Id Manifestation

Occult Lore
Author Keith Baker, Adam Bank, Chris Jones, Scott Reeves, and Elton Robb
Series Lore
Publisher Atlas
Publish date 2002

The id is the seat of the primal instincts and appetites – hunger, sexual desire, and the need for immediate gratification. It is the most primitive aspect of the subconscious. As a result, manifestations of the id tend to be bestial creatures with little resemblance to the dreamer. A sample id manifestation would be a hairless hound the size of a pony, with a mouth that makes up a full quarter of its body; this beast would run around eating everything in sight, seeking to fill its endless appetite. Even a manifestation representing sexual desire would be savage and aggressive; romance is a tool of the ego or an ideal of the superego. This unreasoning power makes the id one of the most dangerous forces within dreams; its boundless energy is difficult to overcome.

‘Id manifestation’ is a template that can be added to any entity with an Intelligence score of 2 or more. It uses all of the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here. An id manifestation can only be encountered in the dreams of the base creature.

Hit Dice: Increase to d12

Speed: Increase by 10 ft.

AC: An id manifestation has +6 natural armor, in addition to any natural armor possessed by the base creature. An id manifestation will not use equipment, as it is in most respects bestial.

Attacks: An id manifestation has one primary melee attack. Typically this is a bite, but depending on the form of the manifestation it could be another natural weapon, a fist, or something else entirely. This attack uses the base character’s melee attack bonus with an additional +3 to hit.

Damage: The damage inflicted by an id manifestation is determined by the level or total hit dice of the base creature, as follows. The creature’s Strength modifier is added
to this damage.

Character Level/HD ~Attack Damage

0 – 1 1d4
2 – 4 1d6
5 – 7 1d8
8 – 10 1d10
11 – 14 2d6
15 – 18 3d6
19 – 20 4d6

Special Attacks: An id manifestation is a raw physical force. It does not possess any of the special attacks of the base creature. An id manifestation cannot cast spells, regardless of the abilities of the base creature.

Special Qualities: An id manifestation possesses all of the special qualities of the base creature, plus those listed below:

Blindsight (Ex): As part of the dream, a subconscious manifestation is intuitively aware of the nature of its surroundings. The manifestation can sense its enemies and surroundings up to 60 feet away, and is not affected by darkness or invisibility.

Damage Reduction (Su): An id manifestation is unnaturally tough and difficult to injure. If the base creature has a total hit die or character level of ten or less, it possesses 5/+1 Damage Reduction. If the creature’s hit die/level is greater than ten, this is increased to 8/+3.

Fast Healing (Ex): A manifestation is part of the mind, and it receives energy and support from the subconscious. As a result, a manifestation recovers 4 hit points each round. This will not allow the creature to regenerate lost limbs, nor prevent it from being killed. This will also not restore damage caused by an oneiric bolt spell.

Scent (Ex): An id manifestation can Track targets by following thought currents – which has the same effect as tracking by scent. The manifestation must make a Wisdom check to find a trail. The typical DC is 10.

Spell Resistance (Ex): Manifestations are naturally resistant to magic; the force of the subconscious works to counteract a character’s attempts to harm the creature. A manifestation has a Spell Resistance value equal to 5 + the base creature’s hit dice or character level.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Strength +4, Dexterity +2, Constitution +4, Intelligence -6, Wisdom -4, Charisma -6

Skills: Same as the base creature, but an id manifestation cannot use any skill that uses Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma as its key ability.

Feats: Replace the feats of the base creature with: Cleave, Endurance, and Power Attack.

Climate/Terrain: Dreams of base creature

Organization: Solitary or pack (2 – 4)

Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +2

Alignment: Always neutral; seeks only to fulfill personal desires

Treasure: None