Fungal Zombie

Fungal Zombie (CR 23)

Chaotic Evil - Medium - Undead (Plant)

Lore:	Know (Religion)
47		59
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

39

Perception:
51	+41
Passive	Active

Ambush:

9+

on a d20

• Ambush Notes: Fungal Zombies often have weird growths that break up their shapes, making it easier for them to blend into their surroundings. As they become mightier, they grow ever more difficult to separate from their backgrounds, making their ambushes more effective.

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Darkvision 80 ft.
• Mindsense 60 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 60 ft.
• Vaulting 50 ft.

Defense

AC

50

Man Def

51

Monster Health
1,558	779	44
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+25
Refl:	+20
Will:	+20

• Maneuver Defense Notes: Due to their weird growths, they are difficult to affect with combat maneuvers

Strong Against:

• (Undead 1) Immune (no effect): diseases (infected, diseased, blighted), poisons (tainted, poisoned, blighted), ability damage (dilution, damage, drain), and essence damage (suppression, omission, destruction)
• (Undead 2) Immune (no effect): bleeds (bruised, bleed, ruptured), fatigued, exhausted
• (Undead 3) Immune (no effect): magical sleep (drowsy, sluggish, asleep), paralyzed, stunned
• (Undead 4) Immune (no effect): any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless)
• (Plant 1) Immune (no effect): poisons (tainted, poisoned, blighted), magical sleep (drowsy, sluggish, asleep), paralyzed, stunned, polymorph
• (Plant 2) Immune (no effect): Forced movement (including Drag, Reposition), Prone (quelled, prone, splayed)

Weak Against:

Offense

Size:	Medium
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+33

Man Off

+39

Action

0

Points

• Maneuver Offense Notes: Due to their weird growths, they are difficult to resist with combat maneuvers

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Spore-Laden Bite +33 (5d10+46/x2)
  as gnashing (physical, uncommon)
  plus Zombie Fungus

Full Attack (Melee):

• 1x Spore-Laden Bite +33 (5d10+46/x2)
  as gnashing (physical, uncommon)
  plus Zombie Fungus
• 2x Gouging Grasp +33 (5d6+19/x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Hurl Vile offal +34 (5d10+51/x2)
  as negative (energy, uncommon)
  (Increment: 60 ft.; Max Range: 300 ft.)
  plus Vile Offal Splatter

Full Attack (Ranged):

• 3x Hurl Vile offal +34 (5d10+51/x2)
  as negative (energy, uncommon)
  (Increment: 60 ft.; Max Range: 300 ft.)
  plus Vile Offal Splatter

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

26

STR

23

DEX

—

CON

4

INT

16

WIS

10

CHA

Skills:

• Perception: 41
• Sense Motive: 38
• Stealth: 38
• All other skills: 33 (no ranks)

Languages:

Feats:

• Improved Combat Maneuvers (EFFECT: +2 feat bonus to Maneuver Offense and Maneuver Defense, inflict extra damage.)

Special Abilities

Sense Life (Su) Always On

A fungal zombie can sense life within 60 feet, and once detected, are unshakably persistent stalkers. This sense grants them a bonus to their Perception checks equal to their hit dice (+44), and allows them to passively perceive invisible living creatures, though they must still roll perception to detect stealthed creatures. If they detect an invisible creature, that creature gets only partial concealment (automatically miss on a natural result of a 6 or less on the d20) against the zombie's attacks.

Hurl Vile Offal (Su) Standard Action

A Fungal Zombie seethes with vile negative (energy, uncommon) energy, causing its flesh to swell and weep from rents within its skin, hideous growths rooted within. This fungal flesh is torn loose by the Fungal Zombie and hot, wet clumps are hurled, dripping and vile, at their enemies. Using Hurl Vile Offal never provokes attacks of opportunity, even if the Fungal Zombie is in melee, and has a range increment of 60 feet. Note that the Fungal Zombie may not use Hurl Vile Offal as an opportunity attack; instead it uses its Virulent Bite attack for threatening, flanks, and attacks of opportunity. If the Hurl Vile Offal attack misses, there is no Vile Offal Splatter effect, nor is scatter rolled.

Vile Offal Splatter (Su) Automatic on Hit

When a Fungal Zombie uses its Hurl Vile Offal ranged attack and successfully hits, all creatures within 10 feet of the targetted space of the targeted enemy are subject to Vile Offal Splatter. This is similar to splash damage, inflicting 44 points of negative (energy, uncommon) energy damage on all affected targets. There is no saving throw against this effect. Note that, because this is negative energy damage, it will heal undead and other creatures healed by negative energy. If the Hurl Offal attack misses, there is no Offal Splatter effect, nor is scatter rolled.

Spore Burst (Ex) Immediate Action

Up to once per round, a Fungal Zombie may trigger their Spore Burst Power after they have taken any sort of damage from any effect (usually a player attack). A growth on their body bursts messily, and a mass of spores flies forth. This mass of spores has a range of 60 feet, and affects an area around a target square of 3x3x3 squares. This target square must be a square occupied by the creature that used the triggering attack. All enemy creatures in the area of effect suffer 5d6+21 rot (physical, rare) damage and are subject to the effects of Zombie Fungus. If the target makes a successful DEX save against a target DC of 33, the damage is halved, but the Zombie Fungus takes effect regardless.

