Bestiary: Faernych

by Adam Frank and Tim Wallace

Faernych

A horrendous buzzing surrounds you, and before you know what happened, you then see the mound you kicked freeing the colony of five-headed stinging and biting bugs. They swarm around you buzzing their terrible song the whole time.

© Nicholas Cloister, Monsters by Email, licensed to Timothy Wallace

FAERNYCH   CR 5

XP 1,600

CN Small magical beast

Init +5 (+9 with hive mind); Senses darkvision 60 ft., hive mind, low-light vision; Perception +8 (+12 with hive mind)

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DEFENSE

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AC 18, touch 16, flat-footed 15 (+3 Dex, +2 insight, +2 natural, +1 size)

hp 43 (6d10+6)

Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +4 (+2 against attempts to scry on you or read your mind)

Defensive Abilities prescience

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OFFENSE

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Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)

Melee 5 bites +10 (1d4 plus 1d4 acid), sting +10 (1d4 plus poison)

Special Attacks agonizing venom

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +7)

  Constant—ant haul (DC 12)

  1/day—augury

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STATISTICS

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Str 10, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 13

Base Atk +6; CMB +5; CMD 20 (28 vs. trip)

Feats Careful Speaker, Wall of Flesh, Weapon Finesse

Skills Acrobatics +3 (-1 to jump), Bluff +4 (+6 to fool someone or pass secret messages), Fly +18, Perception +8 (+12 with hive mind)

Languages Abyssal, Common; telepathy 60 ft.

SQ hive mind, swarming

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ECOLOGY

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Environment any deserts

Organization solitary, formation (2-5), hive (11-40 and 1 queen)

Treasure none

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

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Careful Speaker (Ex) Faernychs gain a +2 bonus on all Bluff checks made to fool someone or pass secret messages (but not to feint in combat), and a +2 bonus on all Will saves against attempts to scry upon it or read its mind (Inner Sea World Guide).

Vampiric Venom (Su) Whenever a creature fails its saving throw against a faernych’s poison, the faernych with the least hit points within 60 feet is healed 1d4 hit points.

Hive Mind (Ex) Faernychs share a telepathic bond with ther members of their hive that enhances their hive mates’ perception. As long as a faernych is within telepathic range of at least one hive mate, it gains a +4 racial bonus on initiative checks and Perception checks. If at least one faernych disbelieves an illusion, all faernychs within its telepathic range are also considered to disbelieve that illusion. If one faernych is aware of combatants, all other hive mates within the range of its telepathy are also aware of those combatants.

Poison (Ex) Sting—injury; save Fort DC 14; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d4 Dex; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Prescience (Su) Limited precognitive abilities grant a faernych a +2 insight bonus on initiative checks, on Reflex saves, and to its Armor Class. Faernychs are never surprised or flat-footed.

Swarming (Ex) Up to two faernychs can share the same square at the same time. If two faernychs in the same square attack the same foe, they are considered to be flanking that foe as if they were in two opposite squares.

Wall of Flesh (Ex) When adjacent to an another faernych, the faernych is considered one size category larger for determining CMD and the way combat maneuvers and abilities affect it (Kobolds of Golarion).

The small faernych is a terrifying pest. They are, it is said, what happens when a wizard with more magic than wits, and a demon with more ambition than smarts team up. The original hive was created some centuries with a mixture of both the blackest arcane, and the foulest demon magics. This hive quickly overpowered and destroyed its makers. As it ate their bodies the colony absorbed some of the residual power of its creators and gained a sort of hive sentience.

Mostly preferring arid places with dry loose dirt to make their mounds in the faernych will use their preternatural ability to sense destruction and flock to an easy meal. Each colony is its own sentience. When a fledgling queen leave the previous colony for a new home and to start her own colony her mind separates from that of her previous hive and she forms her own consciousness. Because of the way these terrifying creatures spread they all have memories of every colony in their line of ancestry back to the progenitors.

The faernych will typically avoid a fight unless provoked, normally by the destruction of their mound or someone killing a few faernych. They prefer easy meals and due to their ability to sense impending death and rot are often seen as harbingers of ill fortune, famine, death, plague, and other horrors beyond the limited imaginings of mere mortals.

They will attack in groups and generally use their barbed stingers to attack, when they sting they inject a fast acting toxin that slowly disables their foes and leaches the life magically from those infected. Their bites are painful as the five heads have sharp fang like teeth and saliva that breaks down organic matter to be more easily digested for them.

