This foul creature looks like a cadaverous woman with great vulture wings, a beaked nose, wolfish ears, and snakes instead of hair.
Charuntes Priestess of Death CR 11
Charuntes illustration, adapted from a sketch of the Etruscan demon Tuchulcha (?), as depicted in a fresco at the Tomb of the Orcus in Tarquinia, Italy.
Female human cleric 9
NE Medium undead (augmented humanoid, extraplanar)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +5, Spot +5
Languages Common
AC 23, touch 10, flat-footed 23
hp 82 (9 HD); DR 10/magic and good
Immune cold, electricity, polymorph, mind-affecting; undead traits
Resist turn resistance +4
Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +13
Spd 20 ft. (4 squares), fly 40 ft. (average)
Melee* +1 maul +10/+5 (1d10+11/x3) and snakes +3 (1d4+4 plus poison)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +6; Grp +10
Atk Options aligned strike (evil), magic strike, poison (DC 18)
Combat Gear scroll of mass inflict light wounds
Special Actions rebuke earth/command air creatures 5/day (+2, 2d6+11, 9th), rebuke undead 5/day (+4, 2d6+11, 9th)
Spells Prepared (CL 9th, 10th for Evil spells)
5th—dispel good DE, slay living (+10 melee touch, DC 20), true seeing
4th—divine power, spell immunity, spike stones D (DC 19), summon monster IV
3rd—bestow curse (+10 melee touch, DC 18), deeper darkness, dispel magic, inflict serious wounds (+10 melee touch, DC 18), magic circle against good DE
2nd—aid, death knell E, desecrate DE, hold person (DC 17), shatter (DC 17), silence (DC 17)
1st—bane (DC 16), cause fear (DC 16), command (DC 16), deathwatch E, magic stone D, sanctuary (DC 16), monster summoning I
0—detect magic (2), guidance, inflict minor wounds (2, +10 melee touch, DC 15), virtue
D Domain spell, E Evil spell
Domains Death, Earth
*2-point Power Attack
Abilities Str 18, Dex 8, Con –, Int 12, Wis 21, Cha 14
SQ unholy toughness
Feats Ability Focus (poison), Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (maul)
Skills Concentration +14, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (religion) +7, Knowledge (the planes) +7, Spellcraft +7
Possessions combat gear, +2 full plate, +1 maul, ring of protection +1, amulet of natural armor +1, cloak of resistance +2, gauntlets of ogre power +2
Poison (Su) Injury, DC 18, initial and secondary damage 1d6 vile Con. Vile damage can only be healed by magic cast within the area of a consecrate or hallow spell.
Charuntes were once the priests of some neutral evil death god, goddess, or major fiend. They have come back from the dead to harvest victims for their evil masters.
The charuntes had the following ability scores before racial adjustments and Hit Dice ability score increases: Str 14, Dex 8, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 12.
Strategies and Tactics
A charuntes priestess of death attacks by first using her spells from a distance, then by wading into battle, wielding her two-handed hammer and striking with the poisonous snakes in her hair.
Sample Encounters
Charuntes are occasionally found in small groups of 2 to 4. If only one charuntes is encountered, she will usually be guarded by lesser undead servants.
Individual (EL 14): A single charuntes priestess of death and two bone guards (skeleton warrior human fighter 8; see the Tome of Horrors) have been dispatched to the Material Plane to carry a message.
Flight (EL 14–15): A small group of two to four charuntes priestesses of death have taken up residence in a ruined temple that had once been dedicated to a vile goddess. The charuntes are hoping to reestablish the temple as an active site of worship.
Creating a Charuntes
“Charuntes” is an acquired template that can be added to any living, corporeal humanoid creature with a neutral evil divine patron and the ability to cast 5th-level divine spells (referred to hereafter as the base creature).
A charuntes has all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +2.
Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to undead and it gains the augmented and extraplanar subtypes. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.
Armor Class: A charuntes has a +2 natural armor bonus or the base creature’s natural armor bonus, whichever is better.
Hit Dice: Increase all current and future Hit Dice to d12s.
Speed: A charuntes has vulture wings. Unless the base creature has a better fly speed, the creature can fly at the base creature’s base land speed plus 20 feet (average maneuverability).
Attacks: A charuntes retains all the natural weapons, manufactured weapon attacks, and weapon proficiencies of the base creature and also gains a snakes attack.
Damage: A snakes attack deals damage depending on the charuntes’size.
| Size | Snakes |
|---|---|
| Diminutive | 1 |
| Tiny | 1d2 |
| Small | 1d3 |
| Medium | 1d4 |
| Large | 1d6 |
| Huge | 1d8 |
| Gargantuan | 2d6 |
| Colossal | 2d8 |
Special Attacks: A charuntes retains all the base creature’s special attacks and gains those described below.
Aligned Strike (Ex) A charuntes’ natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as evil-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Magic Strike (Ex) A charuntes’ natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Poison (Su) Snakes, initial damage 1d6 vile Con, secondary damage 1d6 vile Con. The Fortitude save DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 charuntes’s HD + charuntes’s Cha modifier. Vile damage can only be healed by magic cast within the area of a consecrate or hallow spell.
Spells A charuntes can cast any spells it could cast while alive.
Special Qualities: A charuntes retains all the base creature’s special qualities and gains those described below.
Damage Reduction (Su) A charuntes has damage reduction 10/good and magic.
Immunities (Ex) Charuntes have immunity to cold, electricity, polymorph (though they can use polymorph effects on themselves), and mind-affecting attacks.
Turn Resistance (Ex) A charuntes has +4 turn resistance.
Unholy Toughness (Ex) A charuntes gains a bonus to its hit points equal to its Charisma modifier x its Hit Dice.
Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +4, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +2. Being undead, a charuntes has no Constitution score.
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +4.
Ecology
Charuntes creatures have no natural ecology.
Environment: Charuntes creatures are native to an evil-aligned plane, typically the same one that is home to their divine patron. While charuntes creatures can be encountered anywhere on the Material Plane, they are most likely to be found in spots that death gods would consider holy. Such spots include tombs, graveyards, ruined temples, altars to a death deity, battlefields, death-cairns, and burial vaults or mounds.
Typical Physical Characteristics: Creatures with this template look like winged humanoids with the nose of a vulture, pointed animal ears, and snakes instead of hair.
Society
As undead, charuntes creatures have no real society. They do, however, still retain an affinity for attacking in a group, and form roving bands that seek destruction.
Alignment: Charuntes creatures are always neutral evil.
Typical Treasure
Charuntes creatures have typical wealth for NPCs of their Challenge Rating, and invest all of this wealth in equipment. For some reason, most charuntes creatures greatly prefer full plate armor and mauls. Beyond their gear, charuntes creatures have no other use for treasure.