Tenebrous creatures are native to the Plane of Shadow and are rarely encountered elsewhere. On occasion, a momentary tear in the fabric of the planes allows these creatures access to other planes of existence, such as the Prime Material. Tenebrous creatures enjoy attacking and devouring living creatures, but generally do not attack prey larger than themselves.
Tenebrous creatures look much like the base creature except that its body is dark gray to black in color and covered in thick coat of dull, black, coarse bristles. Tenebrous creatures have a pair of sharp mandibles flanking their mouth and large, compound eyes.
“Tenebrous Creature” is an inherited template that can be added to living, corporeal creature except outsiders (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A tenebrous creature retains all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
CR: HD 3 or less, as base creature +1; HD 4 to 9, as base creature +2; HD 10 or more, as base creature +3.
Size and Type: The creature’s type change to outsider. Size is unchanged. Tenebrous creatures encountered on the Material Plane have the extraplanar subtype. Do not recalculate the creature’s Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points.
Senses: A tenebrous creature gains darkvision out to a range of 60 feet, if the base creature did not already posses it.
Attacks: The tenebrous creature retains all the attacks of the base creature and gains a bite attack with its powerful mandibles. If the base creature already has a bite attack, it retains it and gains increased damage just as if it had the Improved Natural Attack (bite) feat. If it gains a bite attack it uses the damage value listed on the table below for its bite attack according to its size.
Special Attacks: Tenebrous creatures retain all the special attacks of the base creature and gain the following. Saves have a DC of 10 + 1/2 tenebrous creature’s HD + tenebrous creature’s Con modifier unless noted otherwise.
The bite of a tenebrous creature is acidic. Any melee hit with its bite attack deals 1d6 points of acid damage if the creature is Medium or smaller size or 2d6 points of acid damage if the creature is Large or larger.
A tenebrous creature’s head is covered in many small filaments that inject a deadly poison into any living creature that comes into contact with them. An opponent attacking a tenebrous creature with natural weapons, unarmed attacks, or handheld weapons must succeed on a Reflex save or contact the many bristles that cover the tenebrous creature’s head and be subjected to its poison.
On a failed Reflex save the opponent is paralyzed for 1d4 rounds. Immediately after the paralysis wears off, the opponent must succeed on a Fortitude save or take Condamage (the exact amount is based on the tenebrous creature’s Hit Dice): 3 HD or less, 1d6 Con; 4–9 HD, 2d6 Con; 10 HD or more, 3d6 Con.
A neutralize poison removes the effects of the poison and if cast before an opponent makes its Fortitude save prevents the need for such. Creatures with resistance to poison receive their normal bonus on their saving throws, and creatures immune to poison are unaffected by a tenebrous creature’s bristles.
Abilities: Str +2, Con +4, Cha +2.
Environment: Plane of Shadow.