Eldritch Creature

'Eldritch Creature' is a pattern that can be added to any creature to symbolize that they either hail from the vasty depths of the Deep Dark, or they have been tainted with the staining touch of the Outer Madness...or maybe it means something else entirely!

Weird, terrible, tentacle-laden creatures that have been twisted away from the course of Nature. Monsters touched by Aboleth genes, mutations, un-known horrors, chaos-spawned monstrosities, the results of Alchemical or Sorcerous experiments, all these are things that can be modeled with the Eldritch Creature pattern.

Eldritch Creature is a powerful pattern, and can be used to create eerie, awful things to inhabit time-lost ruins, planets filled with ineffable horrors, and the dross-pits of the Unterwelt.

An Eldritch Creature uses all of the base creature's statistics and abilities except as noted below.

CR (challenge rating)

Same as base creature +3.

Size and Type

The creature's Size does not change. It's Type remains the same but it gains the subtype Eldritch.

Initiative Modifier

The creature's initiative modifier increases by +6.

Senses

All senses such as scent, tremorsense, keen hearing, etc are unchanged. An Eldritch Creature gains Lifesense equal to the range of its longest-range sense, or 60 feet, whichever is longer. An Eldritch Creature gains +3 on Perception skill rolls.

Armor Class

Eldritch Creatures gain +2 AC.

Hit Dice

Eldritch Creatures gain +10 hp per Hit Die of their adjusted CR.

Defensive Ability

The Eldritch Creature gains the following abilities, which may be added to their Bestiary entry:

• Piping Whistle. As a Standard action, an Eldritch Creature can generate a high, beautiful sound, that quickly becomes nigh-intolerable as it just...drills...right...into...your...mind. Piping Whistle inflicts Distracted on all enemy creatures to which it has line of effect within one square per adjusted CR (challenge rating) of the Eldritch Creature. There is no saving throw, and only magical Silence can block this effect. How...incredibly...annoying....

Aura: - Same as Base Creature

SR: - Same as Base Creature

Special Defenses: Same as Base Creature

• Eldritch Creatures gain a +3 untyped bonus on all Saving Throws.

Immunities: Same as Base Creature.

Weaknesses: Same as Base Creature

Out of Combat

Same as Base Creature.

Speed

An Eldritch Creature's base speed improves by ten feet in all movement categories it has.

• An Eldritch Creature gains Teleport as a move type, equal to its longest move granted by any other power or 60 feet, whichever is longer. Eldritch creatures may not use Teleport to take five foot steps, withdraw, or make a Run maneuver.

Melee Attacks

The Eldritch Creature retains all the base creature's attacks . It gains a +3 untyped bonus to-hit with all attacks.

Damage

The Eldritch Creature does the same damage and effects as the base creature. It gains a +5 untyped bonus to all damage it inflicts, and all DC's are raised by +3.

Space and Reach

No Changes.

Offensive Ability

• Eldritch Seizure. As a swift action, an Eldritch Creature may roll a Grapple Combat maneuver against any creature within CR/10 squares of its space, round up. This may be a darting tentacle that attaches to its foe, or a weird distortion in space itself, a dose of its maddened gaze, or even a purely mental effect as its otherworldly mind seizes yours directly. The details of the attack are left to the DM, with an eye toward being extra creepy, but in all cases, the mechanics are the same: The Eldritch creature rolls its Maneuver Offense with a +5 untyped bonus. If it beats the foes Maneuver Defense, the foe is Grappled, but the Eldritch Creature is not. Eldritch Seizure is a supernatural ability and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

• Rotting Grasp. If an Eldritch Creature begins a round with an enemy Grappled with its Eldritch Seizure, as a swift action, it can make a Maneuver Offense roll (at an untyped +5 bonus) to inflict normal melee damage on it. In addition to that melee damage, the +5 bonus damage granted by the Eldritch Creature Pattern is treated as Primal (unresistable) damage, and the grappled victim suffers 2 points of Constitution Damage

Ability Scores

An Eldritch Creature adds +4 to all stats, although it is so alien that the extra mental stats may not make it seem any smarter.

Maneuver Offense and Maneuver Defense

The Eldritch Creature gains a +2 untyped bonus to Maneuver Offense and Maneuver Defense rolls. This bonus does not stack with the Eldritch Seizure boost, and is used for all other Combat Maneuvers.

Feats

Optionally, add one non-combat oriented feat, for flavor. Or just wing it! DM fiat is a wonderful thing.

Skills

Gains Knowledge (Planes) at CR+15. Optionally, add one other skill at CR+10.