Spirit, Druj
by Simone NeriMedium Undead (Incorporeal)
Hit Dice: 14d12 (91 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: Flying 20 ft. (perfect) (4 squares)
Armour Class: 20 (+4 Dex, +6 deflection), touch 20, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/-
Attack: Incorporeal touch +11 melee (1d6 plus 1d6 Constitution drain)
Full Attack: Incorporeal touch +11 melee (1d6 plus 1d6 Constitution drain)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Constitution drain, possess
Special Qualities: Blindsight 60 ft., damage reduction 15/magic, darkvision 60 ft., daylight powerlessness, immunity to cold, incorporeal traits, resistance to electricity 20 and to fire 20, spell resistance 23, undead traits, unnatural aura
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +13
Abilities: Str - , Des 19, Cos -, Int 14, Sag 14, Car 22
Skills: Hide +20, Intimidate +28, Listen +18, Move Silently +20, Search +12, Spot +18
Feats: Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (animate dead), Spell Focus (necromancy)
Environment: Any
Organisation: Solitary or gang (2-5)
Challenge Rating: 11
Treasure: None
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Advancement: 15-28 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: -
This creature is a wickedly dark and misty shroud of malevolence. It has no visible features, but Its mere presence is enough to make you shrivel.
Druj are the most cunning and evil among undead spirits. In incorporeal form, they don't show any feature, even if sometimes their shadowy silhouette may recall the appearance they had in life. Druj, being the least among spirits, can possess only dead body parts - but often this is what make them most horrible to their unlucky opponents.
In incorporeal form, a druj is about as tall as an human and, being incorporeal, has no weight.
Druj speak Common, Infernal and Abyssal.
COMBAT
As all spirits, druj in incorporeal form are hardly a match for well-equipped opponent, being only slightly more powerful than wraiths.
Possess (Su): A druj can only take possession of dead body parts ranging in size from Diminutive to Small. Being inanimate objects, the possession attempt is automatically successful. A druj usually choses to possess a hand, a skull or an eye; other body parts are possible at DM's discretion, but lack the combat efficiency of the former ones. The body part must belong to a creature that had a skeletal system while alive.
The druj needs not to find a dismembered body part to use his possess ability; the mere presence of a druj inside a corpse's part is enough to make it rot and detach from the body at the end of the round following the one in which the druj possessed it (so the druj cannot move the possessed part until the a full round has elapsed, even if it may still use any other ability).
A body part possessed by a druj acquires the spirit possessed (druj) template, below.
Spirit Possessed (Druj)
This template can be added to any dead body part belonging to a creature which had (while alive) a skeletal system. The resulting creature retains all the following voices from the druj's entry: environment, organisation, challenge rating, treasure, alignment, advancement and level adjustment.
Size and type: The possessed body changes its type to undead. It retains any subtype except alignment subtypes (such as good) and subtypes that indicate kind (such as goblinoid or reptilian). The possessed body part's size depend on what the druj chose to possess. As a rule of thumb, consider each hand or skull as three size categories smaller, and each eye four size categories smaller than the original creature (e.g. a human hand of skull would be Diminutive size, while a human eye would be Fine size).
Hit Dice: Drop any Hit Dice of the original creature and substitute them with the druj's Hit Dice.
Speed: The possessed body part acquires a speed of flying 30 ft. (perfect) (6 squares).
Armour class: Natural armour bonus increases by +6. Often, a possessed body part gets of course a size bonus to AC also.
Base Attack: Use the druj's base attack bonus.
Attacks: The possessed body part gets an attack mode depending on its form. A hand gets a claw attack, a skull gets a bite attack and an eye gets a graze attack. Of course a possessed body part gets often also a size modifier to its attacks. A possessed body part never uses manufactured weapons and isn't proficient with any of them.
Damage: The damage also depends on the type of body part possessed. A Diminutive hand's claw attack inflicts 1d4 damage; a Diminutive skull's bite attack inflicts 2d4 damage and an eye's graze attack inflicts no damage (no matter what size). Calculate damage for different size body parts using Table 2-2 an Table 2-3 in DMG v. 3.5 (p. 28). Each living creature hit by a possessed body part is subject to the spirit's poison touch.
