Starfinder: bloater, blood plague
Bloater, Blood Plague Combatant CR 2 XP 600
Neutral medium undead
Init +0 ; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7
Defense HP 25
EAC 13; KAC 15
Fort +4; Ref +4 ; Will +3
Defensive Abilities Hide in the pack
Weaknesses piercing or slashing weapons
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee Bite, +10 (1d6+2 P) or two bashes -1 (1d4+2 B)
Offensive Abilities Blood plague, explosive, gaseous discharge, infectious bite
Statistics
Str +4; Dex +0; Con - ; Int -3; Wis +0; Cha +0
Skills Stealth +12
Feats None
Languages None
Ecology
Environment Any
Organization Solitary, or small groups (1d3+1)
Special Abilities
Blood plague (Ex): The bloater has become infected with the blood plague. This means that whenever it physically attacks a target, they must make a fort save (DC 11) or become infected by the blood plague. This is applied to explosive, gaseous discharge and the infectious bite.
Changing Bite (Sp) The bloater can bite a regular zombie and this will infect it with the mutated virus. The regular zombie does not get a saving throw. Instead it will begin to mutate into a new bloater in 3d12 hours. The regular zombie will begin to bloat and take on the characteristics of the bloater and once the transformation is complete, it becomes a bloater.
Explosive (Ex) If they are hit by any slashing or piercing weapons the creature must make a Fort save (DC10 +1 for every 3 points of damage inflicted). If the save fails, the creature explodes in a 20 ft. radius, destroying it in the process. The explosion is purely negative energy, mixed in with the gas it produces. This negative energy will heal any damage suffered by any undead in the vicinity (including members of its own type). All targets in that radius are allowed a Ref save (DC 14) or they suffer 3d6+2 damage. If the victim is foolish enough to stay in the area of effect, they will suffer an additional 3d6+2 damage per round! If this kills them, they will automatically rise as a regular zombie in 1d4 rounds. The cloud will remain for 1d6 minutes before it finally dissipates.
Gaseous discharge (Ex) The creatures constantly emit a gaseous cloud which surrounds them to a radius of 15 ft. Anyone entering this cloud must make a Fort save (DC 11) or are nauseated. Once they leave the area of effect, they will lose the condition after 1d4 rounds. This cloud also contains the same virus which can turn the living into undead monsters, including the blood plague. The same rules apply for the infectious bite (below). Note this only affects those creatures that need to breathe!
Hide in the pack (Su) The bloater will use packs of normal zombies as cover, allowing them to keep it hidden until it is too late. Anyone attempting to spot a bloater will have to make a perception check with a DC equal to 10 plus the number of regular zombies. So if there are 7 regular zombies, anyone trying to spot the bloater would require a DC 17 perception check.
Infectious bite (Ex) Anyone bitten by a bloater must make a Fort save (DC 11) or become infected with the virus. Every 24 hours the victim is allowed another Fort saving throw (DC 11) or lose 1d3 points of Constitution. When the Constitution score reaches zero, the victim dies and will rise as a either a regular zombie (01-80%) or a Rotted zombie (81-00%). A cure disease or other similar spell, spell-like ability, or medical drug will cure the victim, and the lost Constitution score will return at the victims’ natural healing rate per day.
Although very weak and easy to kill, the bloater zombie infected with the blood plague is far more dangerous because of the additional disease. Like other blood plague zombies, this one is blood-red in coloration, and the eyes glow a deep crimson.
As with regular bloaters, they will often remain hidden in packs of other blood-plague zombies, relying on the others to keep them hidden from view. When they are destroyed however, the toxic cloud they emit lasts a great deal longer than the regular bloater cloud, and it has the added hazard of being laced with the blood plague virus.
Chris Van Deelen is the creator and contributor to over half of the Wisdom from the Wastelands series, contributor to the Swords of Kos: Hekaton anthology, and the recently released 'Swords of Kos: The Rite'. He also wrote Creatures of the Tropical Wastelands, and 100 Oddities found in a Car. As prolific as he is, Chris Van Deelen continues to write and produce material which will be in publication soon. Not only is he a prolific content creator, he also has a wide selection of fiction and stories! If you like his work, please follow his personal author page on Facebook and on Twitter to keep up with his latest news and game content.
