Aeshar

Medium-Sized Undead
Hit Dice:	5d12 (32 hp)
Initiative:	-1 (Dex)
Speed:	20 ft.
Armor Class:	17 (-1 Dex, +8 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple:	0
Attack:	0
Full Attack:	2 slams +6 melee
Space/Reach:	5ft. by 5ft./5ft.
Special Attacks:	Whirlwind, decaying touch, ability drain
Special Qualities:	Undead, turn resistance +4, SR 20, damage reduction 10/+1, fast healing 2, alternate form
Saves:	Fort +6, Reflex +4, Will +8
Abilities:	Str 19, Dex 9, Con -, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 10
Skills:	Hide +8,Search +8, Spot +8, Move Silently +8
Feats:	Lightning Reflexes
Environment:	Quasi-Elemental Plane of Dust
Organization:	Solitary
Challenge Rating:	7
Treasure:	None
Alignment:	Neutral Evil
Advancement:	By character class
Level Adjustment:	0

How many cutters know the number of deaths that have occurred on the plane of Dust? Not many if any at all. But what is known is that the number of dead is high and that only the most barmy of adventurers will try and conquer this plane of total decay and disarray. The aeshar are undead, risen from the proximity of the Negative Energy Plane; they are the unfortunate souls that have been spared a most welcomed oblivion, tortured to roam the endless fields of Dust seeking nourishment from the flesh and bone of the living to keep their forms lest they lay forever as a pile of hungry, insane dust. The Aeshar appear at first as regular humanoids of whatever type they used to be, but their skin seems to be ashen and grey and they keep their eyes and mouths closed, walking about like some blind berk who has lost their way. This form is merely an exquisite sculpture of the body they once had, and if they do not feed they cannot even hold it. When approached by a possible meal they will open their eyes and mouths to let the endless streams of choking dust pour from them making small piles of the dry substance at their feet and letting the sorrow filled moans of a lifetime of thirst out that only the most rigid of men can handle. CombatThe Aeshar almost always attack first with their fists and decaying touch by catching their opponents flat-footed using their Alternate Form ability.The Aeshar are terrible fighters, most are clumsy and have a hard time staying on their feet when the opportunity to feed is near. Their overeagerness is often their downfall but this does not count them out completely, for they have the same class abilities and skills they had in life and can use everything from wizard spells to psionics. Nobody knows how these creatures can keep such knowledge after death, but greybeards reckon it was a part of their original creator's plan. Chant goes that the "Dark One", known as Lord Zanatose, created these horrid beings, but sources are few and when found they are often eliminated. Many think they were created to run the Doomguard from the plane of dust so that a darker army could take over.Decaying Touch (Su): An Aeshar is a creature of the plane of dust and as such contains a good amount of negative energy within it's tortured form. It puts this excess of negative energy to good use in a touch attack which deals it's foe 3d6 points of damage as the flesh touched falls away as corrupted dried flesh and dust, leaving a seeping wound. A creature so touched can attempt a Fortitude save (DC 15) to only take half damage from the attack. The Aeshar can use it's decaying touch once every three rounds of combat.Ability Drain (Su): The Aeshar, when it makes a successful slam attack, drains 1d4 points of Str from it's opponent which returns at a rate of one point per day of complete rest.Whirlwind (Su): With a low moan of tortured pain, the Aeshar calls up a whirlwind of dust to assault it's opponents from afar. Any sod unlucky enough to get caught in this 20 ft. spherical area must roll a successful reflex save (DC 15) to escape without taking any of the 2d6 points of abrasion and choking damage from the dust for every round they are inside of it. The range of this whirlwind attack is medium (100 ft. + 10 ft. per level).Alternate Form (Sp): The Aeshar can take two forms at will. One is a pile of lifeless dust which blends in perfectly with the rest of their home plane. This form they use to catch their prey flat-footed and is also the form they automatically revert to if they are reduced to 0 hit points. The second form is a sculpted form that looks exactly the way the creature looked in life with the exception that the form appears to be totally nude and created from highly compacted dust. Should the Aeshar be reverted to dust form through damage it will stay that way until some unlikely berk steps in it, at which time it will attempt to feed from it. When reduced to 0 hit points an Aeshar cannot use it's fast heal ability and must feed before it can once again activate that ability.Undead: Immune to mind influencing effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and disease. Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, energy drain, or death from massive damage.Turn Resistance: While on the Quasi-elemental Plane of Dust, a Aeshar has Turn Resistance of +4Habitat/SocietyThe aeshar have no society, they roam Dust endlessly looking for relief from their undead, emotionless existence. They do not consort with other intelligent undead, in fact they act like they are not even there. The Doomguard are extremely wary of these creatures - even though they do promote entropy - as not even the Doomguard is immune to the destructive forces the aeshar command. Chant goes that some of the more barmy Sinkers actually seek out these beings, but these berks are never seen alive again; in fact a good many of the aeshar have been spotted and identified as former faction members.0EcologyThe Aeshar continue the endless decay of Dust and nothing else. They are not even aware that they help the plane grow bigger as they destroy living creatures entering. Nor do they realise they are controlled by an unseen force on another plane, they just wish to end their unlife, or to find the next barmy berk to snack on. If a Aeshar has not fed within the number of years they lived when alive their forms will fall into a motionless, hungry pile of dust. These piles of dust have the same powers as the full aeshar except they are able to control the dusty environment around them. Once these beings have absorbed one living creature they will once again gain a structured form, however it will be of the person they digested and not their own. They have the number of years as the person they ate was old to find another meal, otherwise they will once again be reduced to a pile of hungry dust. This, apparently, is a great indignity to suffer, and aeshar try to avoid it at all costs by slaying almost anyone they encounter.