Pathfinder RPG Bestiary pg. 1
Acquired/Inherited Template Acquired
Simple Template No
Usable with Summons No
Some skeletons retain their intelligence and cunning, making them formidable warriors. These undead are far more powerful than their mindless kin, and many gain class levels.
“Skeletal Champion” is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature (other than an undead) that has a skeletal system (referred to hereafter as the base creature) and a minimum Intelligence of 3.
CR: A skeletal champion’s CR is +1 higher than a normal skeleton with the same HD.
Type: The creature’s type becomes undead. It keeps subtypes save for alignment subtypes and subtypes that indicate kind.
Alignment: Any evil.
Armor Class: Natural armor as per skeleton.
Hit Dice: Change all of the creature’s racial HD to d8s, then add 2 racial Hit Dice to this total (creatures without racial HD gain 2). HD from class levels are unchanged.
Defensive Abilities: A skeletal champion gains DR 5/bludgeoning, channel resistance +4, and immunity to cold. It also gains all of the standard undead traits.
Speed: As standard skeleton.
Attacks: As standard skeleton.
Abilities: Str +2, Dex +2. As undead, it has no Constitution score.
BAB: Its BAB for racial HD equals 3/4 of its HD.
Skills: Gains skill ranks per racial Hit Die equal to 4 + its Int modifier. Class skills for racial HD are Climb, Disguise, Fly, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, and Stealth. Skills gained from class levels remain unchanged.
Feats: A skeletal champion gains Improved Initiative as a bonus feat.
Saves: Base save bonuses for racial Hit Dice are Fort +1/3 HD, Ref +1/3 HD, and Will +1/2 HD + 2.
GallowdeadDungeons of Golarion pg. 22
Although nearly every variety of undead can be found within Gallowspire, a number of unique creatures, such as the gallowdead, can be found here as well. These undead are made from the corpses of those left to hang and rot on the tower’s outer walls. Their proximity to the Whispering Tyrant and his incomprehensible power grants foul unlife and eldritch power. Similar in appearance to ordinary skeletons, gallowdead are marked by the large hook that pierces the chest of each, attached to a long chain that drags behind. These undead creatures can be found wandering both outside the dungeon and within, totally subservient to the Whispering Tyrant’s foul will.
A more powerful variant of the skeletal champion template, gallowdead were powerful humanoids in life, and retain much of the power they possessed as mortals in undeath. In addition to the standard bonuses and abilities granted by the skeletal champion template, a gallowdead has the following features.
CR: A gallowdead’s CR is +2 higher than that of a normal skeleton with the same HD.
Hit Dice: Add 4 racial Hit Dice to the total number of Hit Dice possessed by the base creature, instead of 2. Defensive Abilities: A gallowdead gains DR 10/ bludgeoning and magic instead of DR 5/bludgeoning. Other defensive abilities are unchanged.
Special Attacks: Gallowdead receive the following special attacks. Where applicable, the save DC against these attacks is equal to 10 + 1/2 the gallowdead’s HD + the gallowdead’s Charisma modifier.
Chain of the Dead (Su): As a standard action, a gallowdead can use its chain to attack its enemies. This acts as a ranged touch attack against any foe within 20 feet. If the attack hits, the target takes 1d6 points of damage for every 2 Hit Dice possessed by the gallowdead, to a maximum of 10d6. In addition, if the attack hits, the gallowdead can make a free combat maneuver check against its target with a +4 racial bonus. If the check succeeds, the target becomes grappled, but the gallowdead does not gain the grappled condition in this case. The gallowdead can make a free combat maneuver check each round to maintain its grip on the victim, but cannot take any of the special grapple actions against the victim if the check is a success.
Whispers (Ex): A gallowdead constantly whispers vile secrets and blasphemous chants. Any creature within 30 feet of a whispering gallowdead must make a Will save or become sickened for 1d4 rounds. Shaken creatures that fail this saving throw become nauseated by the secrets revealed. Each round, an affected creature may make a new Will save to recover from the effect—once a creature recovers from a gallowdead’s whispers, it is immune to this ability for 24 hours. Each additional overlapping whisper aura from additional gallowdead increases the save DC by +2.
|