General Rules: Monsters - Crystal Cat

Crystal Cat (from Dragon Magazine #341)
Tiny Construct

Hit Dice: 2d10 (11 hit points)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 30 feet
Armor Class: 19 (+2 size, +4 Dexterity, +3 natural); touch 15, flat-footed 13
BAB/Grapple: +1/-9

Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d3-2, slashing, 20 x2)

Full Attack: 2 claws +7 melee (1d3-2, slashing, 20 x2) and bite +1 melee (1d4-2, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing, 20 x2)

Space/Reach: 2½ feet by 2½ feet/0 feet
Special Attacks: Sharp hide

Special Qualities: Construct traits, low-light vision, scent, transparent

Saves: Fortitude +0, Reflex +4, Will +1
Abilities: Str 7, Int 2, Wis 12, Dex 18, Con -, Cha 7

Skills: Balance +12, Climb +8, Hide +20, Jump +12, Listen +3, Move Silently +9, Spot +3

Feats: Weapon Finesse
Environment: Any

Organization: Solitary

Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: -
Alignment: Any
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment: -

A crystal cat appears as a translucent crystalline feline with sharp edges at its joints. Barely visible, the cast stalks with soundless purpose.

Crystal cats act in much the same manner as house cast. They like nothing better than relaxing and hunting - everything else is a distraction from these pursuits. The construct's weakness lies in its interior: They are more delicate than a standard construct familiar and require constant maintenance in order to remain in working condition. Construct familiars are common among mages of the Collegium.

Combat
In combat, crystal cats stick close to their masters, protecting them as best they can. If alone, crystal cats usually flee from combat, relying upon their stealth for safety.

Sharp Hide (Ex): Creatures grappling with a crystal cat or attacking it with natural weapons take 1d4 points of slashing damage per round of contact or successful attack as the cat's sharp edges cut into them.

Transparent (Ex): Crystal cats prove difficult to see even under normal lighting conditions. Characters must make a DC 15 Spot check to even notice a crystal cat. If the cat is actively hiding, the Spot DC to locate the crystal cat is equal to its Hide check, as usual.

Construct: Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, disease, death effects, paralysis, stunning, sleep, and similar effects. Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, energy drain, or death from massive damage. Destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points, cannot be raised. Cannot be healed with healing magic unless it specifically says it works on constructs, and does not heal on its own.

Skills: Crystal cats have a +4 racial bonus on Climb and Move Silently checks and a +8 racial bonus on Balance, Hide, and Jump checks. They use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for Climb and Jump checks.

Crystal Cats as Familiars
Crystal cats can serve as familiars for characters eligible to obtain familiars including arcane engineers, hexblades, mind weavers, shadowsworn, sorcerers, and wizards. To do so, the character must take the Improved Familiar feat, be at least a 5^th-level caster, and must meet the prerequisites required to construct the familiar, including the creation cost, experience point cost, and time spent.

The creation of a crystal cat requires painstaking hours carefully carving a single block of pure crystal costing at least 1,000 shillings. This requires either a DC 15 Craft (Gemcutting) check or Dc 15 Craft (Sculpting) check. After creating the body, the spellcaster continues by summoning a familiar in the normal manner. Upon completion of the summoning ritual a spark of the creator's consciousness inhabits and animates the prepared body. This personality mimics the animal form that it inhabits, but retains some of the creator's habits and traits.

Should a construct familiar become damaged, its master may repair it. This may be accomplished through spells like repair light damage, or through more mundane means. Physically repairing a construct familiar takes one hour and costs 10 shillings in supplies per hit point repaired.

Caster Level: 5^th; Prerequisites: Craft Construct, invisibility, keen edge, caster must be at least 5^th level; Market Price: 5,000 shillings; Cost to Create: 3,000 shillings + 160 experience points.

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