Spirit Wolf (CR 2)

Medium Fey (Augmented Animal and Incorporeal)
Alignment: Always neutral
Initiative: +2 (Dex); Senses: low-light vision, scent, Spot +7, and listen +7


AC: 15 (+2 Dex, +3 deflection), touch 15, flat-footed 13; or 14 (+2 Dex, +2 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 12
Hit Dice: 2d6+4 (11 hp)
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +3
Speed: 50 ft.
Space: 5 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack +1; Grapple +2
Attack: Incorporeal bite +4 melee touch or +3 melee against ethereal foes
Full Attack: Incorporeal bite +4 melee touch or +3 melee against ethereal foes
Damage: Incorporeal bite 1d6 nonlethal or 1d6+1 against ethereal foes
Special Attacks/Actions: Manifestation, trip
Abilities: Str 13 (- against nonethereal, Dex -, Con -, Int -, Wis -, Cha -
Special Qualities: Incorporeal traits
Feats: Track; Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills: Hide +6, Move Silently +3, Search +0, Spot +7, Survival +3, and listen +7
Advancement: 3 HD (Medium); 4-6 HD (large)
Climate/Terrain: Temperate forests
Organization: Solitary, pair, or pack (7-16)
Treasure/Possessions: None

Source: Frostburn

Manifestation (Su): A spirit wolf dwells on the Ethereal Plane and is an ethereal creature. As an ethereal creature, it cannot affect or be affected by anything in the material world. When a spirit wolf manifests (usually at the request of a powerful spellcaster) it partly enters the Material Plane and becomes visible but incorporeal on the Material Plane (see below).

A manifested spirit wolf can strike with its natural attacks; these attacks deal nonlethal damage to physical creatures. A manifested spirit wolf remains partially on the Ethereal Plane, where is it not incorporeal. A manifested spirit wolf can be attacked by opponents on either the Material or Ethereal planes. The spirit wolf's incorporeality helps protect it from foes on the Material Plane, but not against foes on the Ethereal Plane.

Although a spirit wolf has two home planes, the Material and the Ethereal, it is not considered extraplanar when on either plane.

Trip (Ex): A spirit wolf that hits an ethereal opponent with a bite attack can attempt to trip the opponent as a free action (+1 check modifier) without making a touch attack or provoking attacks of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the wolf. (Despite the fact that gravity does not exist on the Ethereal Plane, it is still possible to place an opponent in a disadvantaged position.)

Incorporeal Traits: A spirit wolf is harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons, spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. It has a 50% chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source, except for force effects or attacks made with ghost touch weapons. It can pass through solid objects, but not force effects, at will. Its attacks ignore natural armor, armor, and shields, but deflection bonuses and force effects work normally against it. An incorporeal creature always moves silently and cannot be heard with Listen checks if it doesn't wish to be.

Scent (Ex): A spirit animal can detect opponents within 30 feet. The exact location is not revealed unless the creature is within 5 feet. A spirit animal using the Track feat and the scent ability can follow tracks by smell.

Skills: *Spirit wolves receive a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent, and a +4 racial bonus on Hide, listen, Search, and Spot checks.

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.

Incorporeal Subtype

Some creatures are incorporeal by nature, while others (such as those that become ghosts) can acquire the incorporeal subtype. An incorporeal creature has no physical body. It can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons or creatures that strike as magic weapons, and spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities. It has immunity to all nonmagical attack forms. Even when hit by spells, including touch spells or magic weapons, it has a 50% chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source (except for positive energy, negative energy, force effects such as magic missile, or attacks made with ghost touch weapons). Non-damaging spell attacks affect incorporeal creatures normally unless they require corporeal targets to function (such as the spell implosion) or they create a corporeal effect that incorporeal creatures would normally ignore (such as a web or wall of stone spell). Although it is not a magical attack, a hit with holy water has a 50% chance of affecting an incorporeal undead creature.

An incorporeal creature's natural weapons affect both in incorporeal and corporeal targets, and pass through (ignore) corporeal natural armor, armor, and shields, although deflection bonuses and force effects (such as mage armor) work normally against it. Attacks made by an incorporeal creature with a nonmagical melee weapon have no effect on corporeal targets, and any melee attack an incorporeal creature makes with a magic weapon against a corporeal target has a 50% miss chance except for attacks it makes with a ghost touch weapon, which are made normally (no miss chance).

Any equipment worn or carried by an incorporeal creature is also incorporeal as long as it remains in the creature's possession. An object that the creature relinquishes loses its incorporeal quality (and the creature loses the ability to manipulate the object). If an incorporeal creature uses a thrown weapon or a ranged weapon, the projectile becomes corporeal as soon as it is fired and can affect a corporeal target normally (no miss chance). Magic items possessed by an incorporeal creature work normally with respect to their effects on the creature or another target. Similarly, spells cast by an incorporeal creature affect corporeal creatures normally.

An incorporeal creature has no natural armor bonus but has a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma bonus (always at least +1, even if the creature's Charisma score does not normally provide a bonus).

An incorporeal creature can enter or pass through solid object but must remain adjacent to the object's exterior, and so cannot pass entirely through an object whose space is larger than its own. It can sense the presence of creatures or objects a square adjacent to its current location, but enemies have total concealment from an incorporeal creature that is inside an object. In order to see clearly and attack normally, a incorporeal creature must emerge. An incorporeal creature inside an object has total cover, but when it attacks a creature outside the object it only has cover, so a creature outside with a readied action could strike at it as it attacks. An incorporeal creature cannot pass through a force effect.

Incorporeal creatures pass through and operate in water as easily as they do in air. Incorporeal creatures cannot fall or take falling damage. Incorporeal creature cannot make trip or grapple attacks against corporeal creatures, nor can they be tripped or grappled by such creatures. In fact, they cannot take any physical action that would move or manipulate a corporeal being or its equipment, nor are they subject to such actions. Incorporeal creatures have no weight and do not set off traps that are triggered by weight.

An incorporeal creature moves silently and cannot be heard with Listen checks if it doesn't wish to be. It has no Strength score, so its Dexterity modifier applies to both its melee attacks and its ranged attacks. Non-visual senses, such as scent and blindsight, are either ineffective or only partly effective with regard to incorporeal creatures. Incorporeal creatures have an innate sense of direction and can move at full speed even when they cannot see.