I hope you enjoy this "companion" to the bloodbag. I'll still be back on Friday with a new monster. Thanks for reading!
The odor of meat
getting ready to turn bad wafts from this collection of scraps somehow held
together in a loose sphere; limbs made of meat jut from the mass to propel the
creature forward.
Meatshield CR 5
XP 1,600
Meatshield
NE Medium construct
Init +0; Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 60
ft., low-light vision; Perception +0
DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 10,
flat-footed 18 (+8 natural)
hp 58 (7d10+20)
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +2
DR 5/—; Immune construct traits, magic
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.,
climb 20 ft.
Melee 2 slams +10
(2d6+3)
Special Attacks
create spawn, pulverize
STATISTICS
Str 17, Dex 11, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 5
Base Atk +7; CMB +10; CMD 20 (can't be tripped)
Skills Climb +11
ECOLOGY
Environment any
land
Organization
solitary, pair, or slaughterhouse (3–12)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Create Spawn (Su)
A creature that dies from a meatshield’s red ache rises as a meatshield in 8
hours.
Immune to Magic (Ex)
A meatshield is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell
resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against
the creature, as noted below.
- Purify food and drink heals 10 hit points and increases a meatshield’s movement rates by 10 feet. A meatshield no longer inflicts red ache with its attacks.
- Putrefy food and drink deals 10 hit points of damage to a meatshield and reduces its movement rates by 10 feet. All of its attacks inflict red ache.
Pulverize (Ex) If
a meatshield hits the same target with both of its slam attacks, it deals an
additional 1d4 Strength damage and afflicts its victim with red ache.
Red
Ache Pulverize—injury; save Fort
DC 15; onset 1d3 days; frequency 1/day; effect 1d6 Str damage; cure
2 consecutive saves.
On the opposite end of the spectrum from the bloodbag, but
no less ill-advised, meatshields resulted when a nascent necromancer attempted
to raise undead creatures from an assemblage of meat scraps. She was successful
to an extent and became the newly formed creatures’ first victim. The
meatshields roamed the neighboring lands, instinctively aware that they needed
to inflict their procreative disease on victims rather than outright
slaughtering them. Those who hear victims describe an attack by a living mound
of meat attribute the outrageous tales to fever brought on by the disease. Of
course, very few people understand how victims transform into piles of meat when
they succumb to the disease, and most run screaming when the piles coalesce and
lurch into action.
While meatshields are constructs with nominal undead traits
of creating spawn and inflicting disease, the secrets of making the creatures died
with the original creator. No one has openly dared to recreate the experiment. However, those who can control meatshields use them as shock troops or as protection (as their namesake would imply).
