Eldritch Abomination
There are lots of scary monsters out there, many of which are pretty, you know, monstrous. But what if you really want to make a point to your players of showing just how terrifying and unnatural that froghemoth really is? Not make it bigger, not make it fiendish, but really highlight the fact that it’s a horrible alien frog monster, and all the terrible things that implies. Well, as of today, you now have the option to give it the eldritch abomination template, today’s Exotic Encounter.
Eldritch Abomination
There are things that simply should not be, that are not meant to exist in this reality, and that, merely through being, are anathema to every inhabitant of the cosmos. These creatures come about in a variety of ways, and can take any number of different forms, but all of them are terrible and maddening.
Creating an Eldritch Abomination
“Eldritch abomination” is an inherited template that can be added to creatures of any type other than animal, humanoid, or vermin. Most eldritch abominations are aberrations or undead. An eldritch abomination uses the base creature’s stats and abilities, except as noted here.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +1.
Type: The creature’s type changes to aberration (augmented). Do not recalculate its Hit Dice, base attack bonus, or saves. If the base creature is undead, its type does not change.
Armor Class: Natural armor bonus increases by +2.
Defensive Abilities: An eldritch abomination gains spell resistance equal to 11 + its new CR.
Abilities: An eldritch abomination gains a +4 bonus to its Constitution score, and a +4 bonus to a single mental ability score (Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma) of its choice.
Eldritch Enhancements: An eldritch abomination gains a number of eldritch enhancements equal to 1 + 1 per 3 points of CR it possesses (after adjusting for the eldritch abomination template). The eldritch abomination chooses which abilities it gains from the following list. The saving throw DC to resist one of the eldritch abomination’s eldritch enhancements is equal to 10 + 1/2 the eldritch abomination’s Hit Dice + the highest of the eldritch abomination’s Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifiers, unless the specific ability indicates to the contrary.
Alien Anatomy (Ex): The eldritch abomination’s internal organs are strange and bizarre, and behave in ways that are completely different from life as we know it. It gains a +4 racial bonus on saving throws made to resist diseases and poisons, is immune to paralysis, and does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe. Further, it has a 25% chance to treat any critical hit or sneak attack made against it as a normal attack. If the eldritch abomination has another eldritch enhancement that provides a chance to ignore a critical hit or sneak attack, add those two chances together to determine the actual chance.
Bend Gravity (Su): The eldritch abomination can shape the forces of gravity around itself. It gains a +2 bonus to CMB and CMD, and all ranged attacks made against it have a 20% miss chance. If the eldritch abomination is CR 4 or higher, it can cast levitate as a spell-like ability three times per day. If it is CR 13 or higher, it can cast reverse gravity as a spell-like ability once per day.
Insane Mind (Ex): Any creature that attempts to interact directly with the eldritch abomination’s thoughts (such as via detect thoughts or telepathy) must succeed on a Will save or suffer 1d2 points of Wisdom damage and be dazed for 1d4 rounds.
Maddening Gaze (Su): Simply looking at the eldritch abomination causes madness. Treat this as a gaze attack with a range of 60 feet. Affected creatures must succeed on a Will save or suffer 1d2 points of Wisdom damage and be confused for 1 round. The eldritch abomination may select this ability a second time. If it does, affected creatures suffer Wisdom drain, rather than Wisdom damage, and must roll twice when determining how they act while confused in this way, and use the worse result.
Many Eyes (Ex): The eldritch abomination has more than the usual number of eyes. It gains a bonus equal to 1/2 its CR on Perception checks, can see in all directions at once, and cannot be flanked.
Profane (Ex): The eldritch abomination’s very existence is an affront to the divine, a stain upon the gods. Whenever a divine spellcaster attempts to cast a spell within 120 feet of the eldritch abomination, there is a 30% chance that the spell fails, and has no effect.
Psychic Interference (Su): The eldritch abomination radiates a powerful psychic field. Any creature attempting to cast a psychic spell within 240 feet of the eldritch abomination must succeed on a concentration check (DC 10 + twice the spell’s level), or the spell has no effect. Additionally, any creature that sleeps within 5 miles of the eldritch abomination is affected as though by the spell nightmare.
Squamous (Ex): The eldritch abomination’s body is highly malleable and fluid. It can move through an area as small as one-quarter its space without squeezing, or one-eighth its space when squeezing. Further, it has a 25% chance to treat any critical hit or sneak attack made against it as a normal attack. If the eldritch abomination has another eldritch enhancement that provides a chance to ignore a critical hit or sneak attack, add those two chances together to determine the actual chance.
Unnatural (Su): The eldritch abomination is an affront to nature, and natural things recoil instinctively from it. Animals, fey, plants, and vermin within 240 feet of the eldritch abomination must succeed on a Will save or be shaken for as long as they remain within that distance, and for 1 minute thereafter. This ability applies even if the creature would normally be immune to mind-affecting effects, fear effects, or the shaken condition. Additionally, the eldritch abomination’s spell resistance is increased by 5 against spells cast by druids, rangers, shamans, and creatures of the fey type. At the GM’s discretion, this increase in spell resistance may apply to other sources of nature-related magic. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
Ecology
Eldritch abominations are things that should not be, that, due to their very nature, are anathema to reality as we understand it. Other than this common thread that holds them all together, each eldritch abomination is its own unique creature, with different circumstances about its creation leading to its status as an eldritch abomination. Some are strange invaders from other realities, some are mistakes of the gods, and others have even more inscrutable and unknowable origins.