Protean Attractor Creature (CR Special)[3pp]

Beings of pure chaos, the serpentine proteans slither about in the maelstrom of Limbo, remaking reality according to their whims. But sometimes while traveling about on their sacred quest to return all reality into the same state as limbo they encounter an anomaly, a pattern in the chaos, a protean attractor in the fractal geometry that makes up reality, and they become trapped within these creatures, and so they are forced to manipulate these mortals to their deaths so they can again find their freedom. Many find this a fine time to maneuver the mortal creatures and cause havoc while their very nature transforms the creature it is imprisoned within.

Creating an Protean Attractor Creature

“Protean Attractor” is an acquired template that can be added to any non-outsider creature.

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

CR: The CR increases based on the attracted protean, as follows: Imentesh +2, Keketar +3, Naunt +2, Voidworm +1

Senses: A protean attractor gains blindsense 30 ft.

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral. A protean attractor creature radiates a chaos aura as if it were a chaotic outsider.

Defensive Abilities: freedom of movement (continuous, CL equal to HD)

DR 5/lawful (if the protean attractor creature is CR 10 or higher this becomes DR 10/lawful, if CR 15 or higher this becomes DR 15/epic)

Immunities: acid

Resist electricity 10 and sonic 10.

Spell Resistance 10 + CR.

Weakness: Vulnerability to Lawful

Speed: A protean attractor gains a fly speed equal to its base speed.

Melee: A protean attractor gains a bite attack and tail attack. The tail attack gains the grab and constrict special attacks (see Universal Monster Abilities).

Special Abilities: A protean attractor creature retains all the special abilities of the base creature, plus the special abilities as described below:

Amorphous Anatomy (Su)

A protean attractor’s vital organs shift and change shape and position constantly. This grants it a 50% chance to ignore additional damage caused by critical hits and precision damage (such as sneak attacks), and grants it immunity to polymorph effects (unless the protean is a willing target). A protean automatically recovers from physical blindness or deafness (or the severing of anything that does not immediately kill it) after 1 round by growing new sensory organs to replace those that were compromised.

Attracted (Su)

Each protean attractor creature’s dimensional structure has attracted and entrapped a specific protean. The protean can neither control the attracted creature (unless the base creature has no Intelligence score) nor read its mind, and it perceives only what the protean attract creature does. The base creature’s alignment changes to Chaotic Neutral until the attraction ends. The protean is in constant telepathic communication with the base creature, imparting its thoughts and desires regardless of language. To gain the base creature’s cooperation, the protean usually offers telepathic suggestions that it thinks a chaotic creature might find appealing. While possessing another creature, the protean does not have access to any of its supernatural, spell-like, or extraordinary abilities. It cannot cast spells or take purely mental actions beyond thinking and using Intelligence-based skills. It cannot be targeted by any spell or effect, but it can be detected normally by divination spells. Damage that harms the base creature does not harm the attracted protean. If the base creature dies, the protean appears in its square.

Spell Vulnerability (Ex)

Certain powerful spells have special additional effects against protean attractor creatures. A protean attractor creature subjected to a dismissal or dispel chaos spell must succeed on a Will saving throw or lose all the modifications bestowed by the protean attractor creature template for a number of rounds equal to the opponent’s caster level. The protean is immediately ejected from the base creature’s body and appears in the nearest open square but returns at the end of the duration. A protean attractor creature subjected to a banishment spell must succeed on a Will saving throw or permanently lose the template. Failure returns the protean to its home plane, as noted in the spell description.

An antimagic field or any antimagic effect suppresses all the effects of the protean attractor creature template. It also prevents the protean from communicating with the base creature, and using its perceptions for as long as the base creature remains in the antimagic area.

Strange Attraction

The base creature gains a number of powers based on the type of protean trapped within it:

Imentesh

Fast Healing (Su)

Equal to its Con modifier (or its Cha modifier if it has no Con score, minimum of 1).

Inflict Warpwave (Su)

As a standard action, an imentesh can inflict a warpwave upon any corporeal creature within 100 feet. The target can resist the warpwave’s effects with a Fortitude save (DC 10 +1/2 the protean attractor’s HD + its Con modifier). If the imentesh wishes, it can use this ability as a swift action, but if it does so, it is affected by the warpwave as well unless it resists the effects with its own Fortitude save.

