Monster Monday: Calaca, the Lively Dead

Today's Monster Monday is the calaca - or calavera - a skeletal undead creature that eschews the traditional shambling and menacing of its undead brethren in favor of just, like, living its unlife. A calaca retains most of the personality it had in life and - unlike other undead - doesn't turn evil!

Calacas come from cultures that have a more positive outlook on death, where death is just an excuse to celebrate a life well-lived. These unique undead creatures reside most of the year in the Boneyard - the purgatorial realm of the psychopomps who usher dead souls to their eternal rests. Calacas are sustained by the memories of their living friends and relatives, and as time goes on they become more exaggerated representations of their living selves, sometimes verging on parody. Calacas can be summoned to the material plane at places to which they had strong attachments in life, or by remembrance rituals performed by the living.

© Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Calacas/calaveras are strongly associated with the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos in Mexico, Día de los Muertos in the US), a holiday which blends Catholicism with native Mexican traditions regarding the dead. They have deep roots going back to the gods and ceremonies of pre-conquest Mesoamerica, but the modern calavera can be traced back to José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican engraver whose satirical pictures of skeletons acting like the living poked fun at contemporary Mexican society and politics. His most famous calavera - La Calavera Catrina - was a laughing skeleton dressed in the finery of an upper class Mexican woman, a caricature that Posada used to criticize Mexican women who rejected their indigenous roots by adopting European fashions and whitening their skin. Through subsequent decades of folk art, Catrina evolved and became closely associated with Día de Muertos, but always remained at her core a way for the dead to poke fun at the living.

Calavera de la Catrina - José Guadalupe Posada (c. 1910), via Wikimedia

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Skeleton Troop - Bones and Bows

Today's Monster Monday is the skeleton troop, a battalion of fleshless undead fighters armed with bows and bones. Now it's no secret that I'm a huge fan of skeletons. When I put those plot hook and encounter ideas down below each Monster Monday, once of them by default should be "The party encounters a skeletal version of this monster".

Scene from Jason and the Argonauts (1963) Colombia Pictures via Gamers and Grognards

The lowly skeleton archer has been the bane of many a beginning adventurer. It can shoot at you, but your retaliatory arrows are just going to pass through its ribs. Skeleton archers have been an enduring menace through every edition of D&D and similar games, but at high levels it can be hard to threaten the party with them. You either need a lot of them, or you need to stat up some skeletal champions that specialize in ranged combat. But, as we saw last week with the zombie horde, the 'troop' subtype is our friend. Now you can bring a whole bunch of skeletal archers to the table, but they all act as one monster, thus simplifying your job as GM without sacrificing the dangerous combat for your players.
The stat block for the skeleton troop below can fire mass volleys of arrows that deal automatic damage to anyone in their path, and with their troop attack they rip at any enemy that comes within melee range with their bony claws.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Zombie Horde

Today's Monster Monday is the zombie horde, a crushing mob of dozens of shambling undead, their insatiable hunger driving them inexorably onward. Zombies are nothing new in Pathfinder or D&D in general, but if you want to run a fight against a lot of them at once (as I'm sure you do), it can get pretty darn tedious to manage twenty-or-so individual low-level monsters. That's where troops come in.

The troop subtype is one of the best recent(ish) innovation that the Pathfinder RPG brings to the table. It basically functions as a swarm, but of larger and more intelligent creatures - a dozen individual monsters run as one big monster with a shared pool of hit points and an auto-hit swarm-like attack which ensures even low-level fighters can be deadly in large numbers. This allows the GM to run combats against veritable armies of men without getting bogged down keeping track of each individual soldier's attacks and hit points and whatnot, a task which I know from experience soon turns into the GM rolling bucketloads of dice and muttering to themself, robbing the encounter of its momentum and excitement. Currently the selection of available troops is limited to living humanoids organized for battle, but the troop subtype is much more versatile than that.

Night of the Living Dead movie poster, via Wikimedia

This stat block includes a number of special abilities to simulate our cinematic expectations of zombie hordes. Like individual zombies, the horde is staggered - able to take only one action per turn - but once the horde catches up to you it becomes a lot deadlier. The horde's troop attack does an extra d6 of damage to opponents it shares a space with. It also has improved grapple and the constrict special attack, which means it can grab and do ongoing damage to individual opponents that it overwhelms. Finally, once the mob slays an opponent, they take some time to devour them, destroying the body and regaining some health in the process. While D&D and Pathfinder zombies don't by default have the Romero ability to turn the living into more zombies, this 'devour' ability could easily simulate the conversion and addition of the defeated opponent to the zombie lifestyle.

Next week's Halloweenish monster will be another troop, but of a different sort of classic undead monster.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Vampiric Creature Template

For today's Monster Monday, we have the vampiric creature template. No gothic horror campaign is complete without howling wolves and blood-sucking vampires. If you're pressed for time, why not combine the two? With the vampiric creature template, you can grant the most terrible of beasts the abilities of the mighty and mysterious vampires, from vampiric cats to vampiric dragons. The possibilities are nearly endless!

Presented below, along with the vampiric creature template, you will find example stat blocks for a vampiric wolf and a vampiric saber-toothed tiger. Imagine a vampiric chimaera with three fanged maws. Think of the implications of a vampiric elephant - would it suck blood through its tusks? (yes). 

As Halloween approaches, d20 Despot will continue to post seasonally appropriate monsters. You might want to stock up on ammunition and board up your house before next week's monsters arrive en masse to claw at your door.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Chordopod, Bony Tentacle Beast

Today's Monster Monday is the chordopod, an undead monstrosity that takes the rough form of an octopus or spider made of bones. At its center is a large skull-shaped head formed from twisted and distorted bones, while its many tentacles or legs are long spinal columns which whip and curl and crawl. This twisted undead abomination is the result of a great outpouring of negative energy in places such as mass graves, battlefields, and shipwrecks where the remains of many individuals are left to mingle and decay anonymously.

