Spiritus Anime (CR 3)
Tiny Undead (Incorporeal)
Alignment: Usually Neutral Evil
Initiative: +4 (Dex); Senses: darkvision 60 ft. and Spot +5
AC: 18 (+2 size, +4 Dex, +2 deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 14
Hit Dice: 2d12 (13 hp)
Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +3
Speed: Fly 60 ft. (perfect)
Space: 2.5 ft./2.5 ft.
Base Attack +1; Grapple -
Attack: -
Full Attack: -
Damage: -
Special Attacks/Actions: Corpse animation
Abilities: Str -, Dex 19, Con -, Int 11, Wis 11, Cha 14
Special Qualities: Corpse home, incorporeal traits, invisibility, turn resistance +4, undead traits
Feats: Dodge
Skills: Bluff +7, Hide +17, Knowledge (local) +5, and Spot +5
Advancement: -
Climate/Terrain: Any
Organization: Solitary
Treasure/Possessions: Standard
Source:
Dragon #162
Dragon Compendium Vol. 1
Corpse Animation (Su): As a standard action, the spiritus anime can enter and animate a corpse. The spiritus anime must occupy the same square as the corpse when it uses this ability. The dead creature gains the zombie template. The resulting zombie can have up to 14 hit dice. The spiritus anime remains within the zombie and controls its actions. If the zombie is slain, the spiritus anime can exit the body and animate another creature. The spiritus anime can also choose to vacate a corpse before its destruction. Doing so is a standard action. The zombie collapses to the ground and the spiritus anime occupies any one of the squares of the zombie's space. The spiritus may use its move action as normal.
While within an animated zombie, the spiritus is immune to most attacks and effects. Casters cannot gain line of effect to the spirit. If the zombie takes enough damage to destroy it, any damage in excess of the zombie's hit point total is applied to the spiritus. The creature gains the standard benefits and defenses due to its incorporeal nature and so forth against this attack. For example, a blow from a non-magical axe might destroy a zombie but it cannot injure the spiritus anime within.
If a cleric attempts to turn the spiritus anime while it is within a body, the cleric resolves his attempt against the spiritus, not the zombie. If the spiritus is turned, it vacates the body and attempts to flee as normal.
Corpse Home (Ex): The spiritus anime has a strong link to the body of its mortal form. When inactive, it generally lurks within or near its remains. The spiritus cannot animate its own body, although many of these creatures animate zombies to hide their bodies or move them to better hunting grounds. Any attack against this corpse deals damage to the spiritus anime. If an attacker delivers sufficient damage against the body to destroy the spiritus anime, the body crumbles into dust and the spiritus is permanently destroyed.
If the spiritus is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points without any damage to its corpse, or if it is destroyed via turning without damage to its corpse, it reforms in 1d4 days at its full hit points. If the body takes at least 1 point of damage any time before the spiritus re-forms, the spiritus is permanently destroyed.
A spiritus can never venture more than 100 feet from its body. Even if turned, it obeys this stricture. Clever adventurers know that, after turning a spiritus, they must search in a 100-foot radius around the trapped creature to find its body.
Invisibility (Su): The spiritus anime is naturally invisible at all times.
A spiritus anime waits until at least several of its potential victims are near death before animating a body. It is clever enough to see that, should it enter the fray too early, its opponents can hack down the zombie it creates without suffering any casualties. The spiritus relies on a vicious cycle where it animates a body, uses that body to slay at least one opponent, then hops into that body when its original zombie takes defeat. In this manner, the spiritus slowly works through its opponents' ranks.
If the spiritus's enemies flee, it typically attempts to move its mortal body if it has time and if its body is not securely hidden.
The spiritus animus is an invisible, undead spirit capable of entering and animating corpses. These foul creatures subsist on the death energy emitted by a dying creature. Thus, the spiritus typically lurks near areas that see frequent battles. When a fight erupts, the spiritus anime slips into the melee. When an opponent falls, the spirit animates the corpse as a zombie and attacks. In so doing, it spreads further death and destruction across the battlefield.
Between its invisibility and incorporeal nature, a spiritus anime is difficult to identify and directly injure. Its one weakness is the body it used in life. The spiritus anime must remain within 100 feet of its mortal remains. While direct attacks can destroy a spiritus anime, only the destruction of its corpse guarantees its permanent defeat.
A spiritus anime forms when a spiteful, greedy person dies while bearing a grudge. The creature's hate sustains it in undeath and drives it to spread death and havoc.
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.