Hate Reaper

Small Magical Beast

Hit Dice: 3d10+3 (19 hp),dying/dead –2/–12 Initiative: +4 Speed: 20 feet,burrow 10 feet AC: 18 (+1 size,+4 Dexterity,+3 natural),touch 15,flat-footed 14 Base Attack/Grapple: +3/–2 Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d4–1) Full Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d4–1) and 2 claws –2 melee (1d3–1) Space/Reach: 5 feet/5 feet (Face/Reach:5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet) Special Attacks: Aura ofrage,inspire terror Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet,tremorsense 60 feet Saves: Fort +4,Ref+7,Will +4 Abilities: Str 8,Dex 18,Con 12,Int 4,Wis 13,Cha 16 Skills: Sneak* +12,Spot +3 Feats: Affinity With Skill (Sneak),Compensate for Size,

Iron Will

Environment: Warm plains Organization: Solitary or pack (3–18) Challenge Rating: 3 Treasure: Standard Advancement: 4–6 HD (Small) Level Adjustment: +1

This small,rodentlike magical beast manipulates the emotions ofhumanoids and animals it encounters.

Hate reapers are so named for their magical ability to inspire a murderous rage in other creatures.They reach roughly 3 feet in length.They have coarse hair along their bodies;black,malevolent eyes;and jagged,needlelike teeth. Their handlike paws end in thick,sharp claws that they use to burrow.A hate reaper hides in loose soil,usually in a spot near a well-traveled path or a watering hole.It can amplify a creature’s emotions,allowing it to incite fights between normally docile creatures.In the aftermath ofthe struggle,the hate reaper burrows beneath the fallen foes and feeds on their remains.

These troublesome rodents are usually solitary,though they may gather in small packs to bring an entire area under their influence.No one can guess how many violent arguments,clan feuds,and even wars these creatures have touched off.Most right-minded folk hunt them mercilessly.While hate reapers approach humanoid intelligence,they have a wholly alien outlook.Popular lore holds that reapers feed only on emotions,but gnaw marks left on their victims suggest otherwise.

Hate reapers usually stay in wilderness areas,but sometimes greedy folk use them as weapons.To cause tension between neighboring realms,a diplomat might secretly place a hate reaper near a chamber scheduled to hold a political conference. Corrupt town guards sometimes let captive hate reapers loose in taverns.After the brawl the creature touches off,the guards accept generous bribes to keep the participants out ofjail.

Combat

Hate reapers avoid physical confrontation with their prey— they rarely take part in the fights they cause.They remain burrowed in the dirt while their victims battle nearby.After the fight,they dig to the surface and enjoy their meal.

Luckily for travelers,a hate reaper must look upon its intended victims to affect their emotions.While it can take cover during a battle,to instigate a fight it must find a convenient hiding spot to observe a path or other location.If cornered,it uses its inspire terror ability to force its foes to flee.Should that tactic fail,it attempts to burrow to safety. * Skills (Ex): The thick,soft pads on a reaper’s paws grant it a +4 racial bonus to all Sneak checks to move quietly.

Aura ofRage (Su): A hate reaper can focus its malevolent eyes on a single creature and push it into a bloodthirsty rage. This ability is a mind-affecting effect.The target must make a Will save (DC 13) or enter a bloodthirsty frenzy.The victim attacks the nearest accessible living creature for 2d4 rounds using its physical attacks.The rage prevents a victim from using supernatural,spell-like,or other magical abilities.Doing anything besides drawing a melee weapon and attacking with it is beyond its ability.Ifprevented from reaching the nearest visible target by a barrier ofsome sort,the victim screams and rages until the effect ends.In this state,a victim gains a +4 bonus to Strength and Constitution but suffers a –2 penalty to AC.

This ability has a range of120 feet.The reaper must be able to see its target,though the target does not need to look upon the reaper (as with a gaze attack).

Inspire Terror (Su): By using an effect similar to aura of rage,a hate reaper can emit waves ofhorror that force its victims into a blind panic.All creatures within 30 feet ofthe reaper must make Will saves (DC 13) or flee the area for 2d4 rounds.Victims use double move actions to move as far away from the reaper as possible,though they avoid any dangerous environment and never take suicidal actions when moving.Ifforced into a corner,a victim stops moving but takes no action to attack.This is a mind-affecting effect.

A fleeing victim never attacks or takes other offensive action, but ifit is attacked this effect immediately ends.The presence ofan immediate,physical threat breaks the magical influence.

