Dread Human Commoner Zombie
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Size/Type | Medium Undead |
| Hit Dice | 2d12+6 (19 hp) |
| Initiative | -1 |
| Speed | 30 ft. (6 squares; can't run) |
| Armor Class | 13 (-1 Dex, +4 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 13 |
| Base Attack/Grapple | +1/+2 |
| Attack | Slam +2 melee (1d6+1 plus dread touch) |
| Full Attack | Slam +2 melee (1d6+1 plus dread touch) |
| Space/Reach | 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks | Dread touch, death throes |
| Special Qualities | Single actions only, damage reduction 5/slashing, darkvision 60 ft., desecration, unnatural aura, daylight vulnerability, undead traits |
| Saves | Fort +0, Ref -1, Will +3 |
| Abilities | Str 12, Dex 8, Con ―, Int ―, Wis 10, Cha 5 |
| Skills | ― |
| Feats | Toughness (x2) |
| Environment | Underground |
| Organization | Gang (1 dread zombie and 1–3 zombies), squad (2–3 dread zombies and 4–7 zombies), or mob (4–6 dread zombies and 8–16 zombies) |
| Challenge Rating | 1 |
| Treasure | None |
| Alignment | Always neutral evil |
| Advancement | None |
| Level Adjustment | ― |
Description
Dark tendrils that radiate a chill, unearthly sensation surround and cloak this fetid, walking corpse. An evil necromancer crafted this dread zombie to stiffen the resistance provided by his undead force.
Dread Touch (Su): Living creatures touched by the dread zombie must succeed at a DC 8 Will save or become shaken. This condition lasts for 2 minutes. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Death Throes (Su): When the dread zombie is reduced to zero hit points or less, its body will spasm wildly for a full round then explode in a burst of negative energy. The explosion deals 2d4 points of damage to any living creatures within 20 feet. Like inflict spells, this burst cures undead in the area rather than harming them.
Desecrate (Su): A dread zombie imbues emanates negative energy in a 20-foot radius, as if it had cast desecrate in an area without an altar. The dread zombie gains all benefits of the desecrate effect it radiates. This ability is constant and is not dispelled by a consecrate spell. However a consecrate spell will always negate this effect in the area where the two intersect.
The benefits to the dread zombie of the desecrate special ability are factored into the statistics above, with the exception of the -3 profane penalty to turn attempts.
Unnatural Aura (Su): Animals, whether wild and domestic animals, can sense the unnatural presence of the dread zombie at a distance of 60 feet. They will not willingly approach nearer than that and panic if forced to do so; they remain panicked as long as they are within that range.
Daylight Vulnerability (Ex): While in direct sunlight (not merely a daylight spell) a dread loses all supernatural benefits of this template.
Creating a Dread
“Dread” is an acquired template that can be added to any undead creature with an evil alignment (hereafter referred to as the base creature).
The creature uses all of the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: Size and type are unchanged.
Armor Class: Natural armor improves by +2 for a corporeal base creature (this stacks with any natural bonus the base creature has). For incorporeal creatures, the deflection bonus is based on the increased Charisma score.
Special Attacks: A dread retains all the creature’s special attacks and also gains those described below.
Dread Touch (Su): Living creatures touched by a dread must succeed at a Will save or become shaken. This condition lasts for 1 minute per Hit Dice of the dread creature. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Death Throes (Su): When a dread is reduced to zero hit points or less, its body will spasm wildly for a full round then explode in a burst of negative energy. The explosion deals 1d4 points of damage per HD to any living creatures within 20 feet. Like inflict spells, this burst cures undead in the area rather than harming them.
Special Qualities: A dread has all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains those described below.
Desecrate (Su): A dread imbues emanates negative energy in a 20-foot radius, as if it had cast desecrate in an area without an altar. The dread gains all benefits of the desecrate effect it radiates. This ability is constant and is not dispelled by a consecrate spell. However a consecrate spell will always negate this effect in the area where the two intersect.
Unnatural Aura (Su): Animals, whether wild and domestic animals, can sense the unnatural presence of a dread at a distance of 60 feet. They will not willingly approach nearer than that and panic if forced to do so; they remain panicked as long as they are within that range.
Daylight Vulnerability (Ex): While in direct sunlight (not merely a daylight spell) a dread loses all supernatural benefits of this template.
Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Cha +4.
Feats: Dreads gain the Toughness feat as a bonus feat. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +1.
Alignment: Any evil.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +2.
Construction
To create a dread, the caster must first animate or create the base creature using the appropriate necromantic spell. It then requires the imbue with spell ability, desecrate, and doom spells to form the dread creature. Once created in this manner, the creature immediately becomes uncontrolled. A cleric can then gain control of the dread creature by virtue of his power to command or rebuke undead.