With the ability to burrow, climb, and swim, these nimble monstrosities are all-terrain foes (I guess you're safe in the sky, unless one of them grabs onto the hull of your airship as you are taking off). I can see them bursting out of the desert sand just as easily as I can see them bursting out of the storm-wracked ocean or bursting through the troubled earth of a bloody battlefield. I guess I just picture them bursting through things.

Also in the stat-block below, a diseased variant that rises from the mass graves of plague victims and stalks through the streets of disease-wracked cities or the pestilential countryside, spreading filth and rot in their wake.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Armored Grave - This Armor Shall Serve as My Epitaph

Today's Monster Monday is the armored grave, a knight buried in his armor, its once-gleaming plates now bursting at the seams with hard-packed grave dirt and the putrescence of decay. These are the tanks of the low-level undead world.

Buried in their armor, these ritually-prepared undead take on a new body of hard-packed grave dirt, granting them an additional layer of protection. Compared to ordinary skeletons and zombies, armored graves are invulnerable, unstoppable death machines.

Just to kick things up a notch, an armored epitaph is a slightly stronger armored grave which has Intelligence and feats and which isn't staggered.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

Seven Spooky Skeletons - Ubbe the Spooky

Seven Spooky Skeletons is a short series running until Halloween, showcasing a different unique skeletal villain each night.

Tonight's Spooky Skeleton is Ubbe the Spooky, a cavorting skeleton bard who plays his own ribcage as a xylophone. Ubbe is named after legendary animator and Mickey Mouse co-creator Ubbe 'Ub' Iwerks, who animated the classic Silly Symphony, "The Skeleton Dance," which is mandatory Halloween viewing.

Happy Halloween!

The following text is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

This bare skeleton dances rhythmically as it plays out a chilling xylophone solo on its own ribcage

Ubbe the Spooky           CR 6

XP 2,400

Human skeletal champion bard 8

NE Medium undead

Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 17, flat-footed 12 (+4 Dex, +2 natural, +3 dodge)

hp 95 (10d8+50)

Fort +14, Ref +10, Will +10; +4 channel resistance, +4 vs bardic performance, language dependent, sonic

DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead traits

OFFENSE

Speed 35 ft.

Melee percussive bone club +6/+6/+1/+1 (1d6+1 plus 1d4 sonic)

Ranged returning percussive bone club +11 (1d6+1 plus 1d4 sonic) 10ft.

Special Attacks bardic performance 29 rounds/day (countersong, dirge of doom, distraction, fascinate, inspire competence +3, inspire courage +2, suggestion, unhallow)

Spells Known (CL 8^th)

3   3^rd (3/day; DC 18) – blink, fear, thundering drums

4   2^nd (5/day; DC 17) – allegro, distressing tone, haunting mists, mad hallucination

5   1^st (6/day; DC 16) – cause fear, ear-piercing scream, expeditious retreat, hideous laughter, vanish

6   cantrips (at will; DC 15) – daze, ghost sound, mage hand, open-close, prestidigitation, summon instrument

STATISTICS

Str 12, Dex 18, Con --, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 20

Base Atk +7; CMB +8; CMD 22

Feats Dodge, Double Slice, Extra Performance, Fleet, Improved Initiative^B, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting

Skills Acrobatics +17, Bluff +18, Diplomacy +13, Escape Artist +9, Intimidate +18, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (religion) +9, Perception +14, Perform (dance) +18, Perform (percussion) +18, Sense Motive +9, Spellcraft +5, Stealth +12, Use Magic Device +9

Languages Common, Necril

SQ bardic knowledge +4, lore master, versatile performance (dance, percussion)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Loose Joints (Ex)

Ubbe the Spooky can separate the joints of his bones at will and come back together a moment later, allowing him to, for example, dodge a sword blow to the neck by throwing his skull up into the air. This grants Ubbe a +2 dodge bonus to his AC.

Play Dead (Ex)

Ubbe the Spooky can collapse into a pile of disconnected bones as an immediate action, granting him a +10 bonus to his Bluff check to pretend to be destroyed. This bonus applies only for the first time he uses it against any given observer. Ubbe can reassemble himself as a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity.

Percussive Bones (Su)

Ubbe can use his own bones and the bones of other skeletons as percussion instruments. Any bone he wields as a weapon counts as a club and deals an additional 1d4 points of sonic damage. Any bones he throws as a weapon gain the returning weapon quality.

Unhallow (Su)

Ubbe the Spooky has access to a special bardic performance called unhallow. While ubbe makes an unhallow performance, all undead creatures within 50 feet gain 5 bonus hit points and channel resistance +2. This channel resistance stacks with any existing channel resistance.

ECOLOGY

Treasure none

Ubbe the Spooky is a cavorting skeleton bard. In life, he was a morose and ill-tempered performer who, while talented and beloved by his fans, despised himself and his work. It is said that, while in one of his fits of depression, he heard a joke that caused him to break out into such raucous laughter that he died instantly. In death, he found new purpose in his performances which had eluded him in life. He has devoted his unlife both to poking fun at death and to reminding mortals of their inevitable demise through song and dance. He takes special delight in scaring people to death. He sees life as an elaborate practical joke to which death is the punchline.

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-your seventh spooky d20 despot 

Seven Spooky Skeletons - The Hanged Archer

Seven Spooky Skeletons is a short series running until Halloween, showcasing a different unique skeletal villain each night.

Tonight's Spooky Skeleton is the Hanged Archer, a blind skeleton with a noose around its neck and a sack over its head who is a supernaturally excellent marksman. Once a poacher of the king's game, now he poaches man.

The following text is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

This skeleton wears an old noose around its bony neck and a sack of burlap over its head. Despite its obscured vision, it bears a longbow, to which it nocks an arrow with practiced ease.

