Hooded Pupil
A hooded pupil is a humanoid or a giant who was lured by the promises of necromancy, envious of the power the necromancer wields and the unending existence the vampire enjoys, but yet are not ready to relinquish life.
Hooded pupils usually are found serving an "apprenticeship" with a more powerful intelligent undead. The undead master sometimes has need for living servants to advance its ends in societies of the living. On the other hand, the living pupil sees firsthand what it means to fully embrace the darkness.
Hooded pupils are usually only created when a powerful undead bequeaths a secret of necromancy to one who accepts its truth. As testament to their apprenticeship, hooded pupils are most often dressed in some sort of ominous hooded mantle.
Creating A Hooded Pupil
"Hooded pupil" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal giant or humanoid (referred to hereafter as the base creature). The creature's size and type do not change.
A hooded pupil uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Armor Class: The outermost layers of the hooded pupil's skin thickens into an all-encompassing yellow callus, granting the base creature an improvement of +2 to its natural armor bonus.
Special Attacks: A hooded pupil retains all the base creature's special attacks and gains those described below.
Clutch of Orcus (Sp): Once per day, a hooded pupil can use the spell clutch of Orcus. Caster level 10th. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Drink Blood (Sp): Once per day, a hooded pupil can suck blood from a living victim who has damage that is yet unhealed (the hooded pupil doesn't have exceptionally sharp teeth, unless the base creature has a bite attack, so it must sip from wounds). It does so by making a successful grapple check (it usually prefers to use this ability on foes that are already helpless). Against a pinned or helpless foe, it drinks blood, dealing 2 points of Constitution damage.
Special Qualities: A hooded pupil retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains those described below.
Resistance to Cold (Ex): Hooded pupils gain resistance to cold 5.
Spider Climb (Sp): Hooded pupils can climb sheer surfaces as though with a spider climb spell.
Abilities: A hooded pupil gains a taste of unholy strength and mental vigor. Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Wis +2, Cha +2.
Skills: Hooded pupils have a +2 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot checks.
Feats: Hooded pupils gain Alertness, Improved Initiative, and Lightning Reflexes, if the base creature meets the prerequisites and it doesn't already have these feats.
Environment: Any, usually same as base creature.
Challenge Rating: +1.
Alignment: Always evil (any).
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +4
Sample hooded pupil: Hooded Pupil Ettin.