Accursed Creature (CR -1/2)

Some creatures are born deformed, crippled, or stunted. Others suffer under curses and transformations, becoming mockeries of their former existence. Lastly, there are those that are the creations of cruel or insane deities. These creatures are but mere shadows of their true nature, echoes of bygone power; their very life force has become twisted, turned in upon itself so that now it barely clings to existence. These are the accursed creatures and they know only pain, suffering, and madness. Accursed creatures have a bleached and faded appearance, as something in their essential nature gradually disappears from reality; often times their appearance has also become warped as even their very identity is lost.

Creating an Accursed Creature

“Accursed creature” is an acquired template that can be added to any creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature). An accursed creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

CR: An accursed creatures has a CR equal to half the base creature’s CR.

Alignment: Change the creature’s alignment to any chaotic.

Armor Class: An accursed creature’s natural armor bonus, deflection bonus, and insight bonus to AC (if any) are reduced by half.

Saves: An accursed creature suffers a –5 penalty on all saving throws.

Defenses/Qualities: Decrease the numeric value of any special ability by half, for example channel resistance +2 becomes channel resistance +1, damage reduction 10/adamantine becomes 5/adamantine, Resist energy 30 becomes 15, SR 20 becomes SR 10, regeneration 6 becomes 3 etc. Immunities change to resist 30 or a +8 bonus to their saving throw against that type of effect.

Special Abilities: An accursed creature gains the following special abilities.

Accursed Caster (Ex): If the base creature has a caster level for any of its abilities, decrease that caster level by half, the creature also loses access to its highest level of spell-like abilities and cannot use any of them more than 1/day.

Deformed Nature (Su): Select one of the creature’s special abilities and remove it, this removal should be accompanied by a change to its physical appearance; a balor that loses its vorpal strike might have only one arm. If the creature has, multiple natural attacks remove one of these attack forms as well. A dragon without its breath weapon and bite attack might have no mouth, instead breathing only through its nose.

Faded Existence (Su): Accursed creatures are only half (50%) as strong as non-accursed creatures, though creatures who believe the accursed creatures to be real are affected by them at full strength. Any creature that interacts with the accursed can make a Will save (DC 5 +1/2 the accursed creature’s HD + its Charisma modifier) to recognize its true nature. Upon a successful save, the victim only suffers half damage from any of the accursed creature’s melee, ranged, or special attacks.

Reversal (Ex): Upon an accursed creature’s death, surrender, or flight from battle, any supernatural, spell, or spell-like effects that did not cause hit point damage it created during the previous hour are undone. This may include, but is not limited to, ability drain, magical fear, or paralysis, and death effects (such as wail of the banshee or an infernal duke’s death mastery ability), many accursed creatures plead for their lives by reversing these effects.

Abilities: Decrease from the base creature to a minimum of 1 as follows: Str -10 (-5 to attack and damage, -5 to Climb and Swim skill checks, -5 to Strength, and CMB checks, -5 to CMD), Dex -10 (-5 to Ranged attack rolls; AC and touch AC, and Ref saves, Initiative,-5 to Acrobatics, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Fly, Ride, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth checks, add -5 to any of the base creature’s Dexterity-based DCs), Con -10 (-5 hp per HD, -5 to Fortitude saves, and any of the base creature’s Constitution-based DCs), Int -10 (remove 4 languages to a minimum of 1, remove 4 skill points per HD to a minim of 1 per HD, -5 to Appraise, Craft, Knowledge, Linguistics, and Spellcraft checks -5 to any of the base creature’s Intelligence-based DCs), Wis -10 (-5 to Will saves, - 5 to Heal, Perception, Profession, Sense Motive and Survival checks, add -5 to any of the base creature’s Wisdom-based DCs), Cha -10 (-5 to Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Perform, and Use Magic Device; attempts to influence others, and Channel Energy DCs, -5 to any of the base creature’s Charisma-based DCs).

Feats: The base creature may lose access to certain feats due to not meeting the ability score prerequisites.