Alien Templates

Assimilated Template (CR +0)

Source: The Assimilation Strain

Assimilated is an acquired template which can be applied to any animal, humanoid, or monstrous humanoid that is not immune to disease, representing an infection with a perfected form of an assimilation strain tailored to its specific species. It causes creatures to become docile and compliant to the jagladine and those who carry certain technological devices designed to force their will upon other creatures. Assimilated creatures often feel an affinity for one another, drawn together in common cause for the telepathic direction of their jagladine masters.

Weaknesses: An assimilated creature gains the following weakness:

Malign Influence (Su): An assimilated creature takes a –4 penalty on all Fortitude and Will saving throws against mind-affecting effects and technologies wielded by the jagladine or their servants as the co-habitating nanites force the creature’s body and mind to acquiesce to such commands. When an infected creature makes an ability check or opposed skill check to resist a Charisma-based ability or effect initiated by such individuals, the infected creature must roll twice and take the lowest result.

Special Qualities: An assimilated creature gains the following special qualities:

Assimilated (Su): Due to the remapping of its personality, an assimilated creature with an Intelligence score greater than 2 has its alignment shifted one step towards evil each time it suffers more than 2 points of Charisma damage on a failed Fortitude save while resisting the assimilation strain. This has no effect with respect to law versus chaos. Only a cleanse, greater restoration, heal, limited wish, miracle, or wish can restore a creature’s former alignment, and the individual resists such efforts as if affected by a helm of opposite alignment. If a character of a class with an alignment requirement is affected, an atonement spell is needed as well. Once a creature becomes evil, the assimilation virus causes no further Charisma ability damage and the creature may recover such damage, as normal.

Contagious (Su): During the first 24 hours of a creature’s infection with the assimilation strain, others coming into close contact may also contract the disease, as well (DC 14 Fortitude negates). A creature directly exposed to an infected victim’s bodily fluids, such as sharing intimate contact, using a Heal check to deliver first aid or treat deadly wounds on an infected creature, or touching or being touched by an infected creature taking bleed damage, takes a –2 penalty on this saving throw. The duration required for exposure is subject to GM discretion, but creatures in close proximity to an infected creature who take precautions to avoid contact or filter their breathing receive a +2 circumstance bonus on their saving throw to avoid contracting the disease.

• Assimilation Strain—disease; type contact; save Fortitude DC 14; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d4 Charisma damage (cannot reduce below 1), if more than 2 Cha damage, target must make a DC 14 Will save or change alignment one step towards evil and gain the Assimilated template; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Klaven (CR +1)

Source: To Worlds Unknown

“Klaven” is an acquired template that can be added to any living or recently deceased animal or humanoid creature (hereafter referred to as the base creature) infected with a jagdaline assimilation strain and fitted with a mindslave harness. An intact dead creature that meets these prerequisites may be revived as a klaven within 48 hours of their death. If similar actions are performed on a living creature, they may be converted into a klaven within 8 hours. Upon transformation, klaven are healed of any prior ability or physical damage, including that caused by a jagdaline assimilation virus. A klaven uses all of the base creature’s statistics except as noted here.

CR: Same as the base creature +1.

Alignment: Lawful evil. In rare cases, some creatures react poorly to the effects of an assimilation strain and instead become neutral evil or chaotic evil.

Type: The creature gains the augmented subtype. It retains any other subtypes, as well, except for alignment subtypes and subtypes that indicate kind. Do not recalculate class HD, BAB, saves, or skill points.

Senses: A klaven gains darkvision 60 feet.

Armor Class: Natural armor improves by +4.

Hit Dice: A klaven retains its original racial HD.

Defensive Abilities: Klaven are immune to fear effects.

Plagueborn (Ex): A klaven gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against disease, ingested poisons, and the nauseated and sickened condition.

Weaknesses: Klaven were created to accept orders without question, but with certain constraints to prevent them from becoming a liability to their creators.

Malign Influence (Su): Klaven receive a –2 penalty to resist charm and mind-controlling compulsion effects from evil creatures. This penalty increases to –6 if the creature has the jagdaline subtype.

