Naga Malison
Naga Malison (CR 11)
Naga are a cruel race of serpentine humanoids who practice an ancient dark magic in worship to their wicked gods. They have a cult-like devotion to their society, all working single-mindedly to some dark purpose that only they know. Within this cult, dissenters are swiftly killed, and little information about their culture has leaked out to the civilized world. What is known is that Naga capture villagers and travelers, using them as slaves or sacrifices. Reports of encounters with Naga always include slaves being nearby and even being used to shield the Naga during the fight.
Naga have arms, but no legs, instead propelling themselves with their powerful bodies and tails like a snake. They sometimes wear clothing, such as shirts and robes, necklaces and headgear, though they are anatomically incapable of wearing pants or shoes. Because of their anthropomorphic upper bodies, the more powerful Naga make use of magic items stolen from their captives.
Naga are telepathic, allowing them to silently communicate with each other and with any nearby creatures. While telepathy does not allow the location of creatures (as with Lifesense), it allows easy communication, as the Naga intuitively understands the creature it is speaking with, regardless of languages known. Telepathy requires line of sight, but not line of effect.
Naga Malisons are archers, using a short recurve bow to deliver poisoned arrows at the enemies of the Naga. They regularly use hostages and slaves to protect themselves from melee attackers, though they are capable of handling themselves in melee if forced to do so.
GENERAL
CR 11 Hit Dice 16
XP 12,800
NE Medium Monstrous Humanoid
Init +5; Senses Perception +19
DEFENSE
AC 31, touch 19, flat-footed 26 (+7 armor, +5 dex, +5 natural, +4 deflection)
hp 229
Fort +11, Ref +11, Will +14
Aura: -
SR: -
Special Defenses: Adaptive Camouflage (See below)
Immunities: Paralysis, Poison
Weaknesses: -
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Space / Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft.
Single Melee Bite +16 (2d8+11/x2) plus Poison
Full Melee Bite +16 (2d8+11/x2) plus Poison, 2x Claws +16 (2d6+3/x2)
Ranged Shortbow +16 (2d8+6/x2) plus Poison
Full Ranged 3x Shortbow +16 (2d8+6/x2) plus Poison
Special Attacks Deflect Attack
Action Points 0
STATISTICS
Str 21, Dex 24, Con 18, Int 20, Wis 15, Cha 18
Base Atk +11; CMB +17; CMD 27
Feats Precise Shot, Snap Shot (EFFECT: does not provoke in melee with ranged, can make AOO's at up to 5 feet)
Skills
Languages Telepathy 100 ft. (all languages)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
- Adaptive Camouflage
A Naga Malison is difficult to see unless you are right up on them. The Malison has concealment (20% miss chance) against any creature 15 feet or more distant from the Malison. The concealment is not enough to initiate a stealth stance, but it grants the Malison additional durability in ranged combat. Creatures using a sense other than sight to target in combat can ignore this concealment.
- Deflect Attack
Up to once per round as an immediate action, a Naga Malison can redirect any damage they would take from a single attack onto any adjacent creature. The Naga must make a to-hit roll against the adjacent creature's AC, and if it hits, the incoming damage hits that creature instead of the Naga. If successfully hit, the creature taking the redirected damage can use any damage mitigating abilities (e.g. DR, ER, etc.) if they have any.
- Poison
Naga poison is a nasty thing, sapping the will of those affected and inflicting terrible pain in the process. The Naga Malison's arrows and bite all use this poison. If a creature makes its initial save against the poison, it is unaffected, but those who fail the save must make two successful saves to end the poison's effects. If a creature is poisoned multiple times, the non-lethal damage and Wisdom drain do not stack, but an additional round is added to the duration of the poison's effects for each additional time the creature is poisoned after the first. Even if poisoned multiple times, a creature only needs two successful saves to end the poison's effects (though they can still be poisoned again once clear of the poison).
- Naga Poison: Injury; Save Fort DC 20; Frequency 1/round for 5 rounds; Effect 1d2 WIS and 3d6 points of non-lethal damage (bypasses DR); Cure 2 saves.
TREASURE
sell value of approximately 6,500 gp
COMBAT TACTICS
Naga Malisons like to fight amidst a crowd of slaves and hostages, using their Deflect Attack ability to shed damage onto their hostages, and also use the hostages to prevent melee attackers from engaging. Malisons will always used ranged attacks whenever possible, and with the Snap Shot feat, they can even fire at adjacent targets without provoking attacks of opportunity.
Naga are very smart, and will try to spread their poison around to all enemies on the battlefield, in order to maximize the damage they do. The poison's damage is in addition to the damage their arrows do, and since it is non-lethal, it allows the Naga to acquire additional slaves and hostages for future encounters. Naga rarely kill captured enemies right away, instead deciding the best use for such captives, based on whatever bizarre directives the cult leader decides is most efficacious.
Deflect Attack is best used against hostages, when available, since there is no risk of failure. Hostages and slaves typically have an AC between 10 and 15, and thus can be automatically hit by the Naga if adjacent. However, if an enemy is conveniently adjacent, and the Naga is reasonably confident that it will hit the enemy, it will certainly take the opportunity to redirect damage to the enemy instead. But because they are smart, Naga will not use this ability on a heavily armored opponent unless there are no other alternatives. Furthermore, a Naga will always move to ensure it is adjacent to as many 'soft' targets as possible in anticipation of needing to redirect damage onto them.
Malisons will flee from hopeless combats, choosing to give alerts to their cult that a threat is nearby. They are quite evil, however, and will happily sacrifice fellow Naga if it will ensure their own escape (again, using Deflect Attack).