Brain Slug
Shan, aka "Brain slugs," are diminutive sapient slug-like creatures. In their natural form, they are little threat to most other creatures, but possess incredible camouflage. They also possess the ability to pierce a creature's cranium and plug into their brain, taking over their mind and puppeteering them as a pilot does a vehicle. Some brain slugs will remove parts of a victim to allow it to hide within the body or even repair and revive freshly killed corpses. For example, a humanoid that died recently of dehydration could easily be rehydrated and oxygenated and using their brain control to artificially restart the heart and other nervous systems, the brain slug essentially has a functional body even though the creature is dead and gone. Brain slugs are aberrations from across the stars and considered a highly dangerous and parasitic species attributed with the fall of many civilizations into ruin.
Most brain slugs are themselves only interested in getting the best host bodies with little care for anything else and typically aren't sapient themselves. However, brain slugs that have had multiple hosts tend to absorb their memories and gain quite a bit of intelligence, eventually becoming sapient themselves. Some may gain the ability to talk to a still-living victim or even peer into their mind and memories. On even rarer occasion, some smarter brain slugs develop empathy for their victims and learn to see the world through their eyes often developing civilized relationships with other humanoids, while disguised as one of them.
Some brain slugs mutate and evolve into greater forms such as intellect devourers and brain eaters, though few know how such mutations are created and keeping it a secret seems to be in the best interest of the brain-eating creatures.
CREATURE TRAITS (17 XP)
- Types Diminutive Organic Serpentine Aberration
- Reach 0 feet
- Speed Land 10 feet, Climb 10 feet
ATTRIBUTES (0 XP)
- +2 Con, +4 Dex, +2 Int, -6 Str
LANGUAGES (1 XP)
- Starting Languages: Aklo, Undercommon
- Bonus Languages: Any common language
INNATE ABILITIES (18 XP)
- Body Thief (8 XP): Brain slugs can use a full-round action (3 actions) to slither into or out of a helpless or recently deceased body, gaining control of the body upon entering and losing control upon exiting. While inside a body, a brain slug loses their innate attribute modifiers, size, reach, speeds, and their Creepy Crawler and Darkvision abilities but gains the host's innate attribute modifiers, size, reach, speeds, and the Hybrid ability which allows the brain slug to be treated as their own creature type or the host's creature types for all effects. If the victim is still alive, they remain unconscious while being controlled. Any damage dealt to the brain slug while inhabiting a live host is dealt to host instead unless it's an area effect or critical hit, in which case it affects both. If an attacker is aware of the presence of a brain slug, effects that do not require physical contact (such as emotion, fear, and mental effects) can directly affect the brain slug. Attacks that deal precision damage deal half damage to the host and half to the brain slug if the attacker is aware of the brain slug's presence and wishes to target them. If a host body dies or is already dead, the body gains a hardness equal to 2 + half the creature's natural armor bonus and has a number of hit points equal to its hardness + hit dice of the dead creature. If a body is destroyed, the brain slug takes any excess damage beyond the body's hit points and it expelled leaving it staggered for 1 round.
- Creepy Crawler (1 XP): Brain slugs have a base land speed of 10 feet, Climb speed of 10 feet, +2 innate bonus to Acrobatics, Climb, and Stealth checks, can move at full speed when balancing on precarious surfaces without penalty, and are always treated as having a running head start
- Dark vision (3 XP): Brain slugs ignore concealment created by dim lighting or darkness. They cannot see color in darkness, only shades of grey.
- Memory Share (5 XP): Brain slugs can use a standard action cost 1 mp/level to awaken a living host and either give them control of the body or keep them paralyzed. They can also use Share Memory on a living host and the host can do the same in return to the brain slug if they wish. Brain slugs can also put the host asleep again with this action but the host can make a Will save DC10 + brain slug's level + brain slug's Charisma modifier to resist. If they fail, they fall asleep for 1d4 hours + 1 additional hour per 5 points they fail the DC or until the brain slug awakens them or leaves their body (whichever occurs first).
ADDITIONAL ABILITIES
Brain Slugs begin with their innate traits and can gain additional traits from the following list as feats.
Bite (1 XP): You gain a bite attack dealing 1d4 piercing damage.
Brain Eater (4 XP): You can cast Speak with Dead on a corpse you're inhabited as a host. If this trait is taken a second time, you can literally eat the brain of a corpse taking the time and gaining the benefits of the Legend Lore power but targeting only the corpse to learn about the creature's life before it perished. This can affect non-legendary creatures, as you generally only learn about the events of their life through their eyes. This also makes you familiar with the target as if they had been a lifelong companion, though you and they don't necessarily have sympathy or empathy for each other. This could grant you circumstance or insight bonuses against them should you ever encounter a ressurected or ghostly version of them or against others should you attempt to disguise as them.
Body Burst (4 XP): You can enter or exit a host body as 1 or 2 actions instead of 3. Doing so as 1 action deals 1d6 + your level in bleed damage to the host and half as much bludgeoning damage to you.
Body Enhancement: Constitution (4 XP): As a standard action costing 1 mp/level you can grant yourself a +2 enhancement bonus to Constitution lasting for up to 10 minutes. You can only use this while in a host body. This bonus increases to +4 at 8th level and +6 at 16th level.
Body Enhancement: Dexterity (4 XP): As a standard action costing 1 mp/level you can grant yourself a +2 enhancement bonus to Dexterity lasting for up to 10 minutes. You can only use this while in a host body. This bonus increases to +4 at 8th level and +6 at 16th level.
Body Enhancement: Strength (4 XP): As a standard action costing 1 mp/level you can grant yourself a +2 enhancement bonus to Strength lasting for up to 10 minutes. You can only use this while in a host body. This bonus increases to +4 at 8th level and +6 at 16th level.
Brain Reader (4 XP): You can cast Read Thoughts as an innate magical power on a living host. If this trait is taken a second time, you can also use Mind Probe on them.
Host Healing (4 XP): You can cast Stabilize as an innate magical power on your host. So long as you remain within a host, the host's body gains the benefits of the Rapid Recovery feat and any of the following feats you possess (if any): Body Enhancement (Constitution), Body Enhancement (Dexterity), Body Enhancement (Strength), Endurance, Diehard, Toughness.
Merciful Puppetmaster (4 XP): You can cast Shield Other on your host body as an innate biotic power. You and your host are both treated as having the In Harm's Way feat, even if you don't meet the prerequisites but can only use it to protect each other and not other allies.
Strange Knowledge (4 XP): All knowledge skills become class skills for you. If you already have a knowledge skill as a class skill, you gain a +2 innate bonus to it instead.
Brain-eater Metamorphosis (4 XP): You must have Brain Eater, inhabit at least 1 live body for a year and then at least 1 dead body for a year, during which time it mutates and merges with you permanently. Your natural form increases to the size of the host and you lose your Body Thief ability in exchange for the Brain Collection ability. You appear more spider-like with pulsating sacs on your back. You continue to grow in size every year thereafter up to a maximum of large size.
Brain Collection: As a standard action, you can eat the brain of a dead creature within reach so long as the target is no more than 1 size larger than you. You make Fortitude or Will save or Heal check DC10 + target's hit dice + number of rounds target has been dead. Failing destroys the brain. Success allows you to absorb the brain into your body and allows you to choose whether to keep it alive or let it die. If you keep it alive, the target's soul is bound to the brain living inside you like a prison. If you keep it dead, it's essentially a preserved corpse. All brain slug abilities that normally target a host, now target a consumed brain. You can hold a number of consumed brains in your body (not including your own) equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1). Each stored brain of a sapient creature grants you a cumulative +1 insight bonus to Dodge DC, concentration checks, and Knowledge checks.
Relaxant Poison (4 XP): Bite—injury; save Fort DC 10 + brain slug's Con mod + brain slug's level; frequency 1/round for (3 + half Con mod) rounds; Stage 1: Weakened 1 + 1d6 nonlethal poison damage, Stage 2: Weakened 2 + 2d6 nonlethal poison damage, Stage 3: Weakened 3 + 3d6 nonlethal poison damage, Stage 4: Weakened 4 + 4d6 nonlethal poison damage; cure 2 consecutive saves.