s bony claws. The apparition must be on the same plane as the target creature to use this ability. The target of the spectral strangulation feels the bony, claw-like fingers of the apparition at its throat—even through armor. The target must succeed on a DC 16 Will save to disbelieve the suggestion. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same apparition’s suggestion for one day. On a failed save, the victim must immediately succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or die from fright due to heart failure. If the Fortitude save succeeds, the victim acts as if affected by a fear spell for 1d4 rounds. A creature protected by magic circle against evil or protection from evil cannot be affected by an apparition’s spectral strangulation. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Soul Capture (Su) Any living creature reduced to below 0 hit points while within 60 feet of a lantern goat must succeed on a DC 17 Will save or have its soul drawn into the lantern goat’s lantern. The DC increases by +1 for every hit point the character is below 0 (e.g., a character at -3 hit points must save at DC 20). Once captured, the lantern goat slowly digests the creature’s soul over a period of 1 hour, using it to fuel its dark energies. A creature slain in this manner can only be returned to life by a resurrection, true resurrection, wish, or miracle. Raise dead has no effect on such a slain creature. If the lantern goat is slain and the lantern destroyed, the soul is released back to the body if still living. The lantern cannot be destroyed or removed until the lantern goat is destroyed. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp) Upon taking this trait, the creature gains access to a number of spell-like abilities according to it's hit die bracket. It gains access to one spell from the following list according to its hit die bracket, which become usable once per day. If the creature has more than 4 hit die and knows at least one spell from the HD bracket one step lower, those spells will be usable three times per day. If it is higher than 9 hit die, the spells that it knows from the the HD bracket two steps below its own become usable at will. This ability can be taken multiple times to learn new spell abilities from any hit die bracket it has access to.

Spiritual Defense (Su) A bul gishwin gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to its Cha bonus (minimum +1).

Trap the Soul (Su) As a standard action with a range of 300 feet, a demilich can imprison the soul of a living creature within one of 10 special gems embedded in its skull. If the target succeeds at a DC 24 Fortitude save, it gains two permanent negative levels. If it fails, its soul is immediately drawn into one of the gems in the demilich’s skull. The soul remains trapped within the gem, visible as but a gleam except under true seeing. The soulless body corrupts and decays rapidly, reducing to dust in a single round. As long as the dead creature’s soul remains trapped in the gemstone, it cannot be restored to life via any means save direct divine intervention. Gems with souls trapped in them can be retrieved from a destroyed demilich, at which point they can either be crushed to release any souls within to their afterlife or used in the place of the usual material components to restore the soul and body with resurrection or true resurrection. After 24 hours, the demilich can choose to consume any soul trapped in a gem, healing it 1d6 hit points per Hit Die of the soul, at which point only miracle or wish can restore the dead creature to life. The save DC is Charisma-based, and includes a +2 bonus for the Ability Focus feat.

• Devour Soul (Su) By making a touch attack as a standard action, a devourer can deal 12d6+18 points of damage as if using a slay living spell. A DC 22 Fortitude save reduces this damage to 3d6+18. The soul of a creature slain by this attack becomes trapped within the devourer’s chest. The creature cannot be brought back to life until the devourer’s destruction (or a spell deflection—see below) releases its soul. A devourer can hold only one soul at a time. The trapped essence provides a devourer with 5 essence points for each Hit Die possessed by the soul. A devourer must expend essence points when it uses a spell-like ability equal to the spell’s level (for sake of ease, spell levels for its spell-like abilities are included in its stats in superscript). At the start of an encounter, a devourer generally has 3d4+3 essence points available. The trapped essence gains one permanent negative level for every 5 points of essence drained—these negative levels remain if the creature is brought back to life (but they do not stack with any negative levels imparted by being brought back to life). A soul that is completely consumed may only be restored to life by a miracle or wish. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Turn Undead (Su) As a standard action, this monster forces each undead creature within 30 feet of it to attempt a Will save (DC = the monster’s ability DC – 5). On a failed saving throw, the target flees from the monster for 1 minute as if panicked. Intelligent undead receive a new saving throw each round to end the effect.

Undead Appearance (Ex)  An creature appears as an undead creature, and mimics some of an undead creature’s abilities and weaknesses. Negative energy heals the creature, and positive energy (including a cleric’s channel energy ability) harms it. Spells and effects that target undead or have specific effects against undead (such as Command Undead, hold (halt?) undead, and searing light) affect the creature as if it were undead. The creature gains a +2 bonus on saves against disease, exhaustion, fatigue, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning. At 7th level, this bonus on saves can be increased to +4 by spending 2 additional evolution points. At 12th level, this protection can be increased to immunity against these attacks by spending 2 additional evolution points (the summoner must pay for the 7th-level upgrade before paying for this 12th-level upgrade).

Undead Mastery (Su) As a standard action, the monster can choose one undead creature within 50 feet. That creature must succeed at a Will save or fall under the monster’s control. This control is permanent for unintelligent undead; an undead creature with an Intelligence score can attempt an additional saving throw each day to break free. A creature that succeeds at its saving throw cannot be affected again by the same monster’s undead mastery for 24 hours. A monster can control a number of undead creatures with a combined CR equal to its own CR. If this limit is exceeded, the excess undead become uncontrolled in order from longest-controlled to most recently controlled.

Undead Resistance (Ex)   Members of this creature's race gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against disease and mind-affecting effects.

Undead Scent (Su) A gøgelid’s otherworldly nose is particularly talented at picking out the scent of other undead creatures. A gøgelid’s scent ability ignores the first 5 ft. of any non-magical barrier to detect the presence of undead creatures.

Unliving Nature (Ex)  Although a living creature, the creature is treated both as undead and as it’s normal type and subtype for the purposes of spells and effects (for example, it can be detected with detect undead and rendered immobile by either halt undead or hold person). A creature never takes a penalty on Disguise checks to disguise itsself as an undead creature. These creatures gain a +4 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting effects.

Unnatural Aura (Su) A creature is obviously of unnatural origin. Normal animals do not willingly approach the creature it makes a DC 25 Handle Animal, Ride, or wild empathy check. Furthermore, it takes a –4 penalty on all Charisma-based skill checks to affect creatures of the animal type, and receive a +4 dodge bonus to AC against animals. Animals’ starting attitude toward this creature is one step worse than normal.

Vulnerable to Consecration (Ex) This pokemon is staggered within the area of a consecrate effect.

Wear Skin (Su) An ecorche can steal the skin of a dead Small, Medium, or Large humanoid and wear it as its own. When it does this, the ecorche takes on the creature’s size and appearance and gains a +10 bonus on Disguise checks made to impersonate the victim. While wearing a stolen skin, an ecorche cannot use its frightful presence. This stolen skin is preserved while the ecorche wears it, but is destroyed if the ecorche takes more than 10 points of damage or if the ecorche chooses to destroy the skin as a standard action. Those within 60 feet who see an ecorche’s stolen skin destroyed are immediately subjected to its frightful presence and take a -5 penalty on the related Will save. An ecorche reverts to its normal size if its stolen skin is destroyed.

• Seize Skin (Su) Whenever an ecorche damages a target with its rend ability, the target must succeed at a DC 25 Fortitude save to resist being skinned alive. Those who fail the save become staggered and take 1 point of Constitution drain per round. Both of these effects are permanent but can be removed with a regenerate or heal spell (or 1 round of regeneration). The ecorche can use its wear skin ability to don a skin stolen in this way as a full-round action. The save DC is Dexterity-based.

Wail (Su) As a standard action, a llorona can unleash a somber wail. Any creature within 120 feet that can hear this wail must succeed at a DC 23 Will save or be compelled to enter the nearest body of water and attempt to drown itself. This effect automatically fails if there isn’t a body of water large enough to drown in within 120 feet. At the end of any round an affected creature is completely submerged in water, it can attempt a new DC 23 Will save to end the effect and cease its attempt to drown itself. This is a sonic mind-affecting compulsion effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Upon taking this trait, the creature gains access to a number of spell-like abilities according to it's hit die bracket. It gains access to one spell from the following list according to its hit die bracket, which become usable once per day. If the creature has more than 4 hit die and knows at least one spell from the HD bracket one step lower, those spells will be usable three times per day. If it is higher than 9 hit die, the spells that it knows from the the HD bracket two steps below its own become usable at will. This ability can be taken multiple times to learn new spell abilities from any hit die bracket it has access to.

Curse (Ex) A creature with this ability bestows a curse upon its enemies. The effects of the curse, including its save, frequency, and cure, are included in the creature’s description. If a curse allows a saving throw, it is usually a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 cursing creature’s racial HD + creature’s Cha modifier; the exact DC is given in the creature’s descriptive text). Curses can be removed through remove curse and similar effects.

Bestial Curse (Su) When a cursed king is destroyed, it unleashes a final curse on all creatures within a 30-foot radius. This curse slowly robs the targets of their minds and bodies, eventually transforming them into animals of the same type as the animal head sewn to the cursed king’s body. All creatures in the area must succeed at a DC 21 Will save or take 1d6 points of Wisdom damage and 1d6 points of Charisma damage. The accursed creature doesn’t benefit from effects that remove ability damage. Once cursed, the target must succeed at a Will save every 24 hours or take ability damage again. Once the target’s Charisma or Wisdom score is reduced to 0, the victim is transformed into a mundane animal as per baleful polymorph, and is automatically treated as if it failed the second Will save to retain its mind. At this point, the creature receives the typical Wisdom and Charisma of that animal and stops taking ability damage. This is a curse effect, and the save DC is Charisma-based.

