Tortured (Dread Codex Monster)

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Template:Creature Table A humanoid with pained expression and lifeless eyes lurches towards you. Its pale skin is studded with large bony shards and as it gets closer you can tell that these spurs are actually the splintered parts of its own skeleton, reaching out through the skin. Around these spurs are long-dried patches of blood and puss.

Tortured undead are those poor creatures who are unfairly tortured to death. The desperate fevered emotions running through the creature at the time of death are enough to push it to the attention of the dread gods responsible for raising undead creatures. But those emotions are just barely enough to grant it an undead status, for the tortured has no intelligence and is only barely aware of itself.

Physically, the creature has the same body it possessed in life. The main difference is that bones of its form have splintered and now pierce through the skin at odd angles, further giving the impression that the creature is being tortured (although it can no longer actually feel pain). Although it has no language skills, the tortured manages a pained moan when it strikes, or is struck by, an opponent.

Combat

Desperate in their mindless desire to escape their anguish, the tortured attack any creatures they come across in a fantastic rage. The tortured is driven to homicidal lunacy, and attacks even if hopelessly outmatched, neither fleeing nor surrendering. Tortured intuitively see smaller creatures such as gnomes and halflings as easy targets, and often attack such opponents first, trying to grapple them and impale them on their bone-studded flesh.

Pain Aura (Su): All living creatures within 30 feet of a tortured must succeed at a DC 12 Fortitude save or suffer terrible pains. The save DC is Constitution-based. Affected creatures move at half-speed and suffer a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saves, and ability and skill checks as long as they remain in the area. A creature that saves is immune to that tortured's aura for 24 hours. Creatures that do not feel pain (such as oozes and plants) are immune to the tortured's pain aura.

Bone Spikes (Ex): The sharp bone spikes jutting from the tortured's skin function as armor spikes.

Pain Leech (Su): Any time a tortured deals a total of 6 or more points of damage in a single round, it heals 1 hit point. If the amount of healing would cause the undead to exceed its maximum normal hit points, it gains any excess as temporary hit points (which it cannot have more than equal to its normal hit point total).

Treasure

None—With a singular mission to inflict pain and death on others, even if a tortured had the mental faculties to collect and use treasure, it would not do so.

In Your Campaign

Despite their propensity to attack any creature in their path, the tortured are not evil undead. They instinctively seek to harm others in the same way they have been harmed — because, after all, misery loves company. However, what the tortured truly seeks is a release from its suffering. This can be accomplished in one of two ways. The first, and most obvious, is the tortured's own destruction. The second way is a bit more involved.

Since tortured only come from unfairly tortured and slain creatures, they respond as much to force as they do to justice for their former living selves. If PCs can bring the creature responsible for a tortured's death to court (or some kind of official trial), then the tortured stops its spree of attacks, heading immediately for the court location. The tortured attacks no one as long as the trial is ongoing, remaining within 100 feet of its torturer until the trial's conclusion. If the accused is found guilty and punished (not necessarily killed), then the tortured collapses, the negative energies holding its existence together departing in a whiff of black smoke. If found innocent, the tortured flies into a rage, attacking any creature within sight. It also gains a limited Intelligence score of 3 until either it is slain or it can slay its torturer. This second method is a great way for lower level PCs to defeat a tortured without a "kill or be killed" combat.

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