Runewarped Creature (CR +1)

Through the use of runewarping, powerful mages created horribly twisted creatures from their slaves and prisoners. These creators valued ability over aesthetics, so runewarped creatures were transformed by powerful magic into horrid mockeries of their previous forms. Runewarped creatures seek out sources of magic to consume, trying in vain to complete their transformation.

Although a runewarped creature is recognizable as the creature it once was, the creature bears altered or additional limb joints, elongated fingers, and a massive jaw capable of delivering a powerful bite.

Creatures exposed to aberrant energies, or who spend prolonged periods near residual echoes of such energies, find their flesh twisting and their minds wracked with the magical hunger that runewarping creates. Runewarped creatures created in this manner tend to adopt the source of their affliction as their home, exhibiting a fierce territoriality.

Runewarped creatures might work together to share resources, set traps, or plan thefts, although their constant hunger usually makes such alliances short lived.

Some runewarped creatures subjugate groups of lesser creatures, such as morlocks or goblins, sending them out to kidnap spellcasters to feed their magical hunger.

Creating A Runewarped Creature

Runewarped creature” is an acquired template that can be added to any animal, humanoid, or monstrous humanoid (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

A runewarped creature uses the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Challenge Rating: Base creature’s CR + 1.

Alignment: Any evil.

Type: The creature’s type changes to aberration. Do not recalculate its base attack bonus, saves, or skill ranks.

Senses: The creature gains darkvision with a range of 60 feet, low-light vision, and magic-scent.

Magic-Scent (Su)

Runewarped creatures have scent that detects only creatures with the ability to cast spells.

This scent allows the runewarped creature to know the location and power of all magic auras within range of its scent. Magic-scent always detects magic auras in a range of 60 feet and is not affected by wind.

Armor Class: Natural armor bonus increases by 2.

Hit Dice: Change all the creature’s racial Hit Dice to d8s. Hit Dice derived from class levels remain unchanged.

Defensive Abilities: A runewarped creature with 5 Hit Dice or more gains DR 5/magic (or DR 10/magic if it has 11 Hit Dice or more) and SR equal to its new CR + 6 (or SR equal to its new CR + 11 if it has 11 Hit Dice or more).

Melee: A runewarped creature gains a bite attack that deals damage based on the runewarped creature’s size but as if it were one size category larger than its actual size. If the runewarped creature already has a bite attack, the bite’s damage increases by one step, as if it had increased one size category.

Special Attacks: A runewarped creature loses any spells or spell-like abilities, but it retains all other special attacks and abilities of the base creature.

A runewarped creature gains the following special attack.

Consume Magic (Su)

A runewarped creature’s bite drains magical ability from creatures capable of casting spells or using spell-like abilities. The struck creature loses its highest-level prepared spell, spell slot, or spell-like ability unless it succeeds at a Will save to negate the effect. A creature can be affected by this ability only once per round, even if attacked multiple times or by multiple runewarped creatures. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Ability Scores: Str +4, Con +2, Int –4 (minimum 1), Cha –2.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Adventure Path #133: Secrets of Roderic’s Cove © 2018, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Adam Daigle, with James Jacobs, Mikko Kallio, Luis Loza, Jacob W. Michaels, and Conor J. Owens.

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