The Iktha'ar
Welcome to another Exotic Encounters. This week I bring you a monstrous humanoid that isn’t so monstrous at first glance, which only adds to the shock and terror when it finally decides to feed. Enjoy.
Iktha’ar
The man before you tosses aside his shirt, revealing two sets of sucker-covered tentacles extending from his abdomen. Perhaps even more disturbing, in the center of his stomach is a large, oval-shaped opening, and beneath folds of flesh, you can see a horrible black beak, which gnashes the air at you as the man, grinning, begins to close on you.
IKTHA’AR CR 3
XP 800
NE Medium monstrous humanoid
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +3 natural)
hp 30 (4d10+8)
Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +3
Immune poison; Resist acid 5
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 4 tentacles +5 (1d4+1 plus grab)
Special Attacks belly feed, mucus spray
STATISTICS
Str 13, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 11
Base Atk +4; CMB +5 (+9 grapple); CMD 17
Feats Improved Initiative, Iron Will
Skills Bluff +4, Disguise +4 (+24 to appear as a humanoid), Perception +7, Sense Motive +4, Stealth +9; Racial Modifiers +20 Disguise to appear as a humanoid
Languages Aklo, Common
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or cult (3-13)
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Belly Feed (Ex): While grappling, an iktha’ar can press the beaklike opening in its belly against its opponent, and attempt to cut open his belly to consume his delicious organs. Whenever the iktha’ar successfully maintains a grapple, it automatically inflicts 2d8 points of damage to any armor or clothing that the target may be wearing, which ignores hardness of less than 15. If the target’s armor or clothing have the broken condition, or the target is not wearing armor or clothing that covers his belly, then the iktha’ar instead inflicts 2d4 points of bleed damage to the target as it slices open his stomach and begins to feast on his entrails. This also causes the victim to go into shock, and he must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 13) or be paralyzed for 1d4 rounds. The saving throw DC is Strength-based.
Mucus Spray (Ex): As a standard action, an iktha’ar can spew a torrent of mucus from the opening in its belly. This takes the form of a 30-foot line or a 15-foot cone. Each creature in the affected area must succeed on a Reflex save (DC 14) or be covered in the mucus, which has weak paralytic properties, reducing affected creatures’ movement speeds by half (rounded down, minimum speed of 5 feet) and cause their muscles to weaken, imposing a -4 penalty to CMB and CMD. These effects last for 1 minute, or until the affected creature is thoroughly rinsed with clean water. The iktha’ar must wait at least one hour between uses of this ability. Creatures that are immune or resistant to poison or paralysis are similarly immune or resistant to this ability. The saving throw DC is Constitution-based.
Ecology
When clothed, an iktha’ar can easily pass as a human or similar creature, as the bizarre aspects of their anatomy are easily hidden by clothing. An iktha’ar’s most distinguishing feature is its maw, a large second mouth located in the middle of its abdomen, surrounded by four tentacles, which it uses to grab hold of prey and keep them close while its harder-than-steel beak slices the victim open and greedily devours his organs and vital fluids. In fact, an iktha’ar’s “human” mouth is not used for eating at all, only for breathing and speaking, one of the few difficulties that these creatures face in infiltrating human society.
Though they do not generally use them unless absolutely necessary, iktha’ar are proficient with simple weapons, and most are proficient with martial weapons. They are also proficient with light armor, though generally prefer not to wear it, as it makes it difficult for them to feed (requiring either that the armor be removed, or that it be ruined by slicing through it with their maw).