Skitter Template

For some plants, the best defense is certainly a good offense and no better way to mount an offense than to turn would be predators into their guardians. Skitters are the result of such a defense mechanism. They are created when creatures attempt to feed on plants that have developed a special defensive tissue, which when consumed, infects them like a parasite and consumes them in turn. This resulting skitter is more plant than anything else and is left with a drive to attack members of its own kind.

Creating a Skitter
"Skitter" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal animal or vermin (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

Challenge Rating: Depends on Hit Dice as follows. Alignment: Always neutral

Type: The creature's type changes to plant. It retains any subtype except alignment subtypes. It uses the base creature's abilities except as noted below.

Armor Class: The base creature's natural armor changes as follows. Hit Dice: A skitter retains the number of hit dice the base creature had and gains a number of additional hit dice as noted in the following table. Saves: Base save bonuses are Fort +1/2 Hit Dice + 2, Ref +1/3 Hit Dice and Will +1/3 Hit Dice.

Defensive Abilities: Skitters lose their defensive abilities and gain all the qualities and immunities granted by the plant type. In addition, skitters gain DR 5 / slashing.

Speed: Skitters retain all movement speeds. They can still fly but their maneuverability drops to clumsy.

Attacks: A skitter retains all of its natural weapons. If the base creature had no natural weapons, it gains a slam attack that deals damage as if it were one size category larger than its actual size.

Special Attacks: A skitter loses all of its special attacks that rely on the base creature's biology (such as poison) but retains all others.

Abilities: A skitter's strength increases by 2. The skitter has no Intelligence score and its Wisdom and Charisma scores beco m 10.

BAB: A skitter's base attack bonus is equal to 3/4 of its Hit Dice.

Skills: Skitters are mindless and have no skills. They lose all of the skill ranks and racial skill bonuses of the base creature if any.

Feats: A skitter loses all feats the base creature had and does not gain feats as it increases in Hit Dice. However, it does gain Toughness as a bonus feat.

Special Qualities: A skitter loses most special qualities of the base creature. It retains any extraordinary special qualities that improve its melee or ranged attacks. A skitter gains the following special quality.

Spore Burst (Ex): When a skitter is destroyed, it bursts, releasing toxic spores into the surrounding air. Any creature adjacent to a skitter when it bursts must succeed at a Fortitude save or become sickened for 1 round. If the skitter has 10 or more Hit Dice, the victim becomes Nauseated for 1 round instead. The save DC for this effect is 10 + half the skitter's Hit Dice + it's Charisma modifier.