Sheut Monolith (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

This is a work in progress.

The ancient lands of the desert are rife with aged ruins guarded by stony sentinels from bygone days, whose implacable gaze can still the heart of a miscreant or scare off a would-be tomb robber. The ancient race of sphinxes is said to have endowed the first living monoliths with their powers, raising statues to a semblance of life, but today, most of these paragons of justice are mortals who willingly take on the mantle of immortal guardians through ritual and devotion, imbuing themselves with the patience and eternal strength of stone. The sheut monolith is a living monolith of a casteless rogue, and as such not all seuth monoliths were willing guardians; some were just ordered to the task, or even made into living monoliths as a form of punishment.

Class Information

This is a prestige archetype. Sheut monoliths are immortal rogues with the might and resilience of stone.

Prestige Class: Living monolith from Pathfinder Player Companion: People of the Sands.

Build Classes: Rogue.

Role: Sheut monoliths are sacred guardians, using magical powers to hinder and destroy tomb robbers. They become living custodians of the complex they guard, learning every nook and cranny and mastering every trap and device. In a party, their role is to scout and find a way through the traps left by others.

Alignment: Any. Their alignment might be similar to that of the noble whose tomb they guard, but often it is the opposite if the sheut monolith was unwilling. See the shadow quest ability for how this can work.

Bonus Language: Sphinx. A sheut monolith can pick sphinx as a bonus language, in addition to those allowed by her race.

Hit Die: d8.

Class Skills

Acrobatics (Dex), Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int ), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device (Cha),

Skill Ranks Per Level: 8 + Int modifier.

Class Features

These are all the class features of the sheut monolith.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Rogues are proficient with all simple weapons, plus the hand axe, throwing axe, sap, short sword, shortbow, and throwing arrow cord. They are not proficient with armor or shields.

Fortified Flesh (Ex)

At 1st level, the flesh of a sheut monolith takes on the hardness of stone. A sheut monolith gains DR 1 and 10% immunity to critical hits and sneak attacks (as if wearing fortification armor). At 4th level and every three levels thereafter, this DR increases by 1 and the immunity to critical hits increases by 10%. When a sheut monolith uses her sheut stone to reduce her size, these defenses temporarily increase by an additional 1 and 10%, respectively.

Shadow Quest (Su)

Sheut is the shadow, and sheut monoliths are shady, often chaotic, rebellious characters. In order to turn them into guardians, part of their soul is bound to a site, usually a tomb. As long as this site is complete and not desecrated, the living monolith is free to act as she pleases, even to leave the guarded area. But if the site is robbed or desecrated, it becomes the sheut monolith's quest to return all missing items and to repair and reconsecrate the site. This works like geas/quest but the effect is nebulous, the sheut monolith can resist each day by making a Will save (DC 20). On a success the geas/quest is negated for that day, and all penalties reset. The seuth monolith must save again each day or the geas/quest will resume, this applies regardless of if the has been negated by a Will save or other means.

The GM is encouraged to use this as an adventure hook and involve the sheut monolith's quest in the ongoing story of the campaign. As long as she stays reasonably on track and pursues the story, the geas/quest won't trigger, but if she pursues only her own agenda or pleasures, the spell triggers. This allows the player to play an unwilling hero while still having a hook to take part in the adventures at hand.

Sheut Stone (Su)

During her induction into this prestige class, a sheut monolith has a stone scarab embedded in her forehead, often set with gems or inlaid with precious metals. This stone is inscribed on its inner side with the monolith's true name and her oaths to the gods and pharaohs. It cannot be removed without her permission, cannot be dispelled (though it does not function in areas where magic does not work), and does not use a magic item slot.

The soul stone grants the sheut monolith a +2 bonus on saving throws against death effects, mind-affecting effects, effects that grant negative levels, and on saves to overcome negative levels.

Tomb Mastery (Su)

The sheut monolith has an instinctive understanding of stone construction. She adds half her class level (minimum +1) on all Perception and Disable Device checks relating to stone construction, such as finding and manipulating traps and secret doors made of or set in stone. In addition, the sheut monolith can repair and reset a trap made of or set in stone as a full-round action with a Disable Device check against the trap's normal disable difficulty. This replaces trapfinding.

Armor Bonus (Ex)

At 2nd level, a sheut monolith receives +4 armor bonus to AC as a result of their ongoing petrification. This is an armor bonus (not natural armor) and does not stack with armor worn or effects like mage armor. At 4th level, this armor bonus stacks with bracers of armor or or magic vestment, but not both. This replaces the rogue talent gained at level 2.

Stone Blood (Ex)

At 2nd level, the vital fluids and tissues of a sheut monolith can selectively petrify in response to injury. A sheut monolith automatically stabilizes when at negative hit points and is immune to continuous damage from bleed attacks (including weapons with the wounding special ability) and ability damage from blood drain. This replaces evasion.

Sheut Reduction (Sp)

At third level a sheut monolith can invoke the power of her sheut stone as a swift action, enabling her to shrink in size as if using reduce person (even if he is not a humanoid). She can suspend and resume the size change as a swift action for the duration. The sheuth monolith can use this an additional time per day for every three levels after level 3. At level 9, she can reduce her size by two categories, gaining a +4 size bonus to Dexterity, a -4 size penalty to Strength (to a minimum of 1), a +2 bonus on attack rolls and AC due to its reduced size, and a +8 size bonus to Stealth. This replaces danger sense.

Stability (Ex)

At 4th level, a sheut monolith becomes exceptionally stable on her feet, gaining a +4 bonus to her CMD when he resists a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground. This stacks with a dwarf 's stability trait and similar abilities. This replaces uncanny dodge.

Tombsight (Su)

At 6th level, a living monolith can perceive the balance of life and death within those he sees, as if using deathwatch and detect undead simultaneously. Tombsight replaces the level 6 rogue talent.

This power can be used at will and lasts as long as the living monolith concentrates.

Immune to Poison and Disease

At 8th level, a living monolith becomes immune to all poisons, drugs, and diseases, including supernatural and magical versions (such as mummy rot). This replaces improved uncanny dodge.

Attunement to Stone (Sp)

At 10th level, a sheut monolith can use meld into stone at will. The duration of this ability can be freely extended, and the sheut monolith does not age, eat, drink, breathe, or sleep while so melded. She can dimly see what goes on around, but suffer a -10 penalty on visual Perception checks while melded. This replaces the level 10 rogue talent.

Summon Sphinx (Sp)

At 12th level the sheut monolith gains a +4 bonus on Diplomacy checks to influence sphinxes, and can call upon the aid of the sphinxes. Once per day, the sheut monolith can call a sphinx to her presence and bargain for its services as if using planar ally to call upon an outsider. At 17th level, this ability functions as greater planar ally.

Communion with Stone (Su)

At 14th level, a living monolith achieves a unique communion with the earth, gaining tremorsense to a range of 30 feet. Once per day, the living monolith can communicate with rock and stone as if using stone tell. He gains either Sphinx or Terran as a bonus language. This replaces the rogue talent from level 14.

Assumption of Stone (Sp)

At 16th level a living monolith becomes immune to petrification. Also, he may use statue as a spell-like ability with a range of personal at will. Add any damage reduction the living monolith has to its hardness in statue form. The duration of this ability can be freely extended, and the living monolith does not age, eat, drink, breathe, or sleep while using it. If he is using her sheut stone to shrink herself, the duration of that ability does not count time in statue form against its duration.

Judgment of the Monolith (Sp)

At 18th level, a living monolith gains the divine authority to demand truthful answers. Once per day, a living monolith can conduct a ritual of inquisition. If performed on a dead body, this functions as speak with dead. Upon a living creature, it functions as a mark of justice that activates if the target lies to the living monolith. A living monolith can also use this power to entreat the spirits of the living and the dead to answer questions as if using contact other plane (treat as contacting a lesser deity). This replaces the level 18 rogue talent.

Ageless Stone (Ex)

At 20th level, a living monolith becomes immortal. He ceases aging (though any aging effects already accrued remain in place) and becomes immune to energy drain and death effects, though he can still be killed by other means.

Table: Sheut Monolith

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+0	+0	+2	+0	Finesse training, fortified flesh, shadow quest, sheut stone, sneak attack +1d6, tomb mastery
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+0	Armor bonus, stone blood
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+1	Finesse training, sheut reduction (1/day), sneak attack +2d6
4th	+3	+1	+4	+1	Debilitating injury, rogue talent, stability
5th	+3	+1	+4	+1	Rogue's edge, sneak attack +3d6
6th	+4	+2	+5	+2	sheut reduction (2/day), tombsight
7th	+5	+2	+5	+2	Sneak attack +4d6
8th	+6/ +1	+2	+6	+2	Immune to poison and disease, rogue talent
9th	+6/ +1	+3	+6	+3	sheut reduction (3/day, 2 sizes), sneak attack +5d6
10th	+7/ +2	+3	+7	+3	Advanced talents, attunement to stone, rogue's edge
11th	+8/ +3	+3	+7	+3	Finesse training, sneak attack +6d6
12th	+9/ +4	+4	+8	+4	sheut reduction (4/day), rogue talent, summon sphinx
13th	+9/ +4	+4	+8	+4	Sneak attack +7d6
14th	+10/ +5	+4	+9	+4	Communion with stone
15th	+11/ +6/ +1	+5	+9	+5	sheut reduction (5/day), rogue's edge, sneak attack +8d6
16th	+12/ +7/ +2	+5	+10	+5	Assumption of stone, rogue talent
17th	+12/ +7/ +2	+5	+10	+5	Sneak attack +9d6, summon sphinx (greater)
18th	+13/ +8/ +3	+6	+11	+6	sheut reduction (6/day), judgement of the monolith
19th	+14/ +9/ +4	+6	+11	+6	Finesse training, sneak attack +10d6
20th	+15/ +10/ +5	+6	+12	+6	Ageless stone, master strike, rogue talent, rogue's edge

The text in this article is Open Game Content. It is covered by the Open Game License v1.0a, rather than the Action copyright. To distinguish it, these items will have this notice. If you see any page that contains OGL material and does not show this license statement, please contact one of the Action administrators. Please note that images used in article may have different copyright than the text.