Monster Companions

At 1st level, a chirurgeon creates a creature known as the “monster.” While some chirurgeons choose to give their creations a name, most are simply known as the chirurgeon’s Monster (such as Frederick’s Monster).

However, you do not have perfect control over your creation. You may use the Diplomacy skill to control your monster in much the same way a druid uses Handle Animal to control an animal companion. For example, to get the monster to attack a specific target, you must make a “handle monster” check using Diplomacy. (See “Bonus Tricks” and “Link” below for more information.)

All such monsters are constructs, created from the body parts of other creatures. Its abilities and statistics are determined by your level and by its construct traits. (See Table: Monster Companion Base Statistics) Since it is a construct, it is mindless. In spite of this, the monster is treated as if having an Intelligence of 1 for determining the number of starting tricks it possesses. The body parts that constitute the monster do contain the memories of skills used, and for this reason, the monster may still take any skill it qualifies for, despite being mindless. See below for more details. If the monster gains an ability score increase, you can apply this increase to the monster’s Intelligence, changing it from “—” to “1,” at which point the monster loses the mindless quality and can take feats and its base skill ranks per level becomes 2 + its Intelligence modifier.

Table: Monster Companion Base Statistics
Class Level HD BAB Saves Skills Feats Natural Armor Bonus Str Bonus Bonus Tricks Special
1st 2 +2 +0 2 1 +1 +0 1 Link, share spells, shock therapy, spell resistance
2nd 3 +3 +1 3 2 +2 +0 1
3rd 4 +4 +1 4 2 +2 +1 2 Ability score increase, Bonus HP from Size
4th 5 +5 +1 5 2 +3 +1 2 Construction Point
5th 6 +6 +2 6 3 +4 +1 2
6th 7 +7 +2 7 3 +5 +2 3
7th 8 +8 +2 8 3 +5 +2 3 Ability score increase
8th 9 +9 +3 9 4 +6 +2 3 Construction Point
9th 10 +10 +3 10 4 +7 +3 4
10th 11 +11 +3 11 5 +7 +3 4
11th 12 +12 +4 12 5 +8 +3 4 Ability score increase
12th 13 +13 +4 13 5 +9 +4 5 Construction Point
13th 14 +14 +4 14 6 +9 +4 5
14th 15 +15 +5 15 6 +10 +4 5
15th 16 +16 +5 16 6 +11 +5 6 Ability score increase
16th 17 +17 +5 17 7 +11 +5 6 Construction Point
17th 18 +18 +6 18 7 +12 +5 6
18th 19 +19 +6 19 8 +13 +6 7
19th 20 +20 +6 20 8 +13 +6 7 Ability score increase
20th 20 +20 +6 20 8 +14 +6 7 Construction Point

Class Level: This is your sacred necromancer level.

HD: This is the total number of ten-sided (d10) HD the monster possesses. Since the monster does not have a Constitution score, it does not add any bonus modifiers to this die roll. At 1st level, the monster does not gain the size bonus to hp that constructs normally possess.

BAB: This is the monster’s BAB. The monster does not gain additional attacks using natural weapons (if any) for a high BAB.

Saves: This is both the base Reflex and Will save of the monster. As a construct, it does not have a Fortitude saving throw. (See construct traits for more information.)

Skills: Unlike most constructs, the monster’s body parts have faint memories of the skills their previous possessors had. At each level, the monster can spend 1 skill point, but it has no class skills. While mindless, it may not put any skill ranks into skills whose key ability is Intelligence.

Natural Armor Bonus: The number noted here is an improvement to the monster’s existing natural armor bonus.

Str Bonus: Add this value to the monster’s Strength score.

Bonus Tricks: The value given in this column is the total number of “bonus” tricks that the monster knows in addition to any that you might choose to teach it (see the Handle Animal skill). These bonus tricks do not require any training time or Handle Animal checks, and they don’t count against the normal limit of tricks known by the monster. You select these bonus tricks, and once selected, they can’t be changed.

Link (Ex): You can handle your monster as a free action or push it as a move action, even if you don’t have any ranks in the Diplomacy skill. Unlike a druid’s link, you do not gain a +4 circumstance bonus on all Handle Animal checks made regarding your monster.

Share Spells (Ex): You may cast a spell with a target of “you” on your monster (as a ranged touch spell) instead of on yourself. You may cast a spell on your monster even if the spell normally doesn’t affect constructs.

Shock Therapy (Su): A magical attack that deals electricity damage heals the monster of 1 point of damage for every 2 points of damage the attack would otherwise deal. The monster is immune to electricity damage but receives no saving throw against attacks that deal electricity damage (for determining other effects).

Spell Resistance (Su): The monster gains SR equal to 5 plus its HD. This can be lowered as a standard action and reactivated as a swift action. Spells cast by you are not affected by this SR.

Ability Score Increase: At 3rd level, the monster can increase one of its ability scores by +1, except for Constitution.

Bonus HP from Size: At 3rd level, the monster gains bonus HP due to its size.

Monster Size Bonus HP
Fine
Diminutive
Tiny
Small 10
Medium 20
Large 30
Huge 40
Gargantuan 60
Colossal 80

Construction Points: At 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter, you may spend construction points on your monster, granting it special abilities (as per animated objects). These points are cumulative, and at any level, you can change which abilities the construction points are spent on. You may not select the metal or stone abilities, and you may not select more than 1 additional attack/7 sacred necromancer levels.

Base Form: At 1st level, you choose the base form of your monster. Once selected, you cannot change the base form.

Biped Starting Statistics

Size Medium; Speed 20 ft.; AC +2 natural; Attacks 2 slams (1d6); Ability Scores Str 18, Dex 9, Con —, Int —, Wis 12, Cha 1

Quadruped Starting Statistics

Size Medium; Speed 30 ft.; AC +2 natural; Attack 1 bite (1d6);

Ability Scores Str 14, Dex 12, Con —, Int —, Wis 9, Cha 1

Any slam attacks the monster possesses are made with its arms, so they cannot be used in the same round that a held weapon is used.

You can instead choose to make the monster Small. If the monster is Small, it gains a +2 bonus to its Dexterity score. It also gains a -4 penalty to its Strength. It gains a +1 size bonus to its AC and attack rolls, a -1 penalty to its CMB and CMD scores, a +2 bonus on Fly skill checks, and a +4 bonus on Stealth skill checks. Reduce the damage of all of its attacks by one step. You can choose to make a Small monster a Medium monster once it gains a construction point (or any level thereafter). Like other constructs, if the monster reaches 0 hp, it is destroyed. However, you can use the monster’s old body parts to recreate the monster. This involves a ritual that requires 8 hours of uninterrupted work and easily obtainable alchemical reagents worth 25 gp/HD of the monster. If you use a new body part, instead, the amount of alchemical reagents necessary is reduced by 2 gp/HD and the time necessary for the ritual is reduced by 1 hour. New body parts can be used for the torso, head, and limbs. The reductions in gold and hours necessary for the ritual are cumulative.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Mysteries of the Dead Side: The Sacred Necromancer, © 2012 Zombie Sky Press; Author: Scott Gable, Will McCardell, Matthew Pauze.

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