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Kurobozu

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The mouth of this gray-skinned, emaciated monk is a distended, hollow pit of darkness.

Kurobozu CR 6

XP 2,400
LE Medium undead
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 20, flat-footed 16 (+4 Dex, +2 monk, +4 Wis)
hp 76 (9d8+36)
Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +10
Defensive Abilities evasion; Immune undead traits

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +12/+7 (1d8+5 plus sage's bane) or flurry of blows +13/+13/+8 (1d8+5 plus sage's bane)
Special Attacks disease, sage's bane, steal breath

STATISTICS

Str 21, Dex 18, Con —, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 12
Base Atk +6; CMB +11; CMD 34 (38 vs. trip)
Feats Defensive Combat Training, Power Attack, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike B, Lightning Reflexes, Stunning Fist B , Weapon Focus (unarmed strike)
Skills Acrobatics +13, Climb +12, Perception +16, Sense Motive +12, Stealth +16
Languages Common
SQ echo of life, sage's bane

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Disease (Su)

Black apoxia: Steal breath— inhaled; save Fort DC 18; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Con damage and exhausted; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Echo of Life (Su)

A kurobozu retains some the same disciplined training it had in life.

It gains the monk's evasion, AC bonus, stunning fist, and flurry of blows class features and unarmed strike damage as a monk of equal level to its Hit Dice. A kurobozu's stunning fist lasts 1 round longer than normal. In addition, a kurobozu replaces its Constitution modifier with its Wisdom modifier instead of its Charisma modifier.

Sage's Bane (Su)

Any target struck by a kurobozu's unarmed strike takes 1d4 points of Wisdom damage and loses an equal amount of ki (Fortitude DC 18 negates both). For every point of Wisdom damage a kurobozu deals, it heals 5 hit points. Hit points received in excess of the creature's normal total are treated as temporary hit points and dissipate after 1 minute. The save DC is Wisdom-based.

Steal Breath (Su)

As a standard action, a kurobozu can steal the breath from a stunned or helpless target, as per the spell suffocation, except it never causes the victim to die.

ECOLOGY

Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or guard (3–5)
Treasure standard

Regardless of whether it successfully saved, the victim can't speak for 1 minute, and its breath reeks of carrion. This also exposes the victim to the kurobozu's disease.

Kurobozus, also called black monks, are jealous undead that arise when a monk dies under circumstances that violate the precepts of his or her monastic training.

Kurobozus need to feed upon the breath of mortals to survive, and they usually acquire this sustenance by sneaking up on a sleeping victim, though they can just as easily draw breath from a foe stunned by their fists in combat. While this feeding doesn't immediately kill the victim, it leaves a horrific rotting scent on the victim's breath that can spread the kurobozu's contagious apoxia to others, eventually leading to faintness, exhaustion, and death.

When they aren't maintaining their existence through feeding, kurobozus carry out their jealous fantasies by murdering living monks, especially members of their former monastery or monastic tradition. They still possess a shred of their former discipline, which they use to formulate long-term plans for their acts of revenge. Generally, kurobozus' interactions with other creatures are limited to feeding and killing, but they have an affinity for malcontent ex-monks and may actually go out of their way to secretly offer protection or succor to such a person, without ever revealing their true identities. Evil ex-monks seeking to destroy their former masters and fellow disciples may even see the actual face of their benefactors and be able to forge lasting alliances.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 5 © 2015, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, John Bennett, Logan Bonner, Creighton Broadhurst, Robert Brookes, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Thurston Hillman, Eric Hindley, Joe Homes, James Jacobs, Amanda Hamon Kunz, Ben McFarland, Jason Nelson, Thom Phillips, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Alistair Rigg, Alex Riggs, David N. Ross, Wes Schneider, David Schwartz, Mark Seifter, Mike Shel, James L. Sutter, and Linda Zayas-Palmer.