Fako
2008-08-10, 01:36 PM
This is my first homebrew, so I'm still trying to learn the techniques of it... please critique honestly, and feel free to tell me where I messed up...
Centuries ago, a necromantic lich plagued the land with his undead creations. While his experiments varied widely in size, shape, and function, they all bore his signature - they all had the ability to drip flesh blood. At the height of his reign of terror, a group of powerful adventurers invaded his castle, intent on destroying him. They emerged victorious, and brought his destroyed phycaltery with them as proof of his destruction... or so everyone thought...
It now appears that either he tricked the adventurers and somehow escaped, or someone has managed to mimic his signature, as new breeds of undead are appearing, all of which drip blood..
Among the worst is the Skinshred Swarm, a diabolical tornado of razor-edged skin. However, the swarm itself is not the main problem - it is the disease that it carries that makes it horrible. The disease, known as Skin Crawl, will create a new Skinshred Swarm out of anyone unfortunate enough to be infected by it...
May the Gods help us all...
-Jazu the Arch Mage, sole survivor of the Andores Tower Massacre
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Skinshred Swarm
Diminutive Undead (Swarm)
Hit Dice: 12d12 plus 36 (114 hp)
Initiative: +11
Speed: Fly 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 21 (+4 size, +7 Dex), touch 21, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple +6/-
Attack: Swarm (3d6 plus skin crawl)
Full-Attack: Swarm (3d6 plus skin crawl)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/0 ft
Special Attacks: Distraction, skin crawl, whelm
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, unholy toughness, strip flesh, immune to weapon damage, blood drip, change pigment, hive mind, swarm traits, undead traits
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +11, Will +7
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 24, Con -, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 14
Skills: Disguise +17, Hide +22, Listen + 16, Perform(dance) + 17, Spot +16
Feats: Ability Focus (skin crawl), Ability Focus (whelm), Improved Initiative, Improved Toughness, Lifesense (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Lifesense,LM)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, storm (2-4 swarms), or plague (7-12 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 9
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: -
As you continue through the darkness, the wind that you've been hearing suddenly changes pitch. Confused, you look behind you to see a cloud of some cloth-like substance, swarming around menacingly. Bile rises into your throat when you look the second time, as you can tell the cloth-like substance is actually strips of flesh, still fresh and supple. As it approaches to attack, it leaves drops of blood in its wake...
Skinshred Swarms are clouds of undead skin, animated by the final stage of the Skin Crawl disease. They take pleasure in only one thing: killing. However, they prefer to kill their prey... creatively... using their abilities to hide and disguise themselves until it is too late for the victim to run.
Skinshred Swarms rarely speak, but they can move in intricate patterns to create an airy voice similar to wind blowing through trees. They speak Common and Draconic.
Combat: Skinshred Swarms love combat, but they prefer to ambush their prey, as their victims are more likely to be easily slaughtered that way. If they are facing only one enemy, they will happily use their Whelm ability to quickly dispatch them.
Blood Drip (Su): A Skinshred Swarm can release up to 6 drops of blood as a free action. While this provides it no statistical benefit, it is normally used as a way to lure prey to a dark alley, allowing it to kill them... privately...
Change Pigment (Su): As a full-round action, the disease animating the Skinshread Swarm can drain or add pigment to the cloud of skin, allowing it to blend in with its surroundings, such as a snowstorm or autumn leaves. It gains a +10 circumstance bonus on its next Hide or Disguise check.
Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a skinshred swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Hive Mind (Ex): In high quantities, the disease animating a skinshred swarm develops a terrible level of intellect. As long as it has at least 1 hp, the skincrawl swarm has an Intelligence score of 12.
Skin Crawl (Su): Any living creature struck by the skinshred's swarm damage must succeed on a DC 20 Fortitude save or contract Skin Crawl (description below). The save DC is Charisma-based.
Strip Flesh (Su): Whenever the skinshred swarm deals swarm damage, it rips away part of its victim's skin. The skinshred swarm recovers 1 hp for every 3 points of swarm damage dealt.
Unholy Toughness (Ex): The magical disease animating a skinshred swarm provides it with extra vitality. The skinshred swarm gains additional hp equal to its Charisma modifier times its HD.
