Fantasy Monster: Plagued Doctor

You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon

Plagued Doctor

A tall figure in black coat, top hat, and a mask that resembles a beak of a carrion bird.

CR 7; XP 00
LE Medium Undead

Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., smell illness; Perception +14

Defense
AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+3 armor, +4 Dex, +3 natural)
hp 85 (10d8+40); fast healing X
Fort +6; Ref +7; Will +10

Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; Immune blindness, dazzled, undead traits

Offense
Speed 30 ft.

Melee scalpel +11/+11/+6 (1d4+4 plus 1 Con, 19‒20/×2)

Special Attacks skillful bloodletting

Statistics
Str 10, Dex 18, Con —, Int 19, Wis 13, Cha 17
Base Atk +7; CMB +7; CMD 21

Feats Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Nimble Moves, Toughness

Skills Bluff +16, Diplomacy +16, Heal +14, Intimidate +16, Knowledge (nature) +17, Perception +14, Profession (apothecary) +14, Stealth +17

Languages Aklo, Common, Infernal

SQ experimental treatment, medical diploma

Ecology
Environment urban, rural
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure standard (medical supplies and research notes, with notable worth to other physicians)

Special Abilities

Experimental Treatment (Su) Plagued doctors can take approximately half an hour treating a willing or incapacitated patient with various weird and disturbing method, such as leeching, bloodletting, drawing other humors, enemas of noxious medicines, and so. This targets one particular disease afflicting the patient chosen by the plagued doctor, suppressing its effects for 1d4+1 days, but also causing 1 point of Constitution damage, and preventing natural healing for the same time. There is 10% chance that the disease is passed to another person in close proximity, and another 10% chance the disease is suppressed for 1d4+1 years, instead. Experimental treatment can even affect supernatural diseases. Effects of this experimental treatment can be broken with restoration or by removing a curse. This is a curse effect.

Medical Diploma (Ex) Plagued doctors treats Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (nature), and Profession (apothecary) as class skills.

Skillful Bloodletting (Ex) Plagued doctors can wield their scalpel using Dexterity to calculate attack bonus and damage, and may make one additional attack at the highest attack bonus during a full-attack. Each successful strike of the plagued doctor's scalpel inflicts 1 point of Constitution damage on creatures not immune to bleeding.

Smell Illness (Ex) Plague doctors can smell diseased affliction, and both nauseated and sickened conditions. This allows them to detect afflicted individuals as if using scent, and helps with finding infected people hiding their conditions. Plagued doctors are energized by presence of ill people, gaining fast healing equal to number of people suffering from diseased, nauseated, or sickened condition within 30 feet.

Plague is a terrible disease that can strike in already bad times, overwhelming physicians and healers alike. Some doctors get so obsessed by the challenge it presents that they become willing to do anything to defeat it, attempting any treatment, no matter how ruthless, and paying any price, no matter how high. Some go even further and stay among the living past their own inevitable death.

Plagued doctors are obsessed with treating the plague (or some other highly infamous and thoroughly deadly disease), finding their way into cities and villages where it spreads, sometimes even showing up before the public becomes aware of the outbreak.

Plagued doctors might merely observe situation or a specific individual and take notes, or might experiment. They often react angrily, or outright violently when others interfere with the observed situation without consulting them first, the patient, or the treatment.

Fantasy Monster: Pebblebulb

You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.

Pebblebulb

A pile of pebbles hides a bulbous plant, half-buried in the ground.

CR 8; XP 4,800
N Medium Plant
Init +3; Senses low-light vision, tremorsense 120 ft.; Perception +23

Defense
AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+3 Dex, +8 natural)
hp 102 (12d8+48)
Fort +12, Ref +7, Will +7
Defensive Abilities all-around vision; Immune plant traits

Offense
Speed 20 ft., burrow 10 ft.; stone walk
Melee 3 vine slam +14 (2d4+5)

Ranged 3 thrown pebble +12 (2d4+5)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks expel dust

Statistics
Str 20, Dex 16, Con 18, Int –, Wis 17, Cha 7
Base Atk +9; CMB +14; CMD 27 (can't be tripped)
Skills Perception +23, Stealth +23; Racial Modifiers +20 Perception, +20 Stealth

SQ compression, stone-boring

Ecology
Environment hills, mountains, ruins, underground
Organization solitary, pair or a patch (3–6)
Treasure standard

Expel Dust (Ex) After burrowing through stone, a pebblebulb stores some mineral dust in its bladders, that it can expel as a swift action, creating a 20-ft. radius, 10-ft. high cloud that lasts for 1d4+1 rounds. The irritating dust provides concealment, dazzles anyone with unprotected eyes, and induces cough in  breathing creatures that inhale it (holding breath or having some sort of mask that can filter dust protects against that effect). A failed Fortitude saving throw (DC 20) interrupts any standard or full action taken while breathing within the cloud. A pebblebulb can store enough dust for single expulsion. The saving throw DC is Constitution-based.

Stone-Boring (Ex) A pebblebulb borrowing through packed earth and stone leaves narrow tunnels behind.

Stone Walk (Ex) A pebblebulb can easily move through stony or sandy difficult terrain, such as unstable rubble.

A pebblebulb is a sturdy, stone-boring plant that thrives in rocky terrain, feeding on mineral dust occasionally fertilized by a rotting carcass.