Zombie Fungus (Ex) Automatic after successful attack

A creature struck by a fungal zombie's bite or targeted by its spore burst may also be affected by a poison which quickly rots the flesh, liquefying both muscle and bone: Zombie Poison    (Injury vector; Poisoned intensity) Save: Fort DC 33;     Frequency: 1/round for 3 rounds Effect: 1d4+2 CON damage and 5d8+32 points of poison (physical, uncommon) damage per interval, and target is Impaired Fruition: Victim becomes Crippled; this cannot be cured as described in the condition, and requires the application of a Neutralize Poison spell. Fruition Duration: 1 day (full-night's rest).

Fungal Zombie

Most zombies are shambling undead horrors which mindlessly seek the flesh of the living. But a large minority of zombies develop into far worse things, their undead flesh warping and corrupting with negative power and stinking corruption.

Of these greater types of zombies, one of the most mighty is the Fungal Zombie. The hideous contagion seething in its flesh lends it much greater vigor than lesser zombies, and the bulging, oozing tissue that seeps from the wounds upon its form provide a ready supply of ammunition for its disgusting attacks. Even worse, foul spores find a rich growth media in its disgustingly fetid tissues, and their awful growths both disfigure its form with disgusting fleshy growths, but lend it terrible additional maladies in the form of harmful spores, as if the vile undead monstrosity was not bad enough on its own.

Fungal zombies are infested, bounding, horrifying beasts, extremely mighty, and their advent is a signal for the most powerful heroes of nations and even entire worlds to attend their presence.

Combat Tactics

Fungal zombies are simple creatures. They are astoundingly fast on their feet, the fungal growths making their motions weirdly fast and sure, and even more horribly, they posses the strength and dexterity to make astonishing leaps. Fungal Zombies can and will move a lot, even if they must give up fukl attacks, in order to reach their hated living foes with their ranged attacks.

Their Sense Living ability means they will nearly ALWAYS sense living creatures (except on a natural 1), and this will make invisibility users very sad indeed, although Stealth can confuse them.

Fungal zombies will always seek to attack from range with their Vile Offal, and they will often use their incredible Vaulting movement to get to positions from which they can throw their fungal filth.

They always use Hurl Vile Offal at range if they can, pulling out and throwing disgusting lumpy wads of their own rotten tissue laced with fungal....matter. This simple tactic serves them well, as any of their zombie allies that are affected by splatters gain some healing. In melee, they will bite, which is terrible enough, but the Zombie Fungus they inflict is a terrifying thing indeed.

Fungal Zombies almost always use their Spore Cloud power against the first creature that attacks them in the first round, but after the first round, they will often switch the spore bursts to target ranged attackers (roll 2-6 on a d6 to target a ranged attacker if it exists.) Spore cloud does not heal the Fungal Zombies, so they will still prefer to use their Hurl Vile Offal power, as well. Fights against Fungal Zombies are often messy affairs, and since the Zombie Fungus carried by their bites and spores is unavoidable, it is wise to have a Neutralize Poison, or a dozen, available if fungal zombies are present.

Unlike most zombies, Fungal Zombies are destroyed when their hitpoints are exhausted, and do not spawn killer 'bits'. The fungal growths do have some detriments.

Fungal Zombies are not quite perfectly mindless, and if they encounter a foe who is immune to or helped by their negative energy attacks they will switch to biting or clawing attacks.

Fungal Zombies are known to infest the deeps of the earth, ruins, dungeons, swamps, and even cold deserts, forests, etc. Anywhere things molder and rot, fungal zombies can be found. Even worse, fungal zombies are often found with Mu Spores, and it is speculated the two terrors have some sort of parasitic relation, as Fungal Zombies have exhibited vague cooperation with the giant fungal monsters.

Like all undead, Fungal Zombies will rise, and rise, and rise again, until they are properly and utterly destroyed.

Out of Combat

Immortality
Many undead creatures, such as this one, cannot be killed by normal means. However, it will lie shattered and dormant after being defeated for up to a century before rising again to seek to rid the world of life. Casting either Sanctify Corpse (Cleric Spell) or Gentle Repose (Cleric Spell) on the defeated corpse of the creature will add an additional one hundred years to the time it takes for it to re-compose. Laying the defeated corpse on consecrated ground for a full day will prevent it from ever rising again, as will casting Rest Eternal (Cleric Spell) on it. Applying Raise Dead (Cleric Spell), Resurrection (Cleric Spell), or using similar life-giving abilities will restore the original soul back to the corpse, bringing that person back to life and permanently destroying the necromantic animus that had possessed the body previously. This creature's body will never decay (further than it already has) nor age due to time or neglect.

Rewards

XP: 819,200

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 221,909 gp.

Weight: 230 lbs.     Volume: 9.2 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)