Irradiated DeadThis humanoid creature’s pale orange, withered skin peels from its flesh in patches. Its yellow eyes stare, unblinking but seething with rage.Irradiated Dead CR 7Source Pathfinder #87: The Choking Tower pg. 84
XP 3,200
NE Medium undead
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +15DefenseAC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +5 natural)
hp 85 (10d8+40)
Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +9
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2; Immune undead traitsOffenseSpeed 30 ft.
Melee 2 slams +12 (1d6+5 plus radiation)
Special Attacks create spawn, radioactive, radioactive spewStatisticsStr 20, Dex 16, Con —, Int 7, Wis 15, Cha 17
Base Atk +7; CMB +11; CMD 26
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Toughness
Skills Climb +9, Perception +15, Stealth +14, Swim +6
Languages CommonEcologyEnvironment any (Numeria)
Organization solitary, pair, or gang (3–6)
Treasure noneSpecial AbilitiesCreate Spawn (Su) Any humanoid creature that is slain by an irradiated dead’s radiation becomes an irradiated dead itself in 1d4 rounds. Spawn so created are less powerful than typical irradiated dead, taking a –2 penalty on all d20 rolls and having 2 fewer hit points per Hit Die. Spawn are under the command of the irradiated dead that created them and remain enslaved until its destruction, at which point they lose their spawn penalties to d20 rolls and become fullfledged and free-willed irradiated dead. They don’t possess any of the abilities they had in life.
Radioactive (Ex) Any creature that comes in contact with an irradiated dead risks infection from the radiation that consumes the creatures. Any creature hit by an irradiated dead’s slam attack or radioactive spew risks infection, as does any creature who touches an irradiated dead. On a failed saving throw, the target is affected by medium radiation and radiates low radiation in a 10-foot radius for as long as it remains afflicted. For more information on radiation, see page 55 of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Technology Guide. This is a poison effect, and the save DC is Charisma-based.
Radiation: Slam—contact; save Fort DC 18; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4 Con drain; cure 2 consecutive saves.
Radioactive Spew (Ex) Three times per day as a standard action, an irradiated dead can spew a 15-foot cone of irradiated viscera from its mouth. Creatures in the area take 2d6 points of acid damage and are subjected to the creature’s radiation. A successful DC 18 Reflex save halves the damage. Creatures that takes damage from this effect are subject to the irradiated dead’s radioactive special ability. The save DC is Charisma-based.DescriptionLittle more than orange-tinted, blistered flesh drawn across skeletons, the irradiated dead were once humanoids— mainly Kellid warriors—who have been tainted by the radiation that’s strewn across Numeria. Created as a result of experiments by members of the Technic League, a handful of irradiated dead escaped their restraints and set off across Numeria, creating more of their kind with each kill. With the strange chemicals and radiation coursing through their bodies and augmenting survival and hunting instincts, they scour the Numerian wastes in search of prey. Irradiated dead generally appear the same size as the humanoids they once were, but they weigh less due to their bodies have been ravaged by radiation.EcologyThe secretive cabal known as the Technic League has always looked for ways to bolster its military power beyond the use of the gearsmen. Over the past couple centuries, the League’s members have made numerous foul discoveries by studying the strange relics, technologies, and chemicals collected from the ruins of Divinity.
Originally conceived by a Technic League lieutenant as more reliable and easily replaceable minions than the gearsmen, the irradiated dead were the result of a series of experiments conducted in the shadow of the Silver Mount. The lieutenant was skilled in the use of necromancy magic, a study not normally mastered by Technic League members. She gathered a group of the strongest young warriors in Starfall—all of whom sought to make names for themselves in the service of the Black Sovereign—and subjected them to round after round of brutal endurance tests, injections of chemicals and drugs, savage bloodletting, and forced starvation until their bodies couldn’t take any more.
The lieutenant administered to the warriors a number of chemical compounds recovered from a medical bay within Silver Mount that were originally intended to aid the crew of the Divinity in surviving in strange and hostile environments. Lacking full understanding of what they were working with, the lieutenant and her apprentices mixed and distilled these strange chemicals into a viscous, orange fluid that augmented physical strength and coordination while also thickening the outer layers of skin to a rocklike hardness. She believed that replacing the subjects’ blood with the orange liquid, along with controlled exposure to a smashed piece of wreckage leaking radiation, would yield the obedient soldiers she desired. When the first two test subjects completed the regimen, they awoke with a savage hunger for the flesh of their kind and rose up to fight her. The lieutenant escaped that first trial with only the loss of her right eye and her right hand just above the wrist. Her two apprentices were not so lucky. Subsequent refinements and tests yielded no better results. Though these latest test subjects retained their free will, their hunger for raw flesh was just as potent as the earlier attempts. And as they’re generally more powerful than their Technic League creators, the irradiated dead saw no reason to serve their creators in any way.
Not long after these experiments, several irradiated dead were turned loose or escaped. Rumors persist within the Technic League of study specimens that were kept in secret, and some foolish young sub-commanders are looking to restart the project.
Burning inside with necrotic radiation, the irradiated dead display enhanced strength and coordination. Their skin and pupils are tinted pale orange like the fluids that replaced their blood. Their fingers transform into savage claws as sharp as ragged metal. Unexpectedly, the creatures show a remarkable resistance to the effects of positive energy that are deadly to most other forms of undead. They are also carriers of the radiation treatment that fueled their transition to undeath, able to pass the affliction to other living creatures.
Irradiated dead are carnivorous, greatly preferring fresh meat, but they aren’t above eating carrion. Cunning, patient and careful hunters, irradiated dead can prey on a nomad tribe over months, ambushing small bands of warriors and feeding upon them one by one.Habitat & SocietyMost irradiated dead are natives of the broken Numerian wastes, and they continue haunting these regions in their new forms just as they inhabited the wastes in life. They generally search for new hunting grounds in solitude, but those that manage to create their own spawn travel in packs with those they have transformed. Whether roaming across the plains, hills, and valleys, or even wading through muck and waterways, they spend much of their time lurking in shadowy places on the outskirts of villages or tribal encampments. They do not generally keep personal possessions or treasure from their meals, but may use such things to lure and entrap subsequent search parties.
Though they’re intelligent, the irradiated dead rarely show any inclination toward forming social groups or hierarchies, preferring to kill and eat creatures that enter their territories, though they will deal with other intelligent creatures if they must. If they encounter more powerful beings in their hunting grounds, irradiated dead will work to trick or trap them. The irradiated dead simply move on to new territories if they are unable to eliminate the threat. An unconfirmed report by a Technic League spy in Sunder Horn, however, claimed that at least three fast-moving, orange-skinned creatures had been hunting on the outskirts of town for nearly a year. The creatures have seemingly disappeared without any further sightings in the last 18 months.
Even the Technic League is aware of the dangers these creatures could pose to the populace. The methods used to create the irradiated dead are well-guarded secrets of the Technic League. These techniques are also impossible to implement outside of Numeria, because the necrotic radiation and alien chemicals instrumental to their creation can be found nowhere else on Golarion.
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