Nilim Shambler

Engendered in a distant universe, nilim shamblers are born of constructs whose power grew to equal that of gods of other planes. They fused rude matter with living flesh, engineered consciousness into light, and snuffed out worlds in an explosion of conquest until, in their overreach, they collapsed their dimension. The resulting fragments of exotic matter expanding through the multiverse sometimes rain down from the void, hatching nilim shamblers and sometimes worse things.

Tiny particles of exotic "dust" are sometimes enough to create a nilim shambler, forming a creature built from surrounding objects, whether those are corpses or random materials such as stone and iron. Still-living subjects are the things most readily converted to fresh nilim shamblers, but anything will do.

Any incursion of nilim depends on a central mass of exotic matter located nearby: a nilim primary. This mass is sometimes insensate and defenseless; other times it congeals into something terrible. Either way, if a primary is destroyed, all the nearby nilim depending on it crumble to dust.

Nilim influence doesn't just distort and transform living things. Rude matter like rock, iron, and other unliving material can warp and blister, even rot, like living flesh cursed with leprosy.

Combat: A nilim shambler attacks once with a fist and once with a tendril. The fist inflicts a minor wound (3 points) plus 3 points of damage from breaking down the target into their component atoms (ignores Armor).

A successful tendril attack also confers an infection. A section of the victim's flesh, armor, clothing, or something else turns silver in a hand-sized area. Removing the infection requires an action—if on clothing or other equipment, the character automatically removes it or tears it off; otherwise, the target must cut away the infected flesh, inflicting a moderate wound (4 points) on themself (ignores Armor).

If not removed, the patch grows each round, transforming flesh and equipment as it inflicts 6 points of necrotic damage (ignores Armor). The patch can still be removed but now requires a successful level 4 Might task. If the target dies from this damage, about a day later their corpse (fused with their clothing, equipment, and perhaps even materials underneath) rises as a new nilim shambler.

A shambler regains 5 points of health each round by liquefying nearby solid materials with necrotic energy. Any creature within immediate range of a shambler when they do so must succeed on a Might defense task or take 2 points of damage (ignores Armor). If a shambler takes damage from fire or acid, they stop regenerating for one round.

Interaction: Shamblers are barely conscious animated agglomerations of physical matter. They can't communicate, but instinctively protect and obey the nearest nilim primary.

Use: A friendly NPC begins to sicken as their skin turns silver; they are the victim of a speck of exotic matter that triggered the NPC's transformation into a nilim shambler.

Loot: Shamblers have no use for wealth or treasure, but those created from people may still have equipment or valuables appropriate to their former lives.

Nilim primary: As dragon, with all tasks eased, cold breath instead of fiery breath, and creatures who fail their Speed defense roll against the cold breath are affected as if touched by a nilim shambler's transforming tendril

Abilities and effects that cure diseases or prevent physical transformations can stop the spread of the silvery patch.

GM Intrusion: Part of the shambler breaks off and becomes a separate creature, which immediately attacks. (The original shambler's stats are unchanged; the new shambler starts with half the health of the original but starts to regenerate to full health as normal.)

Nilim Shambler 4 (12)