Execrable Assassin [Monster/Type]

[Reinboom]

Execrable Assassin

Size/Type: Medium Execrable
Hit Dice: 12d12+44 (122 hp)
Initiative: +11
Speed: 40 ft land; 20 ft climb
Armor Class: 28, touch 17, flat-footed 21 (+7 dex, +8 natural, +3 armor) Dodge, Mobility
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+11
Attack: +17 Melee (+1 short sword) (1d6+3)/ +16 Melee (claw) (1d6+2)
Full Attack: +17/+12 (1d6+3) or +16/+16 (claw,claw) (1d6+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Sneak Attack (+5d6), spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: +8 Turn Resistance, Darkvision 60', Fast Healing 10*, Vile Disguise, Spell Resistance 22, Uncanny Dodge, Deterioration Cycle, Skillful, Execrable Traits
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +11, Will +10
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 25, Con —, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 14
Skills: Balance (+24), Bluff (+17), Disguise (*+2/+33), Escape Artist (*+26), Gather Information (+17), Hide (*+26), Move Silently (*+26), Tumble (*+26), Disable Device (+19), Open Lock (+22), Search (+19)
Feats: Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse, Dodge, Mobility, Unholy Toughness (MMIII)
Environment: Any urban humanoid civilization
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 13 ?
Treasure: standard, +1 short sword, +1 leather armor
Alignment: Nearly Always Neutral Evil
Advancement: 13-20 by class (medium) Favored Class: Rogue
Level Adjustment: —

This execrable assassin appears in its natural form as an extremely dexterous corpse whose muscles and form is being kept upright by a built together exterior skeleton of mismatched bones and metal braces. The joints and portions move and morph in unnatural yet fluid motions. The eye sockets filled with dull white bulbous orbs, at times barely resembling eyes. Most of the form is otherwise stained a deep red as one would expect of blood ages old.
Usually, however, the execrable assassin appears as just another person passing on the street, the friendly merchant who sounds like they have an odd cold today, or the mayor you were ordered to greet.


Special Qualities
Deterioration Cycle
For each 24 hour period the execrable assassin goes without feasting upon a victim, the execrable assassin's Fast Healing is reduced by 1 point. If the execrable assassin loses its fast healing due to this, instead, its dexterity and strength each reduce by 1. Feasting (see below) restores its fast healing, dexterity, and strength.

Skillful
Execrable assassins have an additional 16 skill points at the first hit die, and an additional 4 skill points with each additional hit die.


Combat
Entrails Feast (Ex)
As long as the execrable assassin is not wearing a skin, it can spend a full round action to tear out and consume the rib cage and many of the internal organs behind it of a dead humanoid it is adjacent to, making raise dead difficult. Doing so renews the execrable assassin's deterioration cycle and provides it a +4 feast bonus to strength, dexterity, and heals the execrable assassin for 2d8 points of HP. Feast bonuses gained in this manner last for 1d4+1 rounds.

Fast Healing (Ex)
Each round, the execrable assassin heals damage equal to 10 - the number of days its gone without feasting (see deterioration cycle). This healing can never fall below 0.

Skin Ripper (Ex)
An execrable assassin can remove the flesh from a helpless or recently dead humanoid with a full round action.

Vile Disguise (Ex)
An execrable assassin can spend a minute to adjust its body and fit on a skin of a victim it has obtained by the skin ripper ability. The skin does not deteriorate while being worn in this manner, suspended by the negative energy of the execrable. The execrable assassin gains a +10 to its disguise checks to appear as the original owner of the skin, accounted for in the stat block.

Sneak Attack (Ex)
This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt is +5d6. If an execrable assassin gets a sneak attack bonus from another source the bonuses on damage stack.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex)
An execrable assassin retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) regardless of being caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. (He still loses any Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.)

Turn Resistance (Ex)
An execrable assassin has +8 turn resistance.

Spell-like Abilities
3/day-Feather fall, gentle repose, tongues. 1/day-Harm. Caster level 12th.


