Monstrous Monday: Bottled Spirits

I must apologize for the lateness of today's entry. Between courtroom dramas, professional angst among the staff, and a parent in the hospital, the hobby had to take a backseat for a while today.

Boy, could I use a drink.

But I wouldn't want to try one of these Bottled Spirits.

Bottled spirits are undead beings consisting entirely of foul bodily liquids and ectoplasm. They poison opponents and reduce them to liquid to create others like themselves.

Originally created by a necromancer with some skill at alchemy, a bottled spirit looks like a dark liquor with swirling silver streaks. They inhabit chosen vessels, typically bottles or flasks, from which unsuspecting creatures may drink. If released from its chosen vessel some other way than being imbibed, a bottled spirit can move quickly, but is usually harmless, as it has lost both the element of surprise and its favored method of attack. A cleric of at least 15th level can create a bottled spirit with the create undead spell.

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Bottled Spirit

Small Undead
Hit Dice: 2d12+3 (16 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 40 ft.
AC: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+6
Attack: Slam 1d6 + poison
Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison, Energy drain
Special Qualities: Fast healing 3, turn resistance +2, undead traits
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +2
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 15, Con —, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 12
Skills: Hide +7, Jump +5, Move Silently +7, Spot +5
Feats: Improved Grapple (see text), Toughness
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 2
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement:--

Bottled spirits typically attack only when a creature attempts to drink from their chosen vessel. They attack alone, enveloping the victim’s head and forcing its way down the creature’s throat. A bottled spirit will remain attached until it is either forcibly removed, destroyed, or the victim is dead. If forcibly removed, a bottled spirit will quickly retreat and attempt to sink into cracks, crevices, or other hiding places until it can return safely to its vessel, or a new chosen vessel.

Energy Drain (Su) This attack saps a living opponent’s vital energy and happens automatically when a bottled spirit’s slam attack is successful. Each successful energy drain bestows one negative level to the victim. If a bottled spirit scores a critical hit with an energy drain attack, it drains two levels. For each negative level bestowed upon a victim, the bottled spirit gains 5 temporary hit points (10 on a critical hit); these temporary levels last for one hour.
A victim takes a -1 penalty on all skill and ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws, and loses one effective level for each negative level. A spellcaster loses one spell slot of the highest level of spells she can cast and (if applicable) one prepared spell of that level; this loss persists until the negative level is removed.
Negative levels remain for 24 hours or until removed with a spell such as restoration. If not removed within 24 hours, the victim must attempt a Fortitude save (DC 12). If successful, the negative level goes away without further harm to the victim. If the save fails, the negative level goes away, but the victim’s level is also reduced by one. A separate saving throw is necessary for each negative level.

Fast Healing (Ex): A bottled spirit regains hit points at an exceptionally fast rate, 3 hit points per round.

Poison (Ex): Ingested, Fortitude DC 17, initial and secondary damage 1d2 Con. The save DC is Constitution-based. A creature whose Constitution is reduced to 0 in this manner is dead. One minute later, the corpse vomits forth a vile substance–a mixture of ectoplasm and bodily fluids that constitutes a new bottled spirit. The original bottled spirit has no control over this new creature. The new bottled spirit thereafter searches out its own chosen vessel. The transformation process can be delayed by casting consecrate, gentle repose, or delay poison on the body (delaying the process until the spell runs out), or negated entirely with heal, neutralize poison, or remove disease.

Improved Grapple: If a creature intentionally attempts to imbibe a bottled spirit, the spirit gains a +4 bonus on all grapple checks; it attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Undead Traits: Immune to mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, necromantic effects, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save unless it also works on objects. Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, ability drain, energy drain, or death from massive damage. A necroplasm cannot be raised, and resurrection works only if it is willing. The creature has darkvision (60-foot range).