Symbionts - Subtype

Symbionts are types of aberrations that are attach themselves to other creatures, bridging the gap between creature and intelligent magical item. By themselves, symbionts do not pose much of a threat, thus their CR is usually quite low. However, when attached to a host, they augment the abilities of the host similar to a powerful magical item. Unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry, all symbionts possess the following traits.

All symbionts also have a number of special abilities that function the same way. They are detailed here for a common reference.

Action Limitation: While attached, a symbiont does not have any of it's own actions (standard, move, free, etc). Any necessary action expenditures come from the host. The exception to this is, if the symbiont feels the need to, it can spend a full-round action that provokes to detach itself from the host, at which point it regains it's normal allotment of actions.

As One (Ex): As creatures, symbionts are not much of a threat and thus rating them as a creature, via CR or EL, is not an accurate way to judge their impact. They should be handled like magical items and treasure, used to equip a much more potent threat. While equipped, they are considered part of the wielder, as per the Special Rules. As such, their real usefulness is more fully detailed in the complex rules of symbionts, detailed here. All symbionts detailed here are assumed to be suited for Medium sized hosts.

Attachment (Ex): Attaching or removing a symbiont is an invasive process, but one that the symbiont does instinctively to a willing or helpless host that is in the same square as it. Attaching a symbiont takes a full-round action that provokes. While a symbiont is attached, the host takes a certain amount of permanent ability damage, detailed the symbiont's description. While this is not technically ability drain, as it can be healed magically, the ability damage is immediately re-inflicted on the host the following round, usually followed by the symbiont attempting to take possession of the host through it's Ego ability to prevent it from happening again. Removing a symbiont requires the host to successfully save against the Ego ability and full-round action that provokes, or requires standard action and a Heal check, DC 25. Either check can be retried, but each failure allows the symbiont to inflict another point of attribute damage, as per Damage (see below).

Damage: All symbionts inflict some kind of attribute damage to the host. If the host cannot take that specific kind of damage, the symbiont refuses to attach. While this damage is not permanent, it does not heal naturally and any attempt that heals the damage results with the damage being immediately re-inflicted and the symbiont enforces its Ego complication to make sure that it does not happen again.

Collective Ego: All symbionts have an Ego score, similar to intelligent magical items, but if a host has multiple symbionts, the host deals with a signal, combined Ego score. The symbiont with the highest Ego score gets a +2 to its Ego for each additional symbiont attached to the host. Any Ego checks use this heightened score and in all other ways, it resolves as per the standard complication of Collective Ego, in the Special Rules for complex items.

When created, symbionts have the same alignment as their creator and their special purpose to serve whatever host they are attached to. A symbiont that is left unattached to a host for 24 hours immediately changes it's alignment to Lawful Evil and it's special purpose to serving the Daelkyr of Xoriat.

Host Benefits (Ex, Su or Sp): When a symbiont is attached to a host, the host gains a number of benefits, as detailed by the specific symbiont. These benefits can be extraordinary, supernatural or spell-like, as detailed by the specific symbiont.

Host Requirement (Ex): All symbionts needs to be attached to a host in order to feed. For each day that they are unattached, the symbiont must make a Constitution check, DC 10 + 1 per day beyond the first, or take 1d6 points of non-lethal damage. This damage cannot be healed until the symbiont is attached to a host or is submerged in a special nutrient solution.

Magic Weapon (Su): When wielded by a host, any symbiont used by its host as a weapon counts as magic for the purposes of damage reduction. The natural attacks of a symbiont loose this quality while not attached to host, unless specified otherwise.

Construction: Symbionts are not usually found in nature and are often crafted. See Symbionts for details.

Source: ECB, pg. 298