Crypt Chanter
A lone, wavering figure begins a song. The haunting melody echoes through the air, calling for you to dance. The music makes your soul shrivel, but it also makes you smile. How can something be so awful and so wonderful at the same time?A crypt chanter’s voice is the perfect horror, at once compelling and dreadful. These undead creatures sometimes appear to be playing spectral viols, flutes, drums, or any other instruments they choose, varying from chanter to chanter.
Table 1: The Crypt Chanter
Hit Die: d12Level BAB Ref Fort Will Cha Special Abilities
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
1 +0 +0 +0 +2 +1 Crypt Chanter Body
2 +1 +0 +0 +3 +2 Turn Resistance
3 +1 +1 +1 +3 +3 Draining Melody
4 +2 +1 +1 +4 +4 Create Spawn Class skills (2 + Int modifier per level): Craft, Hide, Intimidate, Listen, Perform, Profession, Search, Spot
Requirements:None
Class FeaturesA crypt chanter’s strength and shield is its music. A crypt chanter seeks to snare its victims with its music, and then drain them of life with the same melody. If threatened, a crypt chanter retreats into a nearby wall or other handy physical barrier.
Crypt Chanter Body The Crypt Chanter loses all other racial bonuses, and gains the following Undead traits.
* No Constitution score.
* Darkvision out to 60 feet.
* Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
* Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
* Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects.
* Heals naturally.
* Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
* Uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.
* Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.
* Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect undead creatures. These spells turn undead creatures back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.
* Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.
It is an incorporeal medium sized undead with an incorporeal touch attack dealing 1d8 damage with a base speed of 30 feet, and a fly speed of 30 feet (perfect). The crypt chanter is powerless in daylight (see Libris Mortis).
Ability Score IncreaseAt each level, the Crypt Chanter gains a +1 bonus to its Charisma score.
IncorporealAt 1st hit dice, the Crypt Chanter can be harmed by all forms of attack, and can attack others as if it was corporeal. it can interact with unattended corporeal objects for one round three times per day and cannot fly higher than 5 feet off the ground, plus an additional 5 feet per 2 hit dice. It cannot completely hide within objects and interacts with water as if it had a swim speed equal to its fly speed. It cannot chose not to be heard by Listen checks though she does receive a +5 circumstance bonus to Move Silently.
Upon gaining its 5th hit dice, the Crypt Chanter loses the ability to interact with corporal objects, but can now fly and interact with water as per the incorporeal subtype and receive a +10 circumstance bonus to Move Silently. Nonmagical attacks made by corporeal creatures against the Crypt Chanter, and melee attacks made by the Crypt Chanter against corporeal targets, are now ineffective. Magical weapons and spells used by corporeal creatures against the Crypt Chanter have a 10% chance miss chance, increasing by 10% at 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th hit dice. There is a maximum of a 50% miss chance. Positive energy, negative energy, force effects such as magic missile, and attacks made with ghost touch weapons ignore this miss chance. Magical weapons used by the Crypt Chanter against corporeal targets have the same miss chance if they aren't ghost touch weapons.
Upon gaining its 10th hit dice, the Crypt Chanter is fully affected by the incorporeal subtype as normal.
Turn ResistanceThe Crypt chanter gains a +2 bonus to turn resistance.
Draining Melody (Su)A crypt chanter constantly sings, creating a magically charged allure. All creatures within 60 feet of a crypt chanter must make a DC 13 Will save or stand dazed as long as the music continues. This is a sonic, mind-affecting, compulsion effect. Beginning on the round after becoming dazed, creatures that failed the first saving throw must make a second saving throw (same DC) to avoid being affected as if by the
enthrall spell (see page 227 of the Player’s Handbook). Enthralled victims also begin to gain 1d2 negative levels per round while the song continues, as long as they remain within range. If a creature gains a number of negative levels at least equal to its Hit Dice, it dies and becomes a spawn. When a crypt chanter bestows negative levels on a victim, it gains 5 temporary hit points for each negative level bestowed. These temporary hit points last for up to 1 hour. Creatures that successfully save upon hearing a crypt chanter’s music cannot be affected by that crypt chanter’s music again unless the chanter ceases singing for 1 full round (releasing all those it previously held in thrall) and begins a new song. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Create Spawn (Su) Any humanoid slain by a crypt chanter through its draining melody (see above) becomes a crypt chanter 1d4 rounds later. Spawn are under the command of the crypt chanter that created them and remain enslaved until its destruction. They do not possess any of the abilities they had in life. This uses the normal 2 HD per character level limit for controlling undead. Any spawn that cannot be controlled are free willed.
