The Aryiogh
Here in Exotic Encounters, we try to bring you new monsters which are two things: exotic and wondrous, and exciting and entertaining to encounter. Today’s offering is a fearsome aberration of my own design, loosely inspired by the otyugh, and should fit the bill nicely. Enjoy.
Aryiogh
A massive, armored sphere dominated by a gaping maw ringed with teeth oriented near the top of the is supported by three thick, insectile legs which drive it towards you with great speed. Three immense tentacles, each with a heavy carapace and tipped with a venom-dripping stinger the size of a spear, lash about wildly.
ARYIOGH CR 7
XP 3,200
NE Large aberration
Init +1; Senses blindsense 60 ft.; Perception -1
DEFENSE
AC 22, touch 10, flat-footed 21 (+1 Dex, +12 natural, -1 size)
hp 95 (10d8+50)
Fort +10, Ref +4, Will +6
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 3 tentacles +11 (1d8 + 5 plus paralytic venom)
Space 10 ft., Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks devour, impale, limited attack, paralytic venom, rancid cloud, swallow whole (2d6 + 7 and 2d6 acid damage AC 15, 15 hit points)
STATISTICS
Str 20, Dex 13, Con 20, Int 5, Wis 8, Cha 6
Base Atk +7; CMB +13; CMD 24
Feats Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Great Fortitude, Power Attack
Skills Survival +12
Languages Aklo
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, cult (3-5 plus 2d8 non-combatant slaves of various humanoid races)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Devour (Ex): As a move action, an aryiogh can attempt to maneuver a grappled creature into its mouth in order to swallow it. In order to accomplish this, it must succeed on a grapple combat maneuver check and a DC 15 Dexterity check. If it succeeds both these rolls, the creature is automatically swallowed whole. An aryiogh cannot swallow creatures without using this ability.
Impale (Ex): As a standard action, an aryiogh can attempt to impale a creature on one of its barbed tentacles. In order to do so, it must succeed on a melee attack against the target at a -5 penalty. If the attack hits, the target is treated as though it had been grappled and automatically suffers 1d8 +5 points of damage each round. The target is also subject to the aryiogh’s paralytic venom ability each round. When an aryiogh impales a creature on a tentacle in this way, the aryiogh loses access to that tentacle attack for as long as it is impaling the target. An aryiogh can impale as many as three creatures at once.
Limited Attack (Ex): Because of the unusual shape of an aryiogh's body, each of its tentacles must attack a different target each round.
Paralytic Venom (Ex): Each of an aryiogh's tentacles is tipped with a poisonous stinger which injects venom that causes temporary paralysis. Any creature that becomes exposed to the aryiogh's paralytic venom must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 20) or become stunned for 1 round. The saving throw DC is Constitution-based. Creatures immune to poison are immune to this ability.
Rancid Cloud (Ex): An aryiogh’s body is filled with a reeking pus, and the aryiogh can draw on this in order to release a cloud of horrid-smelling gas as a full round action. When it uses this ability, all creatures within a 10-foot radius of the aryiogh must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 20) or become nauseated. The saving throw DC is Constitution-based. Creatures immune to poison are immune to this ability.
Ecology
A distant relative of the otyugh, the aryiogh is a massive subterranean predator of unknown origin. An aryiogh’s body is made up of a caustic and vile smelling pus, contained within a vast armored carapace. The pus expands and contracts, serving as all of the aryiogh’s muscles and organs at once. The aryiogh also boasts a set of poisonous stingers which contain a venom that causes paralysis in those it comes into contact with.
Though possessed of only barely better than animal intelligence, aryioghs have some traces of a crude society. Aryiogh society revolves almost exclusively around the worship of the obscure and dark god Eiroyit, who is known only to the aryioghs themselves. Aryioghs construct massive underground temples using slave labor and carry out the foul god’s sinister and obscure purpose with zealous devotion.
Though most aryioghs are mercifully primitive and crude, a few seem possessed of hyper-intellect far beyond that of humans. These aryioghs lead vast conspiracies in the name of Eiroyit, and can often be found at the head of cults devoted to the dark god (sometimes unbeknownst even to the parishioners). Most often, these aryioghs have levels in the cleric or oracle classes, and lead bands of lesser aryioghs and other subterranean aberrations.