Shadow Choker* (CR 3)
Small Aberration (Extraplanar)
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Initiative: +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Senses: darkvision 60 ft. and low-light vision
AC: 17 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +4 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 15
Hit Dice: 3d8+3 (16 hp)
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +4
Speed: 50 ft., climb 15 ft.
Space: 5 ft./10 ft.
Base Attack +2; Grapple +5
Attack: Tentacle +6 melee
Full Attack: 2 tentacles +6 melee
Damage: Tentacle 1d3+3
Special Attacks/Actions: Constrict 1d3+3, improved grab
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 4, Wis 13, Cha 7
Special Qualities: fast healing 2, quickness, resistance to cold 8, shadow blend
Feats: Improved Initiative; Lightning Reflexes; Stealthy
Skills: Climb +13, Hide +10, and Move Silently +12
Advancement: 4-6 HD (Small); 7-9 HD (Medium)
Climate/Terrain: Plane of Shadow
Organization: Solitary
Treasure/Possessions: 1/10 coins; 50% goods; 50% items
Source:
Lords of Madness
Constrict (Ex): The shadow choker deals 1d3+3 points of damage with a successful grapple check against a Large or smaller creature. Because it seizes its victim by the neck, a creature in the choker's grasp cannot speak or cast spells with a verbal component.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a shadow choker must hit a Large or smaller opponent with a tentacle attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict. Chokers receive a +4 racial bonus on grapple checks, which is already included in the statistics block.
Quickness (Su): Although nor particularly dexterous, a choker is supernaturally quick. It can take an extra standard action or move action during its turn each round.
Shadow Blend (Su): In any conditions other than full daylight, a shadow choker 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.
Skills: A shadow choker has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. A shadow choker has a +6 racial bonus on Move Silently checks.
A shadow choker uses its shadow blend ability to strike from the shadows. If badly wounded, it is likely to withdraw from combat and stalk its intended prey for a short time to give its fast healing a chance to work before striking again.
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.