Sepulchral Thief* (CR 12)
Medium Undead (Augmented Humanoid)
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Initiative: +9(+5 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Senses: see in darkness 60 ft., Listen +6, and Spot +6
Languages: Common, Halfling
AC: 26 (+5 Dex, +5 natural, +6 armor), touch 15, flat-footed 21
Hit Dice: 10d12 (78 hp); DR: 15/magic and either good or lawful
Fort +3, Ref +12, Will +3
Speed: 30 ft.
Space: 5 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack +7; Grapple +7
Attack: Melee +2 short sword +14/+9 and negative energy touch +7 or melee negative energy touch +12 or Ranged mwk light crossbow +13
Damage: +2 short sword 1d6+2/19-20, negative energy touch 1d8+5, Will DC 15 half, mwk light crossbow 1d8/19-20
Special Attacks/Actions: sneak attack +6d6, draining touch
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 21, Con -, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 10
Special Qualities: Male undead human rogue 10; Aura: obscuring aura (60 ft., Will DC 15 negates); reanimation, shadow jump, trapfinding, trap sense +2; Possessions: +2 short sword, masterwork light crossbow, +3 studded leather armor, gloves of Dexterity +2, masterwork thievestools
Feats: Dodge, Improved Initiative, Quick Draw, Stealthy, Weapon Finesse
Skills: Appraise +8, Balance +21, Bluff+6, Climb +15, Diplomacy +4, Disable Device +9, Escape Artist +12, Forgery +8, Gather Information +8, Hide +22, Intimidate +8, Jump +9, Knowledge (local) +8, Listen +6, Move Silently +22, Open Lock +14, Search +9, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +22, Spot +6, Tumble +14, and Use Rope +5 (+7 with bindings).
Advancement: By Character Class
Climate/Terrain: Any urban
Organization: None
Treasure/Possessions: Normal (or double normal if in lair)
Source:
Cityscape
This example uses a 10th-level human rogue (specifically the sample master thief, detailed on page 118 of Cityscape), as the base creature.
Draining Touch (Su): Any time the sepulchral thief deals damage with its touch attack, it gains a number of hit points equal to 1/4 the damage dealt (for this reason, the creature often attempts to begin combat with a sneak attack delivered with this method). If this raises its hit point total above its normal maximum, it gains the excess as temporary hit points that disappear after 1 hour. It can never have more temporary hit points than its total normal hit points.
Obscuring Aura (Su): Sepulchral thieves are shrouded in a mind- and senses-clouding aura of negative energy. Living creatures in a 30-foot radius must succeed on a Will save or be affected by the aura. Creatures with fewer than one-half the sepulchral thief's Hit Dice are blinded and deafened. For example, if the sepulchral thief has 9 HD, this applies to creatures of 4 HD or fewer. All other creatures take a -2 penalty on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same thief's aura for 24 hours.
Sneak Attack (Ex): The sepulchral thief deals 1d6 points of extra damage when flanking an opponent or at any time when a target would be denied its Dexterity bonus. This extra damage applies to ranged attacks only if the target is within 30 feet. If the creature already has sneak-attack bonuses due to class levels or some other source, these bonus dice stack.
Special Qualities: A sepulchral thief retains all the base creature's special qualities and gains those described below.
Turn Resistance (Ex): A sepulchral thief has turn resistance +4.
Damage Reduction (Su): A sepulchral thief's undead body is powered by hatred and negative energies, giving the creature damage reduction 15/magic and either good or lawful (regardless of the thief's actual alignment). Its natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): A sepulchral thief with at least 14 ranks in Hide can use the Hide skill even while being observed, as long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, as per the assassin class feature.
Immunities (Ex): Sepulchral thieves have immunity to cold, electricity, and mind-affecting attacks.
Reanimation (Su): The greed and malevolence that animate the sepulchral thief cannot be dispersed through mere physical destruction. When a sepulchral thief is destroyed, its life force immediately inhabits the single most valuable item it has on its possession (often but not always a weapon). Unless the item is destroyed or mystically cleansed, the sepulchral thief reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death. Casting dispel evil or hallow on the item destroys the thief's essence if the caster makes a successful caster level check against a DC equal to 11 + the sepulchral thief's HD. Destroying the item also destroys the inhabiting essence.
If the thief has two or more items of equal value as its "most valuable" possessions, it inhabits a weapon in favor of any other item; otherwise, choose randomly. So long as the sepulchral thief inhabits an item, that item radiates moderate necromancy and evil, in addition to its normal auras.
See in Darkness (Sp): Moreso even than other undead, the sepulchral thief is fully comfortable in the black of night. They can see perfectly in darkness - retaining the ability to distinguish color and texture - to a distance of 60 feet. This applies even to magical darkness.
Shadow Jump (Sp): A sepulchral thief gains the ability to travel between shadows as if by means of a dimension door spell, just as a shadow dancer can). The thief can jump a total of 30 feet each day in this manner. If the sepulchral thief has the shadow jump ability from some other source, such as levels in the shadow dancer prestige class, these total daily distances stack.
Skills: Sepulchral thieves have a +8 racial bonus on Balance, Climb, Hide, Move Silently, and Sleight of Hand checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Augmented Subtype
A creature receives this subtype whenever something happens to change its original type. Some creatures (those with an inherited template) are born with this subtype; others acquire it when they take on an acquired template. The augmented subtype is always paired with the creature's original type. For example, a wizard's raven familiar is a magical beast (augmented animal). A creature with the augmented subtype usually has the traits of its current type, but the features of its original type. For example, a wizard's raven familiar has an animal's features and the traits of a magical beast.