Sleesh
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Size/Type | Tiny Magical Beast |
| Hit Dice | 1d10 (5 hp) |
| Initiative | +2 |
| Speed | 10 ft. (2 squares), fly 20 ft. (good) |
| Armor Class | 15 (+2 size, +3 Dex), touch 15, flat-footed 12 |
| Base Attack/Grapple | +1/-10 (+2 when attached) |
| Attack | Touch +6 melee (attach) |
| Full Attack | Touch +6 melee (attach) |
| Space/Reach | 2-1/2 ft./0 ft. |
| Special Attacks | Attach, life drain |
| Special Qualities | Darkvision 60 ft., ethereal, fission |
| Saves | Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +0 |
| Abilities | Str 4, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 5 |
| Skills | Hide +12, Listen +3, Move Silently +12*, Spot +3 |
| Feats | Alertness, Weapon FinesseB |
| Environment | Ethereal Plane |
| Organization | Solitary, Colony (2-4), or Swarm (5-8) |
| Challenge Rating | 1 |
| Treasure | None |
| Alignment | Always neutral |
| Advancement | ― |
| Level Adjustment | ― |
Description
This monstrosity resembles a large insect larvae with a white, beak-like mouth surrounded by a ring of suckers. The pale flesh is sleek and semi-transparent, with a pulsating shape resembling a sequence of bulbous rings stacked end to end.
These horrid creatures loiter on the Ethereal Plane in regions rich with positive life energy, including areas that are dense with life forms on the material plane. Sleech require no sustenance to exist, but they possess a powerful urge to drain the life energy from other creatures. By so doing they are able to reproduce themselves through a fissioning process.
A sleech is about two to three feet in length and weighs 30-40 pounds. They are not particularly intelligent creatures, but do possess a certain animal-like cunning.
Combat
Sleech seek to take ethereal creatures by surprise and to attach themselves to a victim. By so doing they are able to drain the life force from an opponent. They ignore any incorporeal undead, but will rapidly close in on any living creature that becomes ethereal, as, for example, by means of an ethereal jaunt spell. Once attached to a victim they remain so until its hunger is sated, or when the victim departs the ethereal state.
Attach (Ex): If a sleech hits with a touch attack, it uses its orifice to latch onto the opponent's body. An attached sleech is effectively grappling its prey. The sleech loses its Dexterity bonus to AC and has an AC of 12, but it becomes quite difficult to remove. Sleech have a +12 racial bonus on grapple checks (already figured into the Base Attack/Grapple entry above).
An attached sleech can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself. To remove an attached sleech through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the sleech.
Life Drain (Ex): A sleech drains life energy, dealing 1d4 points of Strength damage in any round when it begins its turn attached to a victim. Each time it deals 6 points of Strength damage, it detaches and immediately flies out of reach. If the victim dies before the sleech has sated its appetite, the sleech detaches and seeks a new target. Any creature reduced to Strength 0 by a Sleech dies.
Ethereal (Ex): A sleech is ethereal by nature. This form grants it a permanent ethereal jaunt effect (as the spell). If it is somehow drawn onto another plane a sleech is immediately slain, disintegrating into wisps of mephitic vapor.
Fission (Ex): Whenever a sleech has drained 6 points of Strength damage from a living creature and is able to detach itself, it undergoes a fission that separates the creature into two separate sleech. Doing so requires a full round action. The two resulting Sleech each have their full allotment of hit points, regardless of any previous damage, and they are thereafter free to seek new targets.
Skills: *A sleech has a +8 racial bonus on any Move Silently check while on the Ethereal Plane (already figured into the Skills entry above).