Rapacious Crawler

This wretched thing was once a humanoid corpse, now twisted unspeakably and given evil life. Its body is missing below the waist and its viscera spill from the hole left behind, twitching and writhing like a snake seeking prey. The ribcage of the thing has been split open, and it scuttles along the ground on broken ribs formed into a mockery of an insect’s legs. Its arms are long and lean, and its neck is broken so that it perpetually gazes forward, its rheumy eyes filled with hate.

Taken from Creature Codex

Rapacious crawlers are animated by sheer avarice. They are formed from those wicked mortals who would rather die than part with their treasures. The greedy soul returns to its body upon death and crawls on its belly like an animal, all the better to be close to their hard-earned booty. They are themselves filthy creatures, yet they somehow manage to keep their treasure spotlessly clean (and often magically trapped). Rapacious crawlers are generally secretive and paranoid, content to lie amongst their treasures, but they may venture forth into the world in order to secure a prized addition to their collections or to punish would-be tomb robbers.

A rapacious crawler in combat is hard to pin down—it moves about the battlefield constantly, trying to pick out choice baubles on its opponents. Rapacious crawlers are fond of using disarm and sleight of hand to steal from enemies and then flee with their ill-gotten gains. Only if a foe has stolen from a rapacious crawler will the abomination fight to the death. These old, patient creatures never forget a grudge, and will track down successful thieves in order to wreak vengeance and reclaim their prize. They generally understand the functions of any magical treasure they may own and will use such items, although they are typically reluctant to part with one-use items or to burn charges from wands. The disease spread by rapacious crawlers—gold fever—bears symptoms of muscle weakness and spasms, hot and cold sweats, jaundice and delirium.

Rapacious crawlers hate others of their own kind (they are, after all, competition for treasure), but will sometimes bully their way into positions of authority among evil subterranean humanoids such as kobolds, hobgoblins or troglodytes. These arrangements generally serve to enrich the crawler and provide the humanoids with a powerful—albeit persnickety and demanding—ally.

Rapacious Crawler            CR 6
XP 2,400
LE Medium undead
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +15
Aura stench (15 ft., DC 17)
Defense
AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+2 Dex, +6 natural, +1 Dodge)
hp 71 (11d8+22)
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +8
DR 10/bludgeoning or slashing; Immune undead traits
Weakness sunlight powerlessness
Offense
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee 2 claws +11 (1d6+3 plus disease), entrail lash +6 (1d4+1 plus trip)
Spell-like Abilities CL 11th, concentration +13
At will—detect magic
1/day—darkness, glyph of warding (DC 15), identify
Statistics
Str 16, Dex 14, Con —, Int 17, Wis 13, Cha 15
Base Attack +8; CMB +11 (+13 disarm); CMD 24 (26 against disarm)
Feats Combat Expertise, Dodge, Improved Disarm, Magical Aptitude, Mobility, Spring Attack
Skills Appraise +14, Climb +11, Perception +15, Sleight of Hand +13, Spellcraft +21, Stealth +16, Survival +12, Use Magic Device +17
Languages Common, Dwarven, Undercommon
SQ treasure scent
Ecology
Environment underground or urban
Organization solitary
Treasure double standard
Special Abilities
Disease (Ex) Gold fever; injury—claw; save Fort DC 17; onset immediate; frequency 1/day; damage 1d3 Str and 1d3 Wis; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Charisma based.
Sunlight Powerlessness (Ex) A rapacious crawler is powerless in sunlight (not merely a daylight spell), and must flee from it. A rapacious crawler caught in sunlight cannot attack and is staggered.
Treasure Scent (Su) This ability works as scent, except that the rapacious crawler can only use it to determine the presence of and pinpoint items worth 50 gp or more.