Cloaker, Shadowcloak Elder (CR 11)

Huge Aberration (Extraplanar)
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Initiative: +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Senses: darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Listen +15, and Spot +15
Languages: Undercommon


AC: 26 (-2 size, +3 Dex, +11 natural, +4 mage armor), touch 11, flat-footed 23
Hit Dice: 10d8+70 plus 7d4+49 ; DR: 5/magic
Fort +14, Ref +10, Will +16
Speed: 15 ft., fly 60 ft. (average)
Space: 15 ft./10 ft.
Base Attack +10; Grapple +26
Attack: Tail slap +16 melee
Full Attack: Tail slap +16 melee and bite +11 melee
Damage: Tail slap 2d6+8, bite 2d6+4
Special Attacks/Actions: Engulf, moan, spells
Abilities: Str 26, Dex 17, Con 24, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 22
Special Qualities: plane shift, resistance to cold 15, save bonus, shadow blend, shadow shift, SR 22, (Advanced 7th-level Shadow Cloaker Sorcerer)
Feats: Combat Reflexes; Flyby Attack; Improved Initiative; Improved Natural Attack (tail); Improved Natural Armor; Spell Focus (illusion)
Skills: Concentration +14, Hide +8, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (arcana) +10, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +10, Listen +15, Move Silently -,-21, Search +6, Sense Motive +6, Spellcraft +10, and Spot +15
Advancement: By class
Climate/Terrain: Plane of Shadow
Organization: Solitary, mob (1 shadowcloak elder plus 3-6 cloakers), or flock (1 shadowcloak elder plus 7-12 cloakers)
Treasure/Possessions: Standard

Source: Lords of Madness

Engulf (Ex): A shadowcloak elder can try to wrap a Large or smaller creature in its body as a standard action. The shadowcloak elder attempts to initiate a grapple that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and makes an immediate bite attack against the engulfed victim with a +4 bonus on its attack roll. It can still use its whiplike tail to strike at other targets.

Attacks that hit an engulfing shadowcloak elder deal half damage to the monster and half to the trapped victim.

Moan (Ex): A shadowcloak elder can emit a dangerous subsonic moan (a sonic, mind-affecting ability) as a standard action. By changing the frequency, a shadowcloak elder can create one of four effects, which are described below. Shadowcloak elders are immune to the moans of other cloakers. Unless otherwise specified, a creature that successfully saves against one of these effects cannot be affected by the same moan effect from the same cloaker for 24 hours. All save DCs for moan effects are Charisma-based.

Unnerve: Anyone within a 60-foot spread automatically takes a -2 penalty on attack and damage rolls. Those forced to hear the moan for more than 6 consecutive rounds must succeed on a DC 21 Will save or enter a trance, unable to attack or defend themselves until the moaning stops.

Typical Sorcerer Spells Known (6/8/8/5 per day; caster level 7th): 0 - daze (DC 16), detect magic, ghost sound (DC 17), mage hand, ray of frost (+11 ranged touch), read magic, touch of fatigue(+16 melee touch; DC 16); 1st - color spray (DC 18), mage arm or magic missile, protection from good, ray of enfeeblement (+11 ranged touch); 2nd - minor image (DC 19), see invisibility, web (DC 18); 3rd - haste, lightning bolt (DC 19).

Plane Shift (Sp): 1/day, caster level 17th. A shadowcloak elder can plane shift only to or from the Plane of Shadow.

Save Bonus (Su): A shadowcloak elder gains a +2 luck bonus on all saving throws due to its shadow creature template. This is already included in the save modifiers given above.

Shadow Blend (Su): In any conditions other than full daylight, a shadowcloak elder can disappear into the shadows, giving it total concealment. Artificial illumination, even a light or continual flame spell, does not negate this ability, but a daylight spell will.

Shadow Shift (Su): A shadowcloak elder can manipulate shadows. This ability is effective only in shadowy areas and has three possible effects.

Obscure Vision: The shadowcloak elder gains concealment (20% miss chance) for 1d4 rounds. Normally, a shadowcloak elder uses this ability only if its shadow blend is negated.

Dancing Images: This effect duplicates a mirror image spell (caster level 10th).

Silent Image: This effect duplicates a silent image spell (DC 17, caster level 10th). The save DC is Charisma-based.

Skills: The shadowcloak elder gains a +6 racial bonus on Move Silently checks.

Shadowcloak elders are clever and resourceful opponents with numerous strange abilities. They coordinate the efforts of their cloaker followers, so that some cloakers constantly moan while others attack the weakened and disoriented prey. A shadowcloak elder hovers out of melee range to attack enemy spellcasters with its own spells while its minions do their grisly work, counting on its shadow blend power to stay out of sight.

If confronted by a dangerous spellcaster, a shadowcloak elder might swoop in and engulf the enemy, hoping to smother the offending caster with one bold stroke.

Extraplanar Subtype

A subtype applied to any creature when it is on a plane other than its native plane. A creature that travels the planes can gain or lose this subtype as it goes from plane to plane. This book assumes that encounters with creatures take place on the Material Plane, and every creature whose native plane is not the Material Plane has the extraplanar subtype (but would not have when on its home plane). An extraplanar creatures usually has a home plane mentioned in its description. These home planes are taken from the Great Wheel cosmology of the D&D game (see Chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). If your campaign uses a different cosmology, you will need to assign different home planes to extraplanar creatures.

Creatures not labeled as extraplanar are natives of the Material Plane, and they gain the extraplanar subtype if they leave the Material Plane. No creature has the extraplanar subtype when it is on a transitive plane; the transitive planes in the D&D cosmology are the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane, and the Plane of Shadow.