the dog soldier
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DragonCyclopedia Monsters: The Dog Soldier
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Monsters:
The
Dog SoldierA New Monster for Use
with the Pathfinder
Roleplaying Gameby
Glen R. Taylorand
DragonCyclopedia
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DragonCyclopedia Monsters: The Dog Soldier
This document is copyright Glen R. Taylor,2011, and is published under the Open GameLicense version 1.0a, copyright 2000 Wizards ofthe Coast, Inc. The full text of this documentis Open Game Content under the provisions ofthat license.
Uncredited illustrations are derived from worksthat are in the Public Domain.
The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and thePathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatible logo
are copyright 2009 Paizo Publishing, LLC.
Design and Writing: Glen R. Taylor
Production, Editing and Publishing:DragonCyclopedia
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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................4
Dog Soldier..........................................................5 New Feats.............................................................6
New Magic Items.................................................7
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Introduction
This document introduces a new monster, the
Dog Soldier, for use in the Pathfinder
Roleplaying Game.
What's This About?
One of the staples of the action genre of fiction,
including fantasy, is the faceless enemy hordes.They may be enemy soldiers with visored
helmets, or simply look distinctly inhuman, but
they are ideal as enemies in fiction because they
are faceless; they lack identity, even as a person.In most cases, this is metaphorical, and these
enemies really are people, just people with
different and often homicidal views.
However, there are also enemies that are faceless
in all senses. They are not people; they do not
have an identity, or any ambitions other thankilling you and doing the things you are trying to
stop. One such enemy is the dog soldier, which is
created when a victim is enslaved by being sealed
into a special cursed helmet called a dog mask.
How Do I Use Dog Soldier?
Dog soldiers can have the same use as a lot of
other evil enemies. Where an evil overlord mightemploy human troops or orcs, he may instead use
some resources to forge dog masks in order to
employ dog soldiers. They are perfectly loyal, ifnot suited to any roles involving thinking. They
make good shock troops and suicide squads,
especially if sent against their former friends
and/or family.
Dog Soldiers in Adventures
Dog soldiers make good enemies in adventures,and in fact can often be substituted for other
enemies or monsters. However, the very nature of
dog soldiers also suggests certain adventureconcepts, with perhaps the most classic one being
rescuing a friend who has been turned into a dog
soldier and freeing him of the curse. This is anextremely difficult task, by design, and can make
for an epic quest in itself.
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Dog Soldier
Dull rage glints in the red eyes behind the iron
mask of this muscled warrior.
DOG SOLDIER CR 1/3
XP 135
Male human dog soldier warrior 1
N Medium humanoid
Init +1; Senses low-light vision, scent;
Perception +4
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+1 Dex, +2natural, +2 armor)
hp 14 (1d10+4)
Fort +4, Ref+1, Will +0
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 1 morningstar +3, (1d8+2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks none
Spell-Like Abilities none
STATISTICS
Str 15, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10
Base Atk+1; CMB +3; CMD 14
Feats Power AttackB, Toughness
Skills Climb +6, Intimidate +4, Perception +5;
Racial Modifiers +4 Perception
Languages Common (cannot speak)
SQ immune to fear, language dependent effectsand uses of Diplomacy and Intimidate
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or gang (3-8)
Treasure NPC gear (studded leather armor,morningstar, locked gauntlet, dog mask)
A dog soldier is a warrior who has been
supernaturally bound by the power of a magic
item known as a dog mask. They are compelled tobe loyal, nearly mindless fighters.
Creating a Dog Soldier
Dog soldier is an acquired template that can beadded to any living humanoid, fey or monsterous
humanoid. A dog soldier uses the base creature's
stats and abilities except as noted below.
CR: Same as the base creature.
AL: Alignment changes to neutral.
Senses: A dog soldier gains low-light vision and
the Scent quality.
Armor Class: Natural armor improves by +2.
Defensive Abilities: If the base creature has
spells or spell-like abilities, the dog soldier losesthe use of these abilities, but gains spell resistance
equal to its highest caster level + 10. If the base
creature already has spell resistance, it uses the
higher of this or its original spell resistance. If thebase creature does not have a caster level, it does
not gain spell resistance on becoming a dog
soldier.
Weaknesses: A dog soldier's mind is bound bythe power of the dog maskinto which it has been
sealed. While the dog soldier has the sameintellect and memories as before, it has no ability
to make its own decisions. It must absolutely
obey it's master's commands. It is also unable to
speak, make any use of spells, spell-like abilities,or use any skills based on Intelligence, Wisdom
or Charisma other than Intimidate, Perception or
Survival. Once bound into the dog mask, a dogsoldier may not gain experience or class levels.