Whelm (Ex): As a full-round action, the skinshred swarm can attempt to wrap itself around a creature of size Large or smaller. The victim must succeed on a DC 25 Reflex save or be engulfed by the cloud. It loses all senses and ability to act, automatically contracts skin crawl, and must make a save every round against the effects of skin crawl due to the volume of the disease being poured into it. While using Whelm, the skinshred swarm loses its Dexterity to AC as well as its immunity to weapon damage. However, any damage done to the skinshred swarm deals an equal amount of damage to its victim. The victim can escape by succeeding on either a DC 20 Strength check or a DC 25 Escape Artist check. The save DC for Whelm is Dexterity-based.
Explanations
I figured I needed to put this in here, at least to explain the bizarre skill selection...
The intention of the Blood Drip and Change Pigment abilities, as well as the Disguise skill, are to give it ways to ambush prey during the day, when shadows are hard to find.
Perform (Dance) is the only skill I could think of that might include knowledge of how to move the swarm to mimic sounds, such as a light breeze or a voice.
It has Unholy Toughness simply because the group I play with loves blaster casters, so the extra HP is to let it survive another round or two.
I'm pretty sure Whelm is too wordy, but I don't know how to condense it...
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Skin Crawl
Skin Crawl is a vicious magical disease, known for its rapid onset and progression. It gets its name from its primary symptom: it makes the skin of its victim ripple and crawl as it detaches the skin from the body.
Incubation Period: 1d3 minutes
Save: DC 20 Fortitude, 3 consecutive successes to fight off the infection
Ability Damage: 1d4 Dexterity damage plus 1 Wisdom drain
Special: Unlike normal diseases, the victim must make a save every hour to avoid progression of the disease, as opposed to every day. When the victim's Dexterity reaches zero, its skin tears away from its body, forming a new Skinshred Swarm. Whether the victim survives after this is under GM discretion.
Treatment: If the infected area is on a limb, amputation can prevent the spread of the disease if it is caught early (before victim fails a save). Remove Disease doesn't work, but instead renders the disease dormant for four hours. Remove Curse followed by Remove Disease allows the target to make a DC 20 Fortitude save, with success meaning the infection is destroyed. Heal, Limited Wish, Wish, or Miracle all remove the infection instantly...but that's to be expected of such powerful magic.
--------
So, what do you think? Any suggestions/comments/places where I messed up?
Centuries ago, a necromantic lich plagued the land with his undead creations. While his experiments varied widely in size, shape, and function, they all bore his signature - they all had the ability to drip flesh blood. At the height of his reign of terror, a group of powerful adventurers invaded his castle, intent on destroying him. They emerged victorious, and brought his destroyed phycaltery with them as proof of his destruction... or so everyone thought...
It now appears that either he tricked the adventurers and somehow escaped, or someone has managed to mimic his signature, as new breeds of undead are appearing, all of which drip blood..
Among the worst is the Skinshred Swarm, a diabolical tornado of razor-edged skin. However, the swarm itself is not the main problem - it is the disease that it carries that makes it horrible. The disease, known as Skin Crawl, will create a new Skinshred Swarm out of anyone unfortunate enough to be infected by it...
May the Gods help us all...
-Jazu the Arch Mage, sole survivor of the Andores Tower Massacre
--------
Skinshred Swarm
Diminutive Undead (Swarm)
Hit Dice: 12d12 plus 36 (114 hp)
Initiative: +11
Speed: Fly 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 21 (+4 size, +7 Dex), touch 21, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple +6/-
Attack: Swarm (3d6 plus skin crawl)
Full-Attack: Swarm (3d6 plus skin crawl)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/0 ft
Special Attacks: Distraction, skin crawl, whelm
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, unholy toughness, strip flesh, immune to weapon damage, blood drip, change pigment, hive mind, swarm traits, undead traits
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +11, Will +7
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 24, Con -, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 14
Skills: Disguise +17, Hide +22, Listen + 16, Perform(dance) + 17, Spot +16
Feats: Ability Focus (skin crawl), Ability Focus (whelm), Improved Initiative, Improved Toughness, Lifesense (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Lifesense,LM)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, storm (2-4 swarms), or plague (7-12 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 9
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: -
As you continue through the darkness, the wind that you've been hearing suddenly changes pitch. Confused, you look behind you to see a cloud of some cloth-like substance, swarming around menacingly. Bile rises into your throat when you look the second time, as you can tell the cloth-like substance is actually strips of flesh, still fresh and supple. As it approaches to attack, it leaves drops of blood in its wake...