Combustion (Su) Curse—slam; save Fort DC 13; onset immediate; frequency 1/round; effect 2d6 fire damage that ignores fire resistance; cure 1 save. A creature that falls below 0 hit points from this curse spontaneously combusts, dying instantly. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Curse of Lycanthropy (Ex) A natural lycanthrope’s bite attack in animal or hybrid form infects a humanoid target with lycanthropy (Fortitude DC 15 negates). If the victim’s size is not within one size category of the lycanthrope’s size, this ability has no effect.

Curse of the Grave (Su) Any damage dealt by a darnoc’s slam attack does not heal naturally and resists all magical healing (potions, cure spells, and so on). Before the damage can be healed, the curse must first be broken with a break enchantment or remove curse spell (requiring a DC 20 caster level check for either spell).

Drown (Su) Spines—injury; save Fort DC 13; onset 1 round; frequency constant; effect target takes a –10 penalty on Swim checks and cannot hold its breath. If forced underwater, the target must save each round or drown.

Curse of Barkflesh (Su) Following a successful grapple, a tobongo can dig its spiky branches into its victim, infecting him with a foul and potent curse. Unless he succeeds at a DC 20 Fortitude save, the victim’s flesh immediately begins to harden and grow uncontrollably like tree bark, and he takes 1d4 points of Dexterity damage per day until his Dexterity reaches 0. At this point, the victim turns entirely stiff, grows roots, and transforms into a new, unintelligent tree, preventing any form of resurrection short of wish or miracle. The effect can be slowed by pruning the victim once per hour, slicing off the strange growths. Pruning inflicts 1d6 points of damage on the victim, but it negates the need to make a new Fortitude save. If the victim goes without pruning for more than an hour, the barkflesh takes over and he must immediately make the Fortitude save for the day or suffer the Dexterity damage. The save DC is Wisdom-based. Curse of Barkflesh: Grapple injury; save Fort DC 20; frequency 1/ day; effect 1d4 Dex damage, when Dex reaches 0, target transforms into a tree.

Deadwood Curse (Su) When a mosslord confirms a critical hit with one of its claws, the victim must succeed at a DC 30 Fortitude save or a horrid curse transforms one of its limbs into an immobile wooden branch. Roll 1d4 to determine which limb is affected (1—right arm, 2—left arm, 3—right leg, 4—left leg; adjust the die as necessary for creatures with fewer or more limbs). The cursed limb hardens and becomes entirely immobile until the curse is lifted. If an arm is affected, the victim’s Strength is reduced by 2 and it cannot wield weapons in that hand or use the hand in any way. If a victim’s leg is affected, the victim’s Dexterity is reduced by 2 and its base speed is reduced by 15 feet. Each time a creature is affected by this curse, a new limb is affected, and the effects stack. If a cursed limb is amputated and regrown via magic, the new limb regrows as deadwood as long as the curse persists. This is a curse effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Mark Quarry (Su) A crawling hand is assigned a quarry by anointing the hand with a drop of the intended quarry’s blood. If the hand has no current quarry, it automatically gains the next creature it damages as its quarry. Once attuned to a target, it becomes aware of the target’s location as if under the effect of a continuous locate creature spell. The hand gains a +1 bonus on all attack rolls, damage rolls, and skill checks made to seek out and destroy the marked quarry. The mark quarry ability lasts until the quarry or the hand is slain.

Symbol of Discord (Su) Once per day as a standard action, a darnoc can scribe a symbol in the air. All creatures with an Intelligence score of 3 or higher within 60 feet who see the symbol must succeed on a DC 16 Will save or immediately fall into loud bickering and arguing. Meaningful communication is impossible. If the affected creatures have different alignments, there is a 50% chance that they attack each other. Bickering lasts 5d4 rounds. Fighting begins 1d4 rounds into the bickering and lasts 2d4 rounds. Once triggered, the symbol lasts 2 hours. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Vulnerability to Magic (Ex) A remove curse or remove disease spell cast directly upon a drekavac (DC equal to the drekavac’s disease ability) immediately destroys the creature, allowing the afflicted soul to move on. Destroying a drekavac with remove curse or remove disease does not cure any of the creature’s diseases.

Vulnerability to Salt (Ex) Drekavacs are vulnerable to salt that has been consecrated in the same fashion as holy water, and cannot cross an unbroken line of blessed salt. A handful of blessed salt thrown at a drekavac inflicts the same damage as a flask of holy water.

Spells: Feast of Ashes, Bestow Curse, Bestow Curse (greater), Major Curse, Witch Hex Shenanigans.

Greater Bestow Curse (Sp) This spell-like ability functions like bestow curse, but can have one of the following effects: -12 to one ability score; -6 to two ability scores; -8 penalty on attack rolls, saves, and checks; or a 25% chance to act normally. This ability is treated as a 6th-level spell.

Blood Well (Su)

Every baetriov crafts a blood well, a bath or pool of magically fresh blood that preserves her false youth and immortality. So long as the well is empowered, a destroyed baetriov automatically re-forms in her blood well after 1d10 nights.

Only destroying the pool prevents this return. A typical blood well has hardness 8 and 100 hp.

The blood well must be refreshed by sacrificing humanoid creatures; a sacrificed humanoid empowers the blood well for a number of months equal to the victim’s Hit Dice. If not refreshed again before this time expires, the blood well loses its magical properties and the baetriov no longer benefits from her bloody bath special ability until she can craft a new blood well, a process that requires the sacrifice of a vampire and a number of humanoids equal to the baetriov’s Hit Dice (typically 12) under the new moon.

Bloody Bath (Su)

A baetriov can bathe in her blood well for 1 hour to gain a flush of false life for a number of days equal to her Hit Dice. This flush of life grants her immunity to spells that normally detect undead, a +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks to appear as a living creature, and a profane bonus to her AC and on saving throws equal to her Charisma modifier (already included in the statistics above).

Hemophile (Su)

Each attack that deals at least 1 point of piercing or slashing damage within this aura also deals 1d6 points of bleed damage. The baetriov can activate or deactivate this aura as a free action.

Found skittering through forgotten tombs, crawling through deep forests, and filling damp caverns, exoskeletons are animated carapaces of arthropods and other vermin. Most exoskeletons are the intentional creations of necromancers, but some of these undead monstrosities arise spontaneously from places awash with negative energy or are created by malfunctioning artifacts. Sometimes, the simple act of feeding on freshly destroyed undead creatures is enough to transform an insect into an exoskeleton upon its eventual death. Though exoskeletons are just as mindless as they were when they were living, they have become infused with an evil instinct in their new unlife that drives them to relentlessly attack all living creatures on sight, exploding in a burst of dusty remains when destroyed.

A spellcaster can create an exoskeleton using animate dead. An exoskeleton can be created from a mostly intact dead vermin that has an exoskeleton. This includes arachnids, crustaceans, insects, and even some mollusks, but not soft-bodied vermin such as jellyfish and leeches.

“Exoskeleton” is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal vermin that has an exoskeleton (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

Challenge Rating: Depends on Hit Dice, as follows.
Hit Dice     CR     XP
1     1/4     100
2     1/2     200
3–4     1     400
5–6     2     600
7–8     3     800
9–10     4     1,200
11–12     5     1,600
13–15     6     2,400
16–17     7     3,200
18–20     8     4,800
21–24     9     6,400
25–28     10     9,600

Alignment: Always neutral evil.

Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. It retains any subtype except for alignment subtypes and subtypes that indicate kind. It does not gain the augmented subtype. It uses the base creature’s abilities except as noted below.

Armor Class: The base creature’s natural armor changes as follows.
Exoskeleton Size     Natural Armor Bonus
Tiny or smaller     +0
Small     +1
Medium     +2
Large     +3
Huge     +4
Gargantuan     +7
Colossal     +11

Hit Dice: An exoskeleton retains the number of Hit Dice the base creature had, and gains a number of additional Hit Dice as noted on the following table. If the base creature has more than 20 Hit Dice, it can’t be made into an exoskeleton by the animate dead spell. An exoskeleton uses its Charisma modifier (instead of its Constitution modifier) to determine bonus hit points.
Exoskeleton Size     Bonus Hit Dice
Tiny or smaller     —
Small or Medium     +1
Large     +2
Huge     +4
Gargantuan     +6
Colossal     +10

Saves: Base save bonuses are Fort +1/3 Hit Dice, Ref +1/3 Hit Dice, and Will +1/2 Hit Dice + 2.

Defensive Abilities: Exoskeletons lose their defensive abilities and gain all of the qualities and immunities granted by the undead type. In addition, exoskeletons gain DR 5/bludgeoning.

Speed: Exoskeletons retain all movement speeds. They can still fly but their maneuverability drops to clumsy.

