Gatebent Horror

Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar) HD: 4d8+4 (22 hp) Initiative: +5 Speed: 30 ft. Armor Class: 18 (+1 Dex, +2 deflection, +5 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 17 Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+5 Attack: Slam +5 melee (1d4+1 plus wounding) Full Attack: 2 Slams +5 melee (1d4+1 plus wounding), bite +0 melee (1d6 plus wounding) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, wounding Special Qualities: Immunity to transformation, fortification (50%), fast healing 5, outsider traits Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +3 Abilities: Str 12, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 8 Skills: Balance +3, Climb +7, Escape Artist +7, Hide +7, Jump +9, Listen +6, Search +4, Spot +6, Tumble +9 Feats: Dodge, Improved Initiative Environment: Any plane Organization: Solitary or gang (2-5) Challenge Rating: 3 Treasure: Standard Alignment: Usually chaotic neutral Advancement: 5-7 HD (Medium) Level Adjustment: --

Illustration by Scott Purdy, used with permission. A larger version is available at Scott's website.

This thing is some kind of unstable mutated humanoid. Its flesh constantly changes texture, parts of its body become alternately skeletal, insectlike, meaty, and even stranger configurations. Partial limbs sprout from its body, then wither and are reabsorbed. Whatever it once was is completely unidentifiable now because of the constant reshaping of its own flesh.
   Gatebent horrors are the victims of interdimensional transport gone wrong. They may be created by a malfunctioning portal to another plane, a miscast gate spell, or a teleport that goes too deep into rock or a magical node--in any case the result is a physically- and mentally-tortured creature that can barely maintain its form. Its shape may alter over time and its appearance varies greatly from its original form, but all gatebent horrors have similar physical characteristics and abilities. Many horrors were once common Material Plane humanoids such as dwarves, and elves (and groups of horrors sometimes resemble adventuring archetypes), others are stranger creatures such as archons, formians, or even demons; some gatebent horrors may have additional abilities (such as fire immunity) retained from their original form but this is uncommon.
   Gatebent horrors never grow larger than Medium size. Some sages believe that they eventually mature or evolve into chaos beasts, others believe that they can reproduce by splitting off a portion of their mass (in the same way that certain oozes make more of their own kind).
   Regardless of their plane of origin or where they were created, gatebent horrors always have the extraplanar subtype; born of a confluence of multiplanar energies, after their transformation they are outcasts in any plane and never truly belong (spells and effects that send them to their home plane simply send them to a random plane).
   Gatebent horrors may understand one or more languages (typically Common or an planar language), but never communicate with anything but their own kind, using a very limited vocabulary from one of the languages a group shares.

Combat

Gatebent horrors lash out at anything they see as a threat, relying on their special defenses to keep them alive despite limited tactics. If severely threatened they use their ethereal jaunt ability to escape and recover.
   Fast Healing (Ex): A gatebent horror regains 5 hit points per round. Fast healing does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation, and it does not allow a creature to regrow or reattach lost body parts.
   Fortification (Ex): A horror's mutable body and constantly-shifting internal organs give it a 50% resistance to critical hits and sneak attacks as if it had the fortification armor quality (any critical hit or sneak attack against it has a 50% chance of being negated and damage is rolled normally).
   Immunity to Transformation (Ex): No mortal magic can permanently affect or fix a gatebent horror's form. Effects such as polymorphing or petrification force the creature into a new shape, but it reverts to its normal form 1d4 rounds later on its turn as a free action.
   Outsider Traits: Darkvision; cannot be raised or resurrected (though a wish or miracle spell can restore life).
   Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 1/day--blink, ethereal jaunt. Caster level 4. DC 9 + spell level. The DCs are Charisma-based.
   Wounding (Su): A gatebent horror's claw and bite attacks fester with dimensional instability, dealing 1 additional point of damage each round on the horror's turn. This damage continues until the target is magically healed (fast healing and regeneration also end this damage) or it enters an area where magic doesn't function. Cure spells, heal, restoration, and greater effects also end the wounding damage.

   This content is produced under version 1.0a and/or draft versions of the Open Game License and the System Reference Document by permission of Wizards of the Coast.
   Designation of Product Identity: The following items are hereby designated as Product Identity in accordance with Section 1(e) of the Open Game License, version 1.0a: The illustration of the gatebent horror.
   Designation of Open Game Content: Subject to the Designation of Product Identity above, the entirety of "Monster of the Month: Gatebent Horror" is Open Game Content. "Monster of the Month: Gatebent Horror" Copyright © 2005 Sean K Reynolds.
    Open Game License