Fantasy Monster: Cubush

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Cubush

A thick, green, cubical tangle of leaves and branches.

CR 4; XP 1,200
N Medium Plant

Init +1; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +1

Defense
AC 17, touch 11, flat-footed 16 (+1 Dex, +6 natural)
hp 45 (6d8+18)
Fort +8; Ref +3; Will +3
Defensive Abilities thick as a wall; DR 10/slashing; Immune plant traits

Offense
Speed 20 ft.

Melee bull rush charge +14 (4d6)

Special Attacks overwhelming bull rush

Statistics
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 16, Int —, Wis 13, Cha 7
Base Atk +4; CMB +8 (+12 bull-rush); CMD 19 (29 vs. bull rush, cannot be tripped or overrun by Large or smaller creatures)

SQ inconspicuous hedge 

Ecology
Environment urban (gardens)
Organization solitary, pair, maze (3–20)
Treasure none

Special Abilities

Inconspicuous Hedge (Ex) A stationary cubush can be easily mistaken for a part of a hedge or a well-trimmed bush. Recognizing is anything other than a part of the scenery requires a successful Knowledge (nature), Perception, or Profession (gardening) check (DC 29). This check might gain a circumstance bonus if the cubush stays in an inadequate surroundings, like abandoned orchard, ruins, or middle of a forest.

Overwhelming Bull Rush (Ex) A cubush attacks by charging an enemy and making a bull-rush attempt with a +4 racial bonus, without provoking attack of opportunity from its target. A cubush always presses its bull rush, moving with the target. A creature bull-rushed by a cubush suffers 4d6 points of bludgeoning and piercing damage from combination of its mass and thorns.

Thick As A Wall (Ex) A cubush practically fills the 5ft. square it occupies, preventing Large or smaller creatures from bull rushing it, tripping, or overruning. Acrobatics checks made to move through its space have its DC increased by 10, and Tiny creatures can only occupy its space by moving over its body (which might require Climb checks in combat).

Cubushes are plants artificially designed to fit and guard fancy garden labyrinths, turning them into even-changing mazes. They are usually conditioned to treat certain scents as friendly and others as targets to be pursued. A master gardener can even use them to arrange a maze made completely from a significant number of cubushes.

Fantasy Monster: Pyredancer

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Pyredancer

A skeletal silhouette surrounded by flames dances through the air.

CR 8; 4,800 XP

CE Medium Undead (fire, incorporeal)

Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +15

Defense

AC 21; touch 21, flat-footed 15 (+5 deflection, +5 Dex, +1 dodge)

hp 105 (10d8+60)

Fort +8; Ref +8; Will +11
Defensive Abilities burning spirit, channeling resistance +4, incorporeal; Immune fire, undead

Weakness vulnerable to cold

Offense
Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)

Melee 2 incorporeal touches +13 (4d6 fire and negative energy to living creatures/19–20/×2)
Special Attacks fiery damnation, join the dance

Statistics
Str —, Dex 20, Con —, Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 21
Base Atk +8; CMB +8; CMD 29

Feats Dodge, Improved Critical (incorporeal touch), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Toughness

Skills Acrobatics +15, Fly +26, Knowledge (arcana) +15, Knowledge (religion) +15, Perception +15, Perform (dance) +15

Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, rave (3—12)
Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Burning Spirit (Su) A pyredancer is constantly burning, inflicting 4d6 points of fire and negative energy damage to living creatures passing through its space, hitting a pyredancer with a natural or unarmed strike, or making a grapple check against it.

Fiery Damnation (Su) A living creature reduced to 0 hit points by a pyredancer 's touch immediately dies and its corpse bursts into magical flames. One round later its scorched skeleton starts to dance frantically in the spot where it died until the flames are extinguished by magic cold, holy damage, or positive energy (it has to absorb five times its original level or HD in damage from such sources, counting as an undead creature with its original HD and Will saving throw). The fiery damned continues to burn, dealing 4d6 points of fire and negative damage to living creatures moving or ending their turn within 10 feet but does little else except dancing. When it fails a Will saving throw against an effect that allows controlling undead, it can be commanded to move up to 30 feet once and then the effect ends. Creature affected by fiery damnation has its soul trapped within the flames and can't be revived until its remnants are put to rest. A pyredancer can also use this ability by touching a corpse as a standard action. This is a death and fire necromancy effect.