The Hanged Archer      CR 5

XP 1,600

Human skeletal champion ranger 7

CE Medium undead

Init +9; Senses blindsight 500 ft.; Perception +4

DEFENSE

AC 18, touch 16, flat-footed 12 (+5 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural)

hp 72 (2d8+7d10+25)

Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +7; +4 channel resistance

DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead traits

Defensive Abilities vulnerability

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee mwk morningstar +12/+7 (1d8+3)

Ranged +1 composite longbow +15/+10 (1d8+4/x3) 100ft.

Special Attacks favored enemy (humans +4, animals +2)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9^th)

   1/day – quickened true strike

Spells Prepared (CL 4^th)

1   2^nd – acute senses

2   1^st – gravity bow, jump

STATISTICS

Str 16, Dex 20, Con --, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 14

Base Atk +8; CMB +11; CMD 26

Feats Deadly Aim, Dodge, Far Shot, Improved Initiative^B, Point-Blank Shot^B, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot^B, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (longbow)

Skills Climb +11, Craft (traps) +10, Intimidate +10, Knowledge (nature) +12, Perception +14, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +17, Survival +14

Languages Common

SQ favored terrain (forest +2), hunters bond (companions), track (+3 to follow tracks), wild empathy, woodland stride

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Blind Archer (Su)

The Hanged Archer is blind, but has access to supernatural senses that give him perfect blindsense out to 500 feet. From 500 to 1000 feet, his blindsense grows hazy (targets gain 20% concealment), and beyond 1000 feet he can see nothing. His supernatural senses also give him quickened true strike as a spell-like ability once per day.

Blinding Critical (Ex)

Whenever the Hanged Archer scores a critical hit against a favored enemy, in addition to the damage dealt by the crit, the target permanently blinded in one eye.

ECOLOGY

Treasure NPC gear (mwk morningstar, +1 composite longbow (+3 Str), 18 arrows, 2x +1 dwarf bane arrows, 2x +1 elf bane arrows, 2x +1 gnome bane arrows, 2x +1 halfling bane arrows, 2x +1 human bane arrows, 2x +1 orc bane arrows, masterwork quiver, other treasure)

The Hanged Archer bears the noose that he was hanged with around his neck, and the burlap sack from the hanging still covers his head. His bones are yellowed with age and smudged with dirt. In life, he was a poacher and an expert marksman. He delighted in demonstrating his prowess with the bow at every opportunity, and often embarrassed the king’s gamekeepers who pursued him. When he was finally captured, his eyes were gouged out before he was publicly hanged. In undeath, he has begun hunting man, and he has found that he is even better at it than he ever was at poaching deer.

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-your sixth spooky d20 despot 

Seven Spooky Skeletons - Jack of Flame

Seven Spooky Skeletons is a short series running until Halloween, showcasing a different unique skeletal villain each night.

Tonight's Spooky Skeleton is Jack of Flame, a skeletal sorcerer of fire who can teleport by throwing his explosive jack-o-lantern head.

The following text is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

This skeleton, bearing a scythe, has a devilishly carved jack-o-lantern in place of a skull. Tongues of fire trail from the mouth and eye-holes as he moves forward to attack.

Jack of Flame       CR 6

XP 2,400

Human skeletal champion sorcerer 9

NE Size undead (fire)

Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +11

Special special

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +2 natural, +1 dodge, +4 mage armor)

hp 95 (9d6+2d8+55)

Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +11; +4 channel resistance

DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, fire, undead traits

Vulnerability vulnerability

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee +1 scythe +7/+2 (2d4+1 plus 1d6 fire/x4)

Ranged mwk dart +10/+5 (1d4 plus 1d6 fire) 20ft.

Special Attacks elemental blast (1/day, 9d6 fire, 20 ft. radius, DC 19 Reflex halves), elemental ray (8/day, 1d6+4 fire, 30 ft. ray), fiery teleportation (1/hour, 5d6 fire; see text)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 11^th)

   1/day – vomit centipede swarm

Spells Prepared (CL 9^th)

2   4^th (5/day; DC 19) – bestow curse, dragon’s breath, elemental body I^B,

3   3^rd (7/day; DC 18) – fireball, flame arrow, fly, protection from energy^B,

4   2^nd (7/day; DC 17) – burning gaze, fire breath, flaming sphere, pyrotechnics, scorching ray^B,

5   1^st (8/day; DC 16) – burning disarm, burning hands^B, cause fear, enlarge person, grease, mage armor

8   cantrips (at will; DC 15) – acid splash, bleed, dancing lights, daze, ghost sound, mage hand, mending, spark

Bloodline elemental (fire)

BASE STATISTICS

Without mage armor, Jack of Flame’s armor class is: AC 16, flat-footed 12

STATISTICS

Str 11, Dex 16, Con --, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 20

Base Atk +6; CMB +6; CMD 19

Feats Arcane Strike, Combat Casting, Dodge, Empower Spell, Eschew Materials^B, Improved Initiative^B, Lightning Reflexes^B, Martial Weapon Proficiency (scythe), Quick Draw, Weapon Focus (ray)

Skills Bluff +13, Fly +8, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (arcane) +7, Knowledge (nature) +4, Perception +11, Profession (farmer) +16, Sense Motive +11, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +10, Use Magic Device +10

Languages Common, Ignan

SQ bloodline arcana (spontaneously change spell’s energy damage type to fire), soul of fire

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Soul of Fire (Su)

Jack of Flame is immune to fire, and all weapons wielded by him deal an additional 1d6 points of fire damage.

Fiery Teleportation (Su)

Once per hour, as a standard action, Jack of Flame can teleport by throwing his jack-o-lantern head. He makes a ranged touch attack against a square of his choosing with a range increment of 20 feet. If the attack fails, the jack-o-lantern lands in a different square 5 ft./range increment away (roll 1d8 to determine the direction). Upon landing, the jack-o-lantern explodes in a blast of fire, dealing 5d6 points of fire damage to all creatures in the target square and in each adjacent square. Creatures succeeding on a DC 20 Reflex save take only half damage.