Attacks: An exoskeleton retains all of its natural weapons. If the base creature didn’t have any natural weapons, it gains a slam attack that deals damage as if it were one size category larger than its actual size.

Special Attacks: An exoskeleton loses all of its special attacks that rely on a living biology (such as poison), but it retains any others.

Abilities: An exoskeleton’s Strength increases by 2. The exoskeleton has no Constitution or Intelligence score, and its Wisdom and Charisma scores change to 10.

BAB: An exoskeleton’s base attack bonus is equal to 3/4 of its Hit Dice.

Skills: Though most vermin are mindless and have no skill ranks, the exoskeleton loses all skill ranks if it had any, and it doesn’t retain any racial bonuses it had.

Feats: An exoskeleton loses all feats that the base creature had and doesn’t gain feats as its Hit Dice increase, but it does gain Toughness as a bonus feat.

Special Qualities: An exoskeleton loses most special qualities of the base creature. It retains any extraordinary special qualities that improve its melee or ranged attacks. An exoskeleton gains the following special quality.
Burst (Ex)

When an exoskeleton is destroyed, its desiccated husk bursts, releasing the dusty remains of the vermin’s insides into the surrounding air. Any creature adjacent to an exoskeleton when it bursts must succeed at a Fortitude save or become staggered for 1 round as it coughs and sneezes. Creatures that don’t need to breathe are immune to this effect. If the exoskeleton has 10 or more Hit Dice, the victim is instead nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is equal to 10 + half the exoskeleton’s Hit Dice + its Charisma modifier.

Haunted Exoskeletons

Rarely, an exoskeleton is haunted by the lost spirit of a stubborn soul. This wreaks havoc on the spirit, wiping away most of its memories but giving the exoskeleton an Intelligence score of 10, along with all of the feats and skill ranks its Hit Dice would afford. Climb, Fly, Perception, and Swim are class skills for haunted exoskeletons. A haunted exoskeleton typically understands one language (usually Common) but cannot speak.

Dark creatures are native denizens of the Plane of Shadow, and generally have a dark gray or deep purple coloration.

This template can be applied only to a non-outsider that has none of the following subtypes: air, cold, earth, fire, or water. A dark creature’s CR increases by 1 only if the base creature has 5 or more HD.

Rebuild Rules: Senses gain darkvision 60 ft. and low-light vision; Defensive Abilities gains DR and resistance to cold and electricity based on its Hit Dice, as noted on the table below; SR gains SR equal to its new CR + 5.

Hit Dice DR Resist Cold and Electricity

• 1–4 — 5
• 5–10 5/magic 10
• 11+ 10/magic 15

Shadow Blend (Su) In any illumination other than bright light, a dark creature blends into the shadows, giving it concealment (20% miss chance). If it already has concealment, the miss chance gained from concealment increases to 50% (though this does not count as total concealment). A dark creature can suspend or resume this ability as a free action.

A familial lich does not have a physical body or standard phylactery. Instead, it possesses its own kin.

In addition to the changes for the lich template, make the following adjustments to the base creature.

Defensive Abilities: A familial lich gains DR 10/good instead of DR 15/bludgeoning and magic, and loses its rejuvenation ability, but gains an amount of spell resistance equal to 11 + its CR, and the following defensive ability.

Familial Possession (Su) When a familial lich is destroyed, its spirit departs its body and seeks out the lich’s nearest living relative, a process that takes 1d10 days. The familial lich then tries to possess the relative, as per greater possession (the caster level is equal to the familial lich’s HD, and the save DC is Charisma-based). If the relative succeeds at her save, she becomes permanently immune to this ability, and the familial lich must spend another 1d10 days searching for the next-nearest living relative, repeating the process until it succeeds or until no such relatives remain and it is destroyed instead.

If the relative fails her saving throw, the familial lich’s spirit takes root in her body. The familial lich’s consciousness remains within the relative even after the greater possession effect ends, and it is able to share her senses. It can use greater possession on her once per day thereafter. If the relative fails on three consecutive saving throws to resist, the familial lich’s spirit takes over, and she physically and mentally transforms into the familial lich permanently. Even if the relative continues succeeding, it is impossible to remove a familial lich without extremely powerful magic once it has taken root.

Only lineal ancestors or descendants of the familial lich, as well as siblings, are eligible targets for possession (aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and so forth are immune).

Fear feeders are terrible creatures who inspire and feed on the fear generated by their victims.

Creating A Fear Feeder

“Fear feeder” is an inherited or acquired template that can be added to any evil outsider or undead creature. A fear feeder uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Challenge Rating: same as the base creature +1

Special Abilities: Fear feeders gain the ability to use

• Scare (Su) A fear feeder can use scare once per day as a supernatural ability, with a caster level equal to the fear feeder’s total hit dice or levels, plus 3. In addition, every opponent who succumbs to the fear feeder’s scare ability makes the fear feeder stronger. Fear feeding grants the fear feeder a +1 bonus on attack rolls and saves, plus 1d8 temporary hit points, for every opponent who fails their save. These effects stack on the fear feeder. For example, if two targets failed their save, the fear feeder would gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls and saves, and 2d8 temporary hit points. These benefits last for 1d8 rounds.
  

When a soul is not allowed to rest due to some great injustice, either real or perceived, it sometimes comes back as a ghost. Such beings are in eternal anguish, lacking in substance and unable to set things right. Although ghosts can be any alignment, the majority cling to the living world out of a powerful sense of rage and hatred, and as a result are chaotic evil—even the ghost of a good or lawful creature can become hateful and cruel in its afterlife.

More than most of the monsters in this book, a ghost benefits from a strong and detailed backstory. Why did this character become a ghost? What are the legends surrounding the ghost? An encounter with a ghost should never happen completely out of the blue—there are plenty of other incorporeal undead like wraiths and spectres to fill that role. A proper encounter with a ghost should be a climactic scene after a lengthy period of tension building with lesser minions or manifestations of the undead spirit. The sample ghost above is that of a human princess who was murdered by an unfaithful lover—after she confronted him, he murdered her by wrapping her in chains and throwing her into the castle well, where she drowned. The ghost’s abilities were selected to fit this backstory, and it shows how potent a villain you can create with a simple NPC class. Applying the template to creatures with class levels or creatures with significant racial abilities can create even more powerful ghosts.

When a ghost is created, it retains incorporeal “copies” of any items that it particularly valued in life (provided the originals are not in another creature’s possession). The equipment works normally for the ghost but passes harmlessly through material objects or creatures. A weapon of +1 or better magical enhancement, however, can harm material creatures, but any such attack deals only half as much damage (50%) unless it is a ghost touch weapon. A ghost can use shields or armor only if they have the ghost touch quality.

The original items remain behind, just as the ghost’s physical remains do. If another creature seizes the original, the incorporeal copy fades away. This loss invariably angers the ghost, who stops at nothing to return the item to its original resting place (and thus regain the item’s use).

Creating a Ghost

“Ghost” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature that has a Charisma score of at least 6. A ghost retains all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +2.

Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate the creature’s base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. It gains the incorporeal subtype.

Armor Class: A ghost gains a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma modifier. It loses the base creature’s natural armor bonus, as well as all armor and shield bonuses not from force effects or ghost touch items.

Hit Dice: Change all of the creature’s racial Hit Dice to d8s. All Hit Dice derived from class levels remain unchanged. Ghosts use their Charisma modifiers to determine bonus hit points (instead of Constitution).

Defensive Abilities: A ghost retains all of the defensive abilities of the base creature save those that rely on a corporeal form to function. Ghosts gain channel resistance +4, darkvision 60 ft., the incorporeal ability, and all of the immunities granted by its undead traits. Ghosts also gain the rejuvenation ability.

• Rejuvenation (Su) In most cases, it’s difficult to destroy a ghost through simple combat: the “destroyed” spirit restores itself in 2d4 days. Even the most powerful spells are usually only temporary solutions. The only way to permanently destroy a ghost is to determine the reason for its existence and set right whatever prevents it from resting in peace. The exact means varies with each spirit and may require a good deal of research, and should be created specifically for each different ghost by the GM.

Speed: Ghosts lose their previous speeds and gain a fly speed of 30 feet (perfect), unless the base creature has a higher fly speed.

Melee and Ranged Attacks: A ghost loses all of the base creature’s attacks. If it could wield weapons in life, it can wield ghost touch weapons as a ghost.

Special Attacks: A ghost retains all the special attacks of the base creature, but any relying on physical contact do not function. In addition, a ghost gains one ghost special attack from the list below for every 3 points of CR (minimum 1—the first ability chosen must always be corrupting touch). The save DC against a ghost’s special attack is equal to 10 + 1/2 ghost’s HD + ghost’s Charisma modifier unless otherwise noted. Additional ghost abilities beyond these can be designed at the GM’s discretion.

