Bhorkenbyg

by Tim Wallace

This hexapedal creature has two limbs ending in pincers and two ending in hands.

 

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

BHORKENBYG      CR 6

XP 2,400

LN Medium aberration

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +11

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DEFENSE

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AC 19, touch 16, flat-footed 13 (+6 Dex, +3 natural)

hp 71 (9d8+27)

Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +5

Defensive Abilities spiny carapace

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OFFENSE

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Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.

Melee 2 pincers +11 (1d6+5)

Special Attacks rend (2 pincers, 1d6+7)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th; concentration +8)

   Constant—detect magic

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STATISTICS

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Str 21, Dex 23, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 8, Cha 8

Base Atk +6; CMB +11 (+15 steal); CMD 27 (29 vs. steal, 31 vs. trip)

Feats Combat Expertise, Greater Steal, Improved Steal, Quick Steal, Stealthy

Skills Acrobatics +6 (+10 to jump), Climb +13, Escape Artist +20, Perception +11, Sleight of Hand +15, Stealth +20, Survival +11

Languages Aklo, Undercommon

SQ adhesive underbelly, devour magic

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

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Adhesive Underbelly (Ex) The carapace on a bhorkenbyg's belly secretes a sticky substance which allows it to transport items it has stolen without having to carry them in its hands or pincers. A bhorkenbyg can transport items easily carried in one hand in this manner without incurring any penalties.

Devour Magic (Ex) A bhorkenbyg can drink the magic of an unattended magic item. To do so, it must make a caster level check (+8). The DC of this check is equal to 12 + 1/2 the magic item's caster level (rounded down). Intelligent magic items can make an opposed Will save based on their Wisdom score. If the check succeeds, the bhorkenbyg drains the item's magic, rendering it nonmagical. Artifacts are immune to this ability.

Spiny Carapace (Ex) The bhorkenbyg’s carapace is covered with thousands of razor-sharp spines. Any creature that attacks a bhorkenbyg with an unarmed strike or natural attack takes 1d6 points of piercing damage. Any creature that grapples or is grappled by a bhorkenbyg automatically takes 2d6 points of piercing damage per round the grapple is maintained.

Transported to this world from some distant location via meteors, bhorkenbygs quickly migrated underground and were not often seen since. Months after this occurrence, occupants of svirfneblin, drow, and other subterranean communities began to notice the occasional magic item gone missing, or mysteriously stripped of all its magic.

 Not sustained by normal edible material, bhorkenbygs eat magic. However, they usually do so by means of trickery and stealth. If a magical item is too large to carry off, they will attempt to drain its magic at its current location. They are non-confrontational and prefer avoid open combat when stealthing into an adventurers’ camp at night and only stealing one or two magic items at a time will do.

Their nests are often full of many perfectly preserved, high-quality items which were once imbued with magic.

Bestiary: Grachoria

by Adam Frank and Tim Wallace

Standing guard at one of the gates to the celestial realms is a goliath. Its four arms end in razor sharp blades. Its face, like a giant black stone helmet, has a large vertical mouth filled with rows of giant teeth each as large as a man's head with pinchers on the side of the mouth used for feeding. Within the giant ring atop his head floats a large star-shaped stone with a glowing gem in its center.

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

GRACHORIA      CR 12

XP 19,200

Grachoria

LN Large outsider (earth, extraplanar)

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +20

Aura warbling aura (30ft., DC 20)

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DEFENSE

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AC 27, touch 15, flat-footed 21 (+6 Dex, +12 natural, -1 size)

hp 170 (16d10+80)

Fort +15, Ref +11, Will +11

DR 10/adamantine

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OFFENSE

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Speed 50 ft.

Melee 2 claws +20 (1d8+5), 2 pincers +15 (2d6+2)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks burning paralysis, rage, rend (2 claws, 2d6+7)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th; concentration +18)

   At will—meld into stone

   3/day—raging rubble, spike stones (DC 16), stone shape

   1/day—earthquake

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STATISTICS

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Str 21, Dex 22, Con 20, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 15

Base Atk +16; CMB +22 (+26 disarm); CMD 38 (40 vs. disarm, 42 vs. trip)

Feats Combat Expertise, Greater Disarm, Greater Rending Fury, Improved Disarm, Improved Natural Attack (claw), Improved Natural Attack (pincer), Improved Rending Fury, Rending Fury

Skills Acrobatics +6 (+14 to jump), Escape Artist +25, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (arcana) +20, Knowledge (planes) +20, Perception +20, Sense Motive +20, Spellcraft +20

Languages Celestial, Common, Terran

SQ death explosion

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ECOLOGY

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Environment any planar

Organization solitary

Treasure star stone plus 1d6­–1 minor magic items

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

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Rage (Ex) A grachoria that takes damage in combat flies into a rage on its next turn, clawing madly until either it or its opponent is dead. It gains +4 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, and –2 to AC. The creature cannot end its rage voluntarily..