   Jack of Flame then appears in the target square, his jack-o-lantern head restored to his rejuvenated skeletal body. His old headless body crumples to dust. Teleporting in this way ends any ongoing effects affecting Jack of Flame (except those caused by spells that Jack of Flame cast) and restores any ability score damage or lost limbs, though his HP remains the same. The save DC for this effect is Charisma-based.

Vomit Centipede Swarm (Sp)

Jack of Flame can vomit a swarm of centipedes from his jack-o-lantern mouth as a standard action once per day. This spell functions as the spell vomit swarm, but it produces a centipede swarm instead of a spider swarm, and the centipede swarm is immune to fire.

ECOLOGY

Treasure NPC gear (+1 scythe, 6x mwk darts, 4x flasks of alchemist’s fire, potion of inflict moderate wounds (CL 5^th), wand of entangle (CL 3^rd; 22 uses remaining), other treasure)

This otherwise unassuming skeleton is missing its skull. In its place is a jack-o-lantern carved with a wicked grin and full of unending fire. In life, this man was a lonely farmer, shunned as a firebug and arsonist by his community. He never learned how to control his sorcerous powers, but he was encouraged by mischievous fire spirits. Some stories say his fires saved his village during a particularly harsh winter, but they went back to shunning him as soon as Spring came. Other stories tell of a lost love and a hunger for vengeance. Whatever the case, all agree that Jack’s rampage began at his village’s harvest festival. His flames engulfed the entire town, burning all within. One brave farmer, his name lost to the ages, used his dying strength to behead Jack with a scythe – the very scythe which Jack now carries, permanently marked by the nick left by Jack’s neck bones. From the ashes of that deadly fire rose Jack of Flame, the pumpkin-headed firebrand, a spirit of vengeance and cruelty. He knows little of subtlety – what a little fire won’t solve, a lot of fire just might. 

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-your fifth spooky d20 despot

Seven Spooky Skeletons - Our Lady Deathless

Seven Spooky Skeletons is a short series running until Halloween, showcasing a different unique skeletal villain each night.

Tonight's Spooky Skeleton is Our Lady Deathless, a winged skeleton covered in gleaming gold. She is false angel who leads the living to their deaths.

The following text is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

This skeleton’s bones are etched and plated with shining gold, and a serene golden mask covers her face. She floats above the ground, her gleaming skeletal wings outstretched behind her.

Our Lady Deathless      CR 7

XP 3,200

Aasimar skeletal champion antipaladin 4/cleric 5 (charm, death)

CE Medium undead

Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13

Aura aura of cowardice (10 ft.), aura of evil

DEFENSE

AC 21, touch 14, flat-footed 17 (+5 armor, +3 Dex, +2 natural, +1 dodge)

hp 113 (7d8+4d10+60)

Fort +14, Ref +8, Will +16; +4 channel resistance

DR 5/bludgeoning; SR 15

Defensive Abilities gilded glory, unholy resilience

Immune cold, undead traits; Resistances acid 5, electricity 5

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee +2 unholy spear +13/+8 (1d8+4/x3)

Ranged mwk unholy javelins +13/+8 (1d6+2) 30ft.

Special Attacks bleeding touch (6/day, 1d6 bleed for 2 rounds), channel negative energy (8/day, 3d6, 30 ft., DC 17), dazing touch (6/day), smite good (2/day, +5 attack, +4 damage, +5 AC), touch of corruption (7/day, 2d6 negative energy plus DC 17 Fort save or shaken for 4 rounds)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9^th)

   at will – detect good, quickened levitate

   1/day – daylight

Antipaladin Spells Prepared (CL 4^th)

   1^st (DC 16) – command, murderous command

Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 5^th)

   3^rd (DC 16) – bestow curse, dispel magic, suggestion^D

   2^nd (DC 15) – death knell^D, dread bolt, hold person, spiritual weapon

   1^st (DC 14) – bane, burning disarm, cause fear, charm person^D, protection from good

   orisons (DC 13) – bleed, guidance, light, mending

STATISTICS

Str 14, Dex 16, Con --, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 20

Base Atk +9; CMB +11; CMD 24

Feats Channel Smite, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Improved Initiative^B, Mobility, Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack

Skills Bluff +19, Diplomacy +13, Heal +7, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (religion) +8, Perception +13, Sense Motive +9, Spellcraft +6; Racial Modifiers +2 Diplomacy, +2 Perception

Languages Common, Celestial

SQ aura of evil, spontaneous casting, unholy weapons

SPECIAL ABILITIES

False Angel Form (Su)

Our Lady Deathless can assume the form of a glowing golden angel. The angel’s face is covered by Our Lady Deathless’ serene golden mask. While in false angel form, Our Lady Deathless’ aura becomes a strong aura of good.

   While Our Lady Deathless is in false angel form, creatures damaged by her negative energy attacks - such as channel energy, touch of corruption, or an inflict spell - must make a DC 20 Will save. Failure means that they believe that they have been healed for the same amount of damage. This damage only becomes apparent with a DC 20 Heal check or once Our Lady Deathless exits false angel form. This is a mind-affecting effect and the save DC is Charisma-based.

   Our Lady Deathless can remain in false angel form for up to 5 hours per day. This time is spent in 10 minute increments – if she exits false angel form before 10 minutes have passed, a 10 minute increment is still expended. Entering false angel form is a standard action, and leaving it is a free action.

Gilded Glory (Su)

Our Lady Deathless is covered with ornate gold ornamentation worked into her bones, granting her a +5 armor bonus and spell resistance 15.

Unholy Weapons (Su)

Any weapons wielded by Our Lady Deathless gain the unholy special ability as long as they are in her possession and for one round thereafter.

