Greater Nature Spirit
by Jamie BatyGAZ12 42
Medium Deathless (Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 12d12 (78 hp)
Initiative: +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armour Class: 21 (+3 Dex, +8 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+9
Attack: Slam +9 melee (2d8 +3)
Full Attack: Slam +9 melee (2d8 +3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft. /5 ft.
Special Attacks: Summon/animate
Special Qualities: Alternate form, Damage reduction 15/magic, darkvision 60ft., one with nature, spell-like abilities, deathless traits
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +12
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 16, Con -, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 22
Skills: Bluff +15, Diplomacy +15, Gather Information +15, Intimidate +15, Knowledge (local) +11, Knowledge (nature) +11, Listen +13, Sense Motive +11, Spot +13, Survival +11
Feats: Alertness, Cleave, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Power Attack
Environment: Any land
Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 9
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 13-30 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: -
The most powerful of the nature spirits are able to summon elementals or animate trees to aid them in times of need. They are quite rare, and often are not seen by humans unless summoned by a shaman.
Combat
As with all nature spirits, greater nature spirits will generally not attack unless provoked or their territory or home is being damaged. Some nature spirits are intrinsically evil however, and will seek to lure the unwary into traps and attack them. In their normal form, nature spirits attack with a powerful slam. In human form, they are proficient with simple weapons, light armour and shields.
Summon/Animate (Sp): Once per day, a greater nature spirit may summon a huge elemental to come to its aid. The type of elemental summoned depends on the type of natural feature it is tied to. A mountain spirit will summon an earth elemental, a cloud spirit an air elemental, a volcano spirit a fire elemental, etc...
Greater nature spirits that inhabit living plants may alternately animate a tree once per day. A greater nature spirit can animate one tree within 180 feet. It takes 1 full round for a normal tree to uproot itself. Thereafter it moves at a speed of 10 feet and fights as a treant in all respects. Animated trees lose their ability to move if the spirit that animated them is incapacitated or moves out of range. The ability is otherwise similar to liveoak (caster level 12th). Animated trees have the same vulnerability to fire that a treant has.
Alternate Form (Su): A nature spirit has the ability to assume the form of a human. This ability works much like the polymorph spell, except that the nature spirit is limited to the human form, and does not regain any hit points for changing its form. Assuming an alternate form results in the following changes to the nature spirit:
• The spirit retains the type and subtype of its original form. It gains the size of its new form.
• The spirit loses the natural weapons, natural armour, movement modes, and extraordinary special attacks of its original form.
• The spirit gains the natural weapons, natural armour, movement modes, and extraordinary special attacks of its new form.
• The spirit retains the special qualities of its original form. It does not gain any special qualities of its new form.
• The spirit retains the spell-like abilities and supernatural attacks of its old form (except for breath weapons and gaze attacks). It does not gain the spell-like abilities or supernatural attacks of its new form.
• The spirit gains the physical ability scores (Str, Dex, Con) of its new form. It retains the mental ability scores (Int, Wis, Cha) of its original form. Note: a greater nature spirit's human form will have Str, Dex, and Con values of 17, 16, 15 distributed as the DM desires.
• The spirit retains its hit points and save bonuses, although its save modifiers may change due to a change in ability scores.
• The spirit retains any spellcasting ability it had in its original form.
• The spirit is effectively camouflaged as a human, and it gains a +10 bonus on Disguise checks if it uses this ability to create a disguise.
Damage Reduction (Su): A greater nature spirit has damage reduction of 15/magic. Its slam attack is treated as a magic weapon for the purposes of bypassing damage reduction.
One With Nature (Ex): Every nature spirit is tied to a natural feature. Up to twice a day, as a swift action, it may merge with that natural feature. When merged, the spirit cannot be detected, or be harmed directly. While merged, the spirit may speak normally if desired. A nature spirit may emerge from the feature as a free action. A nature spirit cannot move more than a mile from their home. If a nature spirit's home is destroyed, it is instantly slain.
A nature spirit can alter the characteristics of its natural feature as it sees fit to help or hinder those in its territory. Individual changes must be consistent with the type of natural feature the spirit is tied to, take a full round action to initiate and 2-6 rounds to complete. Once complete, the changes are permanent unless changed again by the spirit. Examples would include shifting the course of a stream or increasing the amount of underbrush to hinder movement.
Spell-like Abilities (Sp): At will: detect evil, invisibility; 3/day plane shift (elemental planes only). Caster Level is the spirit's HD, and abilities are Charisma-based.
Deathless Traits: A deathless has the following traits.
• No Constitution score.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charm compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
• Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, or ability drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution) as well as fatigue and exhaustion effects. Unlike undead, the deathless are subject to energy drain. Like living creatures, deathless are harmed by negative energy and healed by positive energy
• Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save, except for energy drain attacks, effects that also work on objects, and harmless effects.
• Cannot use the run action.
• Uses Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.
• Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hp or less, it is immediately destroyed.
• Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect the deathless if they are willing. These spells turn deathless creatures back into the living creatures they were before becoming deathless.
• Evil clerics can turn or destroy deathless creatures as good clerics turn or destroy undead. Good clerics and paladins can rebuke, command, or bolster deathless creatures as evil clerics rebuke, command, or bolster undead.
• Deathless creatures gain the same benefits from consecrate and hallow as undead do from desecrate and unhallow, and they are hindered by desecrate and unhallow as undead are by consecrate and hallow. Hide from undead and undeath to death also work against deathless. Detect undead and deathwatch also reveal deathless and allow the caster to distinguish deathless creatures from undead. Evil casters can be stunned by overwhelming auras of deathless creatures as good casters can be stunned by overwhelming undead auras. Use "undead" line in the detect evil spell description when deathless are in the area of detect good spell. Deathless are healed by disrupt undead and damaged by unholy water as undead are by holy water. Deathless are not affected by disrupting weapons. Spells that have greater than normal effect against undead creatures - including chill touch, magic stone, searing light, sunbeam, sunburst, and wall of fire - do not have these enhanced effects against deathless creatures. Deathless take only 1d6 points of damage per two caster levels from searing light. Spells such as command undead, control undead, create undead, create greater undead, and halt undead do not affect or create deathless creatures.
• Proficient with its natural weapons and any weapons mentioned in its entries.
• Proficient in whatever type of armour (light, medium, or heavy) it is described as wearing, as well as all lighter types. Deathless not listed as wearing armour are not proficient with armour.
• Deathless do not breathe, eat, or sleep.