Join The Dance (Su) When a pyredancer hits an undead creature with its incorporeal touch, it deal no damage. Instead, the target has to succeed a Will saving throw (DC 20) or it is compelled to dance. Intelligent undead can repeat their Will saving throw each turn to break the effect, unintelligent undead break out of the dance when commanded to take any other actions.

Pyredancers are spectral remnants of powerful souls, people who sought being burned after their death in pursuit of eternal hedonistic abandon. Many of them actually burned themselves alive, turning wild feasts into fiery funerals.

Pyredancers often kill mortals to make their souls and corpses dance for them eternally, though they can be placated for a time with festivals and offerings, limiting number of their victims. More powerful forces of damnation—fiends and undead—might keep troupes of pyredancers for their own entertainment.

Fantasy Monster: Dire Hedgehog

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Dire Hedgehog

A sizeable hedgehog with longer snout and longer limbs.

CR 2; XP 600
N Medium Animal

Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +7

Defense
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 22 (4d8+4)
Fort +5; Ref +6; Will +3
Defensive Ability coat of spines

Offense
Speed 20 ft.

Melee bite +4 (1d4+1), 2 claws +4 (1d4+1)

Special Attacks vermin eater

Statistics
Str 12, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 7
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 16 (20 vs. trip)

Feats Blind-Fight, Nimble Move

Skills Perception +7, Stealth +7

Ecology
Environment forests
Organization solitary, pair
Treasure none

Special Abilities

Coat Of Spines (Ex) A dire hedgehog has long, thick, sharp spines, much stronger and dangerous than those possessed by its smaller kin. Any creature striking a dire hedgehog with a natural attack or an unarmed strike suffers 1d4 points of piercing damage. Creatures with natural armor bonus of +6 or more, or wearing heavy armor with gauntlets are immune.

Vermin Eater (Ex) A dire hedgehog has +1 racial bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and skill checks made against vermin.

Dire hedgehogs are bigger and more vicious kin to a common hedgehog. Mostly feeding on insects and worms, they are not above consuming smaller animals and an occasional unlucky fey. Despite that (or maybe because of it) many smaller fey keep them as guard animals or even war beasts. They also seem to be fond of, and very protective towards regular hedgehogs, probably mistaking them for their own hoglets.

Dire hedgehogs, unusually for animals of such size, can be adopted as familiars by a 7th level caster with Improved Familiar feat.

Fantasy Monster: Dreamsipper

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Dreamsipper

A bat with four wings and four tentacles at the end of its snout.

CR 2; XP 600
N Tiny Aberration

Init +6; Senses blindsight 120 ft., darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, trail dreams; Perception +5

Defense
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +2 size)
hp 22 (4d8+4)
Fort +2; Ref +5; Will +5
Defensive Ability evasion; Immune sleep

Offense
Speed 5 ft., fly 50 ft. (good)
Melee tentacles +4 touch (2d6 nonlethal plus sip dreams)

Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft. (5 ft. with tentacles)

Special Attacks sip dreams

Statistics
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 13
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 12

Feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes

Skills Fly +14, Perception +5, Sense Motive +2, Stealth +14

SQ dreamsharing

Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, flight (3—10)
Treasure incidental

Special Abilities

Dreamsharing (Su) A group of dreamsippers can share their stolen dreams with each other as long as they remain within 30 feet of each other. A dreamsipper familiar can share dreams of its master, weaving the threads stolen from dreams of others into the shared experience.

Sip Dreams (Su) A dreamsipper tentacles can deliver a mild mental shock that cause sense of overwhelming tiredness. When nonlethal damage exceeds the target's hit points after a dreamsipper's tentacle attack, the victim falls unconscious and asleep for 2d6 hours while dreaming intensely. Creatures that are incapable of dreaming are asleep for 1d4 hours. Victim can't be woken up until their nonlethal damage drop below their hit point value.

Trail Dreams (Su) A dreamsipper is vaguely aware of creatures dreaming nearby within approximately 1 mile, though it requires time and effort to actually find them. It can recognize a dreaming creature on sight and get a vague idea of complexity of its dreams discerning between sapient creatures, non-sapient ones, and entities that don't dream, but only while they are asleep.

Dreamsippers are night creatures that feed on sleeping creatures, sipping a bit of dream here and there, and then proceeding to return to their lairs where they digest them, weaving new dreams out of stolen threads while in a deep trance.

Dreamsippers find dreams of sapient beings a much richer and attractive than their usual fare of non-sapient dreams.

A dreamsipper can be taken for a familiar by a 7th level caster capable of dreaming with Improved Familiar feat.