Attacks: The klaven conversion process alters the base creature’s physiology to provide them with a reserve natural weapon under any conditions. As an immediate action a formerly humanoid klaven may extend or withdraw sharp, extremely dense bone spurs from the back of its hands or forearms, granting the klaven two powerful claw attacks, provided the base creature has no other claw attacks. These claws deal damage based on the klaven’s size, treating the creature as if it were one size category larger.

Animal klaven increase the damage of their existing natural weapons as though they increased in size by one category.

Special Qualities: A klaven gains the following special qualities.

Converted Host (Ex): Klaven transformations leave nothing for restoration of a base creature to its original self. As a result, klaven cannot be killed and returned to life with raise dead or similar effects. Spells such as true resurrection, wish, and miracle work normally.

Energy Modulation (Su): As an immediate action, a klaven manufactured from a living creature may treat positive and negative energy effects as if it were an undead creature, taking damage from positive energy and healing damage from negative energy. This lasts until the start of the klaven’s next turn. The ability may be used once per day, and an additional time per day when they gain 8 HD and 12 HD.

Nanite Exchange (Su): Klaven nanites swarm around them on a microscopic level, providing a continuous awareness of the location and condition of other klaven within 60 feet, as the status spell. The range of this ability increases to 100 feet for klaven with at least 8 HD, and one mile for klaven with 12 HD or more. Klaven may also communicate with one another by passing memories and sensory information through their nanites, but must come into physical contact to do so. This exchange of memories requires a full-round action and only consists of perceptions and first hand experiences. Klaven cannot exchange skills, special abilities, or other individual qualities in this manner.

Ability Scores: Str +4, Con +2, Int –2 (minimum 3). Animal klaven always possess an Int of 3, even if this modifier would result in a higher or lower Int.

Skills: A klaven gains a +4 racial bonus on Intimidate skill checks, and Stealth checks in forest and jungle terrains.

Feats: Klaven receive Endurance and Iron Will as bonus feats.

Maddened Template (CR +0)

Source: The Assimilation Strain

Maddened is an acquired template which can be applied to any animal, humanoid, or monstrous humanoid that is not immune to disease, representing an infection with a tainted or imperfect version of an assimilation strain. Rather than causing creatures to become docile and compliant, it plays havoc with their emotions, magnifying them in extreme ways depending upon external stimuli and varying wildly between them as the virus runs its course. Sometimes, it drives them into a deep, suicidal depression, posing a risk to their own well-being. For others, it inflames their emotions and aggressive impulses, causing them to become feral, bloodthirsty, and bestial in their behavior, turning upon their non-infected friends and relatives to assault them and drive them mad, too. When in this state, maddened creatures can sometimes maintain a tenuous mob mentality, though it always teeters on the brink of disintegrating into an orgy of cannibalistic rage and violence, even against one another.

AL: Due to only a partial remapping of the victim’s personality, a maddened creature with an Intelligence score greater than 2 only has its alignment shifted one step towards evil when it acquires the Maddened template. This has no effect with respect to law versus chaos. Only a greater restoration, miracle, or wish can restore a creature’s former alignment, and the individual resists such efforts as if affected by a helm of opposite alignment. If a character of a class with an alignment requirement is affected, an atonement spell is needed as well.

Saves: As the base creature, but a maddened creature gains a +1 bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting effects for every 2 points of Charisma damage taken from the virus. On saves against effects that cause confusion or insanity, the creature takes an equivalent penalty rather than gaining a bonus.

Special Attacks: A maddened creature retains any special attacks of the base creature. In addition, it gains the following special attacks while enraged:

Bloodthirsty (Ex): A maddened creature gains a +1 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls against creatures taking bleed damage.

Savagery (Ex): A maddened creature gains a +2 morale bonus on combat maneuver checks made to bull rush, drag, or overrun.

