Fax Celestis
2006-07-13, 03:51 PM
A hextomb bound creature is one that has gained longevity (and even nigh-immortality) through the profane forces at work in a hextomb.
Creating a Hextomb Bound
Hextomb bound is an acquired template that can be applied to any sentient, evil, living creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).
Size and Type
The creature’s type does not change, although it does acquire the (Evil) and (Augmented) subtypes. It uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Hit Dice
The base creature's hit dice alter up two steps, so that d4s become d8s, d6s become d10s, and d8s become d12s. If the base creature's hit dice were d10s, the dice become d12s and the base creature receives an additional hit point per die. If the base creature's hit dice were d12s, the dice do not upgrade, but the base creature receives an additional 2 points per die.
Speed
The base creature's speed in all forms of movement available to them before application increases by 10'.
Armor Class
The base creature receives a profane bonus to their Armor Class equal to 1/2 their hit dice.
Attacks
The base creature retains all natural weapons and weapon proficiencies. The hextomb bound's base attack bonus changes to that of a cleric of the same hit dice, even if this would lower their base attack bonus.
Damage
Weapons carried and used by the base creature are considered evil for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Special Attacks
The base creature retains all special attacks. In addition, six times per day the base creature can use negative energy burst, as the spell cast by a cleric of equal hit dice.
Special Qualities
The base creature retains all previous special qualities and gains the following:
Immunity to Cold (Ex)
Hextomb bound creatures are not affected by cold.
Damage Reduction (Ex)
A hextomb bound creature has damage reduction 15/good.
Spell Resistance (Ex)
A hextomb bound creature has spell resistance equal to 10 plus their Hit Dice.
Fast Healing (Su)
A hextomb bound creature gains fast healing equal to 1 point per Hit Die and can reattach missing limbs by holding the severed limb to the wound.
Profane Immunity (Su)
A hextomb bound creature's profane bonuses apply under any and all conditions short of actual death. This includes in areas where profane bonuses are normally purged. Similarly, they cannot be dispelled by dispel magic or the like.
Disease and Poison Immunity (Ex)
The hextomb bound creature is immune to all forms of disease and poison.
Create Undead (Sp)
A hextomb bound creature can create undead through its spell-like abilities. Twelve times a day, a hextomb bound can cast animate dead, as the spell. Six times a day, a hextomb bound creature can cast create undead, as the spell. Three times a day, a hextomb bound can cast create greater undead, as the spell. All these spell-like abilities use the base creature's Hit Dice as Caster Level.
Command Undead (Su)
A hextomb bound creature can command undead as a cleric of equal hit dice. A hextomb bound always has command of undead it creates, though they can be turned as normal.
Profane Aura (Su)
A hextomb bound creature is the center of a constant desecrate effect, effective out to 20'.
Eternal Unlife (Su)
A hextomb bound creature cannot be killed and is effectively immortal for as long as the other five creatures who performed the hextomb ritual are also alive. Slaying a hextomb bound will cause it to act as if it were dead, but it will only remain that way for 2d4+2 hours before reviving. Slaying all six hextomb bound creatures at the same time will kill all six, though the power of the hextomb itself remains. See Destroying a Hextomb Bound below.
Negative Energy Absorption (Su)
A hextomb bound creature is healed by all negative energy effects instead of damaged by them. Similarly, a hextomb bound creature is damaged by positive energy effects instead of healed.
Aversions (Su)
A hextomb bound creature's mind becomes twisted in the process of its transformation. All hextomb bound cannot stand the scent of mint or vanilla, though it does not harm them.
Energy Weaknesses (Su)
A hextomb bound takes one and a half times the normal amount of damage from fire and positive energy and cannot use its fast healing ability to restore hit points lost to fire and positive energy damage.
Hextomb Dependency (Su)
A hextomb bound must remain within six hundred and sixty six miles of the hextomb or immediately receive one negative level. This negative level cannot be dispelled and remains until the hextomb bound returns within that area. In addition, if the hextomb bound does not spend at least one night every thirty-six days in the hextomb, they again receive a negative level until they do spend a night in the hextomb. Once afflicted with one negative level for missing a night, they continue to receive negative levels at a rate of one level per night if they fail to sleep in the hextomb.
