Manual of the Planes

Alignment: Always chaotic (any).Advancement: Same as the base creature.Sample Anarchic CreatureAnarchic AthachHuge AberrationHit Dice: 14d8+70 (133 hp)Initiative: +1 (Dex)Speed: 50 ft.AC: 20 (–2 size, +1 Dex, +8 natural, +3 hide)Attacks: Huge club +12/+7 melee, 2 Huge clubs +12melee, bite +14 melee; or rock +5/+0 ranged, 2 rocks+5 rangedDamage: Huge club 2d6+8, 2 Huge clubs 2d6+4, bite2d8+4 and poison; or rock 2d6+8, 2 rocks 2d6Face/Reach: 10 ft. by 10 ft./15 ft.Special Attacks: Poison, smite lawSpecial Qualities: Damage reduction 5/+1, fast healing5, darkvision 60 ft., immune to polymorph and petrification;acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic resistance 5Saves: Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +10Abilities: Str 27, Dex 12, Con 21, Int 7, Wis 12, Cha 6Skills: Climb +16, Jump +16, Listen +7, Spot +7Feats: Multiattack, Multidexterity, Multiweapon FightingClimate/Terrain: Any land and undergroundOrganization: Solitary, gang (2–4), or tribe (7–12)Challenge Rating: 9Treasure: 1/2 coins; double goods; standard itemsAlignment: Always chaotic evilAdvancement: 15–28 HD (Huge)CombatPoison (Ex): Bite, Fortitude save (DC 22); initialdamage 1d6 temporary Strength, secondary damage 2d6temporary Strength.Smite Law (Su): Once per day an anarchic athach canmake a normal attack to deal an additional +14 damageagainst a lawful opponent.PETITIONERPetitioners are the reconstituted souls of the dead in theOuter Planes. They dwell there as an eternal reward (oreternal punishment) for their past lives, as servants andwarriors for more powerful creatures, as playthings forsadistic demons, and as raw material for new creations.They often serve as window dressing, spear carriers,extras, and examples for travelers from other planes.The appearance of a petitioner depends on the cosmology.One idealized version of the petitioner is acalm, untiring, unthinking servant who exists in thebliss of his or her deity, all needs taken care of. Anotheris a slave burning among the hellfires for sins real andimagined, tortured and eventually made into a morepowerful instrument of evil. A third is the warrior whobattles throughout the day and wenches and drinksaway the evening in great halls, preparing for the lastbattle of the universe.In general, petitioners appear in the form that they hadbefore they died, though they may be remade by theplanes or the powers of those planes to fit the nature oftheir particular afterlife—in a cosmology where thedeities are all dragons, for example, petitioners mayresemble dragons. For the core cosmology, most petitionersare humanoid in appearance (although there areexceptions even there).Who goes to heaven? Whoever you decide. Whatcreatures may become petitioners is up to you. In thecore cosmology, this is limited to creatures who originallyhad Intelligence and Wisdom scores of at least 1.The following types may become petitioners: aberrations,animals, beasts, dragons, fey, giants, humanoids,magical beasts, monstrous humanoids, and shapechangers,as well as plants, oozes, and vermin with sufficientlyhigh ability scores (treants are in, assassinvines are out). Undead and constructs are not usuallymade into petitioners, although the souls of their originalforms may be. Elementals and outsiders tend tomeld with their native planes, and as such do notbecome petitioners (their souls may still be called backfrom the dead).Who, on an individual basis, becomes a petitionerdepends on the cosmology. In some cosmologies, everyonewho has died is embodied in the afterlife. In others,only those chosen by the deities are so favored, with theremainder of the dead’s energies scattered among the OuterPlanes. In yet others, souls are remade into celestial,fiendish, axiomatic, and anarchic creatures.Still other cosmologies embrace parts of all these:Spirits become petitioners for as long as there arethose in the Material Plane who remember them.Once they are forgotten, these petitioners fade backinto the stuff of the plane itself to be remade as planarbeings. You may embrace any of these options for yourown campaign.In terms of game play, petitioners are usually notcentral figures. While it may be useful to have theplayer characters occasionally encounter familiar,now-dead individuals, in most cases this template isfor nonplayer characters. Dead PCs may be restored tolife, but in that case they forget any of their experiencesas petitioners.Creating a Petitioner“Petitioner” is a template that may be added to any creatureas determined by the nature of the campaign (referred tohereafter as the “base creature”). The creature’s typebecomes “outsider.” It uses all the base creature’s statisticsand special abilities except as noted here.Hit Dice: Change to 2d8. Retain any bonus hit pointsfrom the base creature’s original HD total.AC: Only size, Dexterity, and natural armor modifiersapply. Armor bonuses are not applicable.Attacks: Base attack bonus is reduced to +2, subject tomodifications for size and Strength. If the base creature’sbase attack bonus is less than +2, use the lower number.CHAPTER 9:MONSTERS199