Hanshepsu

This muscular warrior is carefully sculpted from clay and has a large scarab beetle in place of its head.

Hanshepsu (CR 10)

Medium Construct
Alignment: Neutral
Initiative: +4
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, Low-Light Vision; Perception +15

Speed: 30 feet
Space: 5 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 24, touch 14, flat-footed 20 (+4 Dex, +10 natural)
Hit Points: 102 (15d10+20)
Saving Throws: Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +8
Damage Reduction: 10/-
Immunity: construct traits, magic

Offense

Melee: +1 heavy mace +23/+18/+13 (1d8+9)
Reach: 5 feet

Special Attacks: morphic head

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
22 (+6)	18 (+4)	-	11 (+0)	13 (+1)	5 (-3)

Base Attack Bonus: +15
CMB +21 (+23 Bull Rush)
CMD 35 (37 vs. Bull Rush)

Feats: Alertness, Powerful Maneuvers, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (Heavy Mace), Weapon Specialization (Heavy Mace)

Skills: Acrobatics +10, Climb +10, Perception +15, Sense Motive +7, Stealth +10

Languages: Ancient Osiriani

Special Qualities: soldier's training, warrior's mace

Special Abilities

Immunity to Magic (Ex)

A hanshepsu is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature.

• Dominate animal causes a hanshepsu to become confused for 1d4 rounds.
• Hold animal slows a hanshepsu (as the slow spell) for 1d6 rounds. While slowed, a hanshepsu can't change its animal head with its morphic head ability.
• Soften earth and stone cast directly at a hanshepsu deals 5d10 points of damage (no save).

  Morphic Head (Su)

  As a move action, a hanshepsu can transform its head from one animal form to another. Each animal head grants a hanshepsu different abilities.
  Cat: The hanshepsu gains a +2 dodge bonus to AC, a +8 racial bonus on Acrobatics checks, and it always counts as having a running start when attempting Acrobatics checks to jump.
  Cobra: The hanshepsu can spit a stream of venom up to 30 feet as a standard action. This is a ranged touch attack with no range increment. Any opponent hit by this attack succeed at a DC 17 Fortitude save or take 1d4 points of Constitution damage for 2 rounds. This is a poison effect.
  Crocodile: The hanshepsu's mace grows teeth and deals an additional 1d6 points of piercing damage with each successful attack.
  Hawk: The hanshepsu gains a +8 racial bonus on Perception checks, and all penalties to Perception based on distance are halved.
  Hippopotamus: The hanshepsu's damage reduction increases to DR 15/- and it gains a +4 bonus against combat maneuvers and effects that attempt to move it.
  Ibis: The hanshepsu can use feather fall at will as a spell-like ability and can fly for up to 5 minutes each day.
  Scarab: The hanshepsu's damage reduction is not subject to the effects of a golembane scarab or any abilities that allow a creature to ignore a construct's damage reduction.
  Scorpion: The hanshepsu gains a climb speed of 20 feet and its mace gains the speed weapon special ability for 1 minute each day.
  Set Beast: The hanshepsu's mace deals an additional 1d6 points of negative energy damage with each successful attack.
  Solar Disk: A hanshepsu can change its head into a single non-animal form: that of a solar disk. In this form, a hanshepsu becomes immobile and heals itself at a rate of 5 hit points per hour.
  Vulture: Each time a creature is struck by the hanshepsu's mace, it must succeed at a Fortitude save or contract bubonic plague (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 557).

  Soldier's Training (Ex)

  A hanshepsu has Weapon Specialization (heavy mace) despite not being a 4th-level fighter.

  Warrior's Mace (Su)

  A hanshepsu's mace is treated as a +1 weapon, and the hanshepsu can deal nonlethal damage with the mace without taking a penalty. The mace is permanently affixed to the hanshepsu's hand during creation so it can't be disarmed; it can, however, be sundered. If the mace is destroyed, a hanshepsu can make 1 slam attack per round that deals 1d8+7 points of damage.

Ecology

Environment: Warm Deserts
Organization: solitary or unit (2-20)
Treasure: none


Strangely intelligent constructs, the earliest hanshepsus were created during Osirion's First Age. Hanshepsus were originally built to serve as elite soldiers that never tired, didn't need to be fed, and were impervious to common attacks. Using secrets stolen from Jistkan golem crafters, Osirion's own artificers designed hanshepsus to equalize the battlefield in their clashes against the Jistka Imperium as the two nations carved up northern Garund. Throughout the conflict, hanshepsus fought in dozens of battles, each time turning the tide in favor of Osirion's forces as they marched ahead of regular, human soldiers through the hot sands of what is now Thuvia.

Hanshepsus stand as tall as an adult human. While they appear lean and muscular, their clay bodies give them additional heft, causing them to weigh in at around 300 pounds. The sacrifice of a willing humanoid provides not only the life force needed to animate the construct's body, but also the creature's intelligence. This allows the hanshepsu to make calculated decisions on the battlefield, and some even commanded humanoid units during battles, implementing clever tactics amid the fray.

Though a hanshepsu is intelligent, it lacks anything approaching a personality. Cold and stoic, hanshepsus don't hold conversations that involve anything more complicated than answering questions or issuing orders. Any attempt to engage a hanshepsu further results in utter silence and an inexpressive face. Some hanshepsus even shut down in the middle of their limited interactions with others, crossing their arms and changing to their solar disk head. Despite their lack of personality, some hanshepsus retain traces of their mortal memories, and shout out bizarre non sequiturs in the midst of battle.

Crumbling texts from the First Age of Osirion contain reports that, after time, hanshepsus became unpredictable, sometimes turning on their commanders and the other soldiers. This suggested that the process of creating these near-impervious soldiers was flawed in some fashion. Few hanshepsus have been found in the current age, and they are rarely discovered in large numbers. The process of creating hanshepsus was expensive and required a willing sacrifice, so only the best and brightest warriors were transformed into these constructs. Because of this, modern scholars believe that fewer than 5,000 hanshepsus were created before the practice fell out of favor, and with the march of time, less than 10 percent of that estimation are believed to be still functional.

Hanshepsus work best when assembled in a unit with other hanshepsus. They work in concert, taking physical cues from one another and rarely needing to verbally communicate. When not charged with leading or when fighting alongside a unit containing humanoids, hanshepsus barely regard other creatures. When at rest, they simply wait for new commands. In fighting units, hanshepsus were often at the front lines of a battle, and they used their increased strength and superior defenses to drive a wedge into enemy units and scatter their ranks, allowing the humanoid soldiers behind them to easily pick off the dispersed soldiers.

Construction

To create a hanshepsu, the crafter must sculpt and shape the body from a single block of clay harvested from the banks of the Asp, the Crook, or the Sphinx. The creature's head must be fired in a specially prepared kiln stoked with 1,500 gp worth of rare desert wood. As a final step, a living humanoid must be sacrificed in order to animate a hanshepsu in a process that separates the victim's spirit from his body and infuses his essence (but not his personality) into the clay body.

HANSHEPSU

CL 13th; Price 46,500 gp

Construction Requirements Craft Construct, animate object, beast shape III, limited wish, creator must be caster level 13th; Skill Craft (sculptures Cost 24,000 gp