I have this idea to make the male "half" of a Ceratiodi into a Parasite Familiar belonging to the female "half"... and I need help making it work in its simplest form before I over complicate things. I have a tendancy to dive head first down the rabbit hole.
Certiodi are generally 4HD Monstrous Humanoids (CR3). They can dual wield without penalties, which is a neat trick, and have a Lure ability that works similar to a Bard's Fascinate Performance. They have 17,10,15,15,14,12 stats, and for feats they have Ability Focus (Lure), as well as Weapon Focus (shortspear). I am not really too worried about exploiting or abusing the TWF without penalties thing, honestly, but if we are going to increase its CR, it should probably be capable of posing a real threat of some sort. No sense in going through the effort of changing it if it will just get rolled all the same.
That 15 Intelligence does kind of stand out when it comes to wanting to add a Familiar, though. Who has Familiars? Wizards! And what do Wizards use? Intelligence! I was thinking maybe a Soul Binder Wizard might be fitting, but I may already by getting ahead of myself.
Toying with having separate alignments for the two "halves" of the Ceratiodi, so the Parasite Familiar could play the "evil twin" or "the devil made me do it" dynamic using its Puppeteer ability. I don't know.
Maybe an Alchemist using Tumor Familiar? Jekyll and Hyde type thing? Or Eldritch Guardian Fighter and embrace TWF? So many options...
Anyways, what is the easiest, most straight-forward way to accomplish this combination with it coming out fun, usable, or otherwise noteworthy?
Ceratiodi wrote:
Perhaps the strangest aspect of the ceratioidi is that each individual is in fact two entities—a powerful, imposing female, and a rat-sized parasitic male who spends most of his life attached to his mate’s neck. A female without a mate loses her dual mind ability, while a male unattached to a female retains his intelligence but otherwise has the same statistics as an electric eel (without the electricity special ability or electricity resistance).
Parasite Familiar wrote:
Infest (Su)
As a full-round action, a parasite can infest a willing or helpless target at least two size categories larger than the parasite. This deals 1d6 points of Constitution damage as the parasite burrows through viscera before attaching itself to the target’s brain or spinal cord (or equivalent). There, the parasite curls up, with no ability to see or hear anything itself, but with access to its host’s senses.
Despite the gaping wound, this process is curiously painless. Assuming that the location of the wound and the resultant blood is not obvious (most parasites infest from the back for this reason), the victim must succeed at a Heal or Sense Motive check opposed by the familiar’s Bluff check to notice that something is amiss.
Removing a parasite requires a successful Heal check opposed by the familiar’s Stealth check, or a successful casting of break enchantment against a DC of 11 + the parasite’s level. If successful, the parasite is destroyed. The parasite can leave the host willingly as a full-round action.
If the host is killed, the parasite must succeed at a DC 20 Fortitude save or be killed as well.
This replaces improved evasion and share spells.
Okay, the simple Wizard Creature template would keep it at 4HD, raise its CR by 1 (CR4), give it a Familiar via Arcane Bond, and some spells. Its new stats are 17,10,15,19,14,12... giving any offensive spells it may choose a DC around 14-15. Which is right where it should be for a CR4 creature... high attack of +8, yep.
The Ceratiodi would gain Alertness, as Parasite Familiar does not change that, and whatever variable bonus the Familiar's animal type grants the owner... probably have to find an approapriate animal, something close to an electric eel is probably an obvious choice.
Due to the template counting the Ceratiodi's HD-2 as its Wizard level for abilities, the Parasite Familiar cannot use its Puppeteer ability, yet... that is gained at Wizard 3. Could add HD, easily enough. But that whole Puppeteer thing is just a silly option to toy with anyways, so it is not necessary, I suppose.
Is it worth exploring the other options further? Or do you think the CR4 Wizard Creature Ceratiodi do well enough to carry the Parasite Familiar theme? Does the Jekyll and Hyde thing or Soul Binder Wizard thing offer enough flavor to flesh out?
Here it is with the simple Wizard Creature template applied... I kind of like it. The Illusion School's Blinding Ray is quite fitting, I feel. She can use her Lure against everyone, or focus the light into a ray that blinds one target... or something. I thought there was a way to write spells on a quarterstaff or something, which would be cool to eliminate the spellbook and have her spells written on her spear(s). I couldn't decide between Glitterdust or Mirror Image when I copied the stat block from some other NPC Wizard, so I just left them both listed (but you only get one according to the table found in the template). When her Intelligence went up with the template, she ended up with 8 unspent skill ranks... I put 4 of them into Skillcraft even though it is trained only, and neither Monstrous Humanoid or the Wizard Creature template have Skillcraft as a class skill... I didn't give her the class skill bonus for Skillcraft, though, but figured it is actually necessary for a Wizard Creature.
Here she is:
Ceratioidi CR 4
XP 1200
N Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic)
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +11
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 15 (+5 natural)
hp 33 (4d10+8+3)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +6
Immune mind-affecting effects
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., swim 50 ft.