Special Qualities: Gain immunity to fear,language dependent effects, and uses of
Diplomacy and Intimidate. Does not need to eat,drink or sleep.
Skills Gain a +4 racial bonus to Perception skill
checks.
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New Feats
The following new feats are presented for use in
conjunction with this document.
Dog Soldier Tracking (General)Your past as a dog soldier has made your sense ofsmell uncannily acute.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, Renegade Dog Soldier
Benefit: You gain the Scent ability, as themonster special ability.
Renegade Dog Soldier (General)
You were once supernaturally enslaved as a dog
soldier, and are now free but can draw strengthfrom your painful history.
Prerequisites: Must have been bound into a
dog maskand subsequently freed.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to Will saves
against fear, charms and compulsions and a +2
bonus to your own uses of the Intimidate skill.
Special: Your face is permanently marked
with the scars left by the dog mask, although they
can be concealed. This incurs a -2 penalty on any
Disguise checks made to disguise you. Thesescars can never be healed, naturally or through
magic, and even appear on other forms if you
magically change shape.
Normal: You gain no special capabilities fromyour time spent enslaved by the dog mask.
Renegade Willpower (General)
You have vowed you will die before you areenslaved as you were before.
Prerequisites: Con 13, Wis 13, Renegade Dog
Soldier
Benefit: If you fail a Will saving throw to
resist a charm or compulsion effect, you mayvoluntarily suffer 2 points of Constitution damage
and 2 points of Charisma damage in order to treatthe failure as a success. This occurs even if you
are normally immune to such ability damage.
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New Magic Items
The following new magic item is presented foruse with this document.
Dog Mask
Aura moderate enchantment; CL 9th
Slot head; Weight 3 lbs.; Price 500 gp
Description
This evil creation holds a special and powerful
curse. It takes the form of an iron or steel helmet
with a visor can swing down and lock into place,completely obscuring the face except for two
narrow eye-slits. Exact construction varies, butmany are sculpted with a snarling canine face onthe visor. Looking on the inside of the visor
reveals a series of long, cruel, hooked metal
spikes pointing in toward the face and curving abit upward. The two longest are located on the
inside of the eye-slits.
Because of the complexity of the mask, it can
only be put onto a willing or helpless victim.When the dog maskis put on a victim, the spikes
pierce the skin, flesh and bone of the face in
several places, with the longest entering theinside corners of the eyes and penetrating as far
as the victim's brain. This leaves the whites of the
victim's eyes permanently stained red and blood-shot, even if he is later cured of the curse.
The effect of the mask is immediate. As soon as
the mask locks into place, the victim's will is
completely over-ridden by the mask. The victimacquires the dog soldier template, and the first
being that gives him an order is considered to be
the new dog soldier's master. This effect onlytakes place if the victim is a living humanoid, fey,
or monstrous humanoid. Any other type of being
is locked into the mask, but not mentallyenslaved. There is no saving throw against this
process, and spell resistance does not protect.
The dog soldier blindly obeys all orders of its
master, including self-destructive orders. The
master can voluntarily pass ownership of the dog
soldier on to another being simply by telling the
dog soldier who the new master is. This caninvolve telling the dog soldier that if the master
dies, who will be in charge.
The new dog soldier loses any spell-castingability and spell-like abilities (although if it losesany such abilities, it gains spell resistance equal
to its former caster level plus 10), and becomes
unable to speak or make individual decisions. Itno longer needs to eat, drink or sleep, with the
mask providing all sustenance.
Once locked into place, the mask may not be
removed without risk of killing the occupant andeven destroying its soul. Removing the mask can
be performed by suppressing the magic holding it
closed (such as introducing it into an antimagicarea, or casting greater dispel and succeeding in a
caster level check with a DC of 19) and then
physically opening it. However, once it is opened,the wearer must immediately make a Will saving
throw with a DC of 30. Failure indicates that the
wearer's soul is shredded; he dies and can only be
returned with a true resurrection. If he succeeds atthe Will saving throw, he suffers 4d6 Constitution
damage and is reduced to -1 hit point and is
dying. He can be stabilized as normal. If his
Constitution is reduced to 0 or below, he dies, butcan be raised as normal.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, dominate
person, creator must be of a non-good alignment;
Cost 250 gp
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DragonCyclopedia Monsters: The Dog Soldier is copyright 2011Glen R. Taylor.
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