Grimshrike

A gaunt, gargoyle-like figure passes silently overhead. It has bat-like wings, long, cruel talons, and its eyes seem to burn with a cold white fire. Two serpentine tails, ten feet long, trail behind the creature as it wheels around and dives to attack.

Grimshrike (CR 4)

Medium Undead (Extraplanar)
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Initiative: +1
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet; Perception +8

Speed: 30 feet, Fly 40 feet (good)
Space: 5 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+1 Dex, +5 natural)
Hit Points: 37 (5d8+15)
Saving Throws: Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +6
Damage Reduction: 5/darkwood
Immunity: undead traits

Offense

Melee: 2 claws +6 (1d6+3), bite +6 (1d8+3), 2 tail slaps +4 (1d6+1)
Reach: 5 feet

Special Attacks: negative energy breath, gaze of lost souls

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
17 (+3)	12 (+1)	-	8 (-1)	14 (+2)	16 (+3)

Base Attack Bonus: +3
CMB +6
CMD 17

Feats: Command Undead, Fly-by Attack, Multiattack

Skills: Fly +11, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (arcana) +5, Perception +8, Stealth +7

Languages: Abyssal, Common, Infernal, Grimshrike

Special Abilities

Negative Energy Breath (Su)

Once per round and no more than 6 times per day, as a standard action, a grimshrike can exhale a 30-foot cone of negative energy that functions as the channel negative energy ability of an evil cleric whose level equals the grimshrike's Hit Dice. This cone deals 3d6 points of damage to living creatures (DC 15 Will save for half) or heals 3d6 points of damage on undead creatures in the area (no save). If a grimshrike takes levels in a class that provides the channel energy ability, its racial Hit Dice stack with the levels of that class for the purposes of determining the damage dealt or healed and the save DC. This ability counts as the channel energy class ability for any feat that requires it. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Gaze of Lost Souls (Su)

Creatures meeting a grimshrike's gaze must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or take 1d4 points of Wisdom damage and be paralyzed 1d4 rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based. This is a gaze effect.

Ecology

Environment: Any
Organization: solitary, pair, or flight (3-12)
Treasure: standard


Grimshrikes are native to a dark demiplane about which little is known other than its terrible history. The place was once vibrant and full of life every bit as diverse and beautiful as the Material Plane. Centuries ago, however, all that changed. Something rent the boundaries between that placid demiplane and the Negative Energy Plane. Dark energies spilled forth unchecked, fouling the very essence of which the demiplane was created. In a matter of hours, all life in that plane ceased to exist.

The primary inhabitants of the demiplane, a race of twin-tailed gargoyles, were reanimated as the tortured servants of the nightshades. Grimshrikes are often given as rewards to powerful necromancers who have performed some service of the nightshades. An army of zombies or skeletons is made all the more frightening by the presence of grimshrikes urging them on and bolstering their strength.

A grimshrike is about 7 feet tall and weighs 350 pounds. To look into the eyes of a grimshrike is to invite madness. A grimshrike is forever tortured by the horrible vision of death and agony that befell its home plane. It can temporarily relieve itself of the vision by mentally transferring the vision into the mind of a living victim with but a gaze.

A grimshrike attacks first with its gaze, attempting to bring down the most powerful opponents as quickly as possible. In combat, it concentrates its attacks on clerics and paladins first, before moving to fighters and arcane spellcasters. In melee, a grimshrike tries to remain out of reach of its opponent, lashing with its tails or further weakening its opponent with its foul breath weapon.