Melee 2 shortspears +8 (1d6+3) or 2 slams +7 (1d4+3)
Ranged 2 shortspears +5 (1d6+3)
Special Attacks lure
Arcane School Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +8)
7/day—blinding ray DC 15 (blind 1rnd)
Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 4th; concentration +8)
2nd—glitterdust (DC 16), or mirror image
1st—color spray (DC 15), mage armor
0 (at will)—dancing lights, read magic
STATISTICS
Str 17, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 19, Wis 14, Cha 12
Base Atk +4; CMB +7; CMD 17
Feats Ability Focus (lure), Alertness, Weapon Focus (shortspear)
Skills Bluff +5, Craft +11, Intimidate +8, Perception +11, Sense Motive +8, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +7, Swim +18
Languages Aquan, Common
SQ arcane bond (parasite familiar), dual mind, primitive amphibian
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Blinding Ray (Sp)
As a standard action a ceratioidi can fire a shimmering ray at any foe within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. The ray causes creatures to be blinded for 1 round. Creatures with more Hit Dice than the ceratioidi's HD-2 are dazzled for 1 round instead. A ceratioidi can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + the ceratioidi's Intelligence modifier.
Dual Mind (Ex)
The fact that each ceratioidi is actually two creatures sharing the same body gives it a number of unique abilities. A ceratioidi can delegate various actions and physical processes to the individual minds, allowing it to fight with two weapons simultaneously without any penalties. It can also select two favored classes. The telepathic tangle between its twin consciousnesses makes a ceratioidi impervious to mind-affecting effects.
Extended Illusions (Su)
Any illusion spell a ceratioidi casts with a duration of “concentration” lasts a number of additional rounds equal to 1/2 the ceratioidi's HD-2 after the ceratioidi stops maintaining concentration (minimum +1 round). At 22HD, a ceratioidi can make one illusion spell with a duration of “concentration” become permanent. A ceratioidi can have no more than one illusion made permanent in this way at one time. If a ceratioidi designates another illusion as permanent, the previous permanent illusion ends.
Infest (Su)
As a full-round action, a male ceratioidi can infest a willing or helpless female ceratioidi at least two size categories larger than the male ceratioidi. This deals 1d6 points of Constitution damage as the male ceratioidi burrows through viscera before attaching itself to the female ceratioidi's brain or spinal cord (or equivalent). There, the male ceratioidi curls up, with no ability to see or hear anything itself, but with access to the female ceratioidi’s senses.
Despite the gaping wound, this process is curiously painless. Assuming that the location of the wound and the resultant blood is not obvious (most male ceratioidi infest from the back for this reason), the female ceratioidi must succeed at a Heal or Sense Motive check opposed by the male ceratioidi's Bluff check to notice that something is amiss.
Removing a male ceratioidi requires a successful Heal check opposed by the male ceratioidi's Stealth check, or a successful casting of break enchantment against a DC of 11 + the male ceratioidi's HD. If successful, the male ceratioidi is destroyed. The male ceratioidi can leave the host willingly as a full-round action.
If the female ceratioidi is killed, the male ceratioidi must succeed at a DC 20 Fortitude save or be killed as well.
Lure (Su)
As a free action, a ceratioidi can light the dangling lure on its forehead, forcing all non-ceratioidi within a 20-foot radius to make a DC 15 Will save or become fascinated for 1 round. Regardless of the preceding interaction between the ceratioidi and its target, a creature affected by this ability does not view the ceratioidi who has fascinated it as a potential threat until that ceratioidi actually attacks—allowing it to approach without breaking the fascination. Once a creature successfully saves against this effect, it is immune to the same ceratioidi’s lure ability for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Primitive Amphibian (Ex)
Ceratioidi have rudimentary lungs capable of breathing air indefinitely, but their skin must be bathed in salt water regularly or it begins drying out painfully. They can go for a number of hours equal to twice their Constitution score (30 hours for most ceratioidi) before they need to be bathed in salt water—if they don’t, they take 1 point of Constitution damage per hour. Any Constitution damage accrued is reversed after they spend at least 10 minutes immersed in salt water.
ECOLOGY
Environment any saltwater
Organization solitary, mated individual, or clan (3-20)
Treasure standard (includes spellbook)
Rulers of the deep ocean trenches, ceratioidi are powerful, intelligent humanoids who share several unusual traits with the aquatic predators of the ceratiidae family, also known as angler fish. From their strange, spired cities beneath the waves, ceratioidi cast their nets of influence far and wide, using their alien intelligence, natural affinity for magic, and hypnotizing lures to manipulate other creatures throughout the oceans—and beyond.
Perhaps the strangest aspect of the ceratioidi is that each individual is in fact two entities—a powerful, imposing female, and a rat-sized parasitic male who spends most of his life attached to his mate’s neck. A female without a mate loses her dual mind ability, while a male unattached to a female retains his intelligence but otherwise has the same statistics as an electric eel (without the electricity special ability or electricity resistance).
Rulers of the deep ocean trenches, ceratioidi are powerful, intelligent humanoids who share several unusual traits with the aquatic predators of the ceratiidae family, also known as angler fish. From their strange, spired cities beneath the waves, ceratioidi cast their nets of influence far and wide, using their alien intelligence, natural affinity for magic, and hypnotizing lures to manipulate other creatures throughout the world’s oceans—and beyond.
