Necrotic Entrailer (Dread Codex Monster)

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Template:Creature Table This humanoid has translucent skin which shows you coils of fleshy rope where there should be bone and muscle. Sharp claws and teeth enhance the monster's dangerous appearance. It suddenly raises a hand and unleashes a barbed coil from a pulpy area in the middle of its hand.

The necrotic entrailer is an undead which makes use of the unneeded bits from other undead like skeletons and zombies. The entrails of those undead corpses either desiccate quickly or slip out between open ribcages. The practical necromancer can use these supposedly unnecessary organs to fashion a necrotic entrailer.

The ritual that creates an entrailer not only causes its insides to reorganize into the monster's tethers, but actually fuses the entrails from other creatures into its matrix. These entrails occupy the entire interior of the entrailer except the brain. As a result, a necrotic entrailer has many densely packed miles of tethers available to it.

Creators of necrotic entrailers commonly use them as reconnaissance and/or assassination creatures because of their quick, silent nature and built-in escape methods.

Combat

Necrotic entrailers like to prepare ambushes for their chosen prey. When hunting in a group, entrailers use pack tactics and work together like a well-oiled machine. Some have even been known to carry others on their backs, allowing the carried necrotic entrailer to make five tether attacks.

Tethers of Sinew (Ex): If a necrotic entrailer hits with a tether attack, the tether's barbs or hooks sink into the opponent's body, dealing 1d6 points of damage with a hand (or foot) tether and 2d6 points of damage with the mouth tether, and latching onto the opponent's body. The entrailer can draw a Medium opponent 25 feet closer each round as a move action that requires an opposed Strength check (if the victim wins the Strength check, he does not move); this does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

For each size the target is below Medium, this rate increases by 10 feet per round (a Tiny creature effectively can be drawn in 45 feet per round in this way). A creature can break free from a tether with a successful DC 19 Escape Artist check, or else a DC 15 Strength check; in either case, the victim takes 1d6 points of damage from tearing free. A necrotic entrailer that pulls a victim to within 5 feet of itself can bite and claw that victim in the same round, and gains a +4 bonus to these attacks. Necrotic entrailers can detach a sinew at will, allowing it to be used as extremely strong rope, and a new tether immediately takes its place. The maximum tether length an entrailer can throw is equal to 10 feet per Hit Die of the necrotic entrailer (or 50 feet, for the standard monster stats given above).

Paralysis (Ex): The necrotic entrailer's saliva causes paralysis. A victim bitten by an entrailer or hit by its mouth tether must succeed at a DC 13 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 3d6 minutes.

Skills: Necrotic entrailers receive a +2 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks, a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks, and a +10 racial bonus on Use Rope checks.

Treasure

Standard — Necrotic entrailers are not without intelligence or free will. Therefore, the accumulation of treasure, no matter its form, is something they take advantage of much like an adventurer does. Magic items (such as rings miscellaneous) are used capably and wealth is spent (commonly through a third party) to bring it more potent magic items.

• Brooch of shielding (unused) [1,500 gp]
• 100 gp

In Your Campaign

Those pirates who favor undead in your campaign might be especially favorable to the necrotic entrailer. With its longreaching tethers, the entrailer can efficiently board enemy ships. With a successful Use Rope check (DC as per securing a grappling hook; except the entrailer knows if its tether is secure), the entrailer can wrap its tether around a enemy's rail and swing across.

Alternately (and this is a favorite among necrotic entrailers), the entrailer can use tether attacks at creatures on the enemy ship's deck. Once secure, the entrailers reel their prey in. As a result, the foe must choose between saving himself by holding on (thus allowing the entrailer to reel itself aboard) or pitching over the rail. In the latter case, the entrailer can simply release the tether and climb up the ship's side, leaving its foe to fend for himself. If using its mouth tether, a paralyzed creature assures the necrotic entrailer of a secure "grappling hook."

GMs should not overlook the great range a necrotic entrailer has in using touch attack effects. It can utilize magic items to take advantage of its great reach such as gauntlets of ogre poweror a high-level cleric can use imbue with spell ability to allow the entrailer to have several options when using its tethers. A necrotic entrailer prefers to have its own magic items, as opposed to the temporary nature of using another caster's spells, but accepts the latter type of aid if the situation warrants it.

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