Tekenu

A collection of cast-off organs rolls and squeezes against itself, forming a writhing mass of viscera that hovers in the air.

Tekenu (CR 6)

Small Undead
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Initiative: +8
Senses: Lifesense; Perception +6

Speed: 10 feet, Fly 30 feet (poor)
Space: 5 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 16, touch 16, flat-footed 11 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 size)
Hit Points: 65 (10d8+20)
Saving Throws: Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +7
odd anatomy
Damage Reduction: 5/-
Immunity: undead traits
Weaknesses: vulnerability to channeled energy

Offense

Melee: 2 slams +12 (2d6)
Reach: 5 feet

Special Attacks: canopic consumption, Distraction (DC 18)

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
11 (+0)	19 (+4)	-	2 (-4)	10 (+0)	15 (+2)

Base Attack Bonus: +7
CMB +6
CMD 21 (can't be tripped)

Feats: Dodge, Fly-by Attack, Hover, Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse

Skills: Fly +8, Perception +6, Stealth +15

Languages:

Special Abilities

Canopic Consumption (Su)

As a full-round action, a tekenu can consume a single organ from the body of a helpless or recently dead humanoid or monstrous humanoid. This organ must either be magically preserved or come from a creature that is alive or has been dead no longer than 3 days. Only one organ may be harvested from each body; all others are destroyed in the process as the tekenu rips the body apart. Each organ consumed grants the tekenu a unique ability listed below. When discovered, a tekenu typically has 1d4 of the following abilities, each corresponding to the most recent organs the creature absorbed. Even when the creature has absorbed all four organs (thus gaining a full suite of abilities), it still hungers for more. The challenge rating of a tekenu that possesses all four canopic organs increases by 1. Intestines: The tekenu gains the grab ability when using its slam attacks. A tekenu can grapple Medium or smaller creatures with this attack, and it gains a +2 racial bonus on its CMB and to its CMD. In addition, the tekenu gains the constrict ability, dealing 2d6 points of damage. Liver: The tekenu's slam attacks deal 1d3 points of Constitution damage to any living creature that fails a DC 17 Fortitude save. This is a poison effect, and the save DC is Charisma-based. Lungs: As a standard action, the tekenu can expel most of the air and moisture from its form, turning into a pile of desiccated viscera. While in this form, the tekenu gains a +8 racial bonus on Stealth checks, and its fly speed increases to 60 feet with good maneuverability. It can revert to its normal form as a free action. Stomach: The tekenu deals an additional 1d6 points of acid damage with its slam attacks.

Odd Anatomy (Ex)

As a collection of various individual organs and flesh, a tekenu is in many ways similar to a swarm. The creature is not subject to critical hits or flanking, and it is immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate).

Vulnerable to Channeled Energy (Ex)

A tekenu takes 150% as much damage as normal from channeled positive energy.

Ecology

Environment: Warm Ruins
Organization: solitary, pair, or stewardship (3-5)
Treasure: none


Guardians of long-abandoned tombs, tekenu are the result of a vile practice that instills the discarded piles of flesh left over from the mummification process with an unholy awareness. Separated from the sacred organs placed in canopic jars, tekenus attempt to reconnect with their counterparts among the living by killing creatures so that they can absorb intestines, livers, lungs, and stomachs into their squirming forms—a process that grants the undead creature additional powers. Tekenus have been known to hide inside canopic jars collected from excavations (cleverly pulling the lid closed), attacking passersby like a trapdoor spider. Adventurers searching through lost reliquaries and tombs of ancient Osirion commonly call these foul creatures \"gutswarms\"; however, the name scholars give them is derived from an ancient Osirian term for the cast off remains of mummification rituals. A tekenu has an ever-changing form roughly 3 feet long and 2 feet wide, essentially the size of a robust humanoid's torso and abdomen. The mass weighs about 40 pounds.

Ecology

Scholars debate the genesis of the tekenu. Some propose these atrocities are the creations of sects of evil priests in ancient Osirion, as they have been encountered only in tombs in that nation and of that era. However, several groups claim responsibility for the creation of the tekenu, including modern cults of Kabriri and Urgathoa. More cautious and traditional scholars claim that the tekenu are instead undead abominations resulting from improperly conducted mummification rituals, specifically ones in which the incision to remove organs was performed by a criminal or laborer.

The viscera that constitute a tekenu make it less susceptible to weapon damage and provide it with defensive abilities similar to those of swarms. In fact, until a tekenu absorbs one of the sacred canopic organs, it poses no stronger a threat than that of a swarm of Tiny vermin. The absorption of a sacred organ, however, prompts a radical transformation in the tekenu. Only fresh organs or those preserved by magic enhance the tekenu in this way. Unearthed tekenu have typically consumed one or two organs, normally those belonging to laborers trapped in the tomb at the time it was sealed.

Intestines merge with the discarded remnants to act as long, rope-like appendages, which the tekenu uses to snag and pummel prey. Consuming a liver allows the tekenu to poison its victims and wither their bodies. A set of lungs gives the swarm the ability to hide as a pile of dried gore and increases its mobility. When the tekenu consumes a stomach, its attacks carry a digestive acid to help break down their victims. Of these organs, the tekenu shows particular affinity for absorbing the lungs first, as most adventurers discover a tekenu after being deceived by desiccated viscera they assume to be harmless.

Habitat & Society

Created in ritual chambers and tombs, most tekenus have no choice of where they are found. Only the most perverse of ancient nobility would have tekenu present in their final resting places. In the most heinous of cases, tekenu would be stealthily placed into a resting chamber immediately prior to the tomb's sealing. This serves as a final insult to the dead, leaving the undead abomination to break into the holy canopic jars and consume the vital organs within while they were still fresh enough to bestow power. In cases where a tekenu was used as a guardian, a fifth jar was placed inside the tomb to house it.

In some cases, either because the canopic jars were exceptionally sealed or because they were absent altogether, a tekenu may have none of the abilities granted by its canopic consumption ability. Once its tomb prison is breached (by explorers or some natural calamity), the tekenu becomes a roaming hunter, leaving its lair in search of fresh organs to consume. Acting on base instinct, the creature hunts until it successfully absorbs all four required organs. Upon gathering these absent parts, the tekenu then moves back to the tomb of its creation, where it dutifully guards the site from future intruders. Although a tekenu is barely intelligent, it is drawn to the site of its creation, a lingering result of the ritual that created it.

A tekenu has no ability to communicate or interact, and its thoughts, if read by some form of magic, are simple and instinctual. As it preys upon only living and recently dead creatures, it often overlooks constructs and undead. Rare necropolises can be found filled with larger groups of these undead creatures, sealed away in remote chambers or allowed to wander the greater complex unopposed. These groups of tekenus—given stewardships by the priests of Ancient Osirion—ignore other tomb guardians, provided they are not living creatures. These tekenus are set to roam the necropolis consuming small rodents and vermin in the same manner a wizard might use an acidic ooze to dispose of waste.