Library / Bestiary

Festering Spirit

CR 8.00 Undead CE Medium HD 9
This ghostlike creature reeks of the grave and drips with putrescent goo.

A festering spirit arises when a vile person's corpse is put in a mass grave, or when such a person is buried, exhumed, and placed in a charnel house or ossuary. The lingering hatred and evil of the dead mixes with the worst remnants of dozens of other people, creating a frustrated incorporeal shade of sickness, hate, and rot. Powerful mortals might arise as multiple festering spirits, each spawned from a different aspect of the original creature's personality.

A festering spirit can't travel more than a mile from its remains. When left alone for long periods, a festering spirit usually wanders the halls and rooms near its burial site, destroying things, indulging in pranks, or trying to eat and drink anything it finds palatable (which falls through its incorporeal body to no effect). Its senses can barely detect these treats, though some adventurers report that strong alcohol and spicy foods can distract the spirit as it savors these sensations.

HP
58 (9d8+18)
AC
18, touch 18, flat-footed 12 (+2 deflection, +5 Dex, +1 dodge)
Init
+9
Speed
fly 40 ft. (good)
Fort
+5
Ref
+8
Will
+7
BAB
+6
CMB
+11
CMD
24
Melee
incorporeal touch +11 (1d4 Con damage plus slime)
Immune
grappled, trip, falling damage, nonmagical attacks (from incorporeal)
Defensive Abilities
channel resistance +2, incorporeal
Aura
stench (DC 14, 10 rounds)
str
-
dex
20
+5
con
-
int
6
-2
wis
12
+1
cha
15
+2

Weapons: Simple

Create Spawn — A humanoid creature killed by a festering spirit's Constitution damage becomes a festering spirit under the control of its killer in 1d4 days. Giving the corpse a proper burial (or cremation) prevents it from becoming a festering spirit.

Slime — A festering spirit's slime resembles the putrefying sludge of decaying corpses. Any creature that is hit by the spirit's incorporeal touch attack, passes through its square, or hits it with a natural weapon or unarmed strike must attempt a DC 16 Fortitude save. On a failure, the creature is nauseated for 1d4 rounds, and on a success the creature is staggered for 1 round. A festering spirit's slime persists on objects and creatures for 1d10 minutes but has no harmful effect after its initial contact. Creatures immune to poison or disease are immune to this ability. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Trample — The DC of a festering spirit's trample is Charisma-based.

Ghost Touch — A festering spirit can manipulate corporeal objects that weigh up to 25 pounds as if those objects had the ghost touch special ability.

Universal Monster Rules

Channel Resistance (+2) Ex from Universal Monster Rule
A creature with this special quality (usually an undead) is less easily affected by channel energy. A creature with channel resistance adds its listed bonus on saves to resist the effects of channel energy, including effects that rely on the use of channel energy (such as the Command Undead feat).
Incorporeal Ex from Universal Monster Rule
An incorporeal creature has no physical body. It can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons or creatures that strike as magic weapons, and spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities. It is immune to all nonmagical attack forms. Even when hit by spells or magic weapons, it takes only half damage from a corporeal source. Although it is not a magical attack, holy water can affect incorporeal undead. Corporeal spells and effects that do not cause damage only have a 50% chance of affecting an incorporeal creature. Force spells and effects, such as from a magic missile , affect an incorporeal creature normally. An incorporeal creature has no natural armor bonus but has a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma bonus (always at least +1, even if the creature's Charisma score does not normally provide a bonus). An incorporeal creature can enter or pass through solid objects, but must remain adjacent to the object's exterior, and so cannot pass entirely through an object whose space is larger than its own. It can sense the presence of creatures or objects within a square adjacent to its current location, but enemies have total concealment (50% miss chance) from an incorporeal creature that is inside an object. In order to see beyond the object it is in and attack normally, the incorporeal creature must emerge. An incorporeal creature inside an object has total cover, but when it attacks a creature outside the object it only has cover, so a creature outside with a readied action could strike at it as it attacks. An incorporeal creature cannot pass through a force effect. An incorporeal creature's attacks pass through (ignore) natural armor, armor, and shields, although deflection bonuses and force effects (such as mage armor ) work normally against it. Incorporeal creatures pass through and operate in water as easily as they do in air. Incorporeal creatures cannot fall or take falling damage. Incorporeal creatures cannot make trip or grapple attacks, nor can they be tripped or grappled. In fact, they cannot take any physical action that would move or manipulate an opponent or its equipment, nor are they subject to such actions. Incorporeal creatures have no weight and do not set off traps that are triggered by weight. An incorporeal creature moves silently and cannot be heard with Perception checks if it doesn't wish to be. It has no Strength score, so its Dexterity modifier applies to its melee attacks, ranged attacks, and CMB. Nonvisual senses, such as scent and blindsight, are either ineffective or only partly effective with regard to incorporeal creatures. Incorporeal creatures have an innate sense of direction and can move at full speed even when they cannot see.
Trample Ex from Universal Monster Rule
As a full-round action, a creature with the trample ability can attempt to overrun any creature that is at least one size category smaller than itself. This works just like the overrun combat maneuver, but the trampling creature does not need to make a check—it merely has to move over opponents in its path. Targets of a trample take an amount of damage equal to the trampling creature's slam damage + 1-1/2 times its Strength modifier. Targets of a trample can make an attack of opportunity, but at a –4 penalty. If targets forgo an attack of opportunity, they can attempt to avoid the trampling creature and receive a Reflex save to take half damage. The save DC against a creature's trample attack is 10 + 1/2 the creature's HD + the creature's Strength modifier (the exact DC is given in the creature's descriptive text). A trampling creature can only deal trampling damage to each target once per round, no matter how many times its movement takes it over a target creature.

