Symbiont, Stormstalk
"Three down, one to go." Xin said has the three guards fell off their horses, little arcs of electricity still racing over their bodies. Picking up this black tentacle with its bright green cat's eye might have been a gamble, but it finally paid off. Now that Xin had way to level the playing field, he would make those bastards in the Daask pay. But, for now, he needed to get out of the museum and quick. City guard will be here soon and no since in being caught holding some 4,000 year old gold idol in the central chamber when they do.
Strangest thing, he wasn't sure why he was stealing it. The idol was made of solid gold, sure, but every time he thought of selling it or melting it down, he got numb all over. And even though it depicted a man and woman with the heads of squid, he couldn't bring himself to throw it away either.
Symbiont, Stormstalk
CR 1
XP: 400
LE Diminutive Aberration (Symbionts)
Init: +3; Senses: Darkvision 60'; Perception +4
DEFENSE:
AC: 17, Touch 17, Flat-Footed 14 (+4 size, +3 Dex)
HP: 6 hp (1d8+2)
Fort: -1; Ref: +3; Will: +2
OFFENSE:
Speed: 10 ft.
Melee: Eye ray +7 ranged touch (3d6 electricity), see text
Space: 2 1/2 ft.; Reach: 0 ft.
STATISTICS:
Str 1, Dex 16, Con 8, Int 10, Wis 10, Chr 14
Base Atk: +0; CMB: -9; CMD: 4
Feats: Toughness
Skills: Escape Artist +7, Perception +4, Stealth +19, Survival +4
Languages: Does not speak, but understands Undercommon and Daelkyr.
SPECIAL ABILITIES:
As One (Ex): See Symbionts for details.
Attachment (Ex): Stormstalks deal 1 point of Intelligence damage.
Collective Ego (Ex): Stormstalks have an Ego Score of 4, as per the symbiont sub-type. Unless created otherwise, stormstalks are always lawful evil and are always in the service of the daelkyr lords of Xoriat.
Item Slot (Ex): Stormstalks attach to the wrist slot.
Eye Ray (Su): As a standard action that does not provoke, the stormstalk emits a bolt of electricity from its eye as a ranged touch attack with a range of 30' that does 3d6 points of electricity. The stormstalk gets a +3 to hit when targeting people wearing metal armor, carrying metal weapons or are made of metal. When someone is struck by the ray, he also suffers a penalty to Dexterity equal to 1d6+3 for 3 rounds (Fort save DC 13 to half the penalty). Dexterity can never be lowered below 1 and this penalty to Dexterity does not stack, even from multiple stormstalks.
Host Benefits:
Eye Ray (Su): While the stormstalk is attached, it allows the host to trigger the same eye ray that the stormstalk has, but using the host's ranged touch attack. This counts as a ray for the purposes of feats.
Telepathy (Su): A stormstalk can communicate telepathically with its host, if the host has a language.
ECOLOGY:
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary
Treasure: None
Role: None
Source: MoE, pg. 157
Stormstalks are an offshoot of the spellwurm symbiont, specially bred to be a more offensive variant. While it does not have any spellcasting capability, the electrical shock it delivers is a useful addition to the front line troops of Xoriat. Like spellwurms, stormstalks quickly detach from a deceased host and naturally seek warm, wet burrows or caves. The stormstalk is based on a wrist item that has Shocking Grasp and Touch of Gracelessness as at-will abilities, both modified with the Reach Spell metamagic feat, as a 3rd level caster, with an improvement to Charisma to raise the DC.
Construction:
Aura: Moderate Transmutation; CL: 3rd
Slot: Wrist; Rules: Symbionts Price: 24,000 gp
Construction Requirement: Craft Symbiont, Reach Spell, Shocking Grasp, Touch of Gracelessness
Construction Cost: 12,000 gp