• Corrupting Gaze (Su) The ghost is disfigured through age or violence, and has a gaze attack with a range of 30 feet that causes 2d10 damage and 1d4 Charisma damage (Fortitude save negates Charisma damage but not physical damage).
• Corrupting Touch (Su) All ghosts gain this incorporeal touch attack. By passing part of its incorporeal body through a foe’s body as a standard action, the ghost inflicts a number of d6s equal to its CR in damage. This damage is not negative energy—it manifests in the form of physical wounds and aches from supernatural aging. Creatures immune to magical aging are immune to this damage, but otherwise the damage bypasses all forms of damage reduction. A Fortitude save halves the damage inflicted.
• Draining Touch (Su) The ghost died while insane or diseased. It gains a touch attack that drains 1d4 points from any one ability score it selects on a hit. On each such successful attack, the ghost heals 5 points of damage to itself. When a ghost makes a draining touch attack, it cannot use its standard ghostly touch attack.
• Frightful Moan (Su) The ghost died in the throes of crippling terror. It can emit a frightful moan as a standard action. All living creatures within a 30-foot spread must succeed on a Will save or become panicked for 2d4 rounds. This is a sonic mind-affecting fear effect. A creature that successfully saves against the moan cannot be affected by the same ghost’s moan for 24 hours.
• Malevolence (Su) The ghost’s jealousy of the living is particularly potent. Once per round, the ghost can merge its body with a creature on the Material Plane. This ability is similar to a magic jar spell (caster level 10th or the ghost’s Hit Dice, whichever is higher), except that it does not require a receptacle. To use this ability, the ghost must be adjacent to the target. The target can resist the attack with a successful Will save. A creature that successfully saves is immune to that same ghost’s malevolence for 24 hours.
• Telekinesis (Su) The ghost’s death involved great physical trauma. The ghost can use telekinesis as a standard action once every 1d4 rounds (caster level 12th or equal to the ghost’s HD, whichever is higher).

Abilities: Cha +4; as an incorporeal undead creature, a ghost has no Strength or Constitution score.

Skills: Ghosts have a +8 racial bonus on Perception and Stealth skill checks. A ghost always treats Climb, Disguise, Fly, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, and Stealth as class skills. Otherwise, skills are the same as the base creature.

Variant Special Attacks (CR +0)

Source Classic Horrors Revisited. Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC;

Just as the reasons for ghostly materialization differ wildly, so too do the abilities manifested by the disembodied dead. Upon creating a ghost, GMs choose from a range of special attacks, each representative of the spirit’s cause of death or undead intentions. Presented here are a variety of additional special attacks, available to further tailor the tales and powers of these lost souls. As with all other ghostly abilities, the DCs for these special attacks are equal to 10 + 1/2 the ghost’s HD + the ghost’s Charisma modifier.

• Deathly Delusion (Su)  The ghost died suddenly or unexpectedly. Not even realizing it’s dead, this spirit goes about the routines of its daily life, ignoring the living in a state of undead denial. Should a ghost with this ability pass through the square of a living being, that creature must make a Will save or fall into a fitful sleep full of nightmares that aren’t its own for 1d4 minutes. For a number of following nights equal to the ghost’s Charisma modifier, the victim must make an additional Will save or be affected as per the spell nightmare.
• Fatal Fate (Su) The ghost died with some work undone or desire unfulfilled. In its desire to see its efforts completed, once per day, a ghost can lay a compulsive curse upon the living, forcing them to either take up its work or face a terrible end. A ghost can lay this curse by making a touch attack, which forces the target to make a Will save or be stunned for 1 round. During this round, the target receives a flood of images suggesting a course of action—though such might remain vague or require research into the ghost’s history to discern an exact meaning. The target has a number of days to fulfill the ghost’s intentions equal to 14 days minus the ghost’s Charisma modifier, to a minimum of 7 days. If the target does not fulfill the course of action suggested by the vision within this set period, he takes 1d4 points of Constitution drain per day. This effect can be overcome via the spell remove curse, requiring a caster level check with a DC equal to this effect’s initial DC.
• Frightener (Su) The ghost’s unique personality manifests even in death. The ghost gains a number of spell-like abilities equal to its Charisma modifier. It may select these abilities from the following list: animate rope, chill metal, control undead, dancing lights, entangle, faerie fire, fog cloud, ghost sound, heat metal, hideous laughter, invisibility, minor image, open/close, pyrotechnics, scare, sleep, spiritual weapon, soften earth and stone, summon swarm, warp wood, or whispering wind. A ghost may use each of these abilities 3 times per day. The DCs are 10 + spell level + the ghost’s Charisma modifier.
• Grave Trappings (Su) The ghost died with a strong attachment to a specific item or set of objects. A ghost with this ability may choose a number of items it died with equal to its Charisma modifier to carry with it into death. The ghost continues to be able to use and benefit from these spectral duplicates just as though they were the real things. Weapons and armor are treated as having the ghost touch special ability, while other items act as being incorporeal themselves and can be manipulated by the ghost. Regardless of the type of object, all selected items are treated as being part of the ghost’s form and cannot be disarmed or removed from the ghost (even by the ghost). Should a ghost be destroyed, its equipment reappears with it upon rejuvenating. (CR +0) Occasionally, and at the GM’s discretion, the transition into death might imbue a single ghostly item with strange powers, granting it powers comparable to a magic item suited to the ghost’s character level.
• Phantasmagoria (Su) The ghost died as a victim of its own delusions or folly. A number of times per day equal to the ghost’s Charisma modifier, the ghost can create an elaborate illusion. This illusion functions similarly to the spell mirage arcana in combination with multiple major images, allowing the ghost to recreate any scene, setting, or characters it wishes. The ghost can even incorporate itself into the effect, appearing as it wishes within the illusion as if it were under the effects of alter self. The entire illusion can be disbelieved with a Will save. The illusion is treated as a 6th-level spell created by a caster with a level equal to the ghost’s CR. If any part of the illusion is dispelled, the entire illusion fades.
• Reinvigoration (Su) The ghost died in the throes of a terrible fear, and is desperate for any way to escape its fate, both perceived and actual. Once per round a ghost can possess an adjacent corpse, merging with the remains and reanimating them as a skeleton or zombie. The skeleton or zombie animated by this ability may be no higher than the ghost’s CR minus 2. If the animated corpse is destroyed, the ghost reappears in the corpse’s square and cannot possess another body for 1d4 rounds.
• Vehemence (Su) A ghost with a powerful connection to a specific location gains a measure of mastery over the objects in that place. Once per round, a ghost can possess an object of size Large or smaller, giving it life as an animated object. This animated object’s CR can be no higher than the ghost’s CR minus 2. If the target object is being held by a creature, the object can make a Will save using its bearer’s saving throw to resist possession. If the animated object is destroyed, the ghost reappears in its square and cannot possess another object for 1d4 rounds.

In death, the graveknight’s life force lingers on in its armor, not its corpse, in much the same way that a lich’s essence is bound within a phylactery. Unless every part of a graveknight’s armor is ruined along with its body, a graveknight can rejuvenate after it is destroyed. A typical suit of full plate graveknight armor has hardness 10 and 45 hit points, though armor with enhancements or made of special materials proves more difficult to destroy. Merely breaking a graveknight’s armor does not destroy it; it must be ruined, such as by being disintegrated, taken to the Positive Energy Plane, or thrown into the heart of a volcano.

Anyone who treats a graveknight’s armor as simply battle spoils risks both body and soul. Graveknights rejuvenate when destroyed. Their bodies literally grow back, with tendrils of undead flesh coiling out from recesses in their armor like gruesome creepers, unless opponents take pains to also obliterate the armor. These unholy strands have no objection to infesting a living host instead of producing a new body for their master.

People who claim a graveknight’s armor rarely recognize the threat until too late, as part of the magic of the rejuvenation makes wearers oblivious to the invasion of their own bodies. When they take the armor off to sleep, they overlook the puncture marks and deep fissures upon their skin. Some sinister instinct also causes them to conceal these wounds from their companions. Only the particularly observant (and a DC 25 Perception check) perceive the peril in time help their friend cast aside the armor.

Once the rejuvenation period ends 1d10 days later, the wearer must make a Will save (DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the graveknight’s HD + the graveknight’s Cha modifier) each day to avoid transforming into the original graveknight. This transformation consumes mind as well as body, immediately slaying the victim and utterly destroying the body.

To wear graveknight armor safely, its new owner must cleanse it of evil and forever sever its connection to its undead master. This cleansing requires the casting of three different spells in rapid succession. Two are always break enchantment and holy word. The third varies with each graveknight and relates back to the unique circumstances surrounding its first death and return. Figuring out the correct spell usually entails a great deal of research and careful thought. And of course, while this detective work is happening, the armor continues to steadily regenerate the graveknight.

Undying tyrants and eternal champions of the undead, graveknights arise from the corpses of the most nefarious warlords and disgraced heroes—villains too merciless to submit to the shackles of death. They bear the same weapons and regalia they did in life, though warped or empowered by their profane resurrection. The legions they once held also flock to them in death, ready to serve their wicked ambitions once more. A graveknight’s essence is fundamentally tied to its armor, the bloodstained trappings of its battle lust. This armor becomes an icon of its perverse natures, transforming into a monstrous second skin over the husk of desiccated flesh and scarred bone locked within.
Creating a Graveknight

“graveknight” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature with 5 or more Hit Dice (referred to hereafter as the base creature). Most graveknights were once humanoids. A graveknight uses the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted here.

