Tomb Mote
Tomb Mote
A tiny mannequin skitters about, its body seemingly composed of equal parts bone shards, soil and matted hair. Despite its patchwork body, it moves with eerie grace.
Tomb motes are undead effluvia, the scraps and spare parts left over from the animated dead. A desecrated graveyard that spawns horrors may create tomb motes out of the leftover corpses too badly damaged to rise in humanoid shape, or the destruction of a powerful undead creature may imbue its negative energy into the environment around it, resulting in a clutch of tiny monsters. These impish creatures lurk in graveyards, haunted houses and other places steeped with negative energy, infesting the walls and catacombs like humanoid rats. They are surprisingly intelligent, and create a rudimentary society based primarily on mockery of the living and the trading of baubles recovered from bodies.
A tomb mote stands about eighteen inches tall and weighs ten pounds or less. The disease spread with their bites is nonlethal, but results in bloated, greenish skin, a slowed heart and breathing rate and a powerful odor of decay. Some unfortunate victims of corpse bloat are buried while still alive, mistaken for dead by well-meaning family and friends. Tomb motes find this hilarious, and seek out their victims to tease and torment as the unfortunates die of thirst or suffocation.
A tomb mote can be persuaded to serve as a familiar to necromancers and others obsessed with death. Any evil spellcaster with a caster level of 7th or higher may take a tomb mote as a familiar with the Improved Familiar feat.
Tomb Mote CR 2
XP 600
NE Tiny undead
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +7
Defense
AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+2 size, +3 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 16 (3d8+3); fast healing 1
Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +4
DR 5/magic or cold iron
Defensive Abilities amorphous; Immune undead traits
Offense
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +7 (1d4-1 plus disease)
Space 2 ½ ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Spell-like Abilities CL 3rd, concentration +4
3/day—cause fear (DC 12)
1/day—ghoul touch (DC 13), speak with dead (DC 14)
Statistics
Str 8, Dex 16, Con -, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 13
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 11
Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +6 (+2 jumping), Climb +11, Knowledge (religion) +4, Perception +7, Stealth +17, Swim +11
Languages Abyssal, Common
SQ quickness
Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair or bunch (3-8)
Treasure incidental
Special Abilities
Disease (Ex) Corpse bloat—injury; save Fort DC 12; onset 1d3 days; damage 1d6 Str; cure 2 saves. The save DC is Charisma based.
Quickness (Su) A tomb mote can take an extra move action every round.