Skinshred Swarms are clouds of undead skin, animated by the final stage of the Skin Crawl disease. They take pleasure in only one thing: killing. However, they prefer to kill their prey... creatively... using their abilities to hide and disguise themselves until it is too late for the victim to run.
Skinshred Swarms rarely speak, but they can move in intricate patterns to create an airy voice similar to wind blowing through trees. They speak Common and Draconic.
Combat: Skinshred Swarms love combat, but they prefer to ambush their prey, as their victims are more likely to be easily slaughtered that way. If they are facing only one enemy, they will happily use their Whelm ability to quickly dispatch them.
Blood Drip (Su): A Skinshred Swarm can release up to 6 drops of blood as a free action. While this provides it no statistical benefit, it is normally used as a way to lure prey to a dark alley, allowing it to kill them... privately...
Change Pigment (Su): As a full-round action, the disease animating the Skinshread Swarm can drain or add pigment to the cloud of skin, allowing it to blend in with its surroundings, such as a snowstorm or autumn leaves. It gains a +10 circumstance bonus on its next Hide or Disguise check.
Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a skinshred swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Hive Mind (Ex): In high quantities, the disease animating a skinshred swarm develops a terrible level of intellect. As long as it has at least 1 hp, the skincrawl swarm has an Intelligence score of 12.
Skin Crawl (Su): Any living creature struck by the skinshred's swarm damage must succeed on a DC 20 Fortitude save or contract Skin Crawl (description below). The save DC is Charisma-based.
Strip Flesh (Su): Whenever the skinshred swarm deals swarm damage, it rips away part of its victim's skin. The skinshred swarm recovers 1 hp for every 3 points of swarm damage dealt.
Unholy Toughness (Ex): The magical disease animating a skinshred swarm provides it with extra vitality. The skinshred swarm gains additional hp equal to its Charisma modifier times its HD.
Whelm (Ex): As a full-round action, the skinshred swarm can attempt to wrap itself around a creature of size Large or smaller. The victim must succeed on a DC 25 Reflex save or be engulfed by the cloud. It loses all senses and ability to act, automatically contracts skin crawl, and must make a save every round against the effects of skin crawl due to the volume of the disease being poured into it. While using Whelm, the skinshred swarm loses its Dexterity to AC as well as its immunity to weapon damage. However, any damage done to the skinshred swarm deals an equal amount of damage to its victim. The victim can escape by succeeding on either a DC 20 Strength check or a DC 25 Escape Artist check. The save DC for Whelm is Dexterity-based.
Explanations
I figured I needed to put this in here, at least to explain the bizarre skill selection...
The intention of the Blood Drip and Change Pigment abilities, as well as the Disguise skill, are to give it ways to ambush prey during the day, when shadows are hard to find.
Perform (Dance) is the only skill I could think of that might include knowledge of how to move the swarm to mimic sounds, such as a light breeze or a voice.
It has Unholy Toughness simply because the group I play with loves blaster casters, so the extra HP is to let it survive another round or two.
I'm pretty sure Whelm is too wordy, but I don't know how to condense it...
--------
Skin Crawl
Skin Crawl is a vicious magical disease, known for its rapid onset and progression. It gets its name from its primary symptom: it makes the skin of its victim ripple and crawl as it detaches the skin from the body.
Incubation Period: 1d3 minutes
Save: DC 20 Fortitude, 3 consecutive successes to fight off the infection
Ability Damage: 1d4 Dexterity damage plus 1 Wisdom drain
Special: Unlike normal diseases, the victim must make a save every hour to avoid progression of the disease, as opposed to every day. When the victim's Dexterity reaches zero, its skin tears away from its body, forming a new Skinshred Swarm. Whether the victim survives after this is under GM discretion.
Treatment: If the infected area is on a limb, amputation can prevent the spread of the disease if it is caught early (before victim fails a save). Remove Disease doesn't work, but instead renders the disease dormant for four hours. Remove Curse followed by Remove Disease allows the target to make a DC 20 Fortitude save, with success meaning the infection is destroyed. Heal, Limited Wish, Wish, or Miracle all remove the infection instantly...but that's to be expected of such powerful magic.
--------
So, what do you think? Any suggestions/comments/places where I messed up?