CR: Same as base creature +2.

Alignment: Any evil.

Type: The graveknight’s type changes to undead (augmented). Do not recalculate class Hit Dice, BAB, or saves.

Senses: A graveknight gains darkvision 60 ft.

Aura: A graveknight emanates the following aura.
Sacrilegious Aura (Su)

A graveknight constantly exudes an aura of intense evil and negative energy in a 30-foot radius. This aura functions as the spell desecrate and uses the graveknight’s armor as an altar of sorts to double the effects granted. The graveknight constantly gains the benefits of this effect (including the bonus hit points, as this aura is part of the graveknight’s creation). In addition, this miasma of fell energies hinders the channeling of positive energy. Any creature that attempts to summon positive energy in this area—such as through a cleric’s channel energy ability, a paladin’s lay on hands, or any spell with the healing subtype—must make a concentration check with a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the graveknight’s Hit Dice + the graveknight’s Charisma modifier. If the character fails, the effect is expended but does not function.

Armor Class: Natural armor improves by +4.

Hit Dice: Change all racial Hit Dice to d8s. Class Hit Dice are unaffected. As an undead, a graveknight uses its Charisma modifier to determine bonus hit points.

Defensive Abilities: A graveknight gains channel resistance +4; DR 10/magic; and immunity to cold, electricity, and any additional energy type noted by its ruinous revivification special quality. A graveknight also gains spell resistance equal to its augmented CR + 11.

The graveknight also gains the following ability.
Rejuvenation (Su)

One day after a graveknight is destroyed, its armor begins to rebuild the undead horror’s body. This process takes 1d10 days—if the body is destroyed before that time passes, the armor merely starts the process anew. After this time has elapsed, the graveknight wakens fully healed.

Attacks: A graveknight gains a slam attack if the base creature didn’t have one. Damage for the slam depends on the graveknight’s size.

Special Attacks: A graveknight gains the following special attacks. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 the graveknight’s HD + the graveknight’s Charisma modifier unless otherwise noted.
Channel Destruction (Su)

Any weapon a graveknight wields seethes with energy, and deals an additional 1d6 points of damage for every 4 Hit Dice the graveknight has. This additional damage is of the energy type determined by the ruinous revivification special quality.
Devastating Blast (Su)

Three times per day, the graveknight may unleash a 30-foot cone of energy as a standard action. This blast deals 2d6 points of damage for every 3 Hit Dice a graveknight has (Reflex for half ). This damage is of the energy type determined by the graveknight’s ruinous revivification special quality.
Undead Mastery (Su)

As a standard action, a graveknight can attempt to bend any undead creature within 50 feet to its will. The targeted undead must succeed at a Will save or fall under the graveknight’s control. This control is permanent for unintelligent undead; an undead with an Intelligence score is allowed an additional save every day to break free from the graveknight’s control. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same graveknight’s undead mastery for 24 hours. A graveknight can control 5 Hit Dice of undead creatures for every Hit Die it has. If the graveknight exceeds this number, the excess from earlier uses of the ability becomes uncontrolled, as per animate dead.

Special Qualities: A graveknight gains the following.
Phantom Mount (Su)

Once per hour, a graveknight can summon a skeletal horse similar to a phantom steed. This mount is more real than a typical phantom steed, and can carry one additional rider. The mount’s powers are based on the graveknight’s total Hit Dice rather than caster level. A graveknight’s mount looks distinctive and always appears the same each time it is summoned. If the mount is destroyed, it can be summoned again with full hit points 1 hour later.
Ruinous Revivification (Su)

At the time of its creation, the graveknight chooses one of the following energy types: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. This energy type should be relevant to the graveknight’s life or death, defaulting to fire if none are especially appropriate. This energy type influences the effects of several of a graveknight’s special abilities.

Ability Scores: Str +6, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +4. As an undead creature, a graveknight has no Constitution score.

Skills: Graveknights gain a +8 racial bonus on Intimidate, Perception, and Ride checks.

Feats: Graveknights gain Improved Initiative, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, and Toughness as bonus feats.

The lust for battle and sheer will to win allow some truly evil and vile warriors to shrug off their final defeat. Through methods that remain poorly understood, the vengeful spirit of such a fearsome combatant sometimes forms a bond with its armor that permits it to simply refuse death, its spirit lingering long past when it should have gone on to its eternal punishment in the afterlife. Similar in many ways to a lich’s phylactery, this armor rebuilds the undead knight’s body whenever it is beaten in combat. Only by utterly destroying the armor, by annihilating it rather than just breaking it into pieces, can an opponent truly end the existence of the despicable creatures known as graveknights.

Unlike liches, graveknights almost never plan this return from their last battle. It happens, seemingly spontaneously and at random, to people totally unprepared for an undead existence. Wedded to the physical world but deprived of all sensual pleasure by their deathless state, graveknights deal with their transformation in a variety of ways. Some take up or resume the service of dark gods or more powerful evil creatures in the hope that their patrons will eventually deign to lift their curse, while others simply resume where they left off, seeking dominion over mortals and the exhilaration of crushing their enemies. Still others spend their days careening between futile attempts to recapture the heady exhilaration of battle and wrestling with the tedium of their actual existence. Acting in part out of habit, these latter warriors recreate the horrors and atrocities that once excited them, but taste nothing but ash for their trouble. Unable to accept that they will never again feel a surge of adrenaline or the heady thrill of triumph, they wade ever deeper into the carnage, blood, and misery that defined their mortal lives.

Graveknights do not feed on pain or death, nor do they need to kill in order to continue their existence. Though some slaughter mortals out of anger, for revenge, or simply to continue proving their battle prowess in much the same way they did in life, others do so merely out of reflex, with no more thought to the lives they cut short than someone swatting a fly. In some ways, this behavior makes them even worse than those undead who must prey upon the living in order to survive. The manner and attitude with which a graveknight approaches violence depends entirely on the mortal warrior it once was, yet ultimately, all are incarnate killers, and as the centuries of slaughter wind on, many lose what little shreds of humanity still cling to them, defining themselves solely through battle and conquest.

The circumstances of their lives, and especially their deaths, define many physical aspects of graveknights as well. All of them have the ability to channel one particular sort of energy. This energy is typically determined by the moments when they crossed the threshold between life and death and began their new existence. A general burned at the stake for his war crimes, for instance, might return as a graveknight with an affinity for fire energy, while one who finally succumbed to her wounds in a bloodstained snowfield might have an affinity for cold.

Warriors and leaders of troops in life, graveknights ape this practice in death. Though unable to create undead themselves, they have the power to compel those they encounter to march under their banner. Though some continue to lead living soldiers as well, especially if serving as the commander for some dark god’s or patron’s mortal forces, this ability to control undead makes them that much more cavalier about the people they kill or the rebukes they dispense to their own soldiers, as every death bolsters the army’s strength once one of their clerical lieutenants animates the fallen.

People near a graveknight feel a soul-rending sensation of isolation and loss which many describe as feeling as if the gods themselves had suddenly turned away from them. Indeed, this impression is more than simply a feeling, as prayers and uses of positive energy regularly fizzle and fail near a graveknight. Graveknights capitalize on the sense of abandonment caused by their sacrilegious aura. Though in truth it does more to bolster them and other undead, they also like to play on the fear and uncertainty it invokes. By claiming that anyone slain by their hand dies out of sight of the gods, they sometimes cause opponents to hesitate and falter. Of course, only those who worship the gods of the light sense this in their souls. Servants of darker powers instead experience a bleak confidence.

Though they often appear to despise their existence, graveknights seem incapable of suicide. While perfectly willing to fight right up to the destruction of their bodies, they never slacken their attacks in the hope of defeat. Whether this is a part of their curse or simply a natural result of the sorts of ragingly egomaniacal personalities that become graveknights is unclear, but when possible, graveknights look for ways to cause their armor to teleport to a safe location if they get beaten. No graveknight would ever willingly reveal its secret weakness—that a foe must destroy its armor to truly end it.
ECOLOGY

Graveknights are born of defeat, and it is their rage at such an end that allows them to return, attempting to erase their failure through greater triumphs and atrocities. Unfortunately for them, while they remember many aspects of mortal life, they can never truly experience them again. Graveknights cannot physically enjoy sleep, food, sex, or other such pleasures, though some may go through the motions in pursuit of those emotions they are still allowed: triumph, victory, and the grim satisfaction of absolute dominance. Even these may lose their luster over time, however—the longer a graveknight exists, the greater the conquest it must wallow in to achieve satisfaction.

Though unable to experience terror, pain, or grief themselves, graveknights still remember these feelings and know how to produce them in others. The best the living can hope for when they encounter a graveknight is a quick death, for graveknights burn both forests and towns with equal aplomb, killing innocents and champions for sport or simply to cow their opponents. Graveknights rarely restrain their violent impulses unless these urges interfere with some greater plan—and even then, they sometimes slip and kill without a second thought.

