Huecuva

Huecuva

Rotting vestments hang across the withered flesh of this walking corpse. Its mouth hangs open in a silent scream and its eyes glow with an unholy light.

XP 600

CE Medium undead

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +5

Aura faithless (30 ft.)

DEFENSE

AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+2 Dex, +5 natural)

hp 16 (3d8+3)

Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +4

DR 5/magic or silver; Immune undead traits

OFFENSE

Spd 30 ft.

Melee 2 claws +4 (1d6+1 plus disease)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd)
3/day—disguise self

STATISTICS

Str 13, Dex 14, Con -, Int 4, Wis 12, Cha 12

Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 14

Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (claw)

Skills Perception +5, Stealth +7

ECOLOGY

Environment any

Organization solitary, pair, or cloister (5-10)

Treasure Value 550 gp

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Disease (Ex) Claw, save Fort DC 12, frequency 1d3 days/1 day, effect 1d3 Dex damage and 1d3 Con damage, cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Faithless (Su) The huecuva and all undead creatures within 30 feet receive a +2 profane bonus on Will saves made to resist channeled energy and any effects based off that ability. This bonus stacks with channel resistance.

Huecuvas are the risen corpses of heretical clerics who blasphemed and renounced their deities before meeting death. In unlife, they hate and seek to destroy those pious souls who keep their vows. Although easily mistaken for zombies or even skeletons, huecuvas have a spark of intelligence that makes them cunning and deceptive foes. Often huecuvas use disguise self to appear as non-threatening figures, so as to get close to their enemies before lashing out.

Most huecuvas remember little of their former lives except for the blasphemy that led them to their cursed fates. They often find themselves drawn to the ruins of old temples, where they rage against or seek hopeless absolution from the deities who so aff licted them. Huecuvas sometimes work in concert with other undead creatures that share the same area. Powerful undead, such as liches or vampires, might recruit huecuvas to help protect them from clerics.

Creating a Huecuva
Most huecuvas arise when a god rejects a heretic priest's soul, forcing the slain to rise as horrible undead, but this is not the only way a huecuva can come into being. A huecuva can be created using create undead. The caster must be at least 11th level and the spell normally uses the body of an evil cleric. The spell can be used to create a huecuva using the body of a good cleric, but this requires a DC 20 caster level check. Creating a huecuva in this way is considered to be one of the most heinous things that can be done to a cleric that has passed away. The faithless aura of huecuvas created from the bodies of good clerics in this way grants a +4 profane bonus on Will saves to resist channeled energy and any effects based off that ability.