Tremorsense (Ex):A hate reaper automatically detects the presence and location ofany creature or object that stands on the ground within 60 feet ofit.

Hate Reapers and Alchemy

Alchemists who deal with banned or quasi-legal concoctions value hate reapers for the wide range ofsubstances that can be extracted from them.Sages believe that a reaper’s glands and organs absorb and store the emotions they evoke in other creatures,ranging from rage and fear to ecstasy and contentment.Some ofthese mixtures can prove beneficial. For instance,an ill patient that receives a dose ofreaper extract may become energetic and hopeful,its body revived

to fight offthe disease.In most cases,these creatures serve as a source ofnarcotics and other dangerous substances.

A skilled alchemist can extract one or more ofthe substances described below from the remains ofa hate reaper.A reaper can yield one dose ofany concoction per Hit Die.For example,the typical 3 Hit Die reaper can be used to make one dose ofeach ofthree different substances,three doses of a single concoction,or two doses ofone substance and one dose ofa different one.Each substance has a specific Alchemy check DC associated with it.Use the rules given for the Craft skill to determine how long it takes an alchemist to craft an item based on its gold piece cost.

Falthra: A favored alchemical tool among slavers,falthra turns a creature into a mindless,easily manipulated pawn by overwhelming it with intense feelings ofboredom and depression.By emotionally enervating a creature,falthra leaves him open to suggestions and robs him ofthe will to resist others.A creature that ingests falthra can resist its effects with a Fortitude save (DC 16).Ifthe save fails,the creature suffers a –6 penalty to all Will saves for 1d6 hours.In addition,the creature’s handler can make an Intimidate check opposed by the creature’s Will save (including the penalty) to force the creature to obey commands.Ifthe Intimidate check succeeds, the creature must obey any orders that do not place its life in obvious danger. Alchemy DC 20; Cost 4 gp.

Karrath: Extracted from a hate reaper in the form ofa fine, white powder,karrath induces feelings ofcontentment and happiness in those who ingest it.Karrath is intensely addictive.Many unfortunates become hooked on it after only a single use.In most civilized lands,karrath is strictly banned, though an active black market ensures that it is available almost everywhere.Anyone using this drug suffers a –4 competence penalty to all attack rolls,checks,and saves for 1d4 hours due to dulled reactions and foggy senses.In addition, anyone who takes the drug must make a Will save (DC 15, ignoring the –4 penalty incurred by taking karrath) or become an addict.This Difficulty Class increases by 1 for each time a user has taken karrath in the past week.Addicts spend all their available money on karrath,with many turning to robbery or going without food and shelter to fund their addiction. Alchemy DC 20; Cost 5 gp.

Red Fury: A single dose ofthis thick,deep red liquid can transform a person into a frothing,enraged whirlwind ofdestruction.Some warriors drink this stuffbefore battle to give them enhanced strength and toughness,while blotting out the fear and doubts they may feel.Villainous creatures sometimes force feed it to their minions before pushing them into battle.Any creature that drinks this concoction gains a +2 bonus to Strength and a +4 bonus on all saves against mind-affecting effects and fear for 2d6 rounds.However,red fury robs a creature ofits wits and physical coordination.It suffers a –2 penalty to Dexterity,Intelligence,and Wisdom for 1d3 hours after taking it. Alchemy DC 25; Cost 50 gp.

Hate Reaper Encounter (EL 3)

While traveling,one ofthe characters’ mounts (or perhaps a pack animal) suddenly enters a berserk fury and attacks the nearest person.A hate reaper hiding nearby has learned to target mounts instead oftravelers,because such creatures are more susceptible to its powers and because it knows their masters usually leave the corpses ofmounts on the road rather than carry them home for burial.

Hate Reaper Encounter (EL 6)

A greedy magister is using three trained hate reapers to conduct a smear campaign against a small group ofmojh akashics who dwell within an ancient library that she wants to claim.The magister positions the creatures along a pathway near the place,from where they incite wild animals to attack travelers.The magister then conceals the bodies, removing evidence that the victims were killed by something other than the mojh from the library.

The folk in the local town,already suspicious ofthe mojh and not aware ofthe magister’s plan,hire the characters to track down and defeat the residents ofthe library.Unless the characters realize the lack ofdirect evidence against the mojh and investigate accordingly,they could unwittingly hand over an important collection oflore to a black-hearted fiend.