Mountain Spirit
Today marks the beginning of Mountain Week, and so naturally we’ve decided to go big, with a massive CR 25 Colossal monster that serves as the manifestation of an entire mountain.
Mountain Spirit
This massive creature rises up from the side of the mountain like a tumorous growth. It is made entirely of rock and sediment, yet vaguely humanoid in shape, with two arms, a head, and a torso, but instead of legs, its body simply extends into the ground where it seems to merge cleanly with the surface.
MOUNTAIN SPIRIT CR 25
XP 1,638,400
N Colossal outsider (earth, elemental, native)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 120 ft.; Perception +49
DEFENSE
AC 40, touch 2, flat-footed 40 (+38 natural, −8 size)
hp 620 (40d10+400); fast healing 20 (only works while earth gliding)
Fort +31, Ref +15, Will +30
DR 15/—; Defensive Abilities rock catching; Immune electricity, elemental traits; Resist acid 20, cold 20, fire 20
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., burrow 60 ft.; earth glide
Melee 2 slams +48 (6d10+15)
Ranged rock +32/+27/+22/+17 (3d10+15)
Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft.
Special Attacks earth mastery, entomb, rock throwing (180 ft.)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20th; concentration +22)
At Will—soften earth and stone, spike stones (DC 16), stone shape
3/day—earthquake, stone callAPG (DC 21)
STATISTICS
Str 40, Dex 10, Con 28, Int 8, Wis 22, Cha 14
Base Atk +40; CMB +63 (+67 bull rush or sunder); CMD 63 (+65 vs. bull rush or sunder, can’t be tripped)
Feats Awesome Blow, Blind-Fight, Cleave, Dazzling Display, Great Cleave, Greater Bull Rush, Greater Sunder, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (slam), Improved Sunder, Improved Vital Strike, Intimidating Prowess, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Toughness, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (slam)
Skills Intimidate +60, Knowledge (geography) +22, Knowledge (nature) +22, Perception +49, Sense Motive +49, Stealth +27
Languages Terran
SQ mountain bond
ECOLOGY
Environment any mountains
Organization solitary
Treasure incidental
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Earth Mastery (Ex): A mountain spirit gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls if both it and its foe are touching the ground. If an opponent is airborne or waterborne, the mountain spirit takes a –4 penalty on attack and damage rolls. These modifiers apply to bull rush and overrun maneuvers, whether the mountain spirit is initiating or resisting these kinds of attacks. (These modifiers are not included in the statistics block.)
Entomb (Ex): Whenever a mountain spirit begins its turn in control of a grapple with a creature at least one size category smaller than itself, it can attempt to entomb the creature as a standard action, plunging the creature deep within the mountain spirit’s own earthy body, where the creature is effectively buried alive. While buried in this way, the creature is unable to breathe, and suffers 6d10 points of bludgeoning damage each round (the mountain spirit can suppress or resume the bludgeoning damage as a swift action, if desired). The entombed creature is effectively paralyzed, and cannot move, except to attempt DC 30 Strength checks as a standard action to attempt to escape. Creatures with a burrow speed gain a +10 bonus on this check, while creatures with the earth glide special ability succeed automatically. Success on this check allows the entombed creature to dig through the mountain spirit’s body and emerge in the nearest unoccupied square. If there is no suitable square for the character to emerge into (such as if the mountain spirit is currently burrowing), the attempt automatically fails. Entombed creatures can still take purely mental actions. Entombed creatures are considered to have total cover from all creatures other than the mountain spirit.
Mountain Bond (Su): Each mountain spirit is bonded to a particular mountain, and serves as a metaphysical extension of the mountain itself. Mountain spirits cannot leave the boundaries of the mountain to which they are bonded. By concentrating as a full-round action, a mountain spirit can create a scrying sensor located anywhere on the mountain to which it is bonded, which otherwise functions as clairaudience/clairvoyance. The mountain spirit can have only a single scrying sensor created in this way at any given time.
Ecology
Primordial creatures of earth that are closely linked with mountains, these massive earthen guardians are often mistaken for earth elementals, and in fact have much in common with them. However, while earth elementals hail from the Elemental Plane of Earth, mountain spirits can be found on any plane that holds mountains. Some scholars have theorized that the most ancient of the elder earth elementals undergo a mysterious process by which they leave the Elemental Plane of Earth and seek out a suitable mountain on another plane, then undergo a slow transformation into a mountain spirit, growing considerably as their bond with the land empowers them, but the process is believed to be far too slow to be observable.
Mountain spirits spend most of their time in the heart of the mountain to which they are bonded, and in fact most mountains harbor a mountain spirit, even though few travelers ever encounter any of them. Only creatures that threaten the mountain itself can earn a mountain spirit’s ire, such as those who attempt to alter the mountain in significant ways, deforesting it, digging massive holes through it, or even attempting to demolish it entirely. When a mountain spirit is roused to action, it will not rest until whatever threat it perceives to its home has been driven off, or completely destroyed.