Ashen Husk (CR 3)

Medium Undead
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Initiative: -1 (Dex); Senses: darkvision 60 ft.


AC: 11 (-1 Dex, +2 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 11
Hit Dice: 2d12+7 (20 hp); DR: 5/slashing
Fort +0, Ref -1, Will +3
Speed: 30 ft., cannot run
Space: 5 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack +1; Grapple +5
Attack: Slam +5 melee
Full Attack: Slam +5 melee
Damage: Slam 1d6+6
Special Attacks/Actions: Create spawn, dehydrating aura
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 8, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 15
Special Qualities: undead traits, unholy toughness
Feats: Toughness
Skills: -
Advancement: 3-6 HD (Medium)
Climate/Terrain: Any warm
Organization: Single, pair, or caravan (3-18)
Treasure/Possessions: None

Source: Sandstorm

Dehydrating Aura (Su): An ashen husk gives off a 10-foot-radius emanation of dehydrating heat, a deadly threat for creatures that must drink to survive. A living creature within 10 feet of the ashen husk takes 1d4 points of nonlethal damage from heat each round unless it has at least heat protection level 1, and must make a DC 13 Fortitude save or be dehydrated (see the dehydrated condition). A creature that makes its save gains immunity to that ashen husk's dehydrating aura ability for 24 hours, although it might still take the nonlethal damage from other sources of heat. The nonlethal damage from heat becomes lethal damage for a creature that is dehydrated. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Create Spawn (Su): Creatures killed by an ashen husk's dehydrating aura rise after 1d4 days as free-roaming ashen husks. They do not possess any of the abilities they had in life.

Unholy Toughness (Ex): An ashen husk gains a bonus to its hit points equal to its Charisma modifier times its Hit Dice (already figured).

Ashen husks slam their foes with bone-hard limbs, but they expose their real threat against living creatures caught in their dehydrating aura.

Ashen husks lost their lives to unquenchable thirst. The evidence of their dry death is obvious as a supernatural deliquescent aura.

Ashen husks stand just shy of 6 feet tall, but in their dehydrated state, weigh only about 140 pounds.

Many ashen husks died of exposure in the open desert when they became lost without water. Sometimes entire caravans go lost, and many of these unfortunate creatures might be seen years later as stumbling corpses with a thirst born in hellish heat.