Maddened Shreds

Maddened Shreds (CR 8)

True Chaotic - Small - Vermin (Aberration)

Lore:	Know (Nature)
16		31
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

10

Perception:
23	+13
Passive	Active

Ambush:

7+

on a d20

• Ambush Notes: 'Note Dormant ability, below.'

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Low-Light Vision
• Scent 30 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 30 ft.
• Lesser Climb 30 ft.

Defense

AC

25

Man Def

25

Monster Health
146	73	13
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+5
Refl:	+10
Will:	+5

Strong Against:

• (Mindless) Immune (no effect): all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, fear, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms)

Weak Against:

• Vulnerable (1.5x damage): to Fire (energy, common) and Interstice (physical, rare) damage

Offense

Size:	Small
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+13

Man Off

+13

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Shredding Slash +13 (2d8+6/19-20 x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)
  , plus 'Irritating Scratch' (see below)

Full Attack (Melee):

• 3x Shredding Slash +13 (2d8+6/19-20 x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)
  , plus 'Irritating Scratch' (see below)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Ichor Squirt +13 (2d8+6/19-20 x2)
  as acid (energy, common)
  (Increment: 30 ft.; Max Range: 90 ft.)

Full Attack (Ranged):

• 3x Ichor Squirt +13 (2d8+6/19-20 x2)
  as acid (energy, common)
  (Increment: 30 ft.; Max Range: 90 ft.)

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

22

STR

24

DEX

12

CON

—

INT

6

WIS

16

CHA

Skills:

• Perception: 13
• All other skills: 8 (no ranks)

Languages: None

Feats:

Special Abilities

Irritating Scratch (Ex) Free Action 1/Rnd, After successful attack

Once per round, upon a successful hit, the Shredding Slash attack can inflict 2d6+4 as acid (energy, common) damage, and the Dazzled condition, on one target the Shred chooses, the terrible ichor that fills them irritating the eyes and skin. Affected victims are allowed a Reflex save against a DC of 19 to reduce the damage by half and negate the dazzled condition. A victim that is already Dazzled due to this effect that fails a second save (due to two different successful attacks, which may come from one Shred, or several), has the Dazzled upgraded to the Blind condition.

Dormancy (Ex) Swift Action

When dormant, a Maddened Shred is indistinguishable from a pile of gory offal. It takes a perception check of 29 to notice something is amiss. A Maddened Shred can activate or deactivate dormancy as a swift action, and this ability is frequently used by the mindless things to lay ambushes for the luckless.

Shredding Frenzy (Ex) Full Attack Action

As a full attack action, Maddened Shreds may make two Shredding Slash melee attacks upon every creature, enemy or ally, adjacent to their space. As mindless vermin, they will always use this ability if they threaten two or more enemies and have access to a full attack action, regardless of any allies.

Maddened Shreds

It is widely accepted among most intelligent creatures, at a very general level, that the world we all live in is balanced upon the surface of a much larger, darker, and far more terrible reality called the Outer Madness. Most people have little understanding of Planes, and in the minds of most people, Demons, Devils, Aberrations, and most 'weird' monsters are part of this terrifying background reality.

However, there are always those who think that 'larger and more terrible' means, 'a convenient way to get power'. As a result, all over the world, in every race, creed, and culture, civilized or not, there are those with far too much greed and far too little wisdom who seek out this Deep Darkness and pledge themselves to it. The Creeping Madness is easy to access, easy to draw upon...and insanely dangerous. A fair number of those who attempt this foolish act are consumed utterly by their very first sup of that dark well, their lives, essence, souls, and flesh consumed entire.

Many of those luckless fools do not quietly disappear, however. A fairly common side effect of this utter destruction is that Madness Minions who have been destroyed have a portion of their remnants trapped in a horrific state of non-quiet, non-dead, non-alive 'existence', the very flesh and fabric of their bodies torn apart into gory pieces and forced into unnatural existence. These grisly chunks of remains are horribly recognizable as body parts, corrupted with fleshy palps and teeth, animated by a simple maddened urge to ruin and despoil, the new form filled with the terrible hungry rage of the Outer Madness.

Far worse, in many cases these 'Maddened Shreds', as they are known, are often recognizable as the beings they once were. A truly awful fate is to go to a friends home for an evening meal, and discovering the entire family has dabbled too deep, and are now horrifically mangled into utterly inimical madness machines, looking to kill and wreck everything they can reach.

Combat Tactics

Maddened Shreds are simple mindless vermin which arise from those fools who were lucky enough to die when they attempted to tap into the Outer Madness for 'power'. After they have arisen spontaneously (rather then being used by their mightier brethren as meaty problem detectors), they will typically search briefly for enemies to destroy, then become dormant until a living creature approaches, using the gore of their 'birth' to hide within. They will attempt to ambush, activate, and attack. Failing ambush, they scuttle close and attack, trying to pack in close to their enemies and use their Shredding Frenzy ability as often as possible, uncaring if they damage their allies. If their enemies withdraw and begin to use ranged attacks, they flee out of line of sight, hide, and go dormant to wait.

It is possible that some (many) of these awful things are made things, in which case they will follow the simple instructions given them by their creators. Indeed, Maddened Shreds are often found in the company of more intelligent Maddened, and serve the 'luckier' fiends as pets, guards, and attackers...rather like horrid cannibal zombie dogs made of peoples limbs and organs. Bleah.

Given their allegiance to Chaos, their mysterious creators or Maddened allies usually set them as guards or send them out to kill or kidnap whoever they encounter. They attack until they or their target is destroyed.

Out of Combat

As mindless vermin, Maddened Shreds simply wait, dormant, until activated by a victim approaching, or they perform the simple duty they were ordered to fulfill by their maker.

Rewards

XP: 4,800

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 3,875 gp.

Weight: 80 lbs.     Volume: 3.2 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)