Necrophage Infector (Horrid Manticore)

Family: Necrophage

Large monstrosity, neutral evil

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 102 (8d10+32 + 2d8+16)
Speed 30 ft., Climb 10 ft., Fly 50 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
21 (+5)	16 (+3)	17 (+3)	1 (-5)	12 (+1)	2 (-4)

Saving Throws Wis +3
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
Damage Immunities cold, poison
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned, exhaustion
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages none
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

• From the Void. As necrophage slasher.
• Limb Weakness. As necrophage slasher.
• Tail Spike Regrowth. The grotesque manticore has twenty-four tail spikes. Used spikes regrow when the manticore finishes a long rest.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The horrid manticore makes three attacks: one with its proboscis and two with its claws or three with its tail spikes.
• Proboscis. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage.
• Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) slashing damage.
• Tail Spike. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 100/200 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
• Infect with Necrophage. If the necrophage kills a creature with its proboscis or uses their proboscis on a corpse the creature is infected with the necrophage and rises with a necrophage creature template per the table to the above. The infector will not infect small bodyparts, those are left for the carriers.

ABOUT

The artifact’ s influence can only reach so far, so its capacity to create infected creatures is hindered by its immobility. That is where the infector comes in, It grows a sharp, bony proboscis that is uses to inject necrophagic material into non-living organic material.

The necrophage is not undead, the necrophage is not a disease. The necrophage is a living organism that infests corpses, reconstitutes the the organic material into new forms that it uses to kill more host creatures to continue to grow and expand. The forms the necrophage-infested bodies take are viceral, twisted horrors of their former selves. It can also form small discreet creatures out of the biological material it has subsumed. The necrophage is controlled and originally created by a insidious, psychic artifact found deep in the void. No one yet has been able to discern where the artifact came from, why it was created, or by whom. Some say, especially the fanatic cults that have grown up around its influence, that it created itself as a manifestation of the universe’ s need to ascend to a higher, singular being. In either case, its goals and and actions involve adding more biological material under its control and creating more unused biological material for it to take.

The artifact itself can infest the minds of living creatures nearby and slowly corrupt their minds and bodies, eventually turning them into a new necrophage creature. The artifact has little control over the exact form the necrophage takes, but it is usually efficient at its particular job.

The artifact is intelligent, it schemes, it corrupts, and it finds the most effective way to safely get more material.

Creating Necrophage Infectors

The necrophage will take over and manipulate the bodies of any corporeal creature. To make other necrophage infectors, remove all skill, weapon, and saving throw proficiencies, special abilities, resistances, weaknesses, immunities and languages. Then add the following:

• +2 natural armor AC
• +2d8 Hit Die and Hit Points
• 10 ft. climb speed, if it does not have a faster climb speed
• +4 Strength, +2 Constitution, -4 Charisma, set Intelligence to 1
• Wisdom saving throw proficiency
• The damage resistances, damage immunities, and condition immunities above
• Darkvision 60 ft. if the base creature did not have it already
• From the Void, Limb Weakness, and Infect with Necrophage from above
• A Proboscis attack, 1d6 melee, incr. the die for larger creatures (Proficient) (loses Bite attacks.)

Proficiency Bonus and Challenge stay the same (minimum 1), change type to monstrosity.

d20	Creature
01-12	Slasher
13-14	Lurker
15-16	Leaper
17	Brute
18	Carrier
19	Infector
20	Hunter