Sandy petersens cthulhu mythos 499

Wizard's Shackle
WIZARD’S SHACKLE

What You See
CR 1/2

XP 200
N Tiny aberration (aquatic)
Init +0; Senses arcane sight, blindsight 60 ft.; Perception
+6
DEFENSE

AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 size)
hp 9 (2d8)
Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +4
Defensive Abilities host buffer; Immune disease, mindaffecting effects, poison; SR 11

Stubby half-formed legs flail to
seek purchase as tiny hooks flex in
and out of this creature’s slug-like
body. Blackened arcane runes shift
into view underneath a layer of
protective slime.

OFFENSE

Speed 5 ft., swim 30 ft.
Melee bite +3 (1d4-3 plus attach and 1d3 Wisdom damage)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks puppet master
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +1)

Constant—arcane sight
S TAT I S T I C S

Str 4, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 2
Base Atk +1; CMB -1 (+7 grapple); CMD 6 (14 vs. grapple,
can’t be tripped)
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Climb +2, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Perception +6,
Stealth +13, Swim +10
Languages Aklo (can’t speak); telepathy 10 ft.
SQ amphibious, compression
ECO LO GY

Environment any water
Organization solitary, pair, or infestation (3-12)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES

Host Buffer (Ex) A wizard’s shackle that has dominated a
host uses the host’s saving throws if they are better than
the wizard’s shackle’s saving throws.
Puppet Master (Su) If a wizard’s shackle attaches to a
creature that can cast spells or use spell-like abilities,
the target creature must succeed at a DC 14 Will save
or become dominated (as per dominate monster). The
domination lasts as long as the wizard’s shackle remains
in contact with the victim. If the target would receive a
new save against the effect (as described in the spell), a
successful save allows it to avoid taking the action, but
doesn’t end the domination. The save DC is Intelligencebased and includes a +2 racial bonus.

Tenacious Grip (Ex) A wizard’s shackle gains a +8 bonus
on combat maneuver checks to grapple and to CMD
against grapple combat maneuvers.

Wizard’s shackles are intelligent, eel-like parasites with
tough bodies covered in pulsating veins. A wizard’s
shackle not attached to a host is quite cowardly and
typically flees if it can. However, if the wizard’s shackle
becomes aware of a creature capable of casting spells
or using spell-like abilities, it becomes extraordinarily
aggressive. Once it establishes physical contact
with such a creature, a wizard’s shackle attempts to
dominate its host. Wizard’s shackles can’t control nonspellcasters, and never attempt to.
Though wizard’s shackles are intelligent, they don’t
have a society of their own and, without a host, they
perform simple acts like eating, mating, and sleeping
in the fashion of mindless vermin. However, once it
dominates a spellcasting host, a wizard’s shackle reveals
its full potential. Driven by strange yearnings and
enigmatic impulses, a wizard’s shackle leads its host
to perform various tasks that don’t make sense from
an outside perspective. Most of these tasks are weird
but benign, such as using magic to steal a merchant’s
silverware or fix the roof of a peasant’s house. Rarely,
a wizard’s shackle will force its host to commit murder
or other brutal acts intended to fulfill some unknown
purpose, though most victims of such actions tend to
be wicked or corrupt in their own rights. Regardless,
wizard’s shackles attached to hosts have an alien but
almost childlike curiosity when it comes to humanoid

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