A graveknight’s body exists as a desiccated husk of bone and flesh within its armor, but these constantly rejuvenated remains are of no particular significance or function. Rather, it’s the armor of a graveknight that is its true flesh, the lifeline and cage that shackles it to the material world. Similarly, the glowing eyes that can be seen through the creature’s helmet are not its actual eyes, but rather twin points of light manifested by the raging spirit itself.
HABITAT & SOCIETY

Graveknights usually begin their new existence by picking up where they left off at the moment of death. Most spent their first few months hunting down enemies or reclaiming lost territory. All too soon, however, such amusements begin to pale. Their inability to recapture the sensations that once defined their lives soon causes them to lose interest in earlier pursuits, instead embracing the single motivation left to them: arrogance. For though lesser goals like revenge may consume them for a while, most graveknights eventually come to understand their immortal state as an acknowledgment of their inherent superiority over lesser beings—even over death itself. Even those who regard their existence as a curse see it this way; in their decaying minds, this unholy gift was granted to them because they were the most capable, the most driven, the most fearsome, and the most deserving of rule. With each century of slaughter that goes by, each army that fails to stand against their undead battle prowess, this sense of elitism and entitlement grows, until it eventually becomes the graveknight’s defining characteristic. The graveknight kills and conquers because it can, and because every victory strengthens its own idea of itself and its purpose.

For this reason, graveknights generally regard each other as rivals and inferiors, and almost never associate unless compelled to by necessity (or by someone stronger). When they are encountered in groups, the group is invariably led by the most powerful of them, who holds the lesser graveknights in check through sheer power and force of will. Such pecking orders are maintained only until the leader is destroyed, at which the point the subservient graveknights jockey for position until a clear victor is again recognized, and the cycle repeats.

When graveknights serve other powerful creatures or beings, this service should not be confused with love or fealty. A graveknight serving a master does not in any way feel less arrogant or sure of its own mastery. It might see their arrangement in terms of defined roles, with itself as the master of physical combat and its associate the master of magic, which the graveknight regards as inferior. Other graveknights see their alliances as a matter of convenience, the most effective way to advance their own ends. Regardless, in the long run, every graveknight expects to come out on top, and in due time the graveknight challenges its ally or master, or even its patron god—though that time may be measured in centuries.
CAMPAIGN ROLE

While perfectly capable of acting as villains in their own right, graveknights often work well as enforcers or field commanders for antagonists less suited to melee. Such a master not only gives them direction and purpose, but also serves as a restraint for their more destructive impulses.

As a foe that’s likely to return again and again—for anyone who defeats a graveknight without completely destroying it immediately becomes the focus of all the graveknight’s attentions—it’s important to play up a graveknight’s significance. A graveknight should never be a random encounter, and when possible, it’s often good to build up the graveknight by first showing the destruction and carnage it leaves in its wake. When a graveknight actually does enter battle, it should be with flair. The screaming soldiers and dying horses in a battle might fall silent as the graveknight takes the field, its aura of sacrilege seeming to darken the day. Its weapons crackle with energy, and its eyes glow from beneath its helmet. To make a fight with a graveknight anything less momentous is to rob the monster of much of its utility.

As with liches, for which graveknights are essentially the combat-oriented equivalent, graveknights should only be used sparingly and with deliberate purpose, as the first encounter is likely to send the PCs haring off on a new quest to destroy the undead’s armor once and for all, or else introduce a villain that’s likely to be a focus of the campaign for some time.
TREASURE

Graveknights form an unbreakable connection with the armor they wore in life. In many senses, they actually are their armor, as it’s only through this bond that their soul remains trapped and the dried-out husk of their body constantly rejuvenates. Though risky to wear until cleansed, this armor usually has magical properties. Professional warriors in life, graveknights also tend to have the best and most magical weapons they can acquire in death. However, aside from a few trophies, graveknights have little interest in baubles or trinkets, generally passing them on to their minions. In fact, some graveknights make a practice of actively destroying valuables they cannot use simply to see how much grief they can cause by ripping up a captive’s spellbook or snapping a staff over a knee.
VARIANTS

While most graveknights arise spontaneously from the armor of sadistic warlords and fallen champions, there are methods by which evil men and women can deliberately transform themselves into these powerful undead lords, in much the same way some spellcasters seek to become liches. The process by which a hopeful graveknight makes the deliberate transformation is neither simple nor cheap. The character must first live and lead a life of wanton cruelty, winning great glory and power over the course of several violent conflicts (and achieving a minimum of 9th level in any character class, with an evil alignment for all 9 levels). When he achieves this goal, he may craft the suit of armor that will serve him in his afterlife as his graveknight armor—this must be heavy armor, although its exact type is irrelevant. The creator must also be proficient in the armor’s use. The armor itself must be of exceptional quality and crafting, requiring the finest of materials and artisans. Even the forge upon which the armor is to be crafted must be of exceptional quality. The overall cost of these components is 25,000 gp—this amount is over and above any additional costs incurred in making the armor magical. An existing suit of armor (including magic armor) can serve as the base suit upon which these 25,000 gp of enhancements are built.

Once the armor is complete, the hopeful graveknight must don the armor and then seek out a powerful evil patron to sponsor his cruelties—this patron can be a mortal tyrant, a hateful monster, a demonic god, or similar power. Once the graveknight-to-be secures a patron, he must engage upon a crusade in that patron’s name. This crusade must last long enough for the graveknight to achieve two additional levels of experience, during which he must wear his armor whenever possible.

Upon completing this final stage of his quest for undeath (and a minimum character level of 11th), the sadist has finally neared the end of his long path to eternal undeath. The last stage in becoming a graveknight is to construct a pool, pit, or other large concavity, into which the graveknight must place 13 helpless, good-aligned creatures of his own race, who must be sacrificed by the graveknight or his patron using acid, cold, electricity, or fire. The graveknight must wear his armor during these sacrifices, and within a minute of the last sacrifice, the graveknight must take his own life using the same form of energy, after which his body and armor must be destroyed by that form of energy. The pit within which the entire ritual took place must then be filled with soil taken from graves that have spawned undead creatures.

Once this final step is taken, the graveknight-to-be has a 75% chance of rising as a graveknight. This chance rises by 1% per point of Charisma possessed by the graveknight-to-be at the time of his death. Additional factors can increase this chance as well, at the GM’s discretion.

A haunted construct is formed when a soul is drawn to a construct in a desperate attempt to continue living. Often malevolent and cruel, these souls seek to inflict harm on the living and invite them to join in their tortured existence. The sample haunted construct above uses a scarecrow as the base creature.

Creating a Haunted Construct

“Haunted construct” is an acquired template that can be added to any construct (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A haunted construct retains all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Challenge Rating: Base creature’s CR + 1.

Alignment: Any evil, most commonly neutral evil.

Armor Class: A haunted construct gains a +1 deflection bonus to AC.

Defensive Abilities: Haunted constructs gain channel resistance +4.

Special Qualities: A haunted construct gains the following special qualities.
Infused Soul (Su)

A haunted construct is infused with the soul of a creature who died nearby. The soul provides the haunted construct a semblance of unlife as a ghostly apparition surrounds its body and controls its actions. This allows the haunted construct to apply its Charisma modifier as a bonus on Fortitude saves, and it gains a number of bonus hit points per Hit Die equal to its Charisma bonus. A haunted construct is healed by negative energy and harmed by positive energy as if it were an undead creature. It reacts to magical and supernatural effects, such as detect undead and searing light, as if it were an undead creature.
Unholy Beacon (Su)

Haunted constructs act as a focal point for negative energy, exuding a constant 20-foot aura that functions as the spell desecrate. Additionally, undead creatures within the aura gain the benefits of the haunted construct’s resistances or hardness, if any.

Special Attacks: Each haunted construct gains one of the following haunts tied to its artificial body. This haunt functions until the haunted construct is destroyed but acts on initiative count 10, as usual for haunts, affecting each creature within 30 feet. The Perception DC to notice the haunt is equal to 15 + the haunted construct’s CR. The save DC against a haunted construct’s special attack is equal to 10 + half the haunted construct’s Hit Dice, and the caster level is equal to the haunted construct’s CR. A creature can attempt the listed saving throw at the end of its turn each round to negate the haunt’s ongoing effect; once a creature successfully saves against the effect, it is immune to that effect for 24 hours. Additional haunted construct abilities beyond these can be designed at the GM’s discretion.
Burned Alive (Su)

The spirit inhabiting this haunted construct perished in a blaze; notice the smell of smoke; effect a screech erupts as affected creatures catch on fire; destruction flood the area with water for at least 24 hours.
Eaten Alive (Su)

The spirit inhabiting this haunted construct was torn apart by wild animals; notice the sound of gnashing teeth; effect an invisible force bites and tears the flesh of all living targets, dealing 1d6 points of force damage per 4 Hit Dice the haunted construct has (minimum 1d6) each round and inflicting the shaken condition (Will negates); this is a mind-affecting effect; destruction a good-aligned creature must remain in the haunted area for 3 days while fasting.
Frozen Bones (Su)

The spirit inhabiting this haunted construct froze to death; notice frost begins to appear on the ground and any clothing or objects; effect a sudden chill fills the air, and creatures take 1d6 points of cold damage per 2 Hit Dice the haunted construct has (minimum 1d6) and are staggered for 1d4 rounds; on a successful Fortitude save, a creature takes half the damage and negates the staggered condition; destruction burn the area in magical fire with a caster level equal to or greater than that of the haunt.
Insane Ramblings (Su)