Should a hextomb bound die due to negative levels gained in this way, their soul is immediately consumed by the negative energy of the hextomb. All other hextomb bound must make a Fortitude save versus a DC equal to 10 + the slain hextomb bound's ECL or succumb to a similar fate. Should one of the other hextomb bound fail this save, the remaining must make a similar save or also be consumed.
Saves
A hextomb bound creature retains saves it had prior to template application, though it receives a +4 profane bonus to all saving throws.
Abilities
The base creature receives a +3 profane bonus to all its ability scores.
Skills
The base creature receives a +2 profane bonus to each skill it already has ranks in.
Feats and Spells
The base creature retains all feats and spellcasting ability.
Alignment
Always evil.
Advancement
As base creature.
CR
+5
LA
+8
Becoming a Hextomb Bound
In order to become a hextomb bound, the base creature and five other creatures (the ritualists) wishing to become hextomb bound must build a hexagonal mausoleum (a hextomb), ten feet per wall, with six deep graves radiating from the central point.
The ritualists must then gather up 6 innocents a piece, for a total of 36. After casting unhallow, blasphemy and desecrate on the hextomb, the ritualists must cast contagion, symbol of pain, and symbol of insanity in such a way as to affect all innocents. Each innocent must suffer the full effects of the contagion, symbol of pain, and symbol of insanity effects or the ritual will not work. After this, the ritualists must bury the innocents alive in the six graves. The ritualists must sleep on top of the graves--one per grave--and will acquire the hextomb bound template during the course of the night.
Destroying a Hextomb Bound
In order to fully destroy a hextomb bound creature, all six of the hextomb bound who performed the ritual must all be dead at the same time. Note that when slain a hextomb bound remains effectively "dead" for 2d4+2 hours before reviving itself. However, this only destroys their physical bodies. If the hextomb itself is not destroyed within 1d3-1 (0 meaning "immediately") days after the destruction of the ritualists, it raises each of the ritualists as ghosts. The ritualists acquire the effects of the ghost template as well as keep the hextomb bound template. Usually the first thing that the ritualists will do is seek revenge.
In order to destroy the hextomb itself, a consecrate and hallow spell must be cast within the hextomb, and raise dead must be cast on each of the graves inside. Finally, the mausoleum must be destroyed or otherwise taken apart. This can be accomplished while the ritualists are either dead or in ghost form, but is easier to accomplish while they are dead.
Creating a Hextomb Bound
Hextomb bound is an acquired template that can be applied to any sentient, evil, living creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).
Size and Type
The creature’s type does not change, although it does acquire the (Evil) and (Augmented) subtypes. It uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Hit Dice
The base creature's hit dice alter up two steps, so that d4s become d8s, d6s become d10s, and d8s become d12s. If the base creature's hit dice were d10s, the dice become d12s and the base creature receives an additional hit point per die. If the base creature's hit dice were d12s, the dice do not upgrade, but the base creature receives an additional 2 points per die.
Speed
The base creature's speed in all forms of movement available to them before application increases by 10'.
Armor Class
The base creature receives a profane bonus to their Armor Class equal to 1/2 their hit dice.
Attacks
The base creature retains all natural weapons and weapon proficiencies. The hextomb bound's base attack bonus changes to that of a cleric of the same hit dice, even if this would lower their base attack bonus.
Damage
Weapons carried and used by the base creature are considered evil for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Special Attacks
The base creature retains all special attacks. In addition, six times per day the base creature can use negative energy burst, as the spell cast by a cleric of equal hit dice.
Special Qualities
The base creature retains all previous special qualities and gains the following:
Immunity to Cold (Ex)
Hextomb bound creatures are not affected by cold.
Damage Reduction (Ex)
A hextomb bound creature has damage reduction 15/good.
Spell Resistance (Ex)
A hextomb bound creature has spell resistance equal to 10 plus their Hit Dice.
Fast Healing (Su)
A hextomb bound creature gains fast healing equal to 1 point per Hit Die and can reattach missing limbs by holding the severed limb to the wound.
Profane Immunity (Su)
A hextomb bound creature's profane bonuses apply under any and all conditions short of actual death. This includes in areas where profane bonuses are normally purged. Similarly, they cannot be dispelled by dispel magic or the like.
Disease and Poison Immunity (Ex)
The hextomb bound creature is immune to all forms of disease and poison.