ECOLOGY

Treasure double (+2 spear, 4x mwk javelins, 2,500gp worth of gilding, other treasure)

Our Lady Deathless is a winged aasimar skeleton who has plated her bones with fifty pounds of gold. She wears a golden mask depicting a serene female face. No one knows her past or her true name. In undeath, she is known as Our Lady Deathless, and she is a cunning and evil scourge of all that is good. She delights in taking on her false angel form to mislead lost adventurers to their dooms, revealing her true self only at the very end. Her favorite targets are paladins and good-aligned clerics, often tricking them into attacking innocents or otherwise violating the precepts of their faith. 

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-your fourth spooky d20 despot

Seven Spooky Skeletons: The Screamer

Seven Spooky Skeletons is a short series running until Halloween, showcasing a different unique skeletal villain each night.

Tonight's Spooky Skeleton is the Screamer, a raging ogre barbarian haunted by the ghosts of his dead tribe, who carries the screaming skulls of his enemies in his ribcage.

The following text is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

This stout ogre skeleton leaps into the fray, swinging two spiked chains bound to its wrists. Its rib cage is packed with human skulls that scream unnervingly as he charges.

The Screamer      CR 7

XP 3,200

Ogre skeletal champion barbarian 6

CE Large undead

Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +12

Aura screaming rage (50 ft., DC 18)

DEFENSE

AC 10, touch 8, flat-footed 9 (+1 Dex, -1 size, +2 natural, -2 rage)

hp 132 (6d8+6d12+42)

Fort +11, Ref +5, Will +10; +4 channel resistance

DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead traits

Defensive Abilities improved uncanny dodge, trap sense (+2)

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft.

Melee 2 mwk spiked chains +16/+16/+11 (2d4+8 plus disarm or trip) and spirit totem +13 (1d4+4 negative energy) or 2 claws +17 (1d6+8) and spirit totem +13 (1d4+4 negative energy)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Ranged screaming skull +10 (3d6 negative energy plus paralysis) 20ft.

Special Attacks screaming rage (22 rounds/day), rage powers (no escape, smasher, lesser spirit totem)

BASE STATISTICS

When not raging his stats are:

AC 12, touch 10, flat-footed 11

hp 108; Fort +9, Will +8

Melee 2 mwk spiked chains +14/+14/+9 (2d4+6 plus disarm or trip) or 2 claws +15 (1d6+6)

Str 23, Cha 14; CMB +17; CMD 29; Climb +11

STATISTICS

Str 27, Dex 13, Con --, Int 7, Wis 13, Cha 18

Base Atk +10; CMB +19; CMD 31

Feats Double Slice, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain), Extra Rage, Improved Initiative^B, Toughness, Two-Weapon Fighting

Skills Climb +13, Intimidate +8, Perception +12, Sense Motive +7, Survival +7

Languages Giant

SQ fast movement

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Death Throes (Su)

When the Screamer is destroyed, all living creatures within 30 feet take 5d6 points of negative energy damage and are confused for 1d4-1 rounds. A DC 18 Will save negates the confusion but not the negative energy damage. This is a mind-affecting fear effect, and the save DC is Charisma-based.

Screaming Skull (Su)

The Screamer can reach into its rib cage and pull out one of its screaming skulls (a move action to grab), throwing it as a ranged attack. Targets struck by the skull take 3d6 negative energy damage and must make a DC 18 Will save or be paralyzed for 1d6 rounds. Success negates the paralysis but not the negative energy damage. This is a mind-affecting fear effect, and the save DC is Charisma-based.

Screaming Rage (Ex)

For up to 22 rounds per day, the Screamer can enter into a terrible rage, during which the skulls trapped in its ribcage begin to scream and their eyes glow blue. This ability is identical to the barbarian’s rage ability except as noted below. Instead of boosting the Screamer’s Constitution score, screaming rage grants a +4 morale bonus to the Screamer’s Charisma score. Since undead cannot be fatigued, the Screamer suffers no ill effects upon ending his rage (although if the loss of the temporary hit points brings him to 0 hp or below, he is still destroyed).

   Additionally, each round that the screamer maintains his rage, all creatures within 50 ft. must make a DC 18 Will save or become shaken for that round. This is a mind-affecting fear effect, and the save DC is Charisma-based.

ECOLOGY

Treasure NPC gear (2 mwk spiked chains, other treasure)

The Screamer is an ogre skeleton with two spiked chains bolted to its wrists. Its rib cage is stuffed with dozens of human skulls – their eyes glow blue and they scream incessantly when the Screamer goes into a rage. In life, the screamer was the last of a tribe of ogres who were slaughtered by humans. He was raised in chains, first as a slave, then as a freak show attraction with a travelling carnival. When he broke free of his chains, he slew everyone at the carnival and kept their heads as trophies, towing them behind him in a carnival wagon. A group of adventurers ambushed and slew him, tossing his corpse and his wagon of heads over a cliff. Animated by his lonely anger and protected by the spirits of his dead tribe, he once again roams the world, seeking death and destruction.

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-your third spooky d20 despot

Seven Spooky Skeletons: Woodbones

Seven Spooky Skeletons is a short series running every night until Halloween, because I love Halloween, alliteration, and the word 'spooky'. Each night, d20 despot will be showcasing a different unique skeletal villain.

Tonight's spooky skeleton is Woodbones, an undead, bark-encrusted druid who summons skeletal animals and rides a bony bear infused with the spirit of an evil tree.

The following text is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

This halfling skeleton is partially fused with plates of ragged bark. It sits astride a skeletal bear bristling with woody vines.

Woodbones          CR 6

XP 2,400

Halfling skeletal champion druid 8

NE Small undead

Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., greensight; Perception +13

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 16 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +5 natural, +1 dodge)

hp 73 (10d8+28)

Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +14; +4 channel resistance, +4 vs. effects from fey and effects using plants

DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead traits

Defensive Abilities resist nature’s lure

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft.

