Talk:Monster Patterns and Roles

Note: Re-name templates to either 'Pattern', 'Type', or 'Model'. So you'd have a 'Fey Type Owlbear', or a 'Fiendish Model Orc', for example. Bad idea? Good idea?

Note: Damage model

• Added melee/ranged attacks do 1d6 damage plus 2 per base CR up to CR20, plus 3 per base CR 21+
• Added swift action powers do 1d4 per base CR
• Added Standard action powers do 1d6 per base CR
• Added Alpha powers do 1d8 per base CR to CR25, 1d8+1 per base CR 26+

New Templates:

• Alchemical Waxwork +1 CR, change to construct, gains construct immunities and acts mindless. Vulnerable to fire, DR to bludgeoning and ER electricity/sonic gains freeze special to make stealth rolls in plain sight
• Two-Headed +1 CR Gain Swift attack Bite, or, Swift attack melee attack. Use one power as an immediate reaction once per encounter.
• Zombie Creature +1 CR, gain undead properties, zombie rot to all attacks

• Absolute Creature = +2 CR Resolute + a power
• Alchemically Invisible +2 CR Gains Greater Invisibility. Yikes.
• Dogmatic Creature = As Celestial only against any enemy, +2 CR
• Mercurial Creature = +2 CR Entropic + a power
• Wormskull Creature +2 CR, gain reach 2 melee bonus attack as swift action doing main attack damage

• Agile +3 CR, gains +3AC, Touch and Flatfooted AC are ignored. +2 to-hit and +5 damage
• Potent Creature = +3 CR, shrug a condition 1/encounter as a swift, smite vs any enemy as swift, +3 to-hit, +5 damage, hp as new CR

• Horrendous Creature = +7 CR (old pseudonatural?)

slapping this in here as a rough draft, will tinker on this later.

Wormskull Creature

The creation of a Wormskull creature begins when any corporeal creature with a brain is infected with the horrific Wormskull parasites. They begin by eating portions of the subject's brain until just the part is left that allows the creature to move. The parasites then multiply, filling the creature's near-empty skull with hundreds or thousands of their threadlike bodies. From there, the parasites thread their way through the hosts entire body, following nerves and blood vessels. The parasites then effectively recreate the original creature's mind through some eldritch psionic process.

Once the worms have rebuilt the brain, the wormskull creature 'wakes up'. It seems to be exactly the same person it once was, it has all the memories and even personality of the original creature, except that it is now lawful evil and sincerely is a member of the Wormskull race. As a result, it will blend back into its old life, but it will seek to spread the parasites to others, so that they may also know the happiness of being one of the collective.

Once the parasites are mature, they create large amounts of psionic ectoplasmic ichor, which floods the skull and eventually begins to run out of the hosts nose, mouth, ears, and eyes. This ichor is non-corporeal unless the Wormskull wishes it to be solid, and as a result often appears in pendulous drops, seeming to ooze from its head orifices or straight out of their skin or hair, a bilious grey-green translucent slime.

A Wormskull creature can think for itself. Although its brain is nearly gone, the psionic slime put in to replace the gray matter gives the creature the ability to function even better intellectually than it could before the transformation. The Wormskull process also leaves a creature faster, stronger, tougher, and (most important for the parasites) unchanged in physical appearance. A Wormskull creature looks in every way like the creature from which it was made, except for the occasional leak of a small amount of the greenish fluid.

A Wormskull creature is bound to its new family, and sincerely wishes to spread the parasites to all they meet. That said, they are far from stupid, and realize that the meat around them will resist furiously if they figure out what is going on. So, a wormskull will lie low, slowly and patiently infecting and infesting others. There are tales of adventurers finding entire towns and cities that ran in amazing harmony, until nearly every inhabitant was revealed to be horrific monsters. Creating A Wormskull Creature

"Wormskull" is an acquired template that can be added to any creature with a brain. It can even be used by undead, and if they were formerly mindless, the parasites will dredge up a copy of the original person's mind and start trying to deal with being a wormskull with rot issues.

A Wormskull creature uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Armor Class: Natural armor bonus improves by 2 (this stacks with any natural armor bonus the base creature has).

Attacks: A Wormskull creature gains an ectoplasmic tentacle attack. At will, the creature can extrude a tentacle from the psionic slime in the creature's skull. This tentacle sprouts from the head of the Wormskull creature and can attack with a reach 5 feet longer than the base creature's normal reach.

If the base creature can use weapons, the Wormskull creature retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A Wormskull creature fighting without weapons uses the primary natural attacks of the base creature, or the tentacle attack if the base creature doesn't have natural weapons. When it has a weapon, it usually uses the weapon instead.

Full Attack: A Wormskull creature fighting without weapons uses the natural weapons of the base creature, its tentacle attack if the base creature doesn't have natural weapons. If armed with a weapon, it uses the weapon to make its full attack.

Damage: A Wormskull creature gains an ectoplasmic tentacle attack which is a swift action and does damage equal to it's standard action attack. This attack has five feet more reach than the Wormskull's other attacks. In addition, a Wormskull creature gains the improved grab ability with its tentacle (see Special Attacks, below).

Special Attacks: A Wormskull creature retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following special abilities.

Parasite touch(Ex): Whenever it makes a successful tentacle attack, the victm must make a Will saving throw against a DC for the Wormskull's adjusted CR, or some of the parasite-infested slime sinks into their bodies and they gain a Parasite Infection.

Cone of Slime (Su): Once per day, as a standard action, a Wormskull creature can expel the psionically charged slime in its head in a 30-foot cone. This attack deals an alpha strike in acid damage. A successful Reflex save against a DC of the Wormskull's adjusted CR halves the damage. In addition, any creature that takes damage from the spray must make a Will save against Parasite Touch, above.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a Wormskull creature must hit a creature of its size category or smaller with its tentacle attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. A Wormskull creature has a +4 CMB on grapple checks made with its tentacle. If the creature wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict.

Constrict (Ex): A Wormskull creature gains the ability to constrict its victim with a successful grapple check. When it constricts, its ectoplasmic tentacle deals damage based on the creature's principal melee attack.

Multimind(Ex): A Wormskull creature's tentacle attacks of its own accord. The creature can direct it to attack certain targets, but the psionic nature of the tentacle enables it to flex and move in combat without hindering the creature's other combat abilities. A Wormskull grimlock that has successfully grappled a creature with its tentacle can attack another creature at no penalty, as long as that creature is within a distance equal to the tentacle's reach. This ability of the thousands of parasites to concentrate on many htings at once is also the reason they get Combat Reflexes.

Special Qualities: A Wormskull creature retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following special abilities.

Damage Reduction (Ex): A Wormskull creature has damage reduction equal to its CR/slashing.

Immunities (Ex): A Wormskull creature has immunity to acid and mind-affecting spells and abilities (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects). It is also immune to ability damage, ability drain, and energy drain.

Spell Resistance (Ex): None

Abilities: Change from the base creature as follows: Str +4, Dex +2, Con +4, Int +2, Cha -2 (minimum 1).

Skills: Wormskull creatures have a +4 racial bonus on Bluff, Escape Artist, Perception, and Intimidate checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.

Feats: A Wormskull creature gains Alertness and Combat Reflexes.

Challenge Rating: +2.

Treasure: Standard.

Alignment: Usually lawful evil.