BodakThe flesh of this emaciated creature appears charred or dried, and its empty eye sockets seep trails of smoke.
Bodak CR 8Source Bestiary 2 pg. 48
XP 4,800
CE Medium undead (extraplanar)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14
DefenseAC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +8 natural)
hp 85 (10d8+40)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +8
DR 10/cold iron; Immune electricity, undead traits; Resist acid 10, fire 10
Weaknesses vulnerability to sunlight
OffenseSpeed 20 ft.
Melee 2 slams +9 (1d8+1)
Special Attacks death gaze
StatisticsStr 13, Dex 15, Con —, Int 6, Wis 13, Cha 16
Base Atk +7; CMB +8; CMD 21
Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Mobility, Toughness, Weapon Focus (slam)
Skills Intimidate +11, Perception +14, Stealth +10
Languages Common
EcologyEnvironment any land (evil Outer Plane)
Organization solitary, pair, or gang (3–4)
Treasure none
Special AbilitiesDeath Gaze (Su) 1d4 negative levels, 30 feet; Fortitude DC 18 negates. The save DC is Charisma-based. A humanoid slain by a bodak’s death gaze rises as a bodak 24 hours later. This is a death effect.
Vulnerability to Sunlight (Ex) Bodaks loathe sunlight, for its merest touch burns their impure flesh. Each round of exposure to direct sunlight deals 2d6 points of damage to a bodak.
DescriptionWhen mortal humanoids find themselves exposed to profound, supernatural evil, a horrific, occult transformation can strip them of their souls and damn them to the tortured existence of a bodak. Changed into a twisted, misanthropic husk, a bodak wanders the endless tracts of evil-aligned planes, periodically stumbling into other realms by passing through portals or otherwise being conjured elsewhere. Possessing only fragmented memories of its former existence, the bodak is driven by profound emptiness, sorrowful longing, and vengeful hatred of all life.
A bodak’s appearance is profoundly disturbing. Its flesh looks dried, taut, and desiccated, though it possesses a strange, otherworldly sheen. Its body is disproportionate and distinctly androgynous. Hairless and with only vague hints of facial structure, the bodak’s eyes are deep set in their sockets and constantly weep foul-smelling smoky vapors. A planes-wise traveler who recognizes its shape knows to flee, for most travelers can outrun the relatively slow bodak.
Bodaks vehemently despise all living creatures and immediately seek to destroy any they encounter. A bodak retains the ability to speak one language it knew in life (typically Common), but it rarely engages in conversation, instead spitting out an incomprehensible stream of vile accusations, curses, and threats. On occasion, a bodak might wield weapons, but most rely primarily upon the effects of their deadly gaze.
Bodaks are rarely encountered outside of the Abyss. As they are slow-witted, powerful evil creatures such as liches and nabasu demons sometimes use bodaks as thralls, assassins, or guardians. Bodaks encountered on the Material Plane exude extreme malevolence when forced to confront the realization of their abhorrent transformations. So great is their desire to inflict their fate upon others that many attempt to drag off the bodies of their slain victims and guard them until they rise as undead.
A 20th-level spellcaster can use create greater undead to create a bodak, but only if the spell is cast while the spellcaster is located on one of the evil outer planes (traditionally the Abyss).VariantsSource Undead Revisited pg. 7
Most bodaks begin as normal humanoids that fall prey to another bodak's gaze or a scene of mind-bending, incomprehensible planar evil, yet on extremely rare occasions, other creatures may fall prey to these effects as well. The unique natures of these transformations create bodaks with some unusual twists to their forms and abilities. Even among ordinary humans, a few manage to retain enough shreds of their former lives to retain some of their class levels and abilities—ironically making them even more dangerous to their former allies.
Larger Bodaks: A giant that falls prey to a bodak's deadly gaze retains its larger size, as well as its natural armor bonus if that bonus is larger than the bodak's normal natural armor bonus. To generate statistics for a giant bodak, adjust its statistics as necessary for its larger size and advance its undead racial Hit Dice to match the total number of humanoid racial Hit Dice the giant possessed while it lived. If the giant had 10 or fewer racial Hit Dice, then no change to the standard bodak (apart from size) is necessary. The bodak's CR should be adjusted upward to account for its greater size and HD—as a general rule, every 2 HD added should increase the bodak's CR by +1.
Smaller Bodaks: Small humanoids that become bodaks have all the appropriate bonuses and penalties for dropping from Medium to Small size (–4 Str, +2 Dex, +1 size bonus on attack rolls and to AC, reduced natural attack damage, etc.). A Small bodak's CR does not change—it remains a CR 8 monster.
Multiple Heads: A bodak created from a creature with multiple heads, such as an ettin, becomes deadlier because it has more eyes with which to project its horrific stare. The save DC against a multi-headed bodak's death gaze increases by +2.
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