Vetalarana Manipulator

A monster with telepathy can communicate mentally with any creatures within the listed radius, as long as they share a language. This doesn't give any special access to their thoughts, and communicates no more information than normal speech would.

The vetalarana senses all non-mindless creatures within 100 feet as a precise sense.

A constant spell affects the monster without the monster needing to cast it, and its duration is unlimited. If a constant spell gets counteracted, the monster can reactivate it by spending the normal spellcasting actions the spell requires.

A monster with this ability regains the given number of Hit Points each round at the beginning of its turn.

Unlike most other undead, a vetalarana isn't destroyed when they reach 0 HP. Instead, their body is destroyed, crumbling to ash, and their mind is immediately transferred into a creature they rendered comatose through Drain Thoughts. This creature must be within 1 mile; if no such creature is in range, the vetalarana is destroyed. The creature becomes controlled by the vetalarana and loses the stupefied and Unconscious conditions. If the creature controlled by a vetalarana in this way is killed, the vetalarana's mind transfers to another creature within 1 mile who they rendered comatose through Drain Thoughts. After 1d6 days of being controlled, the controlled creature dies, and its body transforms into that of the vetalarana who rendered it comatose.

Trigger A creature targets the vetalarana manipulator with a mental effect or spell Effect The manipulator psychically lashes out at the triggering creature, dealing 3d8 mental damage (DC 24 will).

All vetalaranas possess the following weaknesses. • Barred Senses A vetalarana can't see or sense through force effects or cold iron, and their mind can't penetrate force effects or cold iron. Such barriers can prevent the transference of a vetalarana's mind through Mental Rebirth. • Revulsion A vetalarana delights in consuming memories and secrets, and is disgusted by those who share such sensitive tidbits openly. A vetalarana can't voluntarily come within 10 feet of a creature loudly voicing their intimate personal secrets or most cherished memories aloud. Speaking such information aloud with conviction is a single action that has the auditory, concentrate, and linguistic traits, and protects the creature until the start of its next turn. A vetalarana that involuntarily comes within 10 feet of a creature sharing such information gains the Fleeing condition until they're 10 feet or farther from the creature. After 1 round of being exposed to the secrets of a creature, a vetalarana can attempt a DC 25 will save as a single action, which has the concentrate trait. On a success, they overcome their revulsions for 1d6 rounds (or 1 hour on a critical success). • Vulnerable to Brain Destruction A vetalarana whose brain has been destroyed, or is reduced to 0 HP while unable to take mental actions, can't use Mental Rebirth.

A creature with void healing draws health from void energy rather than vitality energy. It is damaged by vitality damage and is not healed by vitality healing effects. It does not take void damage, and it is healed by void effects that heal undead.

Frequency once per day Effect The vetalarana manipulator spends 10 minutes to take psychic control of the creatures they've rendered comatose with Drain Thoughts. This has the effects of the Possession spell, but lasts for up to 6 hours, has a range of 1 mile, and the vetalarana can control a number of comatose victims at a time equal to half the vetalarana's level. A comatose victim can't resist this possession and automatically gets a critical failure on its saving throw against Control Comatose. As long as a comatose victim is controlled by a vetalarana manipulator in this way, the victim's stupefied and Unconscious conditions are temporarily suppressed.

Requirements A Grabbed, Paralyzed, Restrained, Unconscious, or willing creature is within the vetalarana's reach

The vetalarana seizes a creature and consumes its memories. This requires an athletics check against the victim's Fortitude DC if the victim is grabbed and is automatic for any of the other conditions. The victim is Stupefied 1, and the vetalarana regains 14 healing HP, gaining any excess as temporary Hit Points. Draining Thoughts from a creature that is already stupefied doesn't restore any HP to the vetalarana but increases the victim's stupefied value by 1. Additionally, the vetalarana views one of the victim's memories. A victim's stupefied condition value decreases by 1 every week. A victim that becomes stupefied 5 in this way is rendered comatose, becoming permanently Unconscious. As long as the vetalarana lives, a comatose victim can't regain consciousness, and its stupefied condition doesn't decrease.

Any living creature hit by a vetalarana manipulator's claw Strike must succeed at a DC 27 fortitude save or become Paralyzed. The target can attempt a new save at the end of each of its turns to end the effect, and the DC cumulatively decreases by 1 on each such save.

Requirements The monster's last action was a successful Strike that lists Grab in its damage entry, or the monster has a creature Grabbed or Restrained Effect If used after a Strike, the monster attempts to Grapple the creature using the body part it attacked with. This attempt neither applies nor counts toward the creature's multiple attack penalty. The monster can instead use Grab and choose one creature it's grabbing or restraining with an appendage that has Grab to automatically extend that condition to the end of the monster's next turn.