Horror, Daomen
Horrors are daomens, fiends from the neutral evil planes feared
for their stealthy natures and their insidious bonding powers. With
little care for law and chaos, these fiends feel that they are free
to do true evil, unfettered by the petty dogmas and bickerings of
devils and demons. While most horrors have no previous mortal existence,
some are evil creatures which have attained their status through
arcane rituals, fiendish influence, or loathsome curse.
Creating a Daomen
Horror
"Daomen Horror" is a new monster template you can add
to any intelligent creature, referred to as the "base creature."
For 'willing' creatures who become daomen horrors, an alignment
of neutral evil is a must. For creatures cursed by some greater
power, their alignment is changed to neutral evil (see Cursed daomen
horrors below.) The creature's type changes to 'outsider.'
A daomen horror uses all the base creature's statistics
and special abilities except as noted here.
Hit Dice:
Increase to d8 (if the base creature has >d10 HD, do not
reduce the total). Add 4 HD.
Speed:
Add or increase flying to Fly 90 ft. (good); if the creature's
flying ability is already greater than this, do not change its flying
ability.
AC: Natural
armor increases by 4 if adjusted HD < 7, by 8 if HD > 8
Attacks: The daomen horror gains
bite (1d4) and claw (1d4) attacks; this does not increase the number
of attacks the daomen horror may make each round. The daomen horror
retains all the attacks of the base creature.
Damage: The daomen horror retains
the damage values of the base creature.
Special Attacks: A
daomen horror retains all the special attacks of the base creature
except when contradictory to those of the daomen horror. In addition,
a daomen horror may choose one special attack with no change in
Challenge Rating. Increase CR by 1 for every additional special
attack. Unless otherwise noted, all saves vs special qualities are
made at DC 10 + daomen horror's HD + daomen horror's Charisma modifier.
Ability Score Damage (Su):
(Prerequisite: Waking Nightmare, Improved grab) While connected
to a creature via the Waking Nightmare, a daomen horror drains 1
ability point a day from the creature's highest ability. If there
is more than one ability of the same score, choose in this order:
Wis, Int, Cha, Str, Dex, Con. Ability scores decreased in this manner
do not heal by natural or magical means while the Waking Nightmare
is in effect. Creatures with Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence,
Wisdom, or Charisma of 0 become helpless. Creatures with Constitution
of 0 are dead.
Frightful Presence (Ex): A daomen horror
unsettles foes with its mere presence. This ability takes effect
automatically whenever another creature is within a 30 foot radius
of the daomen horror. A potentially affected creature that succeeds
at a Will save remains immune to that daomen horror's frightful
presence for one day. On a failure, creatures with fewer HD than
the daomen horror become panicked for 5d6 rounds. Daomen horrors
ignore the frightful presence of other daomen horrors.
Vampiric Touch (Su): This functions
as the spell vampiric touch as cast by a 6th level sorcerer each
time the daomen horror makes a successful claw attack.
Special Qualities:
A daomen horror retains all the special qualities of the
base creature except when contradictory to those of the daomen horror.
Unless otherwise noted, all saves vs special qualities are made
at DC 10 + daomen horror's HD + daomen horror's Charisma modifier.
All daomen horrors are granted the following base special qualities:
Damage Reduction: Add
or increase by 10/+2.
Etherealness (Su): This functions as the spell etherealness up to
3 times a day as cast by a 20th level sorcerer.
Spell Resistence: Add or increase by
+7.
Immunities (Ex): Daomen horrors are
immune to charm, fear, paralysis, and sleep effects.
Crystal Weakness (Ex): Daomen horrors
have a weakness to crystal weapons. Attacks made with weapons of
pure crystal bypass the horror's damage reduction and deal 1 point
of damage plus the attacker's damage bonus.
In addition, daomen horrors may have other special
qualities. Increase CR by 1 for every two additional special qualities.
You may choose one with no change in Challenge Rating.
Comprehend Languages (Su):
Daomen horrors have a continuous comprehend languages ability as
the spell.
Improved grab (Ex): To use this ability,
the daomen horror must hit with a bite and a claw attack or both
claw attacks. The daomen horror may use this ability on creatures
of any size, though it suffers a -2 attack penalty for each size
category larger the creature is than the daomen horror.
