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Pahakala Solitary, Huge, Magical, Divine, Intelligent, Planar Tentacle, Mouth (b[2d12+9] damage 4 piercing) 30 HP 6 armor Reach, Forceful, Ignores Armor, Near, Far The Kraken, the great Leviathan, child of Daar, the great destroyer and devourer. Instinct: to devour
- Swallow a person, group, or place whole
- Spout forth murky water
- Spout forth watery demons of the abyss
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Tiny Octopus Solitary, Tiny, Magical, Divine, Intelligent Words of encouragement (w[2d12] damage) 12 HP 4 armor Close The tiny octopus is an a creature originating from the plane of good, sent on a mission dedicated to encourage people and provide the best moral support ever. Instinct: To encourage
- Drown someone in compliments
- Bring out the good in someone
- Make someone accomplish their goals
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Lurkfish Solitary, Large, Stealthy Bite (b[2d10] damage 1 piercing) 10 HP 3 armor For days a lurkfish lies in the water, not feeding, not moving. Being cold-blooded, it only needs to eat occasionally. It is an ambush predator, lying in wait. The mouth of a lurkfish splits the whole of its broad snout and from its thick lips hang short barbels that are sensitive to any movement in the water. More barbels sprout from its face. Tall and branched, they mimic the thick tangle of water weeds covering the swamp. But the barbels are not just a means of camouflage. Like the electric catfish, the lurkfish is able to generate a powerful electric field. The barbels form an electrical sensory net, capable of detecting even the smallest movement of potential prey in the water nearby. Like a crocodile, the lurkfish has a mail of thick, protective plates covering its body beneath its skin. This armor shields the lurkfish's internal organs, but its external fins, barbels and sensors are vulnerable in a fight. The lurkfish has another weapon at its disposal. Its electrical system is not just a sensory device but is also used in hunting. A lurkfish can overcome large and combative prey by administering a powerful electric shock to its victim. Instinct: To hunt
- Paralyze victims with an electric shock
- Appear like a log (camouflage)
- Swallow whole small prey
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Swampus Group, Small, Stealthy Venomous Bite (d8 damage) 6 HP 1 armor Close In most respects, the swampus looks like a typical octopus. One difference is immediately apparent: at first glance this creature appears to have four tentacles instead of eight. This is because four of its original tentacles have evolved into weight-bearing pads which it uses to move over land. They function like the foot of a gastropod, carrying the animal along by a rippling action of the muscles. The suckers of the tentacles have developed into horny ridges that grip the ground beneath them. The long tentacles at the front of the swampus are also used in locomotion, reaching out to grip logs and trunks, and then pulling the creature along. It is a clumsy movement, but sufficient to carry the animal's 44-pound (20 kilograms) weight through the thick vegetation of the humid swamp. The swampus can survive on land for up to four days at a time, safe from the electrical attacks of lurkfish. However, it must return to the water to replenish its oxygen supply and carry out other vital functions, such as mating. The murky water is no place to rear a family, though. Once she has mated, a female swampus clambers out of the water and into the surrounding vegetation to find a safe place in which to deposit her fertilized eggs. Instinct: To survive
- Entangle them with tentacles
- Camouflage
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Hawktoad Horde, Small Claws, Tongue (d4 damage) 3 HP 1 armor Close, Near Special Qualities: Amphibious Hawktoads are amphibians with the body of a very large toad, but their front paws have very long, hooked claws. Instead of back legs, they have a thick tail like that of a tadpole. The full length of a hawktoad is about 3 feet. These bizarre creatures float in air and “swim” through it by lashing their tails, exactly the way a tadpole swims through water. Their sharp claws are dangerous, but the real threat comes from their tongues, with which they can strangle creatures up to Large size. Once a hawktoad gets its tongue around a potential victim’s neck and latches onto the victim’s back, it quickly transitions from pest to lethal threat. A single hawktoad would be easy to deal with, but they always move and attack in packs. Hawktoads are most dangerous in spring, when they can be ravenous if the winter was particularly long or harsh. There are rumors that some wizards have attained hawktoads as familiars, but most scholars discount them as legend. Even if such stories were true, the hawktoad’s foul temper would make it an unpleasant companion. When a hawktoad hits a target with its tongue, the monster wraps its tongue around the victim’s neck. It then quickly maneuvers itself behind the target, landing on the target’s back. The hawktoad digs in its claws and tries to strangle the victim with its tongue. Instinct: To strangle
- Strangle the victim with its tongue
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Flayed Lizard Solitary, Small, Stealthy, Devious, Terrifying Claws, Venomous Spit (d6 damage 1 piercing) 8 HP 0 armor Close, Near Special Qualities: Hide like flayed skin The flayed lizard native to the swamps of Altalos are dog sized lizards covered in pink, stinky flesh. They put up their frilly colar to scare away enemies and spit corrosive venom. Instinct: To Hunt
- Return to its lair when threatened
- Scare them away
- Corrode Armor
