Monster Encyclopaedia II: The Dark Bestiary
| Author | J. C. Alvarez |
| Publisher | Mongoose Publishing |
| Publish date | 2005 |
| OGL Section 15 | me2 |
The material below is Open Game Content
Boatman Demon
Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Evil, Native)
Hit Dice: 7d8 +14 (45 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), boat 40 ft.
AC: 22 (+4 Dex, +8 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+20
Attack: Claw +12 melee (1d8+5 plus personality drain) or +2 quarterstaff +14 melee (1d6+9)
Full Attack: 2 claws +12 melee (1d8+5 plus personality drain) or +2 quarterstaff +12/+7 melee and +12 melee (1d6+7 and 1d6+4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft. /5 ft.
Special Attacks: Holding grasp, personality drain, plague
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/cold iron or good, darkvision 60 ft., disguise self, electrical and poison immunity, resistance to acid 10, cold 10 and fire 10
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +6
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 19, Con 15, Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 15
Skills: Bluff +12, Disguise +12 (+14 acting in character), Intimidate +14 Knowledge (geography) +10, Listen +11, Profession (sailor) +15, Spot +11, Swim +15
Feats: Ability Focus (personality drain), Improved Initiative, Two- Weapon Fighting
Environment: Rivers
Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: +2 quarterstaff
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 9-16 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: +4
As soon as you climb aboard, the boatman bursts into maniacal laughter and disappears, leaving nothing but the tattered remains of his dirty tunic. Suddenly, you realise you cannot move and a wracking pain doubles you over and brings you to your knees, almost turning the boat over with your throbbing spasms. As you grab the boat’s edge, you realise your hand has become yellow, gaunt and wrinkled, what appear to be black claws slowly taking the place of your fingernails… overtaken by horror, you glance at your reflection on the water… and a yellow-skinned, horned demon with glowing red eyes jeers back at you… now your purpose is clear: you have to find a witless passenger to take your place in Hell…
Boatman demons are an unholy plague that originated on the lower planes and recently spread to the Prime Material. They may be the only demons that are more frequent on the Prime Material than in the lower planes. Their souls are those of mild sinners, given a chance to end their punishment by finding an innocent victim and switching places with them. To this effect, boatman demons have the dreadful ability to pass their condition as a plague, turning humanoids into other boatman demons to take their place.
A boatman demon that successfully passes on its plague is destroyed and its soul freed from the lower planes, blissfully merging with nothingness at last.
They appear as normal and harmless humanoid boatmen, until someone books passage aboard their cursed barges. Then, the boatman demon slays its hapless passenger and turns them into a boatman demon like itself, endlessly guiding a cursed raft through the world’s rivers and lakes. In their natural form, which they never adopt unless forced into combat, boatman demons appear as gaunt, sickly yellow humanoids, with gangly claws, pointed ears, red eyes, long sharp teeth and two horns. They are always dressed in a peasant’s maroon rags, even in demon form.
Boatman demons speak Abyssal, Common and Draconic.
Combat
A boatman waits for its victim to climb aboard its ship before attacking, and then it attempts to do it by surprise so as to find the least resistance when using its holding grasp ability. Boatman demons will often pretend to extend a hand to help a passenger climb aboard, using their personality drain power while their victim touches their hand to step into the ship.
When forced into open combat, boatman demons attempt to grapple and drain their enemies, unless they are faced by multiple opponents, in which case they use their magical quarterstaffs. Both the weapons and natural attacks of boatman demons count as chaotic and evil for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Holding Grasp (Ex): The grasp of a boatman demon is unnaturally strong, giving the creature a +8 racial bonus on grapple checks. A boatman demon that hits with a claw attack can begin a grapple as a free action, without provoking an attack of opportunity, plus it retains one free hand to perform other actions while it continues the grapple.
Personality Drain (Su): The touch of a boatman demon forces the target to succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 20, Strength based) or suffer 1d6 points of Strength and Charisma damage, as his physical and spiritual energies are slowly drained by the demon.
Plague (Su): Any living humanoid reduced to 0 Strength and Charisma by a boatman demon’s personality drain attack is immediately transformed into a boatman demon himself, and the boatman demon that transformed him is destroyed, forever free from life as a demon. The newly created boatman demon discards all of its memories, personality and material possessions, becoming an evil creature with the sole purpose of finding another dupe to take its place. Only a wish or miracle can restore a boatman demon to its previous human form.
Disguise Self (Sp): As a full-round action, a boatman demon can use a disguise self effect to appear as a harmless human boatman. This ability is otherwise the same as the disguise self spell at caster level 7th. While this effect is activated, the boatman demon gains a +10 magical bonus on Disguise checks made to appear as a common boatman. Intelligent creatures interacting with the boatman are entitled to a Will save (DC 15, Charisma based) to see through the disguise.
Skills: A boatman demon gains a +4 racial bonus on all Profession (sailor) checks.