The faernych are incredibly intelligent and capable of speech. They have been known to warn beings away from their lands as well have given some travelers safe passage. Incredibly fickle, it is not always wise to trust their words as they lie as much as they tell the truth. An old mound is often easy to spot by the bones and death that surround it. Some adventurers are brave enough to try to loot some of the corpses around a mound, though this will often get a brave adventurer attacked and will certainly bring death to the unwary.

FAERNYCH QUEEN   CR 7

XP 3,200

CN Small magical beast

Init +6 (+10 with hive mind); Senses darkvision 60 ft., hive mind, low-light vision; Perception +15 (+19 with hive mind)

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DEFENSE

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AC 21, touch 17, flat-footed 17 (+4 Dex, +2 insight, +4 natural, +1 size)

hp 72 (9d10+18)

Fort +8, Ref +12, Will +6 (+2 against attempts to scry on you or read your mind)

Defensive Abilities prescience

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OFFENSE

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Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)

Melee 5 bites +14 (1d4+1 plus 1d4 acid), sting +14 (1d4+1 plus poison)

Special Attacks agonizing venom

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th; concentration +11)

  At will—dimension door (self only)

  3/day—dispel magic, invisibility

  1/day—bestow curse (DC 15), curse of magic negation (DC 15), life pact

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STATISTICS

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Str 12, Dex 18, Con 15, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 15

Base Atk +9; CMB +9; CMD 25 (29 vs. trip)

Feats Careful Speaker, Dimensional Agility, Dimensional Assault, Dimensional Dervish, Weapon Finesse

Skills Acrobatics +4 (+0 to jump), Bluff +11 (+13 to fool someone or pass secret messages), Fly +22, Perception +15 (+19 with hive mind)

Languages Abyssal, Common; telepathy 120 ft.

SQ hive frenzy, hive mind

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

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Dimensional Dervish (Su) A faernych queen can take a full-attack action, casting dimension door as a swift action. If she does, she can teleport up to twice her speed (up to the maximum distance allowed by the spell), dividing this teleportation into increments she uses before her first attack, between each attack, and after her last attack. She must teleport at least 5 feet each time it teleports.

Hive Frenzy (Su) Once per day as a standard action, the queen can send out a command to all faernychs within range of her telepathy. Those faernychs are affected as if by a haste spell (CL 9th).

Poison (Ex) Sting—injury; save Fort DC 16; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d6 Dex; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Bestiary: Jehmorcha

by Adam Frank and Tim Wallace

Jehmorcha

Their regal gold head crests billowing behind them, a man-sized lizard skitters towards the adventuring party. It bellows twice, a loud screeching noise. The large scales scintillate between gold and charcoal grey. The powerful reptile stares with commanding eyes upon the heroes. Suddenly the lizard’s purpose is made clear: fear is coming. This creature is only here to announce it.

© Nicholas Cloister, Monsters by Email, licensed to Timothy Wallace

JEHMORCHA      CR 15

XP 51,200

CE Medium magical beast (extraplanar, fire)

Init +6; Senses cinder sight, darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +28

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DEFENSE

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AC 30, touch 16, flat-footed 24 (+6 Dex, +14 natural)

hp 214 (20d10+100)

Fort +18, Ref +18, Will +13

DR 10/cold iron or silver; Immune fire; SR 26

Weaknesses vulnerable to cold

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OFFENSE

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Speed 90 ft.

Melee bite +26 (2d6+6 plus 1d6 fire), 2 claws +26 (1d8+6)

Special Attacks breath weapon (100-ft. line, DC 24, 20d4 fire), rend (2 claws, 1d8+9)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20th; concentration +24)

   1/day—incendiary cloud

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STATISTICS

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Str 23, Dex 22, Con 18, Int 13, Wis 20, Cha 19

Base Atk +20; CMB +26; CMD 42 (46 vs. trip)

Feats Combat Expertise, Diehard, Distracting Charge, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Outflank, Shake It Off, Snapping Flank, Toughness

Skills Acrobatics +6 (+30 to jump), Perception +28, Stealth +29, Survival +25

Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic; telepathy 100 ft.