Melee +1 quarterstaff +8/+8/+3 (1d4+2) or 2 claws +9 (1d3+1)

Ranged +1 sling +11 (1d3+2) 50ft.

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8^th; concentration +12)

   constant – greensight

   1/day – tree shape

Spells Prepared (CL 0^th)

4^th – bloody claws, inflict serious wounds (DC 18), thorn body

3^rd – call lightning (DC 17), fungal infestation (DC 17), greater magic fang, inflict moderate wounds (DC 17)

2^nd – barkskin, fog cloud, frigid touch, wood shape

1^st – bristle, decompose corpse, liberating command, magic stone, shillelagh

orisons – create water, detect magic, light, resistance

STATISTICS

Str 12, Dex 16, Con --, Int 11, Wis 18, Cha 15

Base Atk +7; CMB +7; CMD 20

Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative^B, Mounted Combat, Natural Spell, Two-Weapon Fighting

Skills Acrobatics +5, Climb +3, Intimidate +7, Handle Animal +9, Heal +8, Knowledge (nature) +10, Perception +13, Ride +16, Stealth +16, Survival +11; Racial Modifiers +2 Acrobatics, +2 Climb, +2 Perception

Languages Common, Halfling, Druidic

SQ nature bond (skeletal animal companion), nature sense, skeletal wild shape, spontaneous casting, trackless step, undead wild empathy, woodland stride

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Bark Armor (Ex)

Woodbones’ bones are fused with the bark of the Tree of Death, granting him a +4 natural armor bonus on top of the existing natural armor bonus granted by the skeleton template.

Blessing of the Tree of Death (Ex)

The Tree of Death gave Woodbones many gifts. Woodbones gains greensight as a constant spell-like ability and tree shape as a spell-like ability useable once per day. It also adds any inflict wounds spells to its druid spell list.

Skeletal Animal Companion (Ex)

Woodbones’ animal companion gains the skeletal champion template. The companion retains all special qualities granted to an animal companion. In addition, planted within the heart of the skeletal animal is a sapling descended from the Tree of Death. This grants the skeletal animal companion a +4 bonus to grapple checks, a +4 bonus to Charisma, and the ability to cast entangle as a spell-like ability once per day with a caster level equal to Woodbones’.

Root, The Skeletal Bear

Bear skeleton animal companion

N Medium undead

Init +6; Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft., scent; Perception +0

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 18 (+8 natural, +2 Dex)

hp 58 (9d8+18)

Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +5; +4 channel resistance, +4 vs enchantments

DR 0/-; Immune immunity, undead traits

Defensive Abilities devotion, evasion

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft.

Melee bite +11 (1d6+5), 2 claws +11 (1d4+5)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8^th)

   1/day – entangle

STATISTICS

Str 21, Dex 15, Con --, Int --, Wis 10, Cha 14

Base Atk +6; CMB +11; CMD 23

Feats Improved Initiative^B

SQ link, share spells

Skeletal Wild Shape (Su)

Woodbones can assume the form of any skeletal animal of Tiny, Small, Medium, or Large size. This ability functions like the spell undead anatomy II except as noted here. The effect lasts for eight hours or until it changes back. Changing form is a standard action and doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity. Woodbones’ skeletal animal forms retain its bark armor and +4 natural armor bonus. Woodbones can use this ability three times to day.

Skeletal Summons (Su)

Any creatures summoned when Woodbones casts summon nature’s ally or similar summoning spells are summoned with the skeleton or exoskeleton template, as appropriate. Summoned elementals are not affected by this change.

Undead Wild Empathy (Ex)

Woodbones can improve the attitude of an undead animal just as a living druid can with a living animal. Woodbones can use this ability to influence an undead magical beast with an Intelligence score or 2 or lower.

ECOLOGY

Treasure NPC gear (+1 quarterstaff, +1 sling, 40 bullets, potion of inflict serious wounds (CL 5^th), other treasure)

This halfling skeleton’s bones are partially fused to tough sheets of thick bark, forming a crude sort of armor. Some of its bones are missing, replaced with perfectly crafted wooden doubles. In life, this creature was a halfling druid. It died at the foot of the legendary Tree of Death, the bark of which grew over its corpse, decomposed it, and infused it with dark powers. All other aspects of its past identity have been stripped away by the ages, leaving only the husk known as Woodbones, Servant of the Tree of Death. It rides a skeletal bear named Root, which bears the thrashing, evil sapling of the Tree of Death in its rib-cage. Together, they seek to bring a twisted balance to nature by hastening the death and decay of all living things.

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-your second spooky d20 despot 

Seven Spooky Skeletons: The Marquis

Happy Halloween, and welcome to Seven Spooky Skeletons! This is the first entry in an ongoing series running until Halloween. Each day, d20 Despot will feature a stat block for a villainous skeletal NPC. Each skeleton will have some sort of unique ability or characteristic that makes them more than just a collection of stats.

The first of the Seven Spooky Skeletons is the Marquis, a cold-blooded but dashing rogue whose empty eye sockets and lipless grin are hidden behind a crimson carnival mask.

The following text is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

This skeleton, wearing a red and gold carnival mask, a broad-brimmed feathered hat, and a dashing half-cape, flourishes his gleaming rapier

The Marquis            CR 5

XP 1,600

human skeletal champion rogue 7

CE Medium undead

Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +11

DEFENSE

AC 18, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+2 natural, +4 Dex, +2 deflection)

hp 76 (9d8+36)

Fort +7, Ref +10, Will +4; channel resistance +4

DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead traits

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee +1 keen rapier +12/+7 (1d6+2/15-20) or 2 claws +10/+5 (1d4+1)

Ranged mwk dagger +11/+6 (1d4+1) 10ft.