Special Abilities

Create Spawn from text
A humanoid creature killed by a festering spirit's Constitution damage becomes a festering spirit under the control of its killer in 1d4 days. Giving the corpse a proper burial (or cremation) prevents it from becoming a festering spirit.
Ghost Touch from text
A festering spirit can manipulate corporeal objects that weigh up to 25 pounds as if those objects had the ghost touch special ability.
Slime (incorporeal touch) from text
A festering spirit's slime resembles the putrefying sludge of decaying corpses. Any creature that is hit by the spirit's incorporeal touch attack, passes through its square, or hits it with a natural weapon or unarmed strike must attempt a DC 16 Fortitude save. On a failure, the creature is nauseated for 1d4 rounds, and on a success the creature is staggered for 1 round. A festering spirit's slime persists on objects and creatures for 1d10 minutes but has no harmful effect after its initial contact. Creatures immune to poison or disease are immune to this ability. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Feats, Traits & Items

Combat Reflexes from Feat

You may make a number of additional attacks of opportunity per round equal to your Dexterity bonus. With this feat, you may also make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed.

Dodge from Feat

You gain a +1 dodge bonus to your AC. A condition that makes you lose your Dex bonus to AC also makes you lose the benefits of this feat.

Calculated: +1 Ac
Flyby Attack from Feat

When flying, the creature can take a move action and another standard action at any point during the move. The creature cannot take a second move action during a round when it makes a flyby attack.

You get a +4 bonus on initiative checks.

Calculated: +4 Initiative
Mobility from Feat

You get a +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against attacks of opportunity caused when you move out of or within a threatened area. A condition that makes you lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) also makes you lose dodge bonuses.

Dodge bonuses stack with each other, unlike most types of bonuses.

Situational: vs. attacks of opportunity caused by moving out of or within a threatened area: +4 dodge AC

Fly +9, Perception +13, Stealth +17

Details
Type
Undead
Alignment
CE
Size
Medium
Environment
any land or underground
Organization
solitary, pair, or gang (3–6)
Treasure
incidental
Senses
darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13
Aura
stench (DC 14, 10 rounds)
Source
Bestiary 4
Source

Bestiary 4

Attribution

Seeded catalog content, attributed to Paizo Inc. by catalog provenance — not an individual Open Game License attestation. Licensing for reproduced SRD content is covered by the site's Section 15 register.

Sources Used in This Record
4 House/Core 1 Recognized publisher
  • Uses feat: Combat Reflexes (Feat) — core content under OGL 1.0a
  • Uses feat: Dodge (Feat) — core content under OGL 1.0a
  • Uses feat: Flyby Attack (Feat) — cites Paizo Inc.
  • Uses feat: Improved Initiative (Feat) — core content under OGL 1.0a
  • Uses feat: Mobility (Feat) — core content under OGL 1.0a
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