The Sewer Horror
Today marks the end of City Week, and if there’s one place in the city that you’re basically guaranteed to find monsters, it’s the sewer. What can y0u find in sewers? Bugs, naturally, and rats, of course, and crocodiles are popular too. What could be scarier than all of those things? Smooshing them all together, I’d say.
Sewer Horror
This massive creature is a horrible amalgamation of a rat, a cockroach, and a crocodile. Its overall shape is like that of an enormous rat, but its snout is long and full of razor-sharp crocodile teeth. Its fur comes in patches and clumps, around which are hardened green scales. On its back is a pair of fine gossamer wings like those of a fly or cockroach.
SEWER HORROR CR 13
XP 25,600
N Huge magical beast
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +8
Aura stench (DC 24, 10 rounds)
DEFENSE
AC 28, touch 10, flat-footed 26 (+2 Dex, +18 natural, -2 size)
hp 207 (18d10+108)
Fort +16, Ref +13, Will +6
DR 10/magic; Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5
OFFENSE
Speed 50 ft.; climb 50 ft.; fly 80 ft. (average); swim 50 ft.
Melee 2 claws +22 (1d8+6 plus curse of sewage), bite +22 (2d6+9 plus curse of sewage/x3), tail slap +17 (2d6+3/19-20)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (15 ft. with tail slap)
Special Attacks noxious breath (60-ft. cone, disease, Fortitude negates, usable every 1d4 rounds), powerful bite, razor tail
STATISTICS
Str 22, Dex 14, Con 20, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 5
Base Atk +18; CMB +26 CMD 38
Feats Combat Reflexes, Greater Bull Rush, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Fly, Perception, Stealth), Toughness
Skills Climb +14, Fly +6, Perception +8, Stealth +8, Swim +14; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception, +8 Stealth
ECOLOGY
Environment any urban
Organization solitary, pair, or brood (1-2 plus 2-12 young)
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Curse of Sewage (Su): Any creature damaged by a sewer horror’s claw or bite attack must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 24) or be afflicted with its curse of sewage. Affected creatures suffer a -5 penalty on saving throws made to resist diseases and poisons. Further, any attempts to magically cure the victim of poisons or diseases automatically fail. The curse lasts indefinitely, and can only be removed with break enchantment or more powerful magic.
Noxious Breath (Ex): As a standard action, a sewer horror can spray forth a disgusting mixture of sewage, bile, and worse substances in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in the affected area is subjected to a single non-magical disease of the sewer horror’s choice (typically slimy doom). The saving throw DC of the disease is normal, but the onset period is bypassed, and the disease takes effect immediately. Additionally, the number of saves necessary to cure the disease is increased by 1. Creatures already suffering from the chosen disease are not affected, so if the sewer horror uses the ability more than once on the same creature, it typically chooses a different disease the second time.
Powerful Bite (Ex): A sewer horror’s jaws are particularly powerful, and it applies 1.5 times its Strength modifier as a bonus on damage rolls with its bite attacks. Additionally, its bite attack has a critical multiplier of x3.
Razor Tail (Ex): A sewer horror’s long, whip-like tail is surprisingly deadly, striking with shockingly high speeds, and it threatens a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.
Ecology
Sewer terrors are the result of an experiment by an elven wizard by the name of Tyranius the Deranged. According to his journals, Tyranius was attempting to create a perfect predator to wipe out the human race. His reasoning was that by combining verminous species like rats and insects, which are attracted to human waste and filth and live in human society, with a powerful and established predator, such as the crocodile, he could create a creature that would be well-adapted enough to live and hunt in human communities, but would eat humans themselves, rather than their refuse. Unfortunately for Tyranius he was found out and defeated by a group of human adventurers, and died when, in the middle of battling them, he was pushed into the cage of one of his creations. Unfortunately for the world, several of his pets had already been released, and they have since spread to a number of cities, where they thrive.
Tyranius may have been more successful than he realized. While the creatures are happy to devour any humanoid, rather than just humans, as the elf had hoped (in fact, they are also happy to eat a wide variety of non-humanoid creatures, as well), so far their numbers have not reached a high enough point in any given city to have a noticeable effect on the population, and, in general, their diet tends to primarily revolve around other animals and sewer creatures, with the sewer horrors only eating those humanoids foolish enough to wander into the sewers. There are a few exceptions, however, and cases where a sewer horror grew bold enough to stalk city streets have proven truly horrific in a few cities.
It is unknown exactly how sewer horrors travel from one city to another, as they have never been seen outside of an urban environment. Their young are born quite small, about the size of a large housecat, and so it is theorized that the sewer horror deliberately places its young in crates being shipped out of the city in the hopes that they will reach another suitable location.