Special Attacks Sneak Attack +4d6 plus 4 bleed

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7^th)

   2/day – alter self (human only), charm person (DC 15)

STATISTICS

Str 13, Dex 18, Con --, Int 13, Wis 8, Cha 18

Base Atk +6/+1; CMB +7; CMD 21

Feats Combat Expertise, Dazzling Display, Improved Feint^B, Improved Initiative^B, Quick Draw, Step Up, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (rapier)^B

Skills Acrobatics +16, Appraise +5, Bluff +16, Climb +6, Diplomacy +16, Disable Device +8, Disguise +16, Escape Artist +8, Intimidate +14, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge (local) +5, Knowledge (nobility) +4, Perception +11, Sense Motive +7, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +12

Languages Common, Elvish

SQ convincing, rogue talents (bleeding attack, combat trick, weapon training)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Convincing (Ex)

The Marquis is preternaturally charming, even in the heat of battle. When he uses his charm person ability, the target does not gain the +5 bonus to their saves they would normally be entitled to even if the Marquis or his allies are threatening or attacking the target. In addition, when the Marquis attempts a Diplomacy skill check, the targets regard him as one step closer to friendly for the purposes of setting the DC of the check.

ECOLOGY

Treasure NPC gear (+1 keen rapier, 3x mwk daggers, ring of protection +2, potion of invisibility (CL 5^th), potion of inflict moderate wounds (CL 5^th), masterwork thieves’ tools, other treasure)

This skeleton covers his bony face with an ornate, long-nosed carnival mask – crimson, filigreed with gold. Over his left shoulder hangs a jaunty half-cape of fine workmanship, and upon his head sits a broad-brimmed bravo’s hat with a long white ostrich feather in the brim. In life, the Marquis was an inveterate playboy, dashing swordsman, and cunning serial killer. He casually slew hundreds of victims, often in the middle of their conversation, and all while maintaining a winning smile. His vast wealth, political power, and natural charm allowed him to get away with much, but it was ironically his dueling prowess that lead to his death. A gang of aspiring swashbucklers, tired of seeing the Marquis win every duel he fought and never grant mercy to the beaten party, set upon him in a back alley one night, stabbing him over forty times and leaving him to bleed out in the gutter. In death, he acts much the same as he did in life: charming, arrogant, and consumed with a need to kill.

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-your first spooky d20 despot

Monster Monday: Salt Ghouls, Desiccating Dead from the Desert

   When the sun was at its highest and the caravan had stopped to give the men and the camels rest, the howlers came pounding out of the desert. They were dead, emaciated men, their cracked faces twisted into cruel sneers. The monsters dashed across the dunes on all fours, kicking up a cloud of sand as they plowed toward the caravan.

   Hassan drew his falchion as soon as the first scream hit the hot air. He watched the undead horde with trepidation, eyes occasionally darting back along the road whence the caravan had come. No, fleeing was not an option here. His only chance of surviving in this harsh desert was to stay and ensure that the caravan survived. He dashed up to where the first of the ghouls were already swarming a panicked camel laden with silks. Hot blood sprayed out, staining raw silk red and sizzling on the skillet-hot sand. 

   Hassan's falchion bit into one of the ghouls, producing no spray of blood but a small puff of ancient dust. The creature was caked with sand and salt crystals. Its shriveled yellow eyes fixed on Hassan and it lunged at him, raking a gnarled claw against his upraised forearm. He kicked it in the chest, gathering space, then swung his sword with both hands, decapitating the ghoul. Its husk fell with a light thump. Hassan took a second to examine his wound. His flesh was puckered and cracked around the three gashes, but no blood was coming out - not even a trickle.

   Another scream ripped the air close by, and he turned to meet another leaping ghoul with his blade, blocking its claws and using its momentum to toss it over his shoulder. But another leapt for him at the same time, clawing at his silk jazerant and sinking yellow teeth into his neck. He dislodged it with an elbow to the skull and brought his curved blade down into its back. But Hassan's strength was leaving him. His muscles were slow to respond, and his tongue was glued to the dry roof of his mouth. He stumbled back, clutching at his neck wound. His vision blurred, he tripped over something and fell, splayed out on the sand, eyes closed. 

   Thirsty. So thirsty. Hassan rubbed sand and grime out of his eyes and sat up. The sun was low and orange on the horizon. Dead men and camels and dismembered ghoul husks littered the road around him. Not enough to account for the whole caravan. So they had made it. They had weathered the ghoul attack and gone on. Gone on without Hassan. His situation began to dawn on him. He was alone in the desert with almost no water. He frantically patted his hip, searching for his canteen, but it was absent. They had left him and taken his water. Bastards. 

   He rushed to the nearest camel corpse in hopes that they had overlooked a waterskin. There was one resting on the camel's side, shredded by ghoul claws and drained of its contents. But the array of leather straps suggested there might be another under the bulk of the dead beast. Hassan began to dig, heedless of the pain. At last, he drew forth a small bladder of water, though his cry of triumph could not escape his dry throat. He uncorked the skin and upended it into his mouth. The water seemed to disappear as soon as it hit his tongue. No cool wetness soothed his dry mouth, no refreshing fluid filled him. It was as if he was drinking ash. A cry of frustration and pain escaped him now, rasping and high pitched like the screams of the ghouls. He touched his neck wound and his fingers came away crusted in salt. As the last light of the sun dipped below the dunes, Hassan stumbled down the road after the companions who had left him to die. 

Today's Monster Monday is the salt ghoul, a ravenous undead creature from the dry dunes. Their cursed claws and bite can drain the water from a living being, leaving them dehydrated and desperate in the desert.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Vampiric Skeleton

Today's Monster Monday is the vampiric skeleton, a skeleton that sucks blood. These aren't the skeletons of vampires: that's not how vampires work. But they could be the skeletons of a vampire's victims, or creatures who died in a vampire's evil castle, or just of beings who were buried in a particularly evil area charged with necrotic energies.