Special Qualities: A maddened creature gains the following special qualities:

Assimilation Madness (Su): A maddened creature is afflicted with a corrupted version of the assimilation strain virus. When exposed to the tainted virus, a creature becomes infected if it fails a DC 14 Fortitude save. This causes no ill effects for the first 24 hours, during which the creature is contagious (as described above). After 24 hours, the afflicted creature is no longer contagious but begins showing symptoms. Until the disease is cured, the afflicted creature is subject to bouts of maddened behavior when under stress (see Assimilation Madness, below), in addition to the usual effects of the disease. The signs of the illness are difficult to detect, requiring a DC 20 Heal check during the disease’s onset period, reduced to DC 15 once symptoms begin to manifest.

Contagious (Su): During the first 24 hours of a creature’s infection with a flawed assimilation strain, others coming into close contact with the infected creature may contract the disease, as well (DC 14 Fortitude negates). A creature directly exposed to the infected creature’s bodily fluids, such as sharing intimate contact, using a Heal check to deliver first aid or treat deadly wounds on an infected creature, or touching or being touched by an infected creature taking bleed damage, takes a -2 penalty on this saving throw. The duration required for exposure is subject to GM discretion, but creatures in close proximity to an infected creature who take precautions to avoid contact or filter their breathing receive a +2 circumstance bonus on their saving throw to avoid contracting the disease.

• Assimilation Strain—disease; type contact; save Fortitude DC 14; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d2 Con and 1d2 Cha damage, if more than 2 Cha damage, target must make a DC 14 Will save or gain the Maddened template; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Assimilation Madness

Some people are infected with the initial, flawed version of an assimilation strain, and periodically slip into temporary bouts of confusion, depression, and insanity—a malady which the jagladine and their xoraphond servants refer to as assimilation madness. This affliction works very similar to the confused condition, though the victim’s bizarre behavior lasts for the entire episode rather than changing from round to round. When a human infected with the flawed virus is subjected to physical or mental stress (such as by entering combat, being injured, being targeted by a harmful or mind-affecting spell or effect, witnessing the injury or death of an ally or loved one, or even being intimidated or even ridiculed in an emotionally impacting way), the infected human automatically suffers one of the effects listed in the Assimilation Madness table below. Victims who survive the episode’s short-lived duration revert to normal behavior again, but remain infected and may relapse again after 1 hour.

The temporary effects of assimilation madness can be countered by spells such as: calm emotions, hypnotism, joyful rapture, lesser restoration, serenity, suggestion, or any greater equivalent of such spells. This does not, however, cure the victim of the flawed assimilation strain, and new episodes may occur as the brain’s remapped personality continues to vex the victim. Only a cleanse, greater restoration, heal, limited wish, miracle, or wish fully cures a victim of both the madness and the flawed assimilation strain. A heightened remove disease cast by a spellcaster of at least 10th level also cures the victim of the madness and the assimilation strain.

Assimilation Madness

d%	Behavior
01–20	The victim does nothing but cower, drool, and babble incoherently for 5d6 minutes.
21–40	The victim runs away from the source of stress, shrieking manically and insensibly for the next 1d6 minutes. Immediately afterward, the victim collapses from exhaustion and remains unconscious for 5d6 minutes.
41–55	The victim engages in wanton destruction of their physical surroundings for the next 1d4 minutes, ignoring nearby creatures to attack trees, rocks, structures, etc. This deals 1d6 points of nonlethal damage to the victim at the end of the episode, and immediately afterward the victim is nauseated for 1d6 minutes and then sickened for the next 1d6 hours.
56–60	The victim falls into a suicidal depression lasting 5d6 minutes. If the victim is alone and/or has adequate time, he attempts to commit suicide in a bizarre manner based upon a fragment of personal memory which torments them (e.g., he might gouge out his eyes to avoid hallucinations of his worst horror, methodically paint individual shards of glass or pottery for a lost loved one and then swallow them, or dress in his finest outfit and then set himself on fire). If the victim is not alone and believes others might intervene to prevent him from harming himself, he deals 1d8 points of damage + Str modifier to himself with an available weapon, an item in hand, or his bare hands, automatically inflicting critical damage.
61–100	The victim becomes violently psychotic and attacks the nearest creatures (for this purpose, a familiar counts as part of the subject’s self ) for the next 5d6 minutes.