Burning Paralysis (Su) The grachoria can fire a ray from its gem up to 30 feet as a standard action. This is a ranged touch attack with no range increment. Any creature hit by this attack must make a successful save (DC 20) or become paralyzed. A successful Fortitude save means the creature is only staggered. In addition, whether or not its Fortitude save is successful, the creature takes 2d6 points of damage. The grachoria can choose to concentrate on this effect to continue to deal 2d6 points damage to the target creature each round. This is a death effect. The DC is Charisma-based.

Death Explosion (Su) Unless its star stone is removed, a grachoria explodes in a blast of stony shrapnel immediately upon dying. Any creature within a 30-foot radius of the grachoria must make a DC 23 Reflex save or take 3d6 points of bludgeoning damage and 3d6 points of piercing damage. A successful Reflex save reduces the damage taken by half. The DC is Constitution-based.

Warbling Aura (Su) A grachoria's gem emits sound on a frequency that causes a 30-foot aura of demoralization. The first time it ends its turn within the aura, a creature must make a DC 20 Will save or become demoralized for as long as it stays within the aura. If the creature succeeds at the saving throw, it cannot be affected again by the aura for another 24 hours. This is a fear effect. The DC is Charisma-based.

          The hulking stone grachoria stands guard to the locked gates of the heavens. The gods enlisted the very rocks themselves into guarding the gates. When imbued with the power of the gods the rocks took shape into a guard built specifically to protect the most vulnerable ways into the heavens.

          Grachoria are powerful foes. Their entire body is made of strong stone, making their entire body armor. The blades on their arms can shear through the toughest metals like they aren't even there. The stone floating above their head is both a strength and a weakness. With it they can paralyze any enemy they focus upon; slowly sapping their enemies' life force. It also gives off a constant warbling noise that disorients all who hear it. The downside is that if it leaves the ring near their head (requiring a DC 23 Disable Device check while the grachoria is pinned), the grachoria loses its connection with the gods and becomes inert. This does not kill the grachoria, it merely stops it from functioning.

          One major strength of the grachoria is that its power grows as it suffers damage. With each injury, it becomes quicker, stronger, and tougher. Should the grachoria be defeated, its body erupts into thousands of splinter-like rocks piercing everyone within several meters. One of these splinters becomes an obsidian key that may be used to open a nearby lock. There are also rumors too of a selfless sacrifice being needed to pass through the protected gates though none have confirmed these rumors and few even venture out to try.

          The star stone (treat as a gem of brightness), often called a god star, is desired for its rarity. Many wealthy individuals want the glowing gem to light their gardens. The entrances the grachoria guard are also known to house a few rare magical items, either stored there by the gods for safe keeping or gathered by the grachoria from the bodies for their foes.

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: Nharmyth

by Adam Frank and Tim Wallace

Nharmyth

Beneath the still ocean waters what appears to be a group of manta rays cut through the water and surround the boat. As they breach the surface, shattering the tranquility of the scene you notice that what you took for a sea skate’s head was instead a mass of horns and tentacles. In the center you see a single jet black orb that seems to function as an eye. A small mouth atop the eye gapes hungrily.

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

NHARMYTH      CR 8

XP 4,800

NE Medium aberration (aquatic)

Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., watersense 60 ft., true seeing; Perception +14

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Defense

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AC 21, touch 17, flat-footed 14 (+7 Dex, +4 natural)

hp 117 (12d8+36)

Fort +7, Ref +11, Will +7

Immune poison; Resist cold 10

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OFFENSE

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Speed 5 ft., swim 60 ft.

Melee gore +16 (4d6+7), tentacle +11 (1d4+3 plus poison)

Special Attacks agonizing venom, aquatic juggernaut

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STATISTICS

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Str 24, Dex 24, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 9, Cha 9

Base Atk +9; CMB +16 (+18 overrun); CMD 33 (35 vs. overrun, can't be tripped)

Feats Bloody Assault, Charge Through, Combat Expertise, Eldritch Claws, Improved Overrun, Power Attack

Skills Acrobatics +7 (–5 to jump), Disguise +11, Intimidate +14, Perception +14, Survival +14, Swim +30

Languages Aboleth, Aklo, Aquan, Undercommon

SQ dense horns

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ECOLOGY

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Environment any aquatic

Community solitary, pair, or pack (3–6)

Treasure none (eye and horns have value)

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

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Agonizing Venom (Ex) Any creature failing its saving throw against the nharmyth’s poison is sickened with pain for 1 minute. A second, third, and fourth failed saving throw mean the creature is also staggered for 1 minute, nauseated for 1 minute, and helpless for 1 minute, respectively. This is a pain effect.