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ECOLOGY

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Environment any

Organization always six

Treasure standard

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

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Cinder Sight (Su) A jehmorcha sees through fire, fog, and smoke without penalty as long as there is enough light to otherwise allow her to see normally.

Distracting Charge (Ex) When another jehmorcha uses the charge action and hits, the jehmorcha gains a +2 bonus on its next attack roll against the target of that charge. This bonus must be used before the other jehmorcha’s next turn, or it is lost.

Incendiary Cloud (Sp) Six jehmorcha operating together can conjure an incendiary cloud.

Outflank (Ex) Whenever two jehmorcha are flanking the same creature, their flanking bonus on attack rolls increases to +4. In addition, whenever a flanking jehmorcha scores a critical hit against the flanked creature, it provokes an attack of opportunity from its ally.

Shake It Off (Ex) When a jehmorcha is adjacent to one or more other jehmorcha, it gains a +1 bonus on saving throws per adjacent jehmorcha (maximum +4).

Snapping Flank (Ex) When flanking with another jehmorcha, as a swift action the jehmorcha can make a bite attack against the opponent it and the other jehmorcha are flanking.

Before the terror that is the ghidjarin comes the jehmorcha. Able to telepathically communicate with the ghidjarin and advise the gigantic dragon of the presence of prey, the jehmorcha’s primary goal is to scout. Omnivorous creatures, they will eat the scraps from the ghidjarin's kill after their master has razed the area.

These lizards will not go out of their way to attack anyone or anything but they will defend themselves if the need arises. Related to dragons, the jehmorcha has a heat ray breath attack that is capable of cooking anything it comes in contact with. Their scales are nearly impenetrable by normal weapons and even their head crests are deceptively durable and difficult to damage.

Like the ghidjarin, the origins of the jehmorcha are unknown and any living specimens that have been captured escape mysteriously. What is most confusing is this: No matter how many are killed there are always six jehmorcha in a scouting group.

Bestiary: Haphnax

by Tim Wallace

Haphnax

This large, blind reptile looks something like a cross between a dragon and a grasshopper. A large, reptilian eye can be seen within the tip of the barbed tail.

© Nicholas Cloister, Monsters by Email, licensed to Timothy Wallace

HAPHNAX      CR 15

XP 51,200

NE Large magical beast

Init +6; Senses arcane sight, tremorsense 60 ft.; Perception +30

Aura suppressive aura (DC 23)

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DEFENSE

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AC 30, touch 16, flat-footed 23 (+6 Dex, +1 dodge, +14 natural, -1 size)

hp 234 (20d10+120)

Fort +18, Ref +18, Will +13

DR 10/non-magic; SR 26

Weaknesses blindness

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OFFENSE

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Speed 40 ft.

Melee gore +24 (6d6+5), sting +25 (6d6+5 plus grab)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with sting)

Special Attacks dispelling grapple, target quarry

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STATISTICS

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Str 20, Dex 23, Con 22, Int 19, Wis 24, Cha 17

Base Atk +20; CMB +26 (+30 grapple); CMD 43 (47 vs. trip)

Feats Combat Reflexes, Dazzling Display (sting), Disruptive, Dodge, Improved Natural Attack (gore), Improved Natural Attack (sting), Shatterspell, Spellbreaker, Teleport Tactician, Weapon Focus (sting)

Skills Acrobatics +19 (+23 to jump), Climb +18, Intimidate +23, Knowledge (arcana) +24, Perception +30, Spellcraft +24, Survival +27

Languages Aklo, Draconic, Gnome, Sylvan

SQ vicious grapple

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ECOLOGY

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Environment any wilderness

Organization solitary or pair

Treasure double

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

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Arcane Sight (Ex) The eye at the end of the haphnax's tail emits a continuous arcane sight effect in a 60-foot cone-shaped emanation. A haphnax does not incur the penalties from being blind when targeting an opponent it has perceived through its arcane sight.

Blindness (Ex) A haphnax perceives solely through its tremorsense ability. It is immune to all sight-based effects and attacks, including gaze attacks.

Dazzling Display (Ex) A haphnax can perform a bewildering show of prowess with its tail as a full-round action. It must make an Intimidate check to demoralize all foes within 30 feet who can see its display.

Dispelling Grapple (Su) One per round, as a swift action, a haphnax can affect an opponent it has grappled with its sting with a targeted greater dispel magic. The caster level for this ability is equal to the haphnax's challenge rating.

