Coming Out of the Basement

While reading through some of the strange pushback against calls for inclusiveness in tabletop gaming, I wondered if anyone had statted out a Straw Man. Here’s a quick Straw Man as a variant Soulbound Doll for Pathfinder.

Straw Man (Soulbound Doll variant)                      CR 2
XP 600
CE Tiny construct

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +3

DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +1 natural, +2 size)
hp 19 (3d10+3)
Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +1
DR 2/magic; Immune construct traits
Weaknesses susceptible to mind-affecting effects, thin skin

OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee club +3 (1d2–2/19–20)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd, concentration +2)

3/day—ghost sound, haunted fey aspect, mage hand, unwitting ally
1/day—clarion call, ear-piercing scream

STATISTICS
Str 7, Dex 14, Con –, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 8
Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 11
Feats Improved Initiative, Toughness
Skills Perception +3, Stealth +13
Languages Common
SQ illusive size, screeching screed, soul focus

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Susceptible to Mind-Affecting Effects (Ex)
The weakened conviction of a straw man’s soul makes it susceptible to mind-affecting effects, despite the fact that it is a construct.

Thin Skin (Ex)
A straw man is vulnerable to slashing damage and takes 50% additional damage from it.

Illusive Size (Su)
Once per day, a straw man can make itself appear as a Medium creature, as if casting silent image as a 3rd level caster for this specific purpose.

Screeching Screed (Su)
Once per day, as a full-round action a straw man can make a loud and disruptive speech on any subject that angers it. All creatures except other straw men within a 30-foot-radius spread must make a DC 10 Fortitude save or be dazed for 1 round. The save DC is Charisma-based. Any spellcaster within 30 feet of the straw man must succeed on a DC 10 concentration check to successfully cast a spell until the beginning of the straw man’s next turn.

Soul Focus (Su)
The soul bound to the straw man lives within a focus integrated into the straw man’s body or its apparel, typically one of the creature’s eyes or a gem embedded into its neck or chest. As long as this soul focus remains intact, it can be used to animate another straw man, using the same cost as creating a new construct. Once bound into the soul focus, the soul continues to learn, and so if later it is put into a new doll body, the soul retains its personality and memories from its previous body or bodies. A soul focus has hardness 8, 12 hit points, and a break DC of 20.

Construction
A straw man’s body is typically made of cloth and straw, and resembles a miniature wicker man. The body of a straw man includes a valuable object worth at least 300 gp to serve as the soul focus, typically a beloved object stolen from its rightful owner. The creation of a straw man requires a soul fragment from a deceased creature that must die at some point during the creation of the straw man—as a result, most straw men are created by evil spellcasters. Other spellcasters can create straw men, but if the donor soul is unwilling, they may have alignment repercussions. An unwilling soul can resist the procedure with a DC 20 Will save. Stripping a soul fragment from the dead does not prevent the rest of the soul from continuing on to the afterlife, nor does it prevent the body from later being resurrected or raised from the dead.
CL 7th; Price 4,300 gp

CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Craft Construct, false life,  ghost sound, lesser geas, magic jar, minor creation, soul of a living creature who dies or is slain during the creation process; Skill Craft (clothing); Cost 2,300 gp.

ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or horde (3–12)
Treasure standard

This variant of a souldbond doll contains a fragment of another creature’s soul. Unlike the standard doll, the soul fragment must be taken from a creature that is chaotic evil. The resulting construct is filled with vitriol. The straw man typically only attacks when it believes it has a significant advantage, and it always attempts to attack the opponent that appears the most vulnerable.

Evil spellcasters have been known to use groups of straw men and their illusion magic to make the spellcaster’s defenses appear stronger than they really are.

Licence Information: Open Game License

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Advanced Player’s Guide. Copyright 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2, © 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Wolfgang Baur, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Graeme Davis, Crystal Frasier, Joshua J. Frost, Tim Hitchcock, Brandon Hodge, James Jacobs, Steve Kenson, Hal MacLean, Martin Mason, Rob McCreary, Erik Mona, Jason Nelson, Patrick Renie, Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, Owen K.C. Stephens, James L. Sutter, Russ Taylor, and Greg A. Vaughan, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.

Pathfinder Player Companion: Knights of the Inner Sea © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Gareth Hanrahan, Steve Kenson, Patrick Renie, Tork Shaw, and Jerome Virnich.

Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Combat. © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Jason Bulmahn, Tim Hitchcock, Colin McComb, Rob McCreary, Jason Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K Reynolds, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Russ Taylor.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Magic. © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Jason Bulmahn, Tim Hitchcock, Colin McComb, Rob McCreary, Jason Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K Reynolds, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Russ Taylor.