Skills
*Execrable Assassin has a +4 racial bonus on Disguise while in skin, Escape Artist, Hide, Move SIlently, and Tumble due to its unique morphic structure and a -15 racial penalty on Disguise while out of skin.


Strategy
The execrable assassin will never approach combat head on, and will always try to put itself in a tactfully advantageous location to strike.
Normally, the execrable assassin will attempt to break up a large group or otherwise lure away single members to attack, and rarely striking more than two victims in a day. If the assassin can sneak away with a victim, it will as to better provide a way to keep quiet with a meal prepared before its next hunting, keeping it stable with gentle repose.
The assassin tends to attack wanderers, adventurers, and warriors - especially those who boast paladinhood - when possible. For it is these types that are most likely to hunt it out, it prefers to remove the threat early.

If caught in combat, the execrable assassin will either used its false standing as who it is impersonating to its advantage if possible or attempt to apply stealth and mobility in order to quickly shut down or kill a target.
If the odds are far against it however it will quickly flee, having no use for foolish pride.

Execrable Type Info (Undead/Construct Mix)
Features

* 12-sided Hit Dice.
* Base attack bonus equal to 3/4 total Hit Dice (as cleric).
* Good Will saves.
* Skill points equal to (4 + Int modifier, minimum 1) per Hit Die, with quadruple skill points for the first Hit Die, if the execrable has an Intelligence score.


Traits
* No Constitution score.
* Low-light vision.
* Darkvision out to 60 feet.
* Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
* Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and necromancy effects.
* Does not heal naturally. Repair effects only heal half. Negative energy (such as an inflict spell) can heal execrable creatures but only by half. An execrable with the fast healing special quality still benefits from that quality.
* Receives only half damage from positive energy effects that would normally injure undead.
* 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.
* 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 execrable creatures. These spells turn the creatures back into the living creatures they were before becoming execrables.
* An execrable gains bonus HP based on its size as a construct would.
* Proficient with its natural weapons, all simple weapons, and any weapons mentioned in its entry.
* Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium, or heavy) it is described as wearing, as well as all lighter types. Execrable not indicated as wearing armor are not proficient with armor. Execrable are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any form of armor.
* Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.
* Qualifies for all undead and construct specific feats or classes
* Is considered both Undead and construct for most spells and effects (such as favored enemy)



Definitely work in progress.
Idea parts: Phyrexian Sleeper Agents, Hannibal, and that eyelidless assassin guy from Hellboy that I don't know the name of.

[Caracol]

I like the idea, but why not making it just a construct?
Also, the challenge rating you put is tooooooo low.

[BisectedBrioche]

Creepy, it reminds me of the Bonetheives from ED.

[Magnor Criol]

Creepy, indeed. Nice job, milady.

I agree that the CR is a little low, but I'm not very skilled with that area.

I'd lower the bonus for the Vile Disguise ability. +20 is exceedingly high, both mechanics- and fluff-wise. Very few things great bonuses above +10 (there are exceptions, but they're quite uncommon). And I have a hard time believing that a undead-construct hybrid, no matter how dexterous, would be able to play the disguise so incredibly convincingly just by pulling on the skin of what it killed.

Also - and this is largely just a personal thing - "execrable," I'm sorry to say, associates itself in my mind with "excrement." My mind works in....um, mysterious ways. =p

[Reinboom]

The issue with the CR: This is a solitary creature. Solitary things die very very fast. This is intended as more of a difficult puzzle type of monster, but, if it is cornered, it goes down awfully quickly.
And I still need to put in its strategy...

Raising the CR to 13 anyways.

The +20 disguise bonus is too high. This, however, is more due to I wrote that part while I was still making it - so - all the bonuses together weren't that high. I just didn't think to correct it.
Fixed to +10.

Execrable stays as the creature type, it's the best thing I could think of for an unholy foul contraption. Suggestions for the creature name itself are welcome, however.

And why not -just- construct?
Flavor. I want this to be an unholy product at a vile attempt at immortality in the eyes of an assassin. As well as a model after phyrexia (the original inspiration).
That and, why not? When making something, I don't want the game's presets to limit me. They are building blocks, not walls, I tell ya!