Disruptive (Ex) The DC to cast spells defensively increases by +4 for all enemies that are within a haphnax's threatened area. This increase to casting spells defensively only applies if it is aware of the enemy's location and is capable of taking an attack of opportunity. If it can only take one attack of opportunity per round and has already used that attack, this increase does not apply.

Martial Training (Ex) A haphnax counts its racial hit dice as fighter levels for the purpose or qualifying for feats.

Shatterspell (Su) As a standard action, a haphnax can attempt to sunder an ongoing spell effect as if it had the spell sunder rage power. It may use this feat three times per day.

Spellbreaker (Ex) Enemies in a haphnax's threatened area that fail their checks to cast spells defensively provoke attacks of opportunity from it.

Suppressive Aura (Su) A haphnax creates a field around it that makes concentrating difficult for those without this ability. Creatures within 30 feet must succeed at a DC 23 concentration check to cast spells. Failing this check causes the spell to be lost with no effect. The DC is Charisma-based.

Target Quarry (Su) A haphnax is assigned a quarry by anointing its tusks with a drop of the intended quarry's blood. If the haphnax has no current quarry, it automatically gains the next spellcaster it damages as its quarry. Once attuned to a target, it becomes aware of the target's location as if under the effect of a continuous find quarry spell. The haphnax gains a +1 bonus on all attack rolls, damage rolls, and skill checks made to seek out and destroy the marked quarry. The target quarry ability lasts until the quarry or the haphnax is slain. The caster level for this ability is equal to the haphnax's challenge rating.

Teleport Tactician (Ex) Any creature using a teleportation effect to enter or leave a square threatened by a haphnax provokes an attack of opportunity, even if casting defensively or using a supernatural ability.

Vicious Grapple (Ex) A haphnax does not gain the grappled condition if it grapples an opponent with its sting.

Often thought to be the creation of a jealous deity or an insane mage, the haphnax is a relentless hunter of sorcerers, wizards, witches and the like. Not even clerics and oracles are safe from the haphnax’s insatiable need to hunt down and kill spellcasters and bearers of magic. Luckily, haphaxes rarely venture out of their territories to hunt.

While usually encountered alone, adventurers will occasionally find a mated pair, which is truly a terrifying prospect if they have any magic items or ongoing spells. However, haphnaxes largely ignore creatures smaller than themselves as long as there is no hint of magic about them.

Bestiary: Thoruulock

by Tarnah Wright and Tim Wallace

Thoruulock

From the depths, a gigantic form arises. Tentacles wrap around the defenseless ship, is it a giant squid? No! As the ship is torn apart, each tentacle plucks a thrashing figure from the wreckage and stuffs it into one of its eight mouths. Like a connoisseur at a sushi restaurant, the creature chooses the choicest morsels before leaving the survivors to tell tales of the eyeless beast.

© Nicholas Cloister, Monsters by Email, licensed to Timothy Wallace

THORUULOCK      CR 20

XP 307,200

N Gargantuan magical beast (aquatic, cold)

Init +1; Senses watersense 120 feet; Perception +24

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DEFENSE

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AC 29, touch 7, flat-footed 28 (+1 Dex, +22 natural, -4 size)

hp 356 (31d10+186)

Fort +22, Ref +18, Will +16

DR 10/adamantine; Immune cold

Weaknesses blindness, vulnerable to fire

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OFFENSE

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Speed 5 ft., swim 60 ft.

Melee 3 bites +36 (2d6+9), 8 tentacles +34 (2d4+4)

Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft. (40 ft. with tentacles)

Special Attacks constrict (1d8+9), rend ship, stunning fist (7/day, DC 31)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th; concentration +17)

1/day—chill metal (DC 14), creeping ice ^ACG (DC 16), hydraulic torrent ^APG, ice storm, old salt's curse ^ARG (DC 16)

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STATISTICS

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Str 29, Dex 13, Con 20, Int 13, Wis 22, Cha 14

Base Atk +31; CMB +44 (+48 grapple); CMD 55 (57 vs. grapple, can't be tripped)

Feats Blind-fight, Bonebreaker ^UC, Greater Blind-fight ^APG, Greater Grapple, Improved Blind-fight ^APG, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Jawbreaker ^UC , Multiattack, Neckbreaker ^UC, Pinning Knockout ^UC, Pinning Rend ^UC, Rapid Grappler ^UC, Stunning Fist, Stunning Pin ^UC, Toughness

Skills Heal +18, Knowledge (geography) +16, Knowledge (nature) +16, Perception +24, Stealth +13, Swim +35

Languages Aquan, Draconic

SQ tenacious grapple

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ECOLOGY

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Environment any oceans

Organization solitary

Treasure triple

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

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Blindness (Ex) A thoruulock perceives solely through its watersense ability. It is immune to all sight-based effects and attacks, including gaze attacks.

