Apodalypse, Progeny |
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Tiny Aberration
(Aquatic)
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| Hit Dice: 3d8+3 (16 hp) |
| Initiative: +3 |
| Speed: 20 ft (4 squares), swim 30 ft |
| Armor Class: 15 (+2 size, +3 Dex), touch 15, flat-footed 12 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: +2/-6 |
| Attack: Bite +7 melee (2d4) |
| Full Attack: Bite +7 melee (2d4) |
| Space/Reach: 2 ½ ft/2 ½ ft |
| Special Attacks: Burrow, subsume |
| Special Qualities: Amphibious, blindsight 60 ft, damage reduction 5/good, darkvision 60 ft, fortification, immunity to cold, keen scent, necrotic life, undead aura, unliving immunities, vulnerability to holy water, vulnerability to turning |
| Saves: Fort +2,
Ref +4, Will +4
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| Abilities: Str 10,
Dex 17, Con 12,
Int 1, Wis 12,
Cha 2 |
| Skills: Escape Artist +8, Hide +13, Move Silently +6, Swim +8 |
| Feats: Stealthy, Weapon Finesse |
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| Environment: Any land and underground |
| Organization: Cluster (1-4) |
| Challenge Rating: 02 |
| Treasure: None |
| Alignment: Always neutral evil |
| Advancement: 4-6 HD (Tiny) |
| Level Adjustment: --- |
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This appears to be a wasp's nest hanging from the ceiling, though in reality it is more like a tightly coiled snake wrapped in squamous flesh. At the end of the snake is an eyeless, shark-like head with a mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth.
An apodalypse progeny is the foul offspring of the evil parent creature. Like an adult apodalypse, this monster is partly undead and partly alive. A progeny can remain in a dormant state for years, even centuries, hanging and waiting for prey.
An apodalypse progeny is about 2 feet long when unfurled and weighs 2 pounds.
COMBAT
Progeny attack immediately when disturbed by living humanoids. They prefer to drop onto unsuspecting vitctims from above. Once active, a progeny can use its coiled length to leap up to 20 feet through the air, or to swim through water, and deliver a vicious bite.
An apodalypse progeny will try to burrow into flesh, in an attempt to subsume its victim and turn it into a mindless husk of flesh. If a progeny controls a husk for a full month, it transforms the victim's body and becomes an adult apodalypse.
Burrow (Ex): If an apodalypse progeny hits a Small or larger living creature with a bite attack, on its next turn it can attempt to burrow into the target's flesh. The target may attempt a DC 14 Reflex save to prevent the progeny from burrowing in (a helpless creature can't prevent the burrowing). If the save fails, each round thereafter the target takes 2d4 points of Constitution damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
If any damage is dealt to a burrowing progeny, the creature it is burrowing into takes the same amount of damage.
Subsume (Su): A burrowing apodalypse progeny will reach a creature's spinal column in 1d4+2 rounds, at which point the host automatically becomes paralyzed. Beginning with that round, the progeny will begin to digest the spinal column and lower brain stem of the victim. As the progeny eats, it replaces the spinal column with its own body, eventually attaching itself to the victim's brain when complete.
Any successful turning attempt on a progeny that is in the process of subsuming its host will kill the progeny instantly and end the subsumption.
The process of subsumption takes 6 full rounds, inflicting 2d6 hit points of damage upon the victim per round. At the end of 6 full rounds, the victim dies and the progeny takes control of the body. Subsumption prevents any form of raising or resurrection, although a wish or a miracle spell can restore the victim to life and its original form, destroying the progeny.
Amphibious (Ex): Although an apodalypse is aquatic, it can survive indefinitely on land.
Fortification (Ex): When a critical hit or sneak attack is scored on an apodalypse, there is a 50% chance that the critical hit or sneak attack is negated, and damage is instead rolled normally.
Keen Scent (Ex): An apodalypse can notice creatures by scent in a 180-foot radius and detect blood in the water at ranges of up to a mile.
Necrotic Life (Ex): Even on a failed save, an apodalypse suffers only half damage from spells or effects that deal hit point damage due to negative energy, such as inflict spells, and with a successful save, a apodalypse suffers no damage.
Undead Aura (Ex): An apodalypse registers as an undead creature for the purposes of spells and effects that detect undead (such as detect undead). An apodalypse counts as half its HD for the purposes of aura strength.
Unliving Immunities (Ex): An apodalypse is immune to mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects), poison, sleep effects, paralysis, disease, and death effects. An apodalypse is not subject to ability drain or energy drain. An apodalypse is immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects.
Vulnerability to Holy Water (Ex): Holy water scalds the flesh of an apodalypse, dealing 1d4 points of damage per direct hit with a flask.
Vulnerability to Turning (Ex): Any turning attempt targeting an apodalypse that would turn or rebuke an undead of the apodalypse's HD dazes the apodalypse for 1 round. A turn attempt that would destroy or command an undead of equivalent Hit Dice instead stuns an apodalypse for 2d4 rounds.
Skills: An apodalypse progeny has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line. |
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1997 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Originally found in module Night of the Shark (1997, Bruce R. Cordell). |
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