[Another entry from Complete Psionic where I was disappointed in the original art. I actually used this creature back in high school, when it first appeared in Dragon Magazine. The flavor text is a way to rationalize the “eft” name, which I suspect was chosen just because it sounded cool. Unfortunately, Pathfinder doesn’t have any high level Shadow monsters that aren’t kytons for the shadow eft to be a juvenile of. The near-forgotten nihiloi, maybe?]
Shadow Eft This creature appears as a jagged,
bony shadow cast on the fabric of reality. Its claws and teeth are monstrously
oversized compared to the rest of its body, and its lower half fades away into
a tail like a spinal column.
A shadow
eft is a monstrous predator native to the Plane of Shadow that feeds on the
life drained from creatures inflicted with its poison. The name is one given to
them by sages—like the eft of a salamander, shadow efts are believed to be the
immature form of some greater monster, and the essence they consume fuels their
metamorphosis. Although they are intelligent, they view most mortals as prey,
and their philosophy can be boiled down to “survival of the fittest”.
In
combat, a shadow eft rarely stays still, pouncing on a single target to inflict
debilitating damage and then making hit and run attacks, all the while growing
stronger as its first victim grows weaker. If they are feeling playful, or if
they are in an area with lots of narrow passages and walls to hide inside, they
will assume incorporeal form—in this shape they can do much less damage, but
can still spread their toxin and empower themselves with it.
Shadow
efts seek to enter the Material Plane for feeding opportunities, but have no
way to enter it themselves. As such, they congregate in areas where the borders
between planes are thin, such as the deepest caves, shadowed forests or the
underbellies of wicked cities. Shadow efts are considered to be a menace by
most of the denizens of the Shadow Plane, but they are favorites of conjurers
for their versatile abilities. This suits the shadow efts just fine—many shadow
efts on the Material Plane were brought there by mortal wizardry, and then snapped
their tether and went rogue.
A shadow
eft stands eight feet tall and weighs about 300 pounds.
Shadow Eft CR 5 XP 1,600 NE Large
outsider (evil, extraplanar) Init +4; Senses blindsight 60 ft., Perception +11, see in darkness Defense AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 12(-1 size, +4 Dex, +3 natural, +1
dodge) hp 57 (6d10+24) Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +7 Immune cold; SR 16 Defensive Abilities shadow form; Weakness aversion to daylight Offense Speed 40 ft. Melee 2 claws +8 (1d6+3), bite +8 (2d6+3
plus poison) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks pounce Statistics Str 17, Dex 19, Con 19, Int 10, Wis14, Cha 16 Base Atk +6; CMB +10; CMD 25 Feats Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack Skills Acrobatics +13 (+17 jumping),
Climb +12, Perception +11, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +17, Survival +11; Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth Languages Shae SQ hide in plain sight, venom link Ecology Environment any land and underground (Shadow
Plane) Organization solitary or pack (2-6) Treasure standard Special
Abilities Aversion to Daylight (Ex) When in an area of bright light, a
shadow eft takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks and
ability checks. This penalty is doubled in areas of natural sunlight. Hide in Plain Sight (Ex) A shadow eft can use the Stealth
skill even while being observed. As long as it is within 10 feet of an area of
dim light, a shadow eft can hide itself from view in the open without anything
to actually hide behind. It cannot, however, hide in its own shadow. Poison (Ex) Bite or incorporeal touch—injury; save Fort DC 17; duration 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d3 Con damage; cure 1 save. The
save DC is Constitution based. Shadow Form (Su) As a standard action, a shadow eft
can become incorporeal. In this form, it loses its natural armor bonus,
Strength score and cannot use its natural attacks. It gains a deflection bonus
to AC and CMD equal to its Charisma modifier and gains the use of an
incorporeal touch attack that deals damage equal to its Charisma modifier and
exposes the creature touched to its poison. A shadow eft’s statistics when
incorporeal are below:
A shadow
eft can remain in this form for a number of minutes equal to its Hit Dice. This
time does not have to be spent all at once, but must be spent in 1 minute
increments. Venom Link (Su) Whenever a creature takes
Constitution damage from a shadow eft’s poison, the shadow eft gains 5
temporary hit points. These hit points are lost after 1 hour if not expended. A
shadow eft can be any distance away from a poisoned target, as long as the two
creatures are on the same plane.
Shadow efts manage to make their way to Senksen occasionally, where they give the citizens and the umbral dragons grief. A recent outbreak has led to a massive upsurge in production of ghost-touch weapons to combat them.
Shores of Swords 