The spirit inhabiting this haunted construct wasted away from madness; notice a discordant chorus of whispers; effect yammering voices fill the heads of all affected creatures, affecting them as per the spell confusion (Will negates); destruction a creature shouts a hidden truth or previously kept secret.
Isolation (Su)

The spirit inhabiting this haunted construct died trapped and alone; notice ambient sound disappears and other sounds are quieted; effect each target believes it is alone in the world; it cannot perceive, target, nor interact with anyone it considers an ally (Will negates); this is a mind-affecting effect; destruction a boisterous celebration of friendship lasting at least 1 hour at the site of the haunt.
Loss of Limbs (Su)

The spirit inhabiting this haunted construct bled out after being dismembered; notice targets’ arms all start to tingle; effect each target believes its arms have been ripped off; the creature drops whatever it is holding and cannot use its arms in any way (Will negates); this is a mind-affecting effect; destruction a creature must willfully offer the strength of its own arms to the vengeful spirits, accepting 2 points of Strength and Dexterity drain.
Mutilation (Su)

The spirit inhabiting this haunted construct was murdered in a gruesome fashion; notice the creature’s muscles begin to spasm; effect the creature’s arms and legs spasm and twist into hideous angles, reducing its base speed to 5 feet and imposing a –4 penalty on attack rolls (Will negates); destruction the source must be targeted by a heal or regeneration spell.

Ability Scores: If the base creature’s Charisma score is less than 10, then its Charisma score changes to 14; otherwise a haunted construct receives a +4 bonus to Charisma. A haunted construct receives a +4 bonus to its Intelligence score and generally has the same skills the soul had in life.

If the base creature lacked an Intelligence score, it gains an Intelligence score of 4 and generally selects the same feats its soul had in life.

Isolation Haunt CR —

NE haunt (30-ft. radius)

Caster Level 5th Notice Perception DC 20 (to notice ambient sound disappear and other sounds grow quiet)
hp —; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day

Effect Each targets believes it is alone in the world; it cannot perceive, target, nor interact with anyone it considers an ally. This is a mind-affecting effect.

A creature that succeeds at a DC 12 Will save negates this effect.

DESTRUCTION

A boisterous celebration of friendship lasting at least 1 hour at the site of the haunt.

Few creatures are more feared than the lich. The pinnacle of necromantic art, the lich is a spellcaster who has chosen to shed his life as a method to cheat death by becoming undead. While many who reach such heights of power stop at nothing to achieve immortality, the idea of becoming a lich is abhorrent to most creatures. The process involves the extraction of the spellcaster’s life-force and its imprisonment in a specially prepared phylactery—the spellcaster gives up life, but in trapping life he also traps his death, and as long as his phylactery remains intact he can continue on in his research and work without fear of the passage of time.

The quest to become a lich is a lengthy one. While construction of the magical phylactery to contain the spellcaster’s soul is a critical component, a prospective lich must also learn the secrets of transferring his soul into the receptacle and of preparing his body for the transformation into undeath, neither of which are simple tasks. Further complicating the ritual is the fact that no two bodies or souls are exactly alike—a ritual that works for one spellcaster might simply kill another or drive him insane. The exact methods for each spellcaster’s transformation are left to the GM’s discretion, but should involve expenditures of hundreds of thousands of gold pieces, numerous deadly adventures, and a large number of difficult skill checks over the course of months, years, or decades.

Creating a Lich

“Lich” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature), provided it can create the required phylactery. A lich retains all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

CR: Same as the base creature + 2.

Alignment: Any evil.

Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate BAB, saves, or skill ranks.

Senses: A lich gains darkvision 60 ft.

Armor Class: A lich has a +5 natural armor bonus or the base creature’s natural armor bonus, whichever is better.

Hit Dice: Change all of the creature’s racial Hit Dice to d8s. All Hit Dice derived from class levels remain unchanged. As undead, liches use their Charisma modifiers to determine bonus hit points (instead of Constitution).

Defensive Abilities: A lich gains channel resistance +4, DR 15/bludgeoning and magic, and immunity to cold and electricity (in addition to those granted by its undead traits). The lich also gains the following defensive ability.

• Rejuvenation (Su) When a lich is destroyed, its phylactery (which is generally hidden by the lich in a safe place far from where it chooses to dwell) immediately begins to rebuild the undead spellcaster’s body nearby. This process takes 1d10 days—if the body is destroyed before that time passes, the phylactery merely starts the process anew. After this time passes, the lich wakens fully healed (albeit without any gear it left behind on its old body), usually with a burning need for revenge against those who previously destroyed it.

Melee Attack: A lich has a touch attack that it can use once per round as a natural weapon. A lich fighting without weapons uses its natural weapons (if it has any) in addition to its touch attack (which is treated as a primary natural weapon that replaces one claw or slam attack, if the creature has any). A lich armed with a weapon uses its weapons normally, and can use its touch attack as a secondary natural weapon.

Damage: A lich’s touch attack uses negative energy to deal 1d8 points of damage to living creatures + 1 point of damage per 2 Hit Dice possessed by the lich. As negative energy, this damage can be used to heal undead creatures. A lich can take a full-round action to infuse itself with this energy, healing damage as if it had used its touch attack against itself.

Special Attacks: A lich gains the two special attacks described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 lich’s HD + lich’s Cha modifier unless otherwise noted.

• Fear Aura (Su) Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the lich must succeed on a Will save or become frightened. Creatures with 5 HD or more must succeed at a Will save or be shaken for a number of rounds equal to the lich’s Hit Dice. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same lich’s aura for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
• Paralyzing Touch (Su) Any living creature a lich hits with its touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the bestow curse spell description, with a DC equal to the lich’s save DC). The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by a lich seems dead, though a DC 20 Perception check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive.

Abilities: Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +2. Being undead, a lich has no Constitution score.

Skills: Liches have a +8 racial bonus on Perception, Sense Motive, and Stealth checks. A lich always treats Climb, Disguise, Fly, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, and Stealth as class skills. Otherwise, skills are the same as the base creature.

The Lich’s Phylactery

An integral part of becoming a lich is the creation of the phylactery in which the character stores his soul. The only way to get rid of a lich for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, a lich can rejuvenate after it is killed.

Each lich must create its own phylactery by using the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher. The phylactery costs 120,000 gp to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.

The most common form of phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed. The box is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40.

Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.

While some liches prefer to spend undeath’s eternity in seclusion, a psychic lich sustains its life force by embracing its personal accomplishments to create a powerful astral echo of itself. Even more megalomaniacal than most liches, psychic liches resemble ordinary liches for the most part, but their every moment is attended by ghostly images of past cruelties, a constantly rotating illusory display of the evil deeds that brought them their power. Most psychic liches are humans, or come from other races renowned for their psychic abilities.

A Psychic Lich’s Memoir and Legend

To become a psychic lich, one must create and infuse a memoir, which serves a similar function to an ordinary lich’s phylactery. This memoir projects the lich’s personal legend into the Astral Plane, which is tethered through the planes to a physical object, typically a magically strengthened book or scroll (10 hit points, hardness 1, break DC 15). The only way to destroy the lich is to destroy his astral legend, which almost always requires the memoir as a special focus. Unless the astral legend is erased, the lich can rejuvenate after it is killed (see Creating a Psychic Lich).

Each psychic lich must create its own memoir by using the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast psychic spells at a caster level of 11th or higher. The memoir costs 120,000 gp to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.

If the physical memoir is destroyed while the psychic lich’s astral legend survives, the physical memoir gradually reforms over the course of 1d10 days at a site central to its creator’s history (such as the library where he first studied magic or the battlefield where he vanquished a powerful rival). It typically reappears hidden among other books or treasures, where an unwitting dupe might begin reading the text and hasten the psychic lich’s return.

Creating a Psychic Lich

“Psychic lich” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature), provided it can create the required astral memoir. A psychic lich retains all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Challenge Rating: Base creature’s CR + 2.

Alignment: Any evil.

Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate BAB, saves, or skill ranks.

Senses: A psychic lich gains darkvision 60 ft.

Armor Class: A psychic lich has a +5 natural armor bonus or the base creature’s natural armor bonus, whichever is higher.

Hit Dice: Change all of the creature’s racial Hit Dice to d8s. All Hit Dice derived from class levels remain unchanged. As undead, psychic liches use their Charisma modifier to determine bonus hit points (instead of Constitution).

Defensive Abilities: A psychic lich gains channel resistance +4, DR 15/bludgeoning and magic, and immunity to cold and electricity (in addition to those abilities granted by its undead traits). The lich also gains the following two defensive abilities.

• Psychic Feast (Ex) If a psychic lich succeeds at a Will saving throw against an attack that has a reduced effect on a successful save, it instead avoids the effect entirely. If the effect was a spell with the mind-affecting descriptor, the psychic lich also heals an amount of damage equal to 1d8 plus the spell’s caster level if it succeeds at its save. A psychic lich may automatically succeed on any Will save against a spell it casts that targets only itself.
• Rejuvenation (Su) When a psychic lich is destroyed, its body reforms near its astral memoir 10d10 days later. If a creature reads the psychic lich’s memoir, the total time is reduced to one tenth the original result, which could result in the psychic lich’s immediate restoration in a new body. Once the time elapses, the lich wakens fully healed (albeit without any gear it left behind on its old body).
  

