Shan
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 (16 XP)
- Types Tiny Sapient Serpentine Organism (Aberration, Shan)
- Reach 0 feet
- Speed Land 10 feet, Climb 10 feet
ATTRIBUTES (0 XP)
- +2 Constitution, +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -4 Strength
LANGUAGES (1 XP)
- Starting Languages: Aklo, Common, Undercommon.
- Bonus Languages: Any language except secretive languages like Druidic.
INNATE ABILITIES (15 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 (racial) 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 (4 XP): Brain slugs ignore concealment created by dim lighting or darkness. They cannot see color in darkness, only shades of grey.
- Memory Share (4 XP): Brain slugs can awaken a living host and either give them control of the body or keep them paralyzed. Brain slugs and their host can use Share Memory one each other as tier 2 innate biotic power while they are merged. 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)
- Sunlight Sensitivity (-2 XP): Shan are dazzled (impaired 1: visually) in bright sunlight.
ADDITIONAL ABILITIES
Brain Slugs begin with their innate traits and can gain additional traits from the following list as feats.
BITE (2 XP)
Prerequisites: Shan
Benefits: You gain a bite innate weapon that deals 1d4 piercing damage (Medium).
BODY BURST (6 XP)
Prerequisites: Shan
Benefits: You may enter or exit a host as a 2-action activity instead of 3. If done as a 1-action activity, the host takes 2d6 + your level bleed damage and you take half that amount as bludgeoning damage.
BRAIN EATER (6 XP)
Prerequisites: Shan
Benefits: You can use Speak with Dead and Legend Lore as tier 3 innate occult powers, but only on a corpse you currently inhabit. You learn details of its life from its perspective and are treated as intimately familiar with the target for disguise and social interactions involving those who knew it.
BRAIN-EATER METAMORPHOSIS (10 XP)
Prerequisites: Shan, Brain Eater, Brain Reader, Strange Knowledge
Benefits: After inhabiting a living host for one year, you permanently merge with a host. Your natural form becomes the host’s size (maximum Large), you lose Body Thief, you gain Brain Collection action, and your host becomes your first collected brain. You become more spider-like in appearance and increase in size by one category each additional year (maximum Large).
Brain Collection: As a standard action, you may consume the brain of a dead creature within reach that is no more than one size larger than you. Attempt a Fortitude save, Will save, or Heal check (DC 10 + target’s HD + rounds since death). Failure destroys the brain. Success allows you to absorb it. You may preserve it dead or sustain it alive (binding the soul within). You can store a number of brains equal to your 1 + half your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1). Each stored sapient brain grants a cumulative +1 competence (insight) bonus to Concentration and Lore rolls. Abilities that normally target a host may instead target a stored brain.
BRAIN READER (4 XP)
Prerequisites: Shan
Benefits: You can use Read Thoughts and Mind Probe as tier 2 innate occult powers on your living host.
HOST HEALING (5 XP)
Prerequisites: Shan
Benefits: You can cast Healing Hands on your host as a tier 1 innate occult power. While inhabiting a body, the host gains the benefits of Rapid Recovery.
MERCIFUL PUPPETMASTER (6 XP)
Prerequisites: Shan
Benefits: You can cast Shield Other on your host as a tier 2 innate occult power. While linked, you and your host are treated as having In Harm’s Way when protecting each other (and only each other), ignoring prerequisites.
STRANGE KNOWLEDGE (4 XP)
Prerequisites: Shan
Benefits: All Lore skills are class skills for you. If any are already class skills, you instead gain a +2 innate (racial) bonus on those skills.
RELAXANT VENOM (4 XP)
Prerequisites: Shan, Bite
Benefits: Your bite delivers poison (injury; Fort DC 10 + your level + Con modifier; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; cure 1 save). You can envenom your fangs only 3 + Con modifier times per day.
Stage 1: Weakened 1 + 1d6 nonlethal damage
Stage 2: Weakened 2 + 2d6 nonlethal damage
Stage 3: Weakened 3 + 3d6 nonlethal damage
Stage 4: Weakened 4 + 4d6 nonlethal damage