by Tom Gafkjen a.k.a. wingnut

Dim torchlight flickered against the dank walls of this forty foot room. Carved images of souls trapped in torment decorate the walls as well as the four pillars that support the ceiling. A large circle has been carved into the center of the room. Within the circle lies a shallow depression large enough to fit a body. Seven incense burners stand in even spacing around the outside of the circle. One ironbound oak door on the south wall is the only entrance to this unholy chamber.

The door opens and seven priests dressed in the blackest of robes enter, the last two are carrying a body. By the dress of the unconscious body, he has the trappings of a cleric of some good aligned god. Five of the priests take up positions around the circle while the other two dump the body into the depression. They straighten the body on the ground and turn to take up their positions around the circle.

By some unknown signal, each priest begins to pray in unison with the others. They each turn to a incense burner and hold their right hand over while continuing to pray. A dark green smoke begins to issue forth from each of the burners. The smoke from each of the burners travels directly towards the center of the circle and begins to swirl around the body of the unconscious cleric. The body lets out a low moan and instantly he snaps his eyes open. The cleric laying on the ground finds himself unable to move and starts to panic as beads of sweat begin to form on his forehead.

The ritual prayer from the black robed priests starts getting louder. With their left hands, each priest reach into their robes and withdraw a small rod that on one end has a ball shape with pin holes around the ball. They hold the rod up high and begin flicking the ball end towards the terrified man. Unholy water coming from the rod's holes begin mixing with the smoke to form a mist.

In unison, the dark priests condemn their victim. "You have blasphemed our god of death. You have taken a soul that was rightfully his and returned it to the land of the living. For this, you will now serve him and his will for eternity."

The man on the floor lets out a blood curdling scream as the mist surrounding him forces itself into all the pours of his body. His body begins to convulse, no longer trapped by whatever magical force that held it still. The unholy screaming and thrashing continues for several minutes as the body begins to become translucent and its eyes turn a solid black.

The body stops twitching as the ritual comes to an end. It rises up and looks around. "Go harvester," the priests moan. "Take your place and do our gods will."

The newly created Soul Harvester feels a calling. He knows it is the location of a graveyard some days travel from here. The once good cleric floats across the floor and out the door. He can feel the live force that awaits him and hungrily advances towards his fate.

-----------

Soul Harvester
Medium Undead
Hit Dice: 10d12 (65 average hp)
Initiative: +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 30 ft.
AC: 11 (+1 Dex)
Attacks: Slam +6
Damage: -
Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Recalling of Souls
Special Qualities: Incorporeal, Undead Immunities
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +7
Abilities: Str -, Dex 12, Con -, Int 7, Wis 7, Cha 16
Skills: -
Feats: Alertness, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (Touch)

Climate/Terrain: Graveyards
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Usually Chaotic Evil
Advancement: 10 HD, 12 HD, 14 HD

These undead beings appears as translucent priests in their ritual vestments with solid black eyes. The vestments are usually easily recognizable as being from some good aligned god.

Soul Harvesters were once good clerics who used their divine magic to bring back lives (Raise Dead and Resurrection) and as a result they are targeted by priests of death. The Death Priests, feeling their god is being robbed of his due reward, kidnap and through their unholy rituals, turn a good cleric into a Soul Harvester. They then release them into nearby graveyards.

Only a priest who has brought someone back from the dead can be turned into a Soul Harvester.

COMBAT
Soul Harvesters are created with a burning hatred for life. They target their Recalling of Souls first to clerics and paladins, second to any creature of good alignment and then everyone else. Even though they were intelligent, they are now quite insane and hate their own existence. They will not flee from a fight if it is going bad for itself.

Recalling of Souls (Su): The undead must succeed at a melee touch attack to touch the subject, and the subject can avoid death with a successful Fortitude save (DC 18). If he succeeds, he instead takes 3d6+3 points of damage. The save is charisma based.