Body Jumper Creature (CR +3)

Some creatures transcend their physical form, becoming nothing more than a possessing spirit, able to move from body to body, they see other creatures as mere meat-dresses for their supernatural essence. These creatures are not always demonic or undead spirits, they have simply ascended to a higher plane of being where physical bodies are no longer required, but that does not mean they don’t enjoy taking over someone; they are the puppeteers behind the scenes. Not all body jumpers, however, are self-serving or vindictive, some few seek to help the world from behind the scenes or work in a symbiotic relationship with the host bodies.

Creating a Body Jumper Creature

“Body Jumper creature” is an acquired template that can be added to any intelligent creature that has left behind its physical body. A body creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

CR: +3

Defenses/Qualities: The base creature loses all special defenses and qualities; including size and special senses, the Body Jumper creature (not its host body) is immune to all physical attacks and can only be affected by spells and effects listed in its spell vulnerability. A body jumper loses all of its physical attacks including special attacks modified by Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution since it has no physical body, it can however use those possessed by its host body.

Special Abilities: A body jumper creature gains the following special abilities.

Body Jump (Su): Once per round a Body Jumper Creature can possess any non-construct, non-plant creature that fails its Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the body jumper’s HD + the Body Jumper’s Charisma modifier) within a range of 75 feet. A creature that successfully saves is immune to this effect for 24 hours. The Body Jumper can utterly and constantly control the host creature’s mind and body and read its mind like an open book. Perceiving all that the host creature does or has ever done, even things it cannot remember. The host creature’s gains the body jumper’s alignment in addition to its normal alignment, until it is no longer a host.

Lacking a physical body the base creature only has access to extraordinary, supernatural and spell like abilities of the host creature that use the base creature Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier. It can also cast spells and take purely mental actions, as well as use any ability its host possesses along with granting the host the use of its feats and skills (though skills modified by Strength or Dexterity are modified by the hosts ability scores). The Body Jumper creature always uses its Will save rather than its hosts.

Spell Vulnerability: These spells never need to overcome a host or body jumper creature’s spell resistance (if any) to have any effect and suffers a -4 penalty to its save. A host creature subjected to a banishment or dispel alignment (chaos, evil, good, or law appropriate to the base creature or the host), remove curse, or break enchantment, must succeed on a Will saving throw or the body jumper is expelled and can never possess that host creature again though it is free to possess any other creature.

An antimagic field or any antimagic effect suppresses all the effects upon the host creature and any supernatural or spell like abilities of the body jumper. It also prevents the body jumper from communicating with the host creature, using its perceptions, and exiting its host body (unless it dies) for as long as the host creature remains in the antimagic area.

Any of the protection from alignment spells prevents a body jumper from possessing a host creature even if the spell is not appropriate to the host or body jumper’s alignment. A binding or trap the soul spell will trap both the host and the body jumper creature.

If it is forcibly expelled or its host creature dies a body jumper must possess a new host within 1 minute or be destroyed.

Abilities: Body jumpers lose Str, Dex and Con Scores; Cha +8 (+4 to Bluff, diplomacy, Disguise, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Perform, and Use Magic Device; attempts to influence others, and Channel Energy DCs, +4 to any of the creature’s Charisma-based DCs)

Feats: Reselect any feats that no longer apply due to a lack of a body.

Skills: The base creature loses all skills modified by Str or Dex and gains Bluff, Disguise, and Diplomacy as a class skill and gains bonus ranks in that skill equal to its HD.