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Perilous Gateways

By Eric L. Boyd

Sometimes, in the aftermath of a battle in which a large volume of blood seeped into the immediate surroundings, the anguished life energy contained within that blood does not immediately dissipate. By means not fully understood, that energy is sometimes transferred into bloodstained objects on the field of battle or even the immediate natural environment. Such objects, should they later become animate, are often warped by the lingering energies of the blood into dark and twisted forms.

Bloodstained creatures bear the stench of decay and the dark brown hue of dried blood. Even if not intelligent, they seem to harbor a lingering malevolence within their form.

Creating a Bloodstained Creature

Bloodstained is a template that can be added to any corporeal undead or true elemental (i.e., an elemental, not just a creature of type elemental; referred to hereafter as the "base creature") whose component materials were stained with large amounts of blood prior to being animated (if a construct or undead) or summoned (if a true elemental). The creature's type remains unchanged. It uses all of the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Hit Dice: Increase by one die type, to a maximum of d12.

Speed: As the base creature.

AC: Natural armor improves by +1.

Special Attacks: A bloodstained creature retains all of the special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following ability:

Wounding (Su): Can cause wounds that continue to bleed (internally if bludgeoning damage; externally if piercing or slashing damage). Any wound inflicted through physical contact with the victim bleeds for 1 point of damage per round thereafter in addition to the normal damage the melee attack deals. Multiple wounds from the bloodstained creature result in cumulative blood loss (two wounds for 2 points of damage per round, and so on). The bleeding can be stopped only by a successful Heal check (DC 15) or the application of any cure spell or other healing spell (heal, healing circle, and so on).

Special Qualities: A bloodstained creature retains all of the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the supernatural ability to defy death.

Defy Death (Su): Bloodstained creatures (including bloodstained constructs, which are normally destroyed upon reaching 0 hit points) can continue to act normally until they reach -10 hit points, and they are not considered disabled, unconscious, or in need of stabilizing. Upon reaching -10 hit points, a bloodstained creature is well and truly dead.

Saves: Same as the base creature.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Con +2, Int +2, Chr +2. Creatures with no Constitution score, for example undead, do not gain an increase in Constitution. Creatures with no Intelligence or Charisma score gain a score of 2.

Skills: Same as the base creature.

Feats: Bloodstained creatures gain Great Fortitude as a bonus feat.

Climate/Terrain: Same as the base creature.

Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +1.

Treasure: Same as the base creature.

Alignment: Always evil.

Advancement: Same as the base creature.

In the Realms

Bloodstained creatures can be found anywhere great battles have been fought and great quantities of blood have been shed in the Realms. They are perhaps best known in areas that have seen many generations of warfare, such as the Fields of the Dead, or on the sands of gladiatorial arenas such as the Blood Arenas of Manshaka.

Sample Bloodstained Creature

This example uses a greater earth elemental formed from a blood-soaked field of battle as the base creature.

Bloodstained Greater Earth Elemental: CR 10; Huge elemental (earth); HD 21d10+126; hp 241; Init -1; Spd 20 ft.; AC 21 (touch 7, flat-footed 21); Atk +23/+18/+13 melee (2d6+15, slam); Face/Reach 10 ft. x 5 ft./15 ft.; SA Earth mastery, push, wounding; SQ Damage reduction 10/+2, defy death, elemental traits; AL NE; SV Fort +20, Ref +6, Will +7; Str 31, Dex 8, Con 23, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 13.

Skills and Feats: Hide -9, Listen +21, Spot +21; Cleave, Great Cleave, Great Fortitude, Power Attack, Sunder.

Earth Mastery (Ex): A bloodstained earth elemental gains a +1 attack and damage bonus if both it and its foe touch the ground. If an opponent is airborne or waterborne, the elemental suffers a -4 penalty to attack and damage.

Push (Ex): A bloodstained earth elemental can start a bull rush maneuver without provoking an attack of opportunity. The combat modifiers given in earth mastery also apply to the elemental's opposed Strength checks.

Wounding (Su): The bloodstained earth elemental can cause wounds that continue to bleed (internally if bludgeoning damage; externally if piercing or slashing damage). Any wound inflicted through physical contact with the victim bleeds for 1 point of damage per round thereafter in addition to the normal damage the melee attack deals. Multiple wounds from the bloodstained creature result in cumulative blood loss (two wounds for 2 points of damage per round, and so on). The bleeding can be stopped only by a successful Heal check (DC 15) or the application of any cure spell or other healing spell (heal, healing circle, and so on).

Defy Death (Su): A bloodstained earth elemental can continue to act normally until it reaches -10 hit points, and it are not considered disabled, unconscious, or in need of stabilizing. Upon reaching -10 hit points, it is well and truly dead.

Elemental Traits: Immune to poision, sleep, paralysis, and stunning; not subject to critical hits or flanking; darkvision 60 ft.; cannot be raised or resurrected (though a wish or miracle spell can restore life)

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