SYSTEM REFERENCE DOCUMENT 3.5

Nightshades are powerful undead composed of equal parts darkness and absolute evil.

Nightshades can read and understand all forms of communication; however, they communicate with others by telepathy.

COMBAT

Each of the three known varieties of nightshade is a terrible creature with unique powers and abilities. Their tactics vary according to their abilities, but they all make liberal use of haste.

Nightshade Abilities

All nightshades have the following special abilities.

Aversion to Daylight (Ex): If exposed to natural daylight (not merely a daylight spell), nightshades take a –4 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks.

Desecrating Aura (Su): All nightshades give off a 20-footradius emanation of utter desecration, imbuing their surroundings with negative energy. This ability works much like a desecrate spell, except that the nightshade’s evil is so great that it is treated as the shrine of an evil power. All undead within 20 feet of the nightshade (including the creature itself ) gain a +2 profane bonus on attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws, and +2 hit points per HD. (The nightshade Hit Dice, attack, and save entries given here include these profane bonuses.) Charisma checks made to turn undead within this area take a –6 penalty.

A nightshade’s desecrating aura cannot be dispelled except by a dispel evil spell or similar effect. If the effect is dispelled, the nightshade can resume it as a free action on its next turn. Its desecrating aura is suppressed if a nightshade enters a consecrated or hallowed area, but the nightshade’s presence also suppresses the consecrated or hallowed effect for as long as it remains in the area.

NIGHTCRAWLER

A nightcrawler is a massive behemoth similar to a purple worm, though utterly black in color.

A nightcrawler measures about 7 feet in diameter and is 100 feet long from its toothy maw to the tip of its stinging tail. It weighs about 55,000 pounds.

Combat

A nightcrawler attacks by burrowing through the ground and emerging to strike.

A nightcrawler’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures inside a nightcrawler’s gizzard gain one negative level each round. The DC is 26 for the Fortitude save to remove a negative level. The save DC is Charisma-based.

For each such negative level bestowed, the nightcrawler gains 5 temporary hit points.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a nightcrawler must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can try to swallow the opponent in the following round.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 22, initial and secondary damage 2d6 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will—contagion (DC 18), deeper darkness, detect magic, greater dispel magic, haste, invisibility, see invisibility, unholy blight (DC 18); 3/day—cone of cold (DC 19), confusion (DC 18), hold monster (DC 19); 1/day—finger of death (DC 21), mass hold monster (DC 23), plane shift (DC 21). Caster level 25th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Summon Undead (Su): A nightcrawler can summon undead creatures once per night: 9–16 shadows, 3–6 greater shadows, or 2–4 dread wraiths. The undead arrive in 1d10 rounds and serve for 1 hour or until released.

Swallow Whole (Ex): A nightcrawler can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of Huge or smaller size by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 2d8+12 points of bludgeoning damage plus 12 points of acid damage per round from the nightcrawler’s gizzard and is subject to the creature’s energy drain. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 35 points of damage to the gizzard (AC 21). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. A nightcrawler’s interior can hold 2 Huge, 8 Large, 32 Medium, 128 Small, 512 Tiny or smaller opponents.

NIGHTWALKER

Nightwalkers are human-shaped horrors that haunt the darkness.

A nightwalker is about 20 feet tall and weighs about 12,000 pounds.

Combat

Nightwalkers lurk in dark areas where they can almost always surprise the unwary.

A nightwalker’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Crush Item (Su): A nightwalker can destroy any weapon or item of Large size or smaller (even magic ones, but not artifacts) by picking it up and crushing it between its hands. The nightwalker must make a successful disarm attempt to grab an item held by an opponent. The item is entitled to a DC 34 Fortitude save to resist destruction. The save DC is Strength-based.

Evil Gaze (Su): Fear, 30 feet. A creature that meets the nightwalker’s gaze must succeed on a DC 24 Will save or be paralyzed with fear for 1d8 rounds. Whether or not the save is successful, that creature cannot be affected again by the same nightshade’s gaze for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will—contagion (DC 18), deeper darkness, detect magic, greater dispel magic, haste, see invisibility, and unholy blight (DC 18); 3/day—confusion (DC 18), hold monster (DC 19), invisibility; 1/day—cone of cold (DC 19), finger of death (DC 21), plane shift (DC 21). Caster level 21st. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Summon Undead (Su): A nightwalker can summon undead creatures once per night: 7–12 shadows, 2–5 greater shadows, or 1–2 dread wraiths. The undead arrive in 1d10 rounds and serve for 1 hour or until released.

Skills: *When hiding in a dark area, a nightwalker gains a +8 racial bonus on Hide checks.

Tactics Round-by-Round

The nightwalker is an exceedingly intelligent foe that makes the best use of all its abilities. It favors using its spell-like abilities to divide and disable its enemies, then closing to melee with opponents it has isolated from their allies.

Prior to combat: The nightwalker keeps its see invisibility power active most of the time. It uses haste and invisibility to prepare for battle.

Round 1: Move to within 30 feet to make use of gaze attack and strike with confusion or hold monster, coupled with a quickened unholy blight.

Round 2: Hit a spellcaster with finger of death and another quickened unholy blight.

Round 3: Move up to engage the enemy and attempt to disarm an enemy fighter.

Round 4: Crush the disarmed weapon (or use gaze attack if disarm attempt failed).

Round 5: Full attack against the unarmed foe (or on a nearby spellcaster).

NIGHTWING

Nightwings are batlike flyers that hunt on the wing.

A nightwing has a wingspan of about 40 feet and weighs about 4,000 pounds.

Combat

Nightwings prowl the night sky and dive onto their victims. They are all but invisible, detectable only because of the stars they obscure in their passing.

A nightwing’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Magic Drain (Su): A nightwing can weaken magic armor, weapons, and shields by making a successful touch attack. The targeted item must succeed on a DC 22 Fortitude save or lose 1 point of its enhancement bonus. The save DC is Charisma-based. An item that loses its entire enhancement bonus becomes merely a masterwork item and loses any special abilities (such as flaming) as well. Casting dispel evil upon the item reverses the effect of the magic drain, provided this occurs within a number of days after the attack equal to the caster’s level and the caster succeeds on a DC 29 caster level check.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will—contagion (DC 18), deeper darkness, detect magic, haste, see invisibility, unholy blight (DC 18); 3/day—confusion (DC 18), greater dispel magic, hold monster (DC 19), invisibility; 1/day—cone of cold (DC 19), finger of death (DC 21), plane shift (DC 21). Caster level 17th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Summon Undead (Su): A nightwing can summon undead creatures once per night: 5–12 shadows, 2–4 greater shadows, or 1 dread wraith. The undead arrive in 1d10 rounds and serve for 1 hour or until released.

Skills: *When hiding in a dark area or flying in a dark sky, a nightwing gains a +8 racial bonus on Hide checks.

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