Cerebremorte
CR 8 NE Tiny undead (psionic) XP 4,800
Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14
Aura darkfire (5 ft., DC 19)
Defense
AC 25, touch 17, flat-footed 18 (+7 Dex, +6 natural, +2 size)
hp 94 (9d8+54)
Fort +7, Ref +10, Will +11 DR 10/bludgeoning and good; Immune undead traits; Resist fire 20; PR 19
Offense
Speed fly 50 ft. (perfect)
Ranged +15 ranged touch (psychic enervation)
Psi-Like Abilities (ML 9th; Concentration +14)
At will—defensive precognition (swift action, +3 insight bonus to AC)
psionic blast (stunned 3 rounds, DC 20)
3/day—ego whip (2d4, DC 19),
id insinuation (4 targets, DC 20)
mental barrier (+5 deflection bonus to AC for 5 rounds)
1/day—psychic crush ( DC 20)
Statistics
Str —, Dex 25, Con —, Int 17, Wis 15, Cha 20
Base Atk +8; CMB +6; CMD 23
Feats
Greater Psionic Endowment, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Psionic Endowment, Toughness
Skills
Autohypnosis +11, Fly +27, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (arcana) +15, Knowledge (psionics) +12, Knowledge (religion) +15, Perception +14, Spellcraft +15 Stealth +15; Racial Modifiers +8 Fly
Languages telepathy 30 ft.
Ecology
Environment: any
Organization: solitary, pair, or haunting (1-3 cerebremortes, 1 caller in darkness, and 1-4 shadows, spectres, or wraiths)
Treasure: standard
Special Abilities
Darkfire (Su): A cerebremorte is surrounded by a corona of blue-violet flames that gives off light as a torch, but also provides it with protection. Anyone approaching a cerebremorte within 5 feet is at risk of being affected by its darkfire aura. The attacker suffers 1 point of Strength drain and is shaken for 1d6 rounds unless a successful Will save (DC 19) is made. A successful save negates the shaken effect, but the attacker still suffers the Strength drain. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Psychic Enervation (Su): The primary attack of a cerebremorte is its psychic enervation ray, a ranged touch attack that drains 5d4 power points from any living psionic-using creature. (If the target of this attack is not a psionic-using creature, the attack instead drains 1d4 points of Int, Wis, or Cha (cerebremorte’s choice)). Lost power points or drained ability scores can be recovered in the normal methods; rest, or powers or spells that restore such losses.
A cerebremorte is often the result of a psion that has been killed by a powerful death effect, such as psychic crush or slay living or other similar powers or spells. They are relatively uncommon and have been mistaken for will o’ wisps, or even ghosts occasionally. A cerebremorte (or gravemind, as it is sometimes called) prefers to lurk in ruins, dark and ancient forests, or even underground, but can be found almost anywhere.
Most cerebremorte are aware of their unhallowed state and seek to exact revenge upon those that ended their lives, and as such they are often highly mobile. Some seek to come to terms with their undeath and their strange existence, and become consumed by researching and understanding one of the few things that psionic power could not touch. Such cerebremorte can either choose to stay, haunting a place and driving away all who would disturb them, or they go searching for knowledge, often demanding it rather than bargaining for it.
If a cerebremorte senses intruders, it takes time to increase its defenses, often manifesting defensive precognition (a swift action) and mental barrier to make it harder to hit, then attacking with id insinuation or psionic blast against the largest group, reserving psychic crush for a troublesome foe it wishes to remove from the battle. It cannot dim the glow of its darkfire corona and, unlike the will o’ wisps it is sometimes mistaken for, graveminds are not naturally invisible, and therefore this increased visibility can give its opponents an edge.