OstoviteThis tiny, skittering creature looks like an insect made of fish
bones, with a head full of glowing red eyes.Ostovite CR 1Source Bestiary 5 pg. 187
XP 400
CE Tiny magical beast (extraplanar)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +4DefenseAC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 size)
hp 11 (2d10)
Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +0
Immune coldOffenseSpeed 30 ft.
Melee bite +7 (1d2 plus 1d6 acid)
Space 2-1/2 ft., Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks bone chariotStatisticsStr 4, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 11, Cha 9
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 10
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Perception +4, Stealth +15
Languages Abyssal (can’t speak)EcologyEnvironment any (Abyss)
Organization solitary, pair, or nest (3–6)
Treasure standardSpecial AbilitiesBone Chariot (Su) An ostovite presented with a
corpse that in life had 2 Hit Dice or fewer (not
counting Hit Dice from class levels) and that
contains a skeletal structure can spend
1 hour extracting the bones and then
softening and reweaving them around
itself, creating a deformed and skeletal
version of the original creature. This
“bone chariot” functions as if the corpse had
reanimated and gained the skeleton template, but gains the construct type instead
of the undead type and has no will of its
own—it moves and attacks at the direction
of the ostovite, which rides in its center.
An ostovite cannot use its own attacks
while ensconced in its bone chariot,
and damage done to a bone chariot
does not harm the ostovite until
the bone chariot has been
reduced to 0 hit points, at which
point the skeleton crumbles
and the ostovite can attack
and be attacked as normal.
Multiple ostovites can combine their abilities to animate
the skeletons of larger creatures, so long as they all ride
within the same bone chariot—each additional ostovite
increases the maximum Hit Dice of the corpse that can be
animated by this ability by 2.DescriptionTiny Abyssal scavengers, ostovites skitter across demonic
battlefields, amid charnel pits, and through that plane’s
festering sewers looking for corpses on which to feed. When
they find these morsels, they use their acidic saliva to digest
the flesh, taking what they need for sustenance. Yet what
ostovites truly desire is not food, but self-improvement.
Though only barely intelligent, ostovites have a deepseated
jealousy of larger races, as well as an instinctive
shame regarding their own forms, which resemble
silverfish made out of thin, compressed bones. When
an ostovite locates the corpse of a larger creature—
particularly that of a humanoid or other intelligent
being—it doesn’t stop at feeding. Instead, as soon as it
has sated its hunger, it begins using its acid to soften the
creature’s bones, drawing them out and reconstructing
them into a twisted parody of their original configuration,
with the ostovite resting in a nest-like structure in the
sculpture’s center. Once it’s finished, the ostovite magically
animates its creation, controlling it like a puppet and at
last experiencing the thrill of being larger and—to the
ostovite’s mind—more important. These ghastly creations
are generally more disturbing than normal undead,
as ostovites’ understanding of biomechanics is often
crude, potentially resulting in humanoid
skeletons that move around on all fours
or drag themselves along like landbound
octopuses. Like hermit crabs
changing shells, ostovites regularly
replace their chariots in order
to increase their social status
and impress potential mates.
Though they often squabble
over smaller skeletons, when
a particularly prime corpse is
located, an entire nest of ostovites
may band together to create a single
bone chariot of epic proportions.
Adult ostovites are 2 feet long and
weigh 3 pounds. Natural cowards
except when enshrined in their
chariots—at which point most
believe themselves invincible—
ostovites have a species-wide
hatred of the more powerful
vermlek demons, with
whom they often compete
for quality corpses.
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