Aquatic Juggernaut (Ex) A nharmyth may make a ram attack in the water as if it were a ship. To ram a target, the nharmyth must move at least 30 feet and end in a square adjacent to the target. The nharmyth then makes a charge combat maneuver check—if this check equals or exceeds the target's AC, the nharmyth hits its target, inflicting gore damage plus an additional 3d6 points of damage to the target, as well as minimum gore damage to the ramming nharmyth.

Bloody Assault (Ex) A nharmyth can choose to take a –5 penalty on all melee attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to inflict 1d4 points of bleed damage with its melee attacks, in addition to the normal damage dealt by the weapon. A creature continues to take bleed damage every round at the start of its turn. Bleed damage can be stopped by a DC 15 Heal check or through any magical healing. Bleed damage from this feat does not stack with itself. The must choose to use this feat before making the attack roll, and its effects last until its next turn (although the bleeding lasts until healed, as normal).

Charge Through (Ex) When making a charge, the nharmyth can attempt to overrun one creature in the path of the charge as a free action. If it successfully overruns that creature, it can complete the charge. If the overrun is unsuccessful, the charge ends in the space directly in front of that creature.

Dense Horns (Ex) While not as dense as adamantine, nharmyth horns have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 10.

Eldritch Claws (Su) A nharmyth’s natural weapons are considered both magic and silver for purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Poison (Ex) Tentacle—injury; save Fort DC 19; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Con; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Watersense (Ex) A nharmyth can sense vibrations in water, granting it blindsense 30 feet against creatures in contact with the same body of water.

Often initially confused with manta rays or dolphins, many ships will continue into their territory unheeded. These creatures were born from the Old Gods when they fell into the sea; it is said their bodies decayed, and the decaying goliaths formed the first nharmyth.

Some of the most perceptive creatures under the waves, the nharmyth can see though any magical illusion with their eye located in their center mass. It is also said they know where any potential prey is within over ten yards even without looking at it. They are agile swimmers but all but useless on land. It is not uncommon for a nharmyth to attack a boat with its sharp horns and use their tentacles to devour their prey. 

The nharmyth’s tentacles all contain a burning toxin that is said to cause such pain that those who come into contact with it are unable to move and all they can do is scream in agony. A victim will be afflicted for generally no longer than a day, but those who survive the stinging lash will have an unsightly scar that will last the rest of the survivor’s days.

Recently a thriving trade has sprung up around their horns and eyes. The horns themselves are used in dozens of magical concoctions as well as being well suited to making weapons. The eyes have the ability to see through illusions, and find all things hidden a limited number of times.

When a nharmyth dies there is a 50% chance that it will spawn 1d3 infant nharmyth (see below) in 1d6 days. More are born as they were originally created. When one perishes others may grow from the corpse of the parent.

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NEW WONDROUS ITEM: NHARMYTH EYE

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Price 3,850 gp; Aura moderate divination; CL 10th; Weight —

This dark orb can only be harvested from the corpse of a nharmyth. A newly harvested nharmyth eye has 1d3 charges. By focusing on the eye, the bearer can expend 1 charge to benefit from the effects of the spell true seeing. When all its charges are expended, the orb quickly decomposes. A character holding the orb when the last charge is expended must immediately save against blinding sickness.

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NEW SPECIAL MATERIAL: NHARMYTH HORN

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Weapons fashioned from nharmyth horn have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 10 (see Additional Rules). Nharmyth horn is so costly that weapons made from it are always of masterwork quality; the masterwork cost is included in the prices given below. Thus, nharmyth horn weapons and ammunition have a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls. Items without metal parts cannot be made from nharmyth horn. An arrow could be made of nharmyth horn, but a quarterstaff could not.

Type of Nharmyth Horn Item	Item Price Modifier
Ammunition	+30 gp per item
Weapon	+1,500 gp

INFANT NHARMYTH      CR 4

XP 1,200

NE Small aberration (aquatic)

Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., true seeing; Perception +7

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DEFENSE

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AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +3 natural, +1 size)

hp 36 (5d8+10)

Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +3

Immune poison; Resist cold 5

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OFFENSE

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Speed 5 ft., swim 40 ft.

Melee gore +8 (4d4+4), tentacle +3 (1d3+2)

Special Attacks aquatic juggernaut

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STATISTICS

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Str 18, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 9, Cha 8

Base Atk +3; CMB +6 (+8 overrun); CMD 20 (22 vs. overrun, can't be tripped)

Feats Combat Expertise, Improved Overrun, Power Attack

Skills Acrobatics +4 (-8 to jump), Disguise +4, Intimidate +7, Perception +7, Survival +7, Swim +20

Languages Aboleth, Aklo, Aquan, Undercommon

SQ dense horns