Stigmata (Su): (Prerequisite: Improved
grab) The wounds inflicted by the daomen horror during its Improved
Grab attack ooze and do not heal by natural or magical means while
the waking nightmare is in effect. Wounds inflicted upon the daomen
horror's victim by other creatures while the waking nightmare is
in effect will not heal by natural means, but may be cured through
magical venues.
Suggestion (Sp): Daomen horrors may
use suggestion ability as the spell up to 3 times a day as a 20th
level sorcerer. A potentially affected creature may make a Will
save to negate this effect.
Waking Nightmare (Su): (Prerequisite:
Improved grab) If the daomen horror succeeds in using improved grab,
it may then use its waking nightmare ability to attune and attach
itself to the creature. A potentially affected creature may make
a Will save to negate this effect, which may be reattempted once
every 3 days. Once attuned, the daomen horror becomes ethereal and
gains non-detection as the spells until the waking nightmare ends.
During this time, the daomen horror can affect only the attuned
creature and other ethereal creatures. Further, the attuned creature
is unaware of the daomen horror during the waking nightmare. The
waking nightmare ends when the creature dies or the daomen horror
chooses to end the effect. The waking nightmare can also be ended
by use of dismissal or similar spell, or by a successful Will save.
The waking nightmare is a mind-influencing effect and as such, does
not affect undead.
Vampiric Bond (Su): (Prerequisite:
Vampiric Touch) After a successful attack, a horror may forgo his
Vampiric Touch ability to attempt a vampiric bond with the creature
attacked. The creature receives a Will save to resist the vampiric
bond. At anytime thereafter, the horror may choose to use his vampiric
touch ability on the bonded creature (no save) as long as the creature
remains on the same plane of existence. The bond remains in place
until either the horror or the creature dies, or until removed by
remove curse or similar spell. The horror can have no more bonded
creatures than his Wisdom modifier.
Saves: Modify
the base creature as follows: Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +4
Abilities: Modify the base creature
as follows: Str +0, Dex +4, Con +0, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +4
Skills: Same as base creature.
A daomen horror has 8 skill points plus its Intelligence modifier
per Hit Die. Add 4 Hit Die worth of skills points. Distribute at
least 4 skill points to each of the following: Hide, Move Silently,
Perform. Add the remaining skill points to skills from the following
list: Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Listen, Search,
Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Spot, Wilderness Lore
Feats: As base creature and
choose one of the following: Alertness, Iron Will, Track, Improved
Initiative, Multiattack
Climate/Terrain: As
base creature or any land or underground.
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: Same as base
creature +2. Increase CR by 1 for every special attack beyond 1.
Increase CR by 1 for every two additional special qualities beyond
those granted.
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral Evil
Advancement:
Same as base creature
Cursed daomen horrors
While most daomen horrors become what they are through their own
doing, on very rare occasions a greater evil power will curse a
particularly bothersome enemy, forcibly changing them into a daomen
horror. Such a curse is not laid frivolously as to do so, the power
must sacrifice one of his powerful minions to bind the enemy's soul
and loyalty. While the victim can be of any alignment and of any
creature type, the more powerful the creature, the greater the cost
to the evil power.
To bind an evil creature, the power must sacrifice
a minion of 1.5 times the hit dice of the victim. For neutral creatures,
the minion must have 2 times the hit dice, and for good creatures,
the minion must have 3 times the hit dice. Further, if the victim
is a Lawful Good Paladin or Cleric in good standing with his patron,
the minion must have 4 times the hit dice of the victim.
Once changed into a daomen horror, the victim's memories
are lost and instead replaced with a primeval rage and feeling of
pain which they can only relieve by inflicting harm on others. While
such an event is rare, occurring less than once every millennia,
the daomen horrors produced in this way tend to be the most evil
creatures in existence. The pain of loss often grows with each kill
as if something deep within them understands the evil they have
become. And so the horror reacts in the only way it knows how: inflicting
more evil upon the world.
There are no known cases of a cursed daomen horror
being redeemed. This is not to say it isn't possible, but to do
so would surly take a power and sacrifice at least equal to that
which created the monster.
Cursed Daomen Horrors have all the statistics and
abilities of a Daomen Horror except as noted here:
Saves: Modify
the base creature as follows: Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +6
Abilities: Modify the base creature
as follows: Str +4, Dex +4, Con +0, Int +0, Wis -4, Cha +10
Damage Reduction: Add or increase
by 30/+3.
Spell Resistence: Add or increase
by +23.
Challenge Rating: Same as base
creature +3 + CR modifiers for Special Qualities and Attacks.
