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.