Necrovite

Source: Alien Archive

CR: 13 XP: 25,600

NE Medium undead

Init.: +3 Senses: blindsight (life) 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft. Perception: +23

Aura: ue Aura (Su)

Defense

HP: 186 RP: 5

EAC: 29 KAC: 30

Fort: +12 Ref: +12 Will: +18

Offense

Speed: 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (Su, average)

Melee: None

Ranged: perihelion laser pistol +22 (4d4+13 F; critical burn 2d4)

Offensive Abilities: undead mastery

Spells Known: (CL 13th; ranged +22)

Statistics

Str: +0 Dex: +3 Con: — Wis: +4 Int: +8 Cha: +6

Skills: Bluff +28, Computers +28, Engineering +28, Mysticism +28, Sense Motive +28

Languages: Common, Eoxian, Sarcesian; limited telepathy 30 ft.

Gear: d-suit IV (gray force field [20 temporary HP])

Ecology

Environment: any (Eox)

Organization: solitary

Special Abilities

<p><b>Fatigue Aura (Su)</b> Any creature that comes within 30 feet of a necrovite is fatigued unless it succeeds at a DC 21 Fortitude saving throw. A creature that is already fatigued suffers no additional effect. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same necrovite’s aura for 24 hours.<br/><br/> <b>Rejuvenation (Su)</b> When a necrovite is destroyed, its electroencephalon immediately begins to rebuild the creature’s body nearby and download the necrovite’s consciousness into it. After 1d8 days, the necrovite wakens fully healed (albeit without any gear it left behind on its old body).<br/><br/> <b>Undead Mastery (Su)</b> As a standard action, a necrovite can cause one undead creature within 50 feet to fall under its control as per <i>control undead</i> (Will DC 21 negates). This control is permanent for unintelligent undead; an undead creature with an Intelligence score can attempt an additional saving throw each day to break free. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the necrovite’s undead mastery for 24 hours. A necrovite can control a group of undead whose total CR is no greater than twice its CR (26 for the typical necrovite).</p>

Description

Long ago, when the native humanoids of Eox—called elebrians—destroyed two neighboring planets, the backlash devastated their own world as well, forcing them to turn to necromancy to survive. The most powerful spellcasters among these survivors combined their advanced technology with the ancient magical traditions of lichdom to achieve immortality in the form of eternal undeath. These were the first necrovites, and along with their colleagues who sought refuge in other forms of undeath, they took control of their ravaged planet to become the first bone sages, Eox’s notoriously aloof heads of state.

Becoming a necrovite is a long and arduous process, but the crux of the ritual involves extracting the spellcaster’s consciousness and soul and imprisoning them in a technomagical relic called an electroencephalon. The spellcaster dies but becomes undead, and as long as her electroencephalon remains intact she can continue her existence without fear of the passage of time.

In addition to constructing an electroencephalon to house her soul, a prospective necrovite must also research and learn the proper ritual to transfer her life force into the receptacle and prepare her body for the transformation into undeath. This ritual is unique to each body and soul—what works for one necrovite will not work for another—and likely has deleterious effects. The exact methods for each spellcaster’s transformation into a necrovite are left to the GM’s discretion, but the process should involve expenditures of hundreds of thousands of credits, multiple dangerous quests, and many difficult skill checks over the course of months, years, or decades.

The above stat block represents an elebrian necrovite—a necrovite formed from one of Eox’s original humanoid inhabitants—but other races can become necrovites as well, using the template graft in the sidebar.