Hi, I'm currently trying to design a monster that's incapable of moving on it's own, or making melee attacks. It's basically a small living statue that acts purely through mental actions, and spell like abilities.
What I'm trying to figure out is how being immobile, and incapable of taking physical actions, would affect the creatures stats. Specifically things like AC penalties, Saves, and how it would react to combat maneuvers.
There are rules for things like inanimate objects, and paralyzed creatures, but I'm unsure how to apply them to a inanimate creature like this.
Also, should the creature have Str 0, Dex 0, or Str --, Dex --? The core rulebook states, "some creatures do not possess a Strength score and have no modifier at all to Strength-based skills or checks," but there's no mention of creatures lacking a Dexterity score, and as far as I know there's no example of either Str--, or Dex-- creatures in the bestiaries.
So, what are your thoughts?
I had something like this in my game and I gave the creature no score for strength and 0 dex (so a -5 to AC from dex). The rules say a creature with 0 dex is immobile but not unconscious (what you want). The creature counted as helpless too so characters received an additional +4 to attacks as well.
It was magical so it offset this stuff with a big deflection bonus to AC (and it was immune to crits and thus coup de gras).
Once they figured out all of my statues tricks, it was not so hard to kill (it was mostly a big wall of hitpoints and DR). Just keep in mind how you want the encounter to go.