Bonebreaker (Ex) When a thoruulock makes a successful Stunning Fist attempt against an opponent that is grappled, helpless, or stunned, it can forgo any other Stunning Fist effect to deal 1d6 Strength or Dexterity damage to that opponent.

Greater Blind-Fight (Ex) A thoruulock’s melee attacks ignore the miss chance for less than total concealment, and it treats opponents with total concealment as if they had normal concealment (20% miss chance instead of 50%). It may still reroll a miss chance percentile roll as normal.

If it successfully pinpoints an invisible or hidden attacker, that attacker gets no advantages related to hitting it with ranged attacks, regardless of the range. That is, it doesn’t lose its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, and the attacker doesn't get the usual +2 bonus for being invisible.

Jawbreaker (Ex) When a thoruulock makes a successful Stunning Fist attempt against an opponent that is grappled, helpless, or stunned, instead of imparting any other Stunning Fist effect, it can cripple that opponent's mouth, dealing normal tentacle damage and 1d4 points of bleed damage. Until the bleed damage ends, the target is unable to use its mouth to attack, speak clearly, and employ verbal spell components. A creature that is immune to critical hits or that has no discernible mouth is immune to the effects of this feat.

Neckbreaker (Ex) If a thoruulock has an opponent its size or smaller helpless or pinned, after it initiates or maintains a grapple, it can make a Stunning Fist attempt at a –5 penalty on the attack roll. If it succeeds, it wrenches that opponent's neck, dealing 2d6 Strength or Dexterity damage. If the targeted ability score is reduced to 0, any remaining damage is dealt to that opponent's Constitution score. A creature that is immune to critical hits or that has no discernible head and neck is immune to the effects of this feat.

Pinning Knockout (Ex) While a thoruulock has an opponent pinned, when it succeeds at a grapple combat maneuver check to deal an opponent nonlethal damage using a tentacle, it doubles its damage result. Any creature that is immune to critical hits is immune to the effects of this feat.

Pinning Rend (Ex) While a thoruulock has an opponent pinned, when it succeeds at a grapple combat maneuver check to deal an opponent damage using a tentacle, that opponent also takes bleed damage equal to its tentacle damage dice. Any creature that is immune to critical hits is immune to the effects of this feat.

Rapid Grappler (Ex) Whenever a thoruulock uses Greater Grapple to successfully maintain a grapple as a move action, it can then spend a swift action to make a grapple combat maneuver check at a –5 penalty.

Rend Ship (Ex) As a full-round action, a thoruulock can attempt to use four of its tentacles to grapple a ship of its size or smaller. It makes a CMB check opposed by the ship's captain's Profession (sailor) check, but the thoruulock gets a cumulative +4 bonus on the check for each size category smaller than Gargantuan the ship is. If the thoruulock grapples the ship, it holds the ship motionless; it can attack targets anywhere on or within the ship with its tentacles, but can only attack foes on deck with its free arms and can't attack foes at all with its beak. Each round it maintains its hold on the ship, it automatically inflicts bite damage on the ship's hull.

Stunning Pin (Ex) Whenever a thoruulock pins an opponent, it can spend a swift action to make a Stunning Fist attempt against that opponent.

Tenacious Grapple (Ex) A thoruulock does not gain the grappled condition if it grapples a foe with its tentacles.

Watersense (Ex) A thoruulock can sense vibrations in water, granting it blindsense 120 feet against creatures in contact with the same body of water.

The thoruulock are gigantic oceanic creatures who spend their days searching for prey large enough to satisfy their immense hunger in the dark, cold seas. Often they'll come to the surface to attack ships; breaking them apart and then picking the crew from the debris with their tentacles.

It is difficult to sail through their territory unnoticed, for despite being eyeless, they can sense everything that moves in their waters. One must simply hope they have satisfied their hunger already and will let you pass.