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Carbuncle Solitary, Tiny, Stealthy (w[2d6-2] damage) 12 HP 2 armor Hand Special Qualities: Forehead Gem Deep in the tangled underbrush of forests and in the remote regions of dismal swamps and bogs lives a strange creature called the carbuncle. It is a shy creature that seeks to avoid encounters. Should it seek interaction, a carbuncle often begins by proudly announcing the value of the gem in its forehead just to watch the reaction the information arouses. Despite its shy nature, the carbuncle has a mischievous side as well. It sometimes joins travelers so it can play pranks on them and observe the reactions of the unfortunate victims of its curiosity. After joining with a party, a carbuncle eventually seeks to breed hostility and suspicion between party members. They have been known to telepathically contact nearby monsters and draw them to the party, so that it can watch the battle and read the thoughts of the party under attack before slipping away. A carbuncle can be coerced or persuaded to surrender the gem in its forehead. If the attempt fails, the carbuncle sees through the deception and flees. If the carbuncle relinquishes its gem, it grows another one within one month. When a carbuncle is slain, its forehead gem crumbles to dust. Though fascinated by combat, carbuncles are nearly helpless in melee. They enjoy setting up encounters using their powers and watching the brutal scenes unfold, but they surrender immediately if attacked themselves. In a lethal situation, a carbuncle first tries to bargain for safety with its gem. If that fails, it can will itself to die rather than suffer torment (and rather than giving up its gem to someone it suspects will only kill it anyway). Instinct: To play pranks on adventurers
- Lure adventurers into a dangerous situation
- Cause discord
- Telepathy
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Goatscorpion Solitary, Large, Stealthy, Devious, Intelligent, Planar Pincers, Sting (b[2d8] damage 1 piercing) 16 HP 3 armor Special Qualities: Immune to poison, flame and fear Goat’s head, giant scorpion’s body. It despises innocence and will attack the most virtuous party member first. Sting poison: 10d6 dmg Instinct: to destroy the virtuous and innocent
- Spit vile black fluid
- Poison them
- Grab and snap 'em
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Demonic Fly Solitary, Large, Intelligent, Planar Claws (b[2d10] damage) 16 HP 2 armor Special Qualities: Wings, Immune to poison, flame and fear Huge insect body, head like a bug-eyed caricature of a human face. It is dumb and vicious, but has an intricate knowledge of politics. They can emit a sound causing collective hallucinations (all PCs hallucinate the same thing). GM should not tell players they are hallucinating and hallucinations will generally be of things that would cause the PCs to expend resources (water, spells, arrows, etc.) to “destroy” them or things which would make them remove their armor. Instinct: to topple power
- Corrupt them
- Cause hallucinations
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Vorkuta, the Nephilidian Group, Stealthy, Devious, Intelligent, Hoarder claws, bite (b[2d6] damage 1 piercing) 14 HP 1 armor Close Special Qualities: Amphibious, Immune to Poison, Immune to Mind Control Floating palely in a small topless tank (5’ across, 15’ deep), Vorkuta is quite mad. She has gills in her neck and pale blue eyes. She babbles parts of old conversations and snatches of fairy tales. She will attack anyone who doesn’t humor her, however, and will try to swallow any jewelry she sees. She can transform into a small, mobile pool of black blood, or an aquatic form resembling a hybrid of a lionfish and a manta ray. If reduced to zero hit points within the zoo, Vorkuta will revert to the former form and escape, regenerating 1hp per hour. If grievously wounded in the water, Vorkuta will turn into sixteen black stones and sink to the bottom. In either form, a drop of blood from another vampire is sufficient to revive her completely. Sunlight or a stake through the heart will slay her permanently. Holy water causes 2 – 7hp damage. She is immune to poison and all forms of mind control. Turns as a vampire. So decadent are these creatures that they fear equally the sun, the sea, dry land, and, indeed any surface not hewn by an intelligent hand. Most prefer never to leave their half-drowned empire of Nephilidia. Inside its tarnished palaces and rotting halls they sit--forever knee-deep in black and stagnant water, with strange algaes stretched like cobwebs from the surface to the once-ornate walls and crumbling statuary--endlessly elaborating cruel and languid intrigues, attended by salamander men and eyeless fish. This amphibious species can change into a small, mobile pool of black blood, or take the form of a strange, darting, long-tendrilled aquatic animal resembling a hybrid of a lionfish and a manta ray. If reduced to zero hit points on land, the creature will revert to the former form. Consequently, if sufficiently injured, the Nephilidian vampire often sinks into the soil and becomes hopelessly trapped and intermingled with the earth. If grievously wounded in the water, this bizarre creature will turn into sixteen black stones and sink to the bottom. In either form, a drop of blood from another vampire is sufficient to revive the creature. Due to these vulnerabilites, the Nephilidian vampire prefers to travel via subterranian aquaducts, sewers, or other shallow, watertight, artificial constructions. They despise, but can--with an effort of will--tolerate clean running water. In their humanoid form, they are distinguishable from ordinary vampires by the gills on their necks and their glassy blue eyes. Instinct: to feed
- Grapple them
- Swallow their jewelry
- Turn them and enthrall them
- Shapeshift