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th)

Constantdetect law, tongues
At willdimension door (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), make whole, major creation, shatter, shrink item
3/daychaos hammer, dispel magic, slow
1/daybreak enchantment, dispel law, haste, polymorph any object

Keketar

Fast healing equal to its Con bonus (or its Cha bonus if it has no Con score, minimum of 1).

Reshape Reality (Sp)

This ability functions as the spell mirage arcana heightened to a 9th-level spell, except the changes created are quasi-real, like those created by shadow conjuration. A creature that interacts with reshaped reality may make a Will save (DC 10 +1/2 the protean attractor’s HD + its Cha modifier) to see through the semi-real illusion. Terrain can provide concealment, and against foes who do not make the Will save to see through the facade, reshaped reality can provide cover.

For disbelievers, quasi-real objects and terrain have only 20% normal hardness and hit points, and break DCs are 10 lower than normal. Dangerous terrain cannot exceed 5d6 points of damage per round (1d6 per round against disbelievers). This ability cannot damage existing structures, nor does it function in areas where planar travel is prohibited. CL equal to base creature’s HD.

Spatial Riptide (Su)

Any non-protean teleporting into or out of the protean attractor’s aura (30 ft. radius) must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 +1/2 the protean attractor’s HD + its Con modifier) or enter a state of suspended animation (identical to temporal stasis) for 1d3 rounds; success means the creature is merely nauseated for 1 round.

Warpwave (Su)

A creature struck by a protean attractor’s natural attacks excluding its tail attack must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 +1/2 the protean attractor’s HD + its Con modifier) or be affected by a warpwave.

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 17th)

Constantdetect law, tongues
At willchaos hammer, greater dispel magic, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), major creation, move earth, shatter
3/dayquickened confusion, dispel law, empowered chaos hammer, polymorph any object
1/daydisintegrate, prismatic spray, prismatic sphere, reshape reality

Naunet

Adaptive Strikes (Su)

The protean attractor’s natural weapons count as magical and chaotic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. As a free action once per round, the protean attractor may infuse all of its natural attacks with adamantine, silver, or cold iron, thereby allowing it to overcome damage reduction of those type as well.

Coalesce Chaos (Su)

Once per day as a standard action, three or more naunets (and/or protean attractor creatures) working together can create a roiling cloud of multicolored chaos matter. This effect is identical to solid fog (CL 12th) and lasts for 2d6 rounds. If six or more naunets (and/or protean attractor creatures) are present, the coalesced chaos instead functions as acid fog (CL 12th).

Confusion (Su)

A creature struck by a protean attractor’s tentacle attack (see below) is infused with raw chaos, and must make a Will save (DC 10 +1/2 the protean attractor’s HD + its Con modifier) or be confused for 1 round. Rounds of confusion dealt in this manner stack. A creature with a chaotic component to its alignment gains a +4 bonus on saves against this effect, and creatures with the chaotic subtype are immune. This is a mind-affecting effect.

Tentacles (Ex)

Gains 2 tentacle natural melee attacks (deals damage based on its size, see universal monster abilities).

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th)

Constantdetect law
At willacid arrow, fog cloud, dimension door (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), shatter
1/daychaos hammer

Voidworm

Confusion (Su)

A creature struck by a protean attractor’s tentacle attack (see below) is infused with raw chaos, and must make a Will save (DC 10 +1/2 the protean attractor’s HD + its Con modifier) or be confused for 1 round. A creature with a chaotic component to its alignment gains a +4 bonus on saves against this effect, and creatures with the chaotic subtype are immune. This is a mind-affecting effect.

Fast Healing (Su)

Equal to its Con modifier (or its Cha modifier if it has no Con score).

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th)

Constantdetect law
At willdancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation
3/dayblur (self only), obscuring mist
1/weekcommune (CL 12th, 6 questions)

Abilities: A protean attractor creature’s ability scores change from the base creature according to the kind of protean which it attracted, as given in the following table.

Table: Abilities
Protean Subtype Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha
Imentesh +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4
Keketar +6 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4
Naunet +4 +4 +2 +0 +0 +0
Voidworm +0 +2 +0 +0 +0 +0

Feats: Protean attractor creatures (keketars) gain Empower Spell-Like Ability (chaos hammer), and Quicken Spell-Like Ability (confusion) as bonus feats.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathways Bestiary (c) 2017, Rite Publishing LLC.; Author: Steven D. Russell.

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