The only way to ensure that a psychic lich does not rejuvenate is to target its memoir with the spell instigate psychic duel or mindscape door or use it as a special focus when casting plane shift or similar magic.

This allows one creature to instigate a psychic duel on a veiled, harmful mindscape with a self-contained shape inhabited by the lich’s astral legend. The legend has the statistics of the lich, can’t leave the mindscape by any means, and is permanently destroyed if reduced to 0 or fewer hit points. An astral legend can’t be destroyed unless the psychic lich’s physical body has also been destroyed and has not yet rejuvenated.

Weaknesses: A psychic lich doesn’t gain immunity to mind-affecting effects as a result of becoming undead. If the base creature is immune to any mind-affecting effects, it loses those immunities and instead gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against such effects.

Attacks: A psychic lich has a melee touch attack that it can use once per round as a natural weapon. A lich fighting without weapons uses its natural weapons (if it has any) in addition to its touch attack (which is treated as a primary natural weapon that replaces one claw or slam attack, if the creature has any). A lich armed with a weapon uses its weapons normally, and can use its touch attack as a secondary natural weapon.

Damage: A psychic lich’s touch attack uses psychic energy to deal 1d8 points of damage to a target + 1 point of damage per 2 Hit Dice possessed by the lich. This energy has no effect on a creature immune to mind-affecting effects.

Special Attacks: A psychic lich gains the special attacks described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 the lich’s HD + the lich’s Charisma modifier unless otherwise noted.

• Bewildering Touch (Su) Any living creature a psychic lich hits with its touch attack must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw or be permanently confused as its nervous system continuously sends false signals. The creature doesn’t automatically attack the psychic lich if it is targeted by further attacks. Calm emotions or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the bestow curse spell description) with a DC equal to the bewildering touch’s save DC. As a full-round action, a creature that rolls a result of “act normally” can attempt a new saving throw to end this effect.

Ability Scores: Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +2. Being undead, a psychic lich has no Constitution score.

Skills: Psychic liches have a +8 racial bonus on Perception, Sense Motive, and Stealth checks. A lich always treats Climb, Disguise, Fly, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, and Stealth as class skills. Otherwise, skills are the same as the base creature.

Feats: A psychic lich gains Psychic Combatant, and Psychic Defender as bonus feats, even if it does not meet the prerequisites.

When explorers find tombs housing the mummified remains of important and powerful beings, they often find those mummies accompanied by animals—ones that the interred found significant or that represented their ideals in life. Some of these mummified animals were created and placed in the tombs as guardians.

Creating a Mummified Animal

“Mummified animal” is an acquired template that can be added to a creature of the animal type. A mummified animal uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Challenge Rating: HD 4 or fewer, as base creature; HD 5 to 10, as base creature +1; HD 11 or more, as base creature +2.

Alignment: Neutral evil.

Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate BAB, saves, or skills.

Senses: A mummified animal gains darkvision 60 ft.

Defensive Abilities: A mummified animal gains damage reduction based on its Hit Dice: one with 5 or fewer Hit Dice gains DR 2/—, one with 6–10 Hit Dice gains DR 5/—, and one with 11–20 Hit Dice gains DR 10/—.

Speed: Winged mummified animals can still fly, but their maneuverability drops to clumsy. Retain all other movement types.

Special Attacks: A mummified animal retains all special attacks except those dependent on a living body to function, such as a snake’s poison or a skunk’s revolting musk. A mummified animal also gains the following special attack.

• Servant’s Curse (Su) Once per day, a mummified animal can touch a creature or hit a creature with one of its natural attacks to deliver a curse. Any living creature struck by this attack must succeed at a Will save or take 1d3 points of Dex and Wis damage. The save DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 the mummified animal’s Hit Dice + the mummified animal’s Charisma modifier.

Abilities: A mummified animal loses its Constitution score, and its Charisma score becomes 14.

Many ancient cultures mummify their dead, preserving the bodies of the deceased through lengthy and complex funerary and embalming processes. While the vast majority of these corpses are mummified simply to preserve the bodies in the tombs where they are interred, some are mummified with the help of magic to live on after death as mummified creatures. A mummified creature appears much as other mummies do—a dusty corpse, desiccated and withered, swathed in a funeral shroud of linen wrappings adorned with hieroglyphs—but a spark of malign intelligence gleams in its unliving eyes.

Mummified creatures differ from the standard mummy with regard to how and why they are created. Most standard mummies are created as simple tomb guardians; they gain abilities such as an aura of despair and mummy rot, but they usually lose their free will, much of their intelligence, and the abilities they possessed in life. A mummified creature, on the other hand, retains its intelligence, memories, and many of its other abilities. A mummified creature does not spread the curse of mummy rot, nor does the sight of it paralyze the living with fear, but its touch can reduce a living creature to dust and its very presence is frightening. Though slow and clumsy in undeath, a mummified creature is nonetheless capable of surprising bursts of speed and ferocity. Because of its creation process, however, a mummified creature is susceptible to energy damage, though determining an individual mummified creature’s vulnerability is not always easy.

Many mummified creatures are created to guard the tombs of important figures, but some powerful beings—rulers, high priests, mighty wizards, or even wealthy aristocrats—arrange to be transformed into mummified creatures upon their deaths. Unwilling to give up their lives and knowledge to the whims of fate, these people bind their souls to the dried husks of their dead bodies, trading oblivion for endless centuries of unlife. The truly wealthy sometimes arrange for their most favored spouses, concubines, servants, or guards to be mummified with them, enabling them to hold court in dusty tombs in an undead mockery of their old lives centuries after they perished.

To create a mummified creature, a corpse must be prepared through embalming, with its internal organs replaced with dried herbs and flowers and its dead skin preserved through the application of sacred oils. Unlike with standard mummies, a mummified creature’s brain is not removed from its skull after death. Injected with strange chemicals and tattooed with mystical hieroglyphs, a mummified creature’s brain retains the base creature’s mind and abilities, though the process does result in the loss of some mental faculties. Once this process is complete, the body is wrapped in special purified linens marked with hieroglyphs that grant the mummified creature its new abilities (as well as its weakness). Finally, the creator must cast a create greater undead spell to give the mummified creature its unlife.

Creating a Mummified Creature

“Mummified creature” is an acquired template that can be added to any living corporeal creature (hereafter referred to as the base creature). A mummified creature uses all of the base creature’s statistics except as noted here.

CR: Same as the base creature +1.

Alignment: Any evil.

Type: The creature’s type changes to undead (augmented). It retains any other subtypes as well, except for alignment subtypes and subtypes that indicate kind. Do not recalculate class HD, BAB, saves, or skill points.

Senses: A mummified creature gains darkvision 60 feet.

Aura: A mummified creature gains a frightful presence aura with a range of 30 feet and a duration of 1d6 rounds.

Armor Class: Natural armor improves by +4.

Hit Dice: Change all racial Hit Dice to d8s. Class Hit Dice are unaffected. As an undead, a mummified creature uses its Charisma modifier to determine bonus hit points (instead of Constitution).

Defensive Abilities: A mummified creature gains DR 5/— and the defensive abilities granted by the undead type.

Weaknesses: The mummification process leaves a mummified creature vulnerable to a single energy type. Choose or determine randomly from the following list.

• d10 Energy
• 1 Electricity
• 2–3 Acid
• 4–7 Fire
• 8–9 Cold
• 10 Sonic

As a fail-safe in case of rebellion, a mummified creature is subtly marked during the ritual process with a hieroglyph someplace inconspicuous on its body or wrappings that identifies the particular energy type to which it is vulnerable. A successful DC 20 Perception check is needed to find the mark, but a successful DC 25 Linguistics check is still required to decipher the hieroglyph’s meaning.

Speed: Decrease all speeds by 10 feet (to a minimum of 5 feet). If the base creature has a flight speed, its maneuverability changes to clumsy.

Attacks: The mummification process hardens the mummified creature’s bones to a stone-like density, granting the mummified creature a powerful slam attack if the base creature has no other natural attacks. This slam attack deals damage based on the mummified creature’s size, treating the creature as if it were one size category larger.

Special Attacks: A mummified creature gains the following special attacks.

• Burst of Vengeance (Su) Despite its slow, lumbering nature, a mummified creature is capable of lurching forward to attack with a short but surprising explosion of speed. Twice per day as a swift action, a mummified creature may act as if affected by a haste spell for 1 round.
• Dust Stroke (Su) A creature killed by a mummified creature’s natural attack or slam attack is disintegrated into a cloud of dust and ash, completely destroying the victim’s body (as disintegrate).
  

Abilities: Str +4, Int –2 (minimum 1). As an undead creature, a mummified creature has no Constitution score.

Feats: A mummified creature gains Toughness as a bonus feat, and Improved Natural Attack as a bonus feat for each of the base creature’s natural attacks.

Skills: A mummified creature gains a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks.