Working Draft
Since we can't get into the homebrews threads.
Adding in a few things discussed previously.
Busen
Medium Outsider (Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 8d8+24 (60 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 20 (+5 Dex, +5 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+12
Attack: Weaponlike protrusion +12 melee (1d10+4)
Full Attack: 2 weaponlike protrusions +12 melee (1d10+4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Malleable form, whirlwind attack
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., immunity to charm, electricity, paralysis, and sleep, malleable form, resistance to cold 10, shadow blend, spell resistance CR+7, telepathy 100 ft., vulnerability to fire
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +11, Will +9
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 20, Con 17, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 11
Skills: Balance +15, Climb +16, Diplomacy +2, Escape Artist +16, Hide +16, Intimidate +11, Jump +18, Listen +14, Move Silently +16, Search +14, Sense Motive +20, Spot +14, Tumble +18
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Improved Sunder, Power Attack
Environment: Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia
Organization: Solitary or vigil (2-3)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always lawful, often neutral
Advancement: 9-16 HD (Medium), 17-24 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: —
A humanoid figure with glistening skin like seamless black leather. Its face is as smooth and featureless as a pool of oil. Strange ridges run across its limbs, skull, and torso, almost breaking through its skin.
The buseni are fearsome-looking outsiders that guard many of the routes to the second layer of Arcadia. A busen's default form is the jet-black humanoid described above, but they have malleable bodies which take on whatever shape best suits their mission. A busen patrolling a broad mountain pass might be a slavering wolf-thing, one guarding a sinkhole down to a tunnel could be a sucker-pawed crawler with enormous bat-like ears. Buseni have no bones, their skeletons are odd ridges that are just barely restrained from projecting through their skin. A busen can jut a pair of these ridges out from its flesh and use these protrusions as weapons.
In their normal duties, buseni wait in some dark spot until someone tries to pass them without permission. They then suddenly step into view and display their weapon-protrusions. Buseni do their utmost to kill any intruder who reacts to this warning display by attacking. If intruders try to parley, the buseni telepathically interrogate them as to their purpose in trying to enter Arcadia, then demand the intruder remove all their possessions (including weapons, clothes, and even jewelery) while the buseni examine them. The buseni then use Sense Motive to determine their trustworthiness, only allowing creatures to pass if they assess them to be non-evil.
The buseni are lawful creatures with no tolerance of evil, who would sooner die than allow an evil creature pass by on their watch. Their function as sentries is obvious, and they obey orders assigning them to specific guard missions, but who (or what) does the ordering is unknown. The origins of buseni are equally mysterious, since they do not appear to be formed from petitioners or breed like normal creatures. Some sages believe they are spawned from the plane of Arcadia itself.
Busen skin can be used to make leather clothing of extraordinary durability which fetch a high price in the lower planes. Wearing such garments in the presence of creatures affiliated with Arcadia is sure to provoke attacks, challenges, or demands for reparation.
A busen's malleable form generally remains around 6 feet in length or height. It weighs around 200 pounds.
Buseni communicate telepathically. They could form a mouth and speak, but their regular missions give them no cause to. Buseni are fully familiar with the Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic and Infernal languages.
COMBAT
Any creature that attacks a busen or demonstrates a clearly evil nature is met with lethal force. Buseni use malleable form to adjust their tactics and weapon-like protrusions to best affect their opponent, although individual busen may have a favored form for its weapon-protrusions. A sorely endangered busen will resort to its whirling frenzy attack.
A busen's natural attacks and any weapons it wields are treated as lawful-aligned for purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Malleable Form (Ex): A busen can reshape its body into many shapes, although it always occupies the same volume and has an oily black skin. For example, it can grow large ears to give itself a bonus on Listen checks. A busen can use malleable form to grant itself a racial bonus on Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Jump, Hide, Intimidate, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Spot, Swim, or Tumble checks. Malleable form can grant racial bonuses with a total bonus up to +12, but no more than a +8 bonus to any one skill.
A busen may also change the form of its natural attacks to take the form of any manufactured 1-handed melee weapon (heavy pick, shortspear, whip, etc.). The natural attack gains all traits of the weapon, such as damage type (bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing), critical threat range and multiplier, bonuses on disarm and trip checks, increased reach, and so forth. Regardless of the weapon emulated, the natural attack's damage is always the same (1d10 for a standard busen). Emulated weapons cannot be disarmed, sundered or thrown, since they are as much a part of the busen's body as any ordinary natural weapon. If a busen's natural attack takes the form of an exotic weapon, it suffers a non-proficiency penalty unless it has the appropriate Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat.
A busen can change the weapon form of its natural weapons as a swift action (or a free action if it has the Quick Draw feat), but it requires a full-round action for a busen to change the racial bonuses of its malleable form. A busen with the Improved Natural Attack feat can apply it to only one form of its natural attacks (such as a longsword form). Each time it takes the feat, it applies to a new form of its natural weapon.
Shadow Blend (Su): In any condition of illumination other than full daylight, a busen can disappear into the shadows, giving it total concealment. Artificial illumination, even a light or continual flame spell, does not negate this ability. A daylight spell, however, will.
Whirling Frenzy (Ex): A hard pressed busen can enter a berserk fury that lasts 1d6 rounds, during which it sprouts weapon protrusions all over its body and spins at blinding speed. The busen gains a +2 dodge bonus to its Armor Class while Frenzied. Every round a busen spends in Whirling Frenzy it moves up to its full speed and make 4 weapon protrusion attacks at its full attack bonus, each dealing 2d8+4 damage. The busen can make Whirling Frenzy attacks from any point on its movement, dividing its attacks amongst its opponents however it wishes. Making a set of Whirling Frenzy attacks is a full round action for the busen.
Once the Whirling Frenzy's duration expires, the busen will become exhausted. Buseni can only recover from frenzy exhaustion by natural rest for an hour (not by magic).
Skills: Buseni have a +6 racial bonus to Sense Motive checks. Buseni can use either their Dexterity or Strength on Climb and Jump checks, and can always choose to take 10 on Climb and Jump checks, even if rushed or threatened.
Originally appeared in Planes of Law (1995).
