Forget What You Were

[The Demented One]

Mnemonophage
Size/Type: Medium Monstrous Humanoid (Psionic)
Hit Dice: 8d8+20 (56 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 17 (+3 Dex, +4 natural), touch 13, flatfooted 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+8
Attack: Tentacle +11 melee (1d4+2)
Full Attack: 2 Tentacles +11 melee (1d4+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with tentacles)
Special Attacks: Gaze of amnesia
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., eidetic memory, telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +7
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 20
Skills: Autohypnosis +14, Concentration +4, Listen +4, Spot +4
Feats: Weapon Finesse^B, Ability Focus (Gaze of Amnesia), Speed of Thought, Psionic Body
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, pair, or coma (4-7)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Often True Neutral
Advancement: By class level
Level Adjustment: +3

Mnemonophages are bizarre psionic humanoids who sustain themselves on the painful memories of others. By deleting harmful memories from others, they can repair psychic scarring, though the process of memory deletion temporarily weakens their subjects. Mnemonophages are sleek, silver skinned humanoids lacking mouths, and with long, thin tentacles emerging from their backs. A Mnemonophage is just as likely to use its gaze of amnesia to help a person by deleting harmful memories as it is to use it as a weapon–it does not care whether it heals or harms, merely that it feeds.

Gaze of Amnesia (Su)
Mnemonophages have a gaze attack, with a range of fifteen feet. Each creature may attempt a DC 21 Will save to negate the effects of the gaze. A creature that fails its save gains one negative level, as it begins to lose its memories. It loses the negative level one hour later, with no need for a save. At the same time, it regains its memories, though they become somewhat harder to recall. The Mnemonophage’s gaze eliminates painful, traumatic memories in preference to any other, causing any fear effects, despair effects, and confusion or insanity effects currently effecting a creature that fails its save to be removed. In addition, a Mnemonophage’s gaze can heal a creature one point of Wisdom damage each round, as it deletes painful memories. Even after a creature regains its memories, these beneficial effects remain. Deleting the memory of one creature with its gaze of amnesia supplies a Mnemonophage with a day’s worth of sustenance.

Eidetic Memory (Ex)
A Mnemonophage remembers everything it has ever seen, heard, or done with perfect clarity, and can recall them at will. In addition, it is immune to effects that tamper with its memories, such as mindwipe or psionic modify memory.

Skills
Mnemonophages have a +10 racial bonus on Autohypnosis checks.

[ghost_warlock]

I just have to say that Phil would absolutely HATE these things!

[Gyrfalcon]

I like it, but you need to define what happens if a character is level drained to level 0 - do they become a Mnemonophage themselves?

Otherwise, interesting idea, due to the fact that they aren't necessarily a combat encounter, and might even be sought if a comrade was rendered insane through a spell.

[DMgrinder]

Wow, your first monster (in my memory) that isn't hell-bent on total creepy destruction.

[Squangos]

I'd like to play an Exalted Mnemonophage Apostle of Peace, travelling from battlefield to battlefield, erasing the traumas of war from all those first level combatants…