Necrothane (CR 12)
Medium Aberration
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Initiative: +6; Senses: darkvision 60 ft., Listen +2S, and Spot +25
AC: 28 (+1 Dex, +7 natural, +9 +1 full plate, +1 (Two-Weapon Defense feat), touch 11, flat-footed 27
Hit Dice: 20d8+80 (170 hp)
Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +14
Speed: 30 ft. (20 ft. in full plate), climb 20 ft. (climb 15 ft. in full plate)
Space: 5 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack +15; Grapple +18
Attack: +1 cleaver +20 melee
Full Attack: +1 cleaver +18/+13/+8 melee (1d6+4/x4) and +1 cleaver +18 melee
Damage: +1 cleaver 1d6+4/x4 or +1/ cleaver (off hand) 1d6+2/x4
Special Attacks/Actions: Cleaver mastery, rebuke undead 11/day (+4, 2d6+24, 20th), wound rot
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 15, Con 19, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 18
Special Qualities: Animate dead, drain unlife, immunity to energy drain
Feats: Combat Expertise; Extra Turning; Great Fortitude; Improved Initiative; Improved Natural Attack; Two-Weapon Fighting; Weapon Focus (handaxe)
Skills: Climb +6, Diplomacy +6, Listen +2S, Sense Motive +25, and Spot +25
Advancement: By character class
Climate/Terrain: Any
Organization: Solitary or entourage (1 plus 1d4 troglodyte zombies)
Treasure/Possessions: Standard plus +1 full plate and two +1 cleavers
Source:
Monster Manual III
Cleaver Mastery (Ex): A necrothane's cleavers are identical in appearance to +1 handaxes - except that in a necrothane's hands, these cleavers deal quadruple damage on a critical hit (rather than a handaxe's triple damage).
Rebuke Undead (Su): A necrothane can rebuke undead as an evil cleric of 20th level. The creature can control any undead of 10 Hit Dice or less when it successfully affects the undead with its rebuke ability, and it can command up to 20 Hit Dice worth of undead at any one time.
Wound Rot (Su): Any time a necrothane damages a living creature with one of its cleavers in melee, it can immediately make a touch attack with one of its black, cancerous tongues (attack bonus +18). If the touch attack succeeds, the target takes 1 point of Constitution damage and becomes vulnerable to the necrothane's animate dead ability.
Creatures immune to ability damage are immune to this special attack.
Animate Dead (Su): As a standard action, a necrothane can animate any dead creature within 60 feet that was affected by its wound rot ability within the last 24 hours. Creatures animated by a necrothane rise as zombies.
A necrothane can animate a number of Hit Dice of creatures equal to its own Hit Dice. Any attempt to animate a creature whose HD would cause this limit to be exceeded automatically fails. These animated undead are under the command of the necrothane, and they do not count against the total number of Hit Dice of undead that a necrothane can control using its rebuke undead ability.
Drain Unlife (Su): Any time a necrothane damages an undead creature with one of its cleaver attacks, it heals a number of hit points equal to the damage dealt.
Energy Drain Immunity (Su): Necrothanes are immune to energy drain attacks.
Skills: A necrothane has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
A necrothane approaches combat much as an ordinary rot reaver does, but its ability to command greater numbers of undead allows them to employ more sophisticated tactics. Typically, a necrothane remains hidden in some secret location, commanding its undead minions to bring it living creatures to animate and consume.