Pennaggolan
Pennaggolans are among the most fearsome undead creatures in existence. A type of vampire, they prey on the weak and sickly, attacking lone farm-houses or small bands of travelers while they sleep. In its natural form, a pennaggolan is a horrid floating head, with entrails and intestines hanging down from the neck. The creature can manipulate these gruesome tentacles with hideous strength, whipping them around throats and limbs to squeeze the life out of its victims before feeding on their blood.
Pennaggolans prefer to use stealth and guile to search for food. They can appear as normal humans by squeezing their entrails back into their original bodies, and often infiltrate isolated communities disguised as travelers or peasants. They can only feed in their natural form, however, and they are easily recognized in this form
Pennaggolans speak any languages they knew in life.
Creating A Pennaggolan
"Pennaggolan" is a template that can be added to any humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the "base creature"). The creature's type changes to "undead." It uses all the base creature's characteristics and special abilities except as noted here.
Hit Dice: Increase to d12.
Speed: In humanoid form, a pennaggolan's speed is the same the base creature. In its natural form, it flies at a speed of 50 feet (good maneuverability).
AC: The base creature's natural armor increases by +4.
Attacks: A pennaggolan retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a bite attack if it didn't already have one. In its natural form, it can attack with its entrails at its base attack bonus, and with its bite at -5 from its base attack bonus (even if its base attack bonus is +5 or lower).
Damage: A pennaggolan's bite attack deals 1d6 damage + 1/2 the creature's Strength modifier. Its entrails attack deals 1d4+ the creature's Strength modifier.
Special Attacks: A pennaggolan retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains those described below. Saves have a DC of 10 + 1/2 pennaggolan's HD + pennaggolan's Taint score unless noted otherwise. Its Taint score is equal to half its Charisma score +1.
Domination (Su): A pennaggolan can crush an opponent's will just by looking into his or her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, except that the pennaggolan must take a standard action, and those merely looking at it are not affected. Anyone the pennaggolan targets must succeed at a Will save or fall instantly under the pennaggolan's influence as though by a dominate person spell cast by a 12th-level maho-tsukai. The ability has a range of 30 feet.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the pennaggolan must hit with its entrails attack. If it gets a hold, it can constrict and bite.
Constrict (Ex): A pennaggolan deals automatic entrails damage to a Medium-size or smaller opponent with a successful grapple check.
Blood Drain (Ex): A pennaggolan can suck blood from a living victim with its fangs if it pins the victim. By draining blood, it inflicts 1d4 points of permanent Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained.
Create Spawn (Su): Pennaggolans usually kill their victims by strangulation before draining all their blood. If a character dies from a pennaggolan's blood drain ability, however, the victim is at risk of rising again as a pennaggolan. If the body remains unburied for three days, it is transformed into a pennaggolan. The new creature is not under the control of the pennaggolan that created it, but it is irredeemably evil, feeling no attachment to its old life.
Special Qualities: A pennaggolan retains all the special qualities of the base creature and those listed below, and also gains the undead type and the Shadowlands subtype.
Damage Reduction (Su): A pennaggolan's undead body is tough, giving the creature damage reduction 5/+1.
Turn Resistance (Ex): A pennaggolan has +4 turn resistance. In humanoid form, a pennaggolan cannot be turned.
Resistance (Ex): A pennaggolan has cold and electricity resistance 20.
Alternate Form (Su): A pennaggolan can make itself appear humanoid by squeezing its entrails back into the shell of its original body. (It must first soak the entrails in vinegar to reduce their engorgement.) In this form, it appears to be its original alignment when detect evil spells or the like are used on it, and it cannot be turned. If the body is destroyed while the head is separated from it, the pennaggolan dies in 1d4 days.
Fear Aura (Su): As a free action, a pennaggolan in its natural form can create an aura of fear in a 30-foot radius. Creatures within this distance of the pennaggolan must succeed at a Will save or become shaken. Shaken creatures suffer a -2 morale penalty on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, and saving throws.
Fast Healing (Ex): A pennaggolan heals 5 hit points of damage each round.
Saves: Same as the base creature.
Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +4, Dex +2, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4. As undead creatures, pennaggolans have no Constitution score. A pennaggolan's Taint score equals half its Charisma score +1.
Skills: Pennaggolans receive a +8 racial bonus on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Feats: Pennaggolans gain Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, and Lightning Reflexes, assuming the base creature meets the prerequisites and doesn't already have these feats. The pennaggolan loses the benefit of any ancestor feat the base creature possessed.
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +2.
Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: By character class
Pennaggolan Characters
Pennaggolans are always lawful evil, which causes characters of certain classes to lose their class abilities. In addition, characters who formerly turned undead now rebuke undead, and characters with a familiar, special mount, or animal companion lose that ally.