Perhaps the strangest aspect of the ceratioidi is that each individual is in fact two entities—a powerful, imposing female and a rat-sized, parasitic male. Averaging 7 feet tall and weighing roughly 300 pounds, a female ceratioidi’s fleshy body belies both its tremendous strength and its startling intelligence. Males, though equally intelligent, appear to outside observers to be nothing more than fish with vaguely anthropomorphic faces. Born from ribbon-like egg clusters, ceratioidi mature quickly and are ready to mate when 1 year old. During the mating ritual, the tiny male ceratioidi affixes itself to the back of a female’s neck and begins secreting an enzyme that dissolves both creatures’ skin and transforms them into a single unit. Within a few weeks, what was two creatures has become one—though each retains its own independent consciousness, the male joins his respiration, digestion, and other biological functions with those of the female, becoming nothing more than a bulging organ on his partner’s back. While unintelligent angler fish use similar methods in order to self-fertilize at will, a ceratioidi male retains independent thought, and the two linked entities remain in constant telepathic communication, using their combined mental faculties to excel at wizardry and maintain absolute physical precision in combat. This uniquely divided mental structure also makes it easy for ceratioidi to study multiple fields or callings, such as the powerful witch/wizard combination that is their trademark, though it’s also common for them to act as underwater rangers.
In addition to their dual nature, ceratioidi share a number of other intimidating characteristics with their angler fish cousins. Along with its wide mouth full of inward-curving, needle-sharp teeth, a ceratioidi also possesses the angler fish’s fleshy forehead lure, called an esca. This bioluminescent blob dangles at the end of thin spine just above eye level and is the focus for the ceratioidi’s innate hypnotic abilities. Through this lure, the ceratioidi can paralyze foes in combat, forcing them to stand still or approach and be culled by the ceratioidi’s barbed fishing spear; it can even hypnotize creatures so thoroughly as to make them susceptible to subliminal commands. This ability to manipulate others, combined with the immobile male’s natural affinity for magical study and other deeply contemplative arts, makes the ceratioidi masters of their surroundings.
Though almost all ceratioidi encountered outside of their homes are fully mated pairs, unmated females can be represented by removing the dual mind ability from the creature’s stat block. Males can be simulated by using the statistics for an electric eel without the electricity special ability.
Habitat & Society
Because they normally construct their cities on the floors of deep ocean trenches or near mineral-rich underwater vents, ceratioidi are rarely encountered by terrestrial races, and little is known about their society. The ceratioidi, with their manipulative magic and ability to exist on land for long stretches of time, make perfect gobetweens and bureaucrats for the strange kingdom.
Though the ceratioidi are rumored by many to be a product of aboleth experimentation, the ceratioidi believe differently. They believe themselves to be the direct descendents of their god, an immense and omnipotent angler fish that accompanied them on their journey and now resides in the flooded caverns.
Rebuild Rules
Special Attacks arcane bond†, arcane school abilities† (using its HD – 2 as its wizard level to determine the effect and DC [minimum 1]); Wizard Spells wizard creatures can cast a small number of wizard spells (see Table: Cleric, Druid, and Wizard Spell Slots) using its HD as its CL; Ability Scores +4 Intelligence.
Just wondering why the dual nature of a Ceratioidi immediately made you think Wizard/Parasite Familiar? What if you went with a Summoner whose Eidolon was the male half?
Thank you for taking the time to review and reply.
I was actually looking at Familiar archetypes for something entirely unrelated... maybe something to do with the Poppet Familiar thread I have around here somewhere... anyways, I happened across the Parasite Familiar and thought about the Ceratiodi... which I can never remember their name and anyways search for "pathfinder dual mind fish people". Lol.
Given the natural arrangement... I would think that the pathetic male ceratiodi would be the pathetic Summoner, and the mighty female ceratiodi would be the pathetic male's Eidolon. Maybe Synth Summoner, since the male is literally inside the female? Either way, that takes a lot more HD/levels to pull off, and I wanted to keep the overhaul as simple as possible.
For higher HD or unique/named ceratiodi, I can explore other options, but I think I am relatively happy with the results achieved by the simple Wizard Creature template for the majority of ceratiodi going forward... probably will never field a ceratiodi without the template unless I have further built them with class levels.
The CR4 Ceratiodi Wizard Creature is my new generic ceratiodi, and will replace any CR3 Ceratiodi 1-to-1 any time I find them called for. How often dual mind fish people are necessary is probably pretty limited, except I am getting ready to run a modified Skull & Shackles pirate campaign... so ceratiodi might just make an appearance.
I have a bunch of Boggards I have been toying with, too. They require a bit more work since I am trying to incorporate the Boggard racial feats like Sonic/Stunning Croak... and I haven't found something I am entirely happy with in the Boggard build department, but I will get there. Lol.
I will add Summoner to be little list of ideas for unique/named ceratiodi, though. Thank you for the suggestion, as Synth Summoner is not something I had yet considered...