Special Attacks: A spirit possessed (druj) body part retains none of the original creature's special attacks. However, it gains the spirit's poison touch, poisonous aura and spell-like abilities special attacks. Moreover, a body part possessed by a druj acquires the split essence and sudden moves special attacks and an additional special attack depending on its type: death's grasp if it's a hand, skull frights if it's a skull and spirit's gaze if it's an eye.
- Death's Grasp (Ex): When a spirit possessed (druj) hand hits an opponent in melee with its claw attack, it can attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. The possessed hand is considered a creature four size categories larger than itself as far as grapple checks are concerned. If the spirit possessed (druj) hand wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and inflicts claw damage each round.
- Skull Fright (Su): When a target is first attacked in a night by a spirit possessed (druj) skull, the victim must make a successful DC 28 Will saving throw or be paralysed with fear for 1 round. The save DC is Charisma-based (with an additional +12 bonus). This is a necromancy (fear, mind-affecting) effect.
- Spirit's Gaze (Su): Paralysis for 1d4×10 minutes, 30 feet, Fortitude DC 28. The save is Charisma-based (with an additional +12 bonus). In addition to the usual gaze effects, the spirit possessed (eye) can direct its gaze against one opponent per round as a free action.
- Split Essence (Ex): Once per night, a spirit possessed (druj) body part can split its essence, creating four identical forms instead of one. Each of these forms has the same game statistics of the original (HD, full hp, AC, speed, attacks, etc.), has the poison touch and poisonous aura special attacks, and can attack separately; however, only one retains the druj's spell-like abilities. Should the spell-casting form be destroyed, one of the surviving forms immediately gains all the druj's spell-like abilities. Only destroying all four forms will defeat the creature. All four forms cannot travel farther than 1 mile of each other and are automatically and immediately reunited at sunrise. The first time in a night a spirit possessed (druj) body part is successfully turned, the four forms are forced to reunite into one creature and remain that way for 1d4+1 rounds, after which it may split again (even if they're already split for that night). If turned before the split, the spirit possessed (druj) body part must wait 1d4+1 rounds before splitting. Additional turn attempts after the first are resolved normally.
- Sudden Moves (Ex): A spirit possessed (druj) body part never causes an attack of opportunity when entering the opponent's square to attack him. Other type of actions cause attacks of opportunity as usual.
Special Qualities: A spirit possessed (druj) body part retains none of the original creature's special qualities. It acquires all the druj's special qualities.
Saves: Use the druj's saving throws.
Abilities: Use the druj's Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores. A spirit possessed (druj) body part uses the original creature's Strength score. A possessed hand gains an additional +2 modifier to its Strength score. A possessed eye applies an additional -6 modifier to its Strength score (to a minimum of 1).
Skills: Use the druj's skills.
Feats: Use the druj's feats. A possessed eye gains also Weapon Finesse (graze).
The following is an example of spirit possessed (druj) that uses a human hand as base creature.
Spirit Possessed (Druj) Human Hand
Diminutive Undead
Hit Dice: 14d12 (91 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: Flying 20 ft. (perfect) (4 squares)
Armour Class: 24 (+4 size, +4 Dex, +6 natural armour), touch 18, flat-footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+12
Attack: Claw +12 melee (1d4+1 plus poison)
Full Attack: Claw +12 melee (1d4+1 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 1 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Death's Grasp, Poison Touch, Poisonous Aura, Spell-like Abilities, Split Essence, Sudden Moves
Special Qualities: Blindsight 60 ft., damage reduction 15/magic, darkvision 60 ft., daylight powerlessness, immunity to cold, incorporeal traits, resistance to electricity 20 and to fire 20, spell resistance 23, undead traits, unnatural aura
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +13
Abilities: Str 13 , Des 19, Cos -, Int 14, Sag 14, Car 22
Skills: Hide +32, Intimidate +28, Listen +18, Move Silently +20, Search +12, Spot +18
Feats: Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (animate dead), Spell Focus (necromancy)
Environment: Any
Organisation: Solitary or gang (2-5)
Challenge Rating: 11
Treasure: None
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Advancement: 15-28 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: -