The House on Hook Street pg. 62
Acquired/Inherited Template Acquired
Simple Template No
Usable with Summons No
Dreamspawn creatures are created when the lucid bodies of dreamers are killed in certain correupted areas of the Dimension of Dreams, their nightmarish final moments resulting in true death in the waking world. On some rare occasions, the creature or creatures responsible for the death of the dreamer are intrinsically bound to that dreamer’s death throes, their etheric forms dragged along with the victim’s fleeing soul and stranded somewhere between the sleeping and waking worlds. These creatures soon emerge on the Material Plane, bursting forth from their victim’s corpse as nightmarish spectres of the dream-thing they once were.
Dreamspawn creatures are always linked by ectoplasmic strands to the corpse of the dreamer that created them. They drain the corpse of fluids and essence in order to manifest, desiccating the remains in the process. Their initial manifestation usually disfigures the corpse in some horrifying manner. Dreamspawn creatures are forced to drag the remains of dead dreamers behind them, motivate to experience the Material Plane but shackled to their creator’s rotting body.
These otherworldly creatures seek out new host bodies to replace the original rotting corpses that first brought them into the world. This effort allows them to extend their lives as their host body rots beyond repair. Those who hunt these escaped nightmares and seek to silence them have learned to sense the eerie vibrations that accompany the dreamspawn’s violation of planar physics, and use it to their advantage to locate and destroy the creatures.
“Dreamspawn creature” is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature). Dreamspawn creatures are typically at least one size category larger than their hosts. A dreamspawn creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature’s CR + 1.
Alignment: Usually evil.
Type: The creature’s type changes to outsider (extraplanar). Do not recalculate base class Hit Dice, BAB, saves, or skill points.
Senses: A dreamspawn creature gains thoughtsense 60 feet.
Thoughtsense (Su): A dreamspawn creature can automatically detect and locate conscious creatures within the specified range (usually 60 feet). This functions similarly to the blindsight ability. Nondetection, mind blank, and similar effects can block thoughtsense. Thoughtsense can distinguish between sentient (Intelligence 3 or greater) and non-sentient (Intelligence 1–2) creatures, but otherwise provides no information about the creatures it detects.
Aura: A dreamspawn creature has the following aura.
Discordant Feedback (Su): The dreamspawn creature’s psychic energy creates an eerie, shrieking feedback in the minds of living creatures in a 10-foot radius. Creatures within the aura take a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, skill checks, and saving throws while in the area, and must make a successful Will save or take 1d2 points of Charisma damage. Spellcasters who attempt to cast spells in the aura’s radius must make a concentration check with a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the dreamspawn creature’s Hit Dice + the dreamspawn creature’s Charisma modifier. If the character fails, the spell is expended but does not function. This is a mind-affecting effect.
Defensive Abilities: A dreamspawn creature gains DR 5/good or silver, immunity to mind-affecting effects, and the following defensive ability.
Span Planes (Su): Dreamspawn creatures exist partially on the Material Plane and partially in the Dimension of Dreams. Dreamspawn creatures take half damage (50%) from all nonmagical attack forms, and full damage from magical weapons, spells, spell-like effects, supernatural effects, incorporeal creatures and effects, and force effects.
Speed: Same as the base creature. If the base creature does not have a fly speed, the dreamspawn creature gains a fly speed of 10 (perfect maneuverability) as a supernatural ability.
Attacks: A dreamspawn creature retains all the natural weapons, manufactured weapon attacks, and weapon proficiencies of the base creature. If the base creature has no other natural attacks, the dreamspawn creature gains a slam attack that deals damage based on the dreamspawn creature’s size.
Special Qualities: A dreamspawn creature gains the following special quality.
Sleepwalker (Su): A dreamspawn creature is tethered to the corpse of the dreamer whose death birthed it, using it as a conduit between one world and the next. Typically, the desiccated corpse is dragged lifelessly along with the materialized dreamspawn creature, occupying an adjacent square and moving along with it. As a move action, the dreamspawn creature can also withdraw wholly into the corpse where it can control the movements of its host. While inhabiting the corpse, it can attack foes with a slam attack. Any attack against the host deals half damage to the dreamspawn creature as well, although its DR, resistances, and immunities may negate some or all of this damage. The dreamspawn creature can materialize from the corpse as a free action. If a dreamspawn creature kills another corporeal target, it can discard its tethered corpse and attach itself to the newly killed victim.
Abilities: Dex +4, Cha +2.
|