Umbral Creature
Like shadows, umbral creatures are creatures of living darkness. They hate life and light with equal fervor. Their touch bestows the painful chill of nonexistence, making them very dangerous opponents.
An umbral creature looks like a shadowy version of a material creature, and it may easily be mistaken for a living creature from the Plane of Shadow. Umbral creatures are difficult to see in dark or gloomy areas, but they stand out starkly in brightly illuminated places.
Natural enemies of all that live, umbral creatures are aggressive and predatory. They are quick to strike and make short work of those unprepared to deal with them.
Creating An Umbral Creature
"Umbral creature" is an acquired template that can be added to any aberration, dragon, giant, magical beast, or monstrous humanoid with a Charisma score of at least 8 (hereafter referred to as the base creature). Humanoids instead become shadows
Umbral creatures speak whatever languages they spoke in life. An umbral creature has all the base creature's characteristics except as noted here.
Size and Type: The creature's type changes to undead, and it gains the incorporeal and augmented subtypes. It retains any subtypes except alignment subtypes (such as good) and subtypes that indicate kind (such as goblinoid). Size is unchanged.
Hit Dice: Drop any Hit Dice from class levels (to a minimum 0 ft.), and raise the remaining Hit Dice to d12s.
Speed: The creature's speed becomes fly 40 feet (perfect).
AC: The creature loses its natural armor bonus but gains a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma modifier or +1, whichever is greater.
Base Attack: An umbral creature has a base attack bonus equal to 1/2 its Hit Dice.
Attack: The creature loses all its attacks and gains an incorporeal touch attack that it can use once per round.
Full Attack: An umbral creature uses its touch attack.
Damage: An umbral creature's incorporeal touch attack deals Strength damage (as outlined in its Strength damage ability description) based on the creature's size, according to the table below.
| Size | Damage |
| Fine or Diminutive | 1d2 |
| Tiny | 1d3 |
| Small | 1d4 |
| Medium | 1d6 |
| Large | 1d8 |
| Huge | 2d6 |
| Gargantuan | 3d6 |
| Colossal | 4d6 |
Special Attacks: An umbral creature retains the base creature's special attacks (though some of these may not be useable by the creature due to its incorporeal form) and gains the special attacks described below.
Create Spawn (Su): Any humanoid reduced to Strength 0 by an umbral displacer beast dies and rises as a shadow under the control of its killer in 1d4 rounds.
Strength Damage (Su): The touch of an umbral creature deals Strength damage to a living foe (as shown in the above table).
Special Qualities: An umbral creature gains the special qualities described below.
Inescapable Craving: An umbral creature has an inescapable craving (see Undead Metabolism) for Strength, which it satisfies by using its Strength damage ability.
Turn Resistance (Ex): An umbral creature gains +2 turn resistance.
Saves: Base save bonuses are Fort +1/3 HD, Ref +1/3 HD, and Will +1/2 HD +2.
Abilities: Dex +4, Inc -4 (minimum 1), Wis +2, Cha +2. As an incorporeal undead, an umbral creature has no Strength or Constitution score.
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground.
Organization: Solitary, pair, gang (3-4), or clutch (2-4 plus 2-7 shadows).
Challenge Rating: As base creature +2 (or +3 if Huge or larger).
Treasure: None.
Alignment: Always chaotic evil.
Advancement: As base creature (or - if base creature's advancement is by character class).
Level Adjustment: -
Sample umbral creature: Umbral Displacer Beast.