This is a variant of the skeleton template, so it can be applied to anything that has a skeleton. Blood-sucking ogre skeleton? Sure! Vampiric skeletal wyvern? Sounds good to me. Bloodthirsty badger bones? Yeah, okay, but the alliteration might be a bit much.

Presented below are the vampiric skeleton variant template and two example vampiric skeletons: a human and a dire wolf.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

This human skeleton has been deformed by dark energies. Sharp fangs grow from its gaping mouth.

Vampiric Skeleton, Human   CR 1/2

XP 200

NE Medium undead

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0

DEFENSE

AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 armor, +2 Dex, +2 natural)

hp 6 (1d8+2)

Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +2; +4 channel resistance

DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead traits

Vulnerability sunlight destruction

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee 2 claws +2 (1d4+2), bite -3 (1d6+1 plus blood drain)

Special Attacks blood drain (1d2 Con)

STATISTICS

Str 15, Dex 10, Con --, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14

Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 14

Feats Improved Initiative^B

Gear broken chain shirt

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Blood Drain (Ex)

When a vampiric skeleton hits with its bite attack, or if it grapples a foe, it inflicts 1d2 points of Constitution damage on its target. The vampiric skeleton heals 5 hit points or gains 5 temporary hit points for 1 hour (up to a maximum number of temporary hit points equal to its full normal hit points) each round it drains blood.

Sunlight Destruction (Su)

When a vampiric skeleton is exposed to direct sunlight (not the effects of daylight or similar spells), it cannot attack and is staggered. On every subsequent round of exposure, the vampiric skeleton takes 1d4 points of fire damage.

ECOLOGY

Environment any

Organization any

Treasure none 

Monster Monday: Dust Mummy, Accursed Cloud of Decay

With one final roar, Abdul thrust the ancient spear into the attacking guardian's chest, bursting through the intricately detailed blue faience surface.  He gave it a twist, and the wings of the spear ripped at the crumbling clay.  The falcon-headed ushabti collapsed, now nothing more than a pile of ancient ceramics.  Hassan was over by the passageway, roasting the bodies of the two mummified cheetahs with vindictive glee, divine flame jetting from his outstretched silver holy symbol.  With the tomb's protectors defeated, Abdul and Hassan took out their blessed chisels and went to work on the walls, obliterating every instance of the priest-king's name and every image of his face, just as they had done in the previous rooms.

Hassan found the secret door.  He had always been better at that than Abdul.  "What do you think, brother - will this be the real burial chamber, or another false one?" Abdul asked as he chipped away at the plaster covering the door's seams.

Hassan continued to focus on the door, clutching his holy symbol with white knuckles.  There was a series of mechanical clicks from behind the door, and Hassan instantly relaxed.  "The traps are disarmed," he said in the calm, pleased tone of a butler presenting a particularly fine roasted peacock.

"The door was-?" Abdul dropped his crowbar and scurried back.  "Mound of Mu'at, man!  Why didn't you tell me?"

"I would have stopped you before you triggered them."  Hassan spread his hands wide.

"Alright, you open the door."

When the stone door fell to the dusty ground with a great crack, they stood face to face with a gilded sarcophagus.

"Entombed standing upright.  Typical Yuttub-worshiper."  Hassan spat at the mention of the hated god.

Abdul hefted his sledgehammer and swung it at the sneering golden face.  "This is for what you did to our people!  And this is for what you did to our homeland!  And this is for the thousand years of suffering that followed!"  With his last swing, the ruined face cracked, the sealant on the sarcophagus lid failed, and the whole stone edifice fell to join the door, narrowly missing Abdul's toes.

The desiccated corpse within was bound in strips of ancient bandage inscribed with arcane sigils, and what flesh was visible was covered in gold leaf.  The gaudy tyrant stood for only a split second before collapsing into a pile of sparkling dust and shards of bone.  Hassan let a rare shout of jubilation escape his lips, and the brothers exchanged triumphant smiles.  But the grave dust rose in a swirling cloud between them, scraps of spell-cloth whipping around as if caught in a dust devil.  Occasionally the dust would congeal into the vague shape of a hand or a leg.  A cruel face formed in the dust and uttered in a soul-rasping voice, "REMEMBER... MY... NAME."

Hassan recovered his composure before Abdul did.  Winged holy symbol raised before him, he invoked the name of the Goddess and three beams of brilliance ripped through the priest-king's temporary face.  With a scream, the mummy cloud spread out to fill the whole room with itself.  The dust blasted at their skin, causing it to crack and blister.  Abdul pulled his own holy symbol from the folds of his robes and held it aloft.  The flash of divine light sent visible waves through the dust cloud.  Hassan followed suit with an even more powerful burst, filling the room with crackling energy.

The cloud reformed into a vaguely humanoid shape for an instant, pressed its immaterial hands against Hassan's face, and disappeared into his mouth.  Hassan's eyes widened.  He fell to his knees, skin tightening against his bones.  With a belated cry, Abdul rushed to press his holy symbol to his brother's forehead, channeling a burst of healing magic through it, but it was not strong enough.  Hassan gasped, then with a sickening cracking sound he disintegrated.  The dead priest-king swirled up from between Hassan's dry bones, its face re-forming, one partial hand stretching out towards Abdul's throat.  "REMEMBER... MY... NAME!"

Abdul snatched up his brother's holy symbol, divine fire already blazing from between its silver wings, and thrust it into the discorporate face.  "NO ONE WILL!"

~ ~ ~

Today's Monster Monday is the dust mummy, a sentient undead cloud of dust formed from a disintegrated mummy, held together by rage at the living and a desire to be remembered after death.  Far more insidious than your typical mummy, these swirling collections of dust can easily spread their curse to all that they touch, and can even infest the lungs of their hapless victims, rotting them from within.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2016 Jonah Bomgaars.