Intellect Devourer Swarm

Size/Type:	Fine Aberration (Evil, Psionic, Swarm)
Hit Dice:	6d8+15 (42 hp)
Initiative:	+5
Speed:	40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class:	29 (+8 size, +5 Dex, +5 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple:	Swarm
Attack:	Swarm (2d6/ round)
Full Attack:	Swarm
Space/Reach:	10 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks:	Body thief, psi-like abilities, distraction
Special Qualities:	Blindsight 60 ft., immunity to fire, power resistance 23, resistance to electricity 15, vulnerability to protection from evil, hive mind, swarm traits
Saves:	Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +6
Abilities:	Str 7, Dex 28, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 14
Skills:	Bluff +15, Concentration +11 (+15 when manifesting defensively), Hide +14, Listen +14, Move Silently +16
Feats:	Combat Manifestation, Toughness, Up the Walls, Wild Talent
Environment:	SubPenumbra
Organization:	Swarm
Challenge Rating:	7
Treasure:	As stolen body, if any
Alignment:	Always chaotic evil
Advancement:	7-8 HD (Small); 9-15 HD (Medium); 16-18 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment:	+6

Kargal awoke to the screams of his traveling companion echoing off the rough stone walls of the cavern where they had camped. Bolting upright he was nauseated by the sight of what seemed to be ropy tendrils of brain matter forcing their way into the human’s body through her mouth, nose and ears. As the last of it entered her the screaming stopped and she turned to him, blood dripping from her eyes. “Kargal, my love. It was only a nightmare. Come kiss me….”

The intellect devourer swarm is an engineered offshoot of the intellect devourer known and feared throughout the cavernous regions of worlds across the Prime. Comprised of dozens of fine sized gobbets of brain matter glistening with a faintly shimmering slime it is only upon dangerously close inspection that they are revealed to have tiny but vicious clawed feet. Of course by that time you are under attack.

Due to the size of the component creatures the intellect devourer swarm can squeeze under doors and through spots impassable for its larger brethren. It is theorized that these creatures were developed as a deterrent to the slave uprisings of Gith, but nothing verifiable has been unearthed as of yet.

Intellect devourer swarms understand Common but must be in possession of a body to speak. An intellect devourer swarm in possession of a body also knows the languages known by that victim.

Combat

Body Thief (Su)

When an intellect devourer swarm  overcomes a lone victim, it consumes the victim’s brain and enters the body through any orifices available. As a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, the devourer swarm can merge its form with that of a helpless or dead creature of Small size or larger. The devourer swarm cannot merge its body with that of a creature immune to extra damage from critical hits.

When an intellect devourer swarm completes its merging, it psionically consumes the brain of the victim (which kills it if it is not already dead). The devourer swarm can exit the body at any time as a standard action, bursting the victim’s skull and resuming its normal form.

After consuming its victim’s brain, an intellect devourer swarm instead choose to animate the body for up to seven days as if it were the victim’s original brain. The devourer swarm retains its hit points, saving throws, and mental ability scores, as well as its psi-like abilities. It assumes the physical qualities and ability scores of the victim, as if it had used polymorph to assume the victim’s form. As long as the intellect devourer swarm occupies the body, it knows the languages spoken by the victim and very basic information about the victim’s identity and personality, but none of the victim’s specific memories or knowledge.

Psi-Like Abilities

At will— burst, cloud mind, detect psionics, ego whip (2d4, DC 16*), empty mind (+5 on Will saves*), id insinuation (three targets, DC 16*); 3/day—body adjustment (2d12*), intellect fortress, painful strike. Manifester level 7th.

The save DCs are Charisma-based.

*Includes augmentation for the intellect devourer swarm’s manifester level.

Blindsight (Ex)

An intellect devourer swarm can use nonvisual means to ascertain all foes within 60 feet as a sighted creature would.

Vulnerability to Protection from Evil (Ex)

An intellect devourer swarm is treated as a summoned creature for the purpose of determining how it is affected by a protection from evil spell.

Swarm Traits

An intellect devourer swarm is immune to all weapon damage. Reducing a swarm to 0 hit points or lower causes it to break up, though damage taken until that point does not degrade its ability to attack or resist attack. Swarms are never staggered or reduced to a dying state by damage. Also, they cannot be tripped, grappled, or bull rushed, and they cannot grapple an opponent.

A swarm is immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate), with the exception of mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects) since the swarm has an Intelligence score and a hive mind. A swarm takes half again as much damage (+50%) from spells or effects that affect an area, such as splash weapons and many evocation spells.

Intellect devourer swarms are susceptible to high winds such as that created by a gust of wind spell. For purposes of determining the effects of wind on a swarm, treat the swarm as a creature of the same size as its constituent creatures. A swarm rendered unconscious by means of nonlethal damage becomes disorganized and dispersed, and does not reform until its hit points exceed its nonlethal damage.

Swarm Attack

Creatures with the swarm subtype don’t make standard melee attacks. Instead, they deal automatic damage to any creature whose space they occupy at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed. Swarm attacks are not subject to a miss chance for concealment or cover.  The amount of damage a swarm deals is based on its Hit Dice. (in this case 2d6/round)

An intellect devourer swarm’s attacks are nonmagical. Damage reduction sufficient to reduce a swarm attack’s damage to 0, being incorporeal, and other special abilities usually give a creature immunity (or at least resistance) to damage from a swarm.

An intellect devourer swarm’s psi-like abilities are affected normally by disple psionics and power resistance.

Intellect devourer swarms do not threaten creatures in their square, and do not make attacks of opportunity with their swarm attack. However, they distract foes whose squares they occupy.

Skills

Intellect devourer swarms have a +8 racial bonus on Bluff checks, useful for passing off the possessed body as the original. They also have a +8 racial bonus on Move Silently checks and Listen checks.