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Sacrol

by Jamie Baty

X9 28, AC9
Medium Undead
Hit Dice: 8d12 (52 hp)
Initiative: +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armour Class: 16 (+2 Dex, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+10
Attack: Tentacle +10 melee (2d8 +6)
Full Attack: 2 Tentacle +10 melee (2d8 +6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft. /5 ft.
Special Attacks: Constrict, energy drain, improved grab, spirit capture, death shriek
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/magic, darkvision 60ft., spell-like abilities, undead traits
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +5
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 15, Con -, Int 7, Wis 8, Cha 16
Skills: Intimidate +15, Listen +6, Spot +6
Feats: Alertness, Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative
Environment: Any Land
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Often chaotic evil
Advancement: 9-16 HD (Medium); 17-24 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: -

A large skull seems to float in a shifting, multi-coloured mist. Within the mist there seems to be a writhing mass of entrails.

Sacrols are the collected angry spirits of the dead. They have great hatred for the living, especially for their slayers, if any. Sacrols arise in places of mass death, such as battlefields, sacked temples, and plague-ridden cities or countrysides. Such a creature is forever bound to its death site unless it follows its killers in the hope of achieving vengeance. The sacrol can unerringly track the killers of those who became part of the sacrol. Wise travellers know to hide from a wandering sacrol, for even though it pursues its killers, the sacrol will slay any living thing in its' path. It seems odd that even lawful good victims can become part of an evil sacrol, but it is speculated among religious schools that the sacrol's great hatred is the result of death trauma coupled with a chance closeness to a rift in the Negative Energy Plane. If a sacrol manages to avenge itself against its killers, it must return to its death site and haunt it forever.

A sacrol looks like a large skull surrounded by a constantly shifting, multi-coloured mist. The skull resembles one creature whose life force is captured in the sacrol. The mist is the body of the sacrol. Sacrols radiate a cold, clammy aura. They do not have language, but they communicate through howls. Their cries sound like the shrill death shrieks of many creatures in their death throes. If one listens closely, the individual cries can be distinguished.

Combat
The sacrol attacks with two long, rope like tentacles that are composed of mist and are suggestive of entrails. A sacrol may attack two victims in one round, but may not direct both tentacles at the same victim. It will use its death shriek against whoever it regards as the greatest threat, but will only animate dead if it overmatched.

Constrict (Ex): A creature successfully grappled by a sacrol tentacle automatically takes 2d4 damage.

Energy Drain (Su): Each successful hit by a sacrol's tentacle bestows one negative level on the victim.

Improved Grab (Ex): If a sacrol successfully hits a target with its tentacle, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Damage Reduction (Su): A sacrol has damage reduction 10/magic.

Spells-like Abilities (Sp): 1/day animate dead

Spirit Capture (Su): Any creature killed by the sacrol has its life force joined to the sacrol. The victim cannot be raised or resurrected by any means short of wish. If the sacrol is later destroyed, all captured life forces of victims are released and they may be raised as normal.

Death Shriek (Sp): 1/day the sacrol can emit a shriek that acts as a slay living spell vs one target. The fortitude save is against DC15.

As an undead creature, the sacrol possesses the following traits:
• No Constitution score.
• Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
• Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects.
• Negative energy (such as an inflict spell) can heal undead creatures.
• Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
• Uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.
• Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.
• Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect undead creatures. These spells turn undead creatures back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.
• Sacrols do not breathe, eat, or sleep.