Create Undead (Sp)
A hextomb bound creature can create undead through its spell-like abilities. Twelve times a day, a hextomb bound can cast animate dead, as the spell. Six times a day, a hextomb bound creature can cast create undead, as the spell. Three times a day, a hextomb bound can cast create greater undead, as the spell. All these spell-like abilities use the base creature's Hit Dice as Caster Level.
Command Undead (Su)
A hextomb bound creature can command undead as a cleric of equal hit dice. A hextomb bound always has command of undead it creates, though they can be turned as normal.
Profane Aura (Su)
A hextomb bound creature is the center of a constant desecrate effect, effective out to 20'.
Eternal Unlife (Su)
A hextomb bound creature cannot be killed and is effectively immortal for as long as the other five creatures who performed the hextomb ritual are also alive. Slaying a hextomb bound will cause it to act as if it were dead, but it will only remain that way for 2d4+2 hours before reviving. Slaying all six hextomb bound creatures at the same time will kill all six, though the power of the hextomb itself remains. See Destroying a Hextomb Bound below.
Negative Energy Absorption (Su)
A hextomb bound creature is healed by all negative energy effects instead of damaged by them. Similarly, a hextomb bound creature is damaged by positive energy effects instead of healed.
Aversions (Su)
A hextomb bound creature's mind becomes twisted in the process of its transformation. All hextomb bound cannot stand the scent of mint or vanilla, though it does not harm them.
Energy Weaknesses (Su)
A hextomb bound takes one and a half times the normal amount of damage from fire and positive energy and cannot use its fast healing ability to restore hit points lost to fire and positive energy damage.
Hextomb Dependency (Su)
A hextomb bound must remain within six hundred and sixty six miles of the hextomb or immediately receive one negative level. This negative level cannot be dispelled and remains until the hextomb bound returns within that area. In addition, if the hextomb bound does not spend at least one night every thirty-six days in the hextomb, they again receive a negative level until they do spend a night in the hextomb. Once afflicted with one negative level for missing a night, they continue to receive negative levels at a rate of one level per night if they fail to sleep in the hextomb.
Should a hextomb bound die due to negative levels gained in this way, their soul is immediately consumed by the negative energy of the hextomb. All other hextomb bound must make a Fortitude save versus a DC equal to 10 + the slain hextomb bound's ECL or succumb to a similar fate. Should one of the other hextomb bound fail this save, the remaining must make a similar save or also be consumed.
Saves
A hextomb bound creature retains saves it had prior to template application, though it receives a +4 profane bonus to all saving throws.
Abilities
The base creature receives a +3 profane bonus to all its ability scores.
Skills
The base creature receives a +2 profane bonus to each skill it already has ranks in.
Feats and Spells
The base creature retains all feats and spellcasting ability.
Alignment
Always evil.
Advancement
As base creature.
CR
+5
LA
+8
Becoming a Hextomb Bound
In order to become a hextomb bound, the base creature and five other creatures (the ritualists) wishing to become hextomb bound must build a hexagonal mausoleum (a hextomb), ten feet per wall, with six deep graves radiating from the central point.
The ritualists must then gather up 6 innocents a piece, for a total of 36. After casting unhallow, blasphemy and desecrate on the hextomb, the ritualists must cast contagion, symbol of pain, and symbol of insanity in such a way as to affect all innocents. Each innocent must suffer the full effects of the contagion, symbol of pain, and symbol of insanity effects or the ritual will not work. After this, the ritualists must bury the innocents alive in the six graves. The ritualists must sleep on top of the graves--one per grave--and will acquire the hextomb bound template during the course of the night.
Destroying a Hextomb Bound
In order to fully destroy a hextomb bound creature, all six of the hextomb bound who performed the ritual must all be dead at the same time. Note that when slain a hextomb bound remains effectively "dead" for 2d4+2 hours before reviving itself. However, this only destroys their physical bodies. If the hextomb itself is not destroyed within 1d3-1 (0 meaning "immediately") days after the destruction of the ritualists, it raises each of the ritualists as ghosts. The ritualists acquire the effects of the ghost template as well as keep the hextomb bound template. Usually the first thing that the ritualists will do is seek revenge.
In order to destroy the hextomb itself, a consecrate and hallow spell must be cast within the hextomb, and raise dead must be cast on each of the graves inside. Finally, the mausoleum must be destroyed or otherwise taken apart. This can be accomplished while the ritualists are either dead or in ghost form, but is easier to accomplish while they are dead.