Ravenous Creature (CR +1)[3pp]

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Unnatural acts provoke unnatural hungers, and depravity follows perversity in a cascade. Dark powers watch for the growth of evil in mortals’ hearts, and they reward such creatures with great power to nurture the black bloom of their wickedness. Cannibalism garners a particularly abhorrent “blessing.” Ravenous creatures are living beings that have eaten the flesh of their own kind and been cursed with a supernatural hunger for more, or who have succumbed to cannibalistic urges from more nefarious sources such as the wendigo. A ravenous creature must continue to eat the flesh of its own kind or starve to death. Most ravenous creatures welcome this burden because of the power it brings them.

Creating a Ravenous Creature

Ravenous” is an acquired template that can be added to any living intelligent creature that has eaten the flesh of its own species (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

For purposes of this template, “kind” is defined as a creature of the same named species, a broad category of creatures, or a creature sharing the same racial subtype as the ravenous creature. Creatures that share blood of a species, but do not have the same subtype also count as the same “kind” as the ravenous creature as well. For example, a ravenous drow’s kind would include drow, elves, and half-elves. A ravenous half-elf’s kind would be considered creatures with the elf or human subtype (since it counts as both races). Similarly, a ravenous efreet’s kind includes all genie-kind, but not other fire elementals (since elemental is not a racial subtype).

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

Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +2.

Alignment: Usually chaotic evil.

Senses: A ravenous creature gains darkvision +60 ft. and low-light vision.

Defensive Abilities: A ravenous creature gains DR 5/— and the following:

Cannibalistic Healing (Ex)

So long as the ravenous creature has fed upon the flesh of its own kind within the last 24 hours, it has fast healing 10. Feeding on a creature of its own kind that was killed within the last hour heals all ability damage and ability drain the ravenous creature has taken.

Weaknesses: A ravenous creature gains the following weakness:

Ravenous Body (Ex)

A ravenous creature can eat other food, but only the flesh of its own kind satiates its hunger. It must feed upon the flesh of a creature of its own kind at least once every three days or it suffers the effects of starvation. When the ravenous creature’s nonlethal damage due to starvation equals its Constitution score, it dies.

Attacks: If the base creature possesses at least one mouth but has no natural attack with it, the ravenous creature gains a secondary bite attack with each mouth. The damage for this attack is as if the creature was two size categories higher. If the base creature already has a bite attack, the damage for its attack increases by two steps.

Special Attacks: A ravenous creature retains all of the base creature’s special attacks. It also gains the following additional special attacks:

Favored Prey (Ex)

A ravenous creature gains a +2 bonus on damage rolls against creatures and on Bluff, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks towards creatures of the same type. Against a creature of its own kind, each of the bonuses increases to +4.

Hungry Frenzy (Ex)

A number of rounds per day equal to its Charisma modifier (minimum 1), a ravenous creature can enter a rage identical to a barbarian’s rage ability. However, the rage only applies towards creatures of its own kind. If the ravenous creature is currently suffering the effects of starvation, the bonuses and penalties for the rage double, but the ravenous creature can no longer end the rage at will unless it eats enough to remove the nonlethal damage it has suffered from starvation.

If a ravenous creature has the rage ability from a different source,such as a racial ability or the barbarian class, it adds its Charisma modifier (minimum +0) to the number of rounds per day it can rage.

Hungry Special Attacks (Ex)

Any creature of the same kind as the ravenous creature takes a -2 penalty on saving throws against the ravenous creature’s spells and special attacks.

Abilities: Str +6, Dex +4, Con +4.

Feats: A ravenous creature gains Blind-Fight, Improved Grapple, and Improved Unarmed Strike as bonus feats.

Skills: A ravenous creature has a +4 bonus on Acrobatics, Escape Artist, Intimidate, and Stealth checks, and a +8 bonus on Climb, Perception, and Survival checks.

Special Qualities: A ravenous creature gains the following special qualities:

Ageless (Ex)

A ravenous creature does not age as long as it is not starving.

Sprint (Ex)

Once per hour, a ravenous creature can move at ten times its normal speed when it makes a charge.

Using the Ravenous Template

The ravenous template lends itself naturally to a villain who is a serial killer stalking a city’s streets or a monster terrorizing a rural area. The ravenous creature also is a good fit for those who have succumbed to wendigo psychosis prior to turning into full-fledged wendigos.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Advanced Bestiary, Copyright 2014, Green Ronin Publishing, LLC; Author Jeff Hersh, Developer Owen K.C. Stephens

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