So this may take some explaining.
I'm a big fan of Johnathon Wojcik and his website Bogleech, a repository for all things spooky and weird. In one of his most recent columns, he mentioned a bizarre Halloween decoration he'd found, a skeleton with a bat instead of eyes and legs made of eyeballs. He dubbed the creature a "skilevak", invented a hunting mechanism for it and requested that it be statted up for D&D.
So here we are.
Skilevak (Soulbrooder)
This grotesque creature looms as tall as an ogre, its upper body appearing as a skeletally-thin humanoid figure. Its face is shrouded by a ragged piece of skin shaped like a pair of membranous wings, from which glare burning orange orbs. Below the waist, two fat tentacles grow, each of them studded with dozens of lidless eyes. It is clad in a motley of garishly colored fabric, tailored into a crude costume.
Skilevak CR 10
XP 9,600
LE Large aberration
Init +5; Senses all-around vision, darkvision 60 ft., Perception +17
Defense
AC 24, touch 10, flat-footed 23 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +14 natural)
hp 126 (12d8+72)
Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +12
DR 10/silver; Defensive Abilities negative energy affinity
Offense
Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee 2 claws +14 (1d8+6), 2 tentacles +13 (2d6+3 plus grab)
Ranged eyebat +9 ranged touch (attach)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks constitution drain, constrict (2d6+9), create spawn, gaze
Statistics
Str 22, Dex 13, Con 23, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 16
Base Atk +9; CMB +16 (+20 grapple); CMD 27
Feats Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Multiattack, Skill Focus (Stealth), Weapon Focus (tentacle)
Skills Climb +14, Craft (sewing) +13, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +16, Knowledge (religion) +13, Perception +17, Stealth +18
Languages Aklo, Undercommon
SQ eyebat, grisly feast
Ecology
Environment underground
Organization solitary or family (1 plus 1-6 wraiths)
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Attach (Ex) If a skilevak’s eyebat hits an opponent, it latches on with its entire body. An attached eyebat is effectively grappling its prey with a CMB equal to the skilevak’s modified for size, with a +8 bonus on all CMB checks made to maintain the grapple (CMB +21 for a typical skilevak). An eyebat loses its Dexterity bonus to AC when attached. A successful CMB check or Escape Artist check allows a grabbed foe to escape, as normal.
Constitution Drain (Su) An attached eyebat deals 1d4 points of Constitution drain each round it remains attached.
Create Spawn (Su) A humanoid creature slain by a skilevak’s Constitution drain is animated as a wraith 1d6 minutes after it dies. Wraiths created by a skilevak remain under the skilevak’s control until its death.
Eyebat (Ex/Su) As a move action, a skilevak can detach the bat-like flap of skin covering its face. The skilevak can then move the eyebat up to 30 feet a round as a swift action. An eyebat is treated as being a Tiny creature with an AC of 20, touch 13, flat-footed 19, hit points equal to 1/5th of the skilevak’s total hit points (25 for a typical skilevak) with the saving throws and skills of the skilevak. An eyebat flies with perfect maneuverability (Fly +17). A skilevak can see through the eyebat as per an arcane eye spell—this ability is supernatural and does not occur in the area of an antimagic field or similar effect. If an eyebat enters a creature’s space, it can attempt to attach itself to that creature.
An eyebat can reattach to a skilevak sharing its space as a move action. If a skilevak’s eyebat is slain, the skilevak is sickened for 1 week, until it grows a new eyebat.
Gaze (Su) Stunned 1 round, range 30 feet, Fort DC 19 negates. The save DC is Constitution based.
Grisly Feast (Su) A skilevak that reattaches to its eyebat gains 5 temporary hit points for each point of Constitution drained by the eyebat since it was detached.
Negative Energy Affinity (Ex) Skilevaks are treated as undead for the purposes of positive and negative energy effects.
Referred to as “soulbrooders” by sages, skilevaks are bizarre aberrant creatures that nurture the incorporeal undead as if they were beloved children. The form of a skilevak is extremely unusual, most notably in terms of the “eyebat”, a detachable lump of flesh that serves as a skilevak’s primary means of feeding. A skilevak will use its eyebat to seek out prey which it then mesmerizes with its gaze. The helpless victims are then drained of life by the eyebat. The victims of a skilevak rise as wraiths, serving their master as companions.
Skilevaks appear to be sexless, and their means of reproduction is unknown. Their undead spawn serve the role of children to a skilevak, who dotes upon its charges with what would be considered loving care in a more conventional parent/child relationship. A skilvelak will weaken victims so that its children can enjoy the sensation of the kill, for example. Due to their humanoid frames and the enormous empty eye socket covered by the skinbat, some sages theorize that skilevaks originated as cyclopes, mutated unspeakably by evil magic or drow fleshwarping. Possibly fitting with this theory is the skilevak’s preference for walking on the tips of its tentacles as if they were boneless legs—only when climbing or threatened does it drop into a crawling posture to better use these prehensile appendages.
Skilevaks love clothing of all kinds, and stitch together the garments of their victims into coverings for their own bodies. The promise of colorful fabrics or magical clothing is one of the few things that can prevent a skilevak attack, and the beasts are known to barter safe passage or information for particularly choice items. It is rumored by adventurers that skilevaks hate the sound of their species name and will recoil if it is spoken, but this is merely a rumor—skilevaks take great amusement in pretending to flee from the sound of its name only to circle around and renew its attack with surprise. A skilevak stands nine feet tall on tentacle-tip, but is only six feet tall when crawling. The average skilevak weighs 400 pounds.
i like it, but had a fun thought. what if it were undead made specifically from aberrations and animals? it started off as an innocent prank by a group of necromancers during a certain fall holiday. originally meant to scare people who did not participate in the tradition of giving "treats" to passerby, instead they learned how to produce more of their kind and slaughtered the town they were in instead. since then, to this day that holiday has never been celebrated again, or those knocking at your door aren't friendly passerby, but the deadly skilevak!!!
the story would serve as lesson to others about how a "trick" can go wrong.
just something off the top of my head really