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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cleon" data-source="post: 5005196" data-attributes="member: 57383">Lurker Between (Spam Monster)Lurker Between (Spam Monster)Diminutive Aberration (Shapechanger)Hit Dice: ½d8+3 (5 hp)Initiative: +5Speed: 5 ft. (5 squares), Climb 5 ft.Armor Class: 20 (+4 size, +5 Dex), touch 20, flat-footed 14Base Attack/Grapple: +0/–17Attack: pseudopod +9 melee (1)Full Attack: pseudopod +9 melee (1)Space/Reach: 1 ft./ 0 ft.Special Attacks: Choking hazard, devouring spawnSpecial Qualities: Damage reduction 5/–, darkvision 60 ft, immunity to acid, low-light vision, mimic meat, tremorsense 20 ft., scentSaves: Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +5Abilities: Str 1, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 5, Wis 16, Cha 7Skills: Climb +13, Escape Artist +15, Hide +21, Move Silently +13, Listen +2, Spot +2Feats: Ability Focus (choking hazard), Weapon Finesse(B)Environment: UndergroundOrganization: Solitary, lunchpack (2-5), picnic (5-20), feast (10-100) or swarmChallenge Rating: ½Treasure: NoneAlignment: Usually neutralAdvancement: —Level Adjustment: —The meat explodes into life, becoming a slimy horror trying to force its way into the diner's mouth.Lurkers between are a bizarre amorphous lifeform related to the mimic and the trapper. They take on the appearance of a piece of meat and wait for a predator or scavenger to attempt to eat them, then try to leap down their opponent's throat and choke the life out of them.  Lurkers between have a disturbingly amoral cunning resembling a mimic's, although they are not as intelligent as their larger cousins. They are able to change their appearance to match whatever meat they judge is most likely to tempt a victim – anything from uncooked tripe to a gourmet steak. When no large prey is available they imitate a piece of rotten offal and devour whatever carrion-eating vermin are attracted by the smell of decomposition. Lurkers between have been known to sneak into adventurers' backpacks and hide amongst their rations, hoping to attack them during a meal-break. These monsters reproduce by fission, they can rapidly digesting the fresh meat of their victims and convert it into new lurkers between. Even a large animal will be reduced to bones and a hundred of new lurkers between in a matter of hours.The true form of a lurker between resembles a rectangular slab of finely ground meat of a peculiar bright pink colour with an unnatural pungent odour.A typical lurker between has a volume of about 18 cubic inches (6 inches by 6 inches by half an inch) and weighs about half a pound.CombatA lurker between waits until some creature tries to eat it, then strike with its Choking Hazard special attack. If its attack fails or its true nature is discovered before it can strike, it usually assumes the guise of a disgusting rotten piece meat to dissuade attack and tries to slither away into some crack. They often play possum if wounded, hoping their opponent will assume they're dead and leave them be.Choking Hazard (Ex): A lurker between will try to hurl itself down the throat of any creature that tries to hit it with a bite attack. The opponent must succeed at a DC 15 Reflex save or they automatically miss the spam monster with the bite attack. They then must make a DC 15 Constitution check to prevent the lurker between forcing itself down their throat. A lurker between can automatically inflict 1 hit point of damage per round it is in an opponent's mouth or throat. In addition, if it manages to force its way into it's opponent's throat it can cut off their air supply (see Suffocation rules) provided the victim is no more than 4 size categories larger than the lurker (i.e. up to Large size), in which case their throat is simply too wide for a single lurker between to block off.The victim can try to spit out the lurker between by making Fortitude saves, but this is a standard action and they must make two successful Fortitude saves to completely expel the Lurker. The victim may also attempt a bite attack against the lurker between, but must make another DC15 Reflex save to get the slippery creature in a position it can be attacked. Finally, the victim may attempt to both expel the lurker and make a bite attack against it in the same round as a full-round action. If the victim makes a breath weapon attack against the lurker between it automatically hits, and if the lurker attempts a Reflex check to avoid the breath weapon the opponent is entitled to an additional Fortitude save to expel the lurker as a free action. An ally can use Aid Another to boost the victim's saves, or substitute a Heal skill check for the Fortitude save.The save DCs are Constitution-based.Devouring Spawn (Ex): If a lurker between kills a victim with its Choking Hazard attack it will start absorbing their flesh and growing. After an hour the lurker between will have doubled in size and splits into 2 new lurkers between, both of which can continue using Devouring Spawn. The lurker between absorbs a pound weight of its victim's flesh for every new lurker it spawns. Thereafter, the lurker betweens will increase in numbers exponentially - 4 lurkers after 2 hours, 8 after 3 hours and so on, a single lurker can become 4000 in just 12 hours, or 16 million in a day, the only limit is the bodyweight of their victim.Mimic Meat (Ex): A lurker between can assume the appearance of any kind of meat - cooked or raw, fresh or rotten, a specific organ, a fine-cut steak or a shapeless mass of blubber. They can also mimic the appearance, texture and odour of processed foodstuffs that are mostly based on meat or fat, such as spam or pemmican. The creature cannot substantially alter its size, though. Anyone who examines the mimic can detect the ruse with a successful Spot check against a DC of 25, with a +4 bonus if they possess the scent special quality. At the DM's discretion they may substitute another skill for the Spot check that matches the meat the lurker between is imitating (e.g. if the lurker between mimics a human liver, then they could use the Heal skill, if it mimics a pork tenderloin than Profession (cook) might be substituted.) SkillsA lurker between has a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks, a +8 racial bonus on Climb and Move Silently checks and a +10 racial bonus on Escape Artist checks. It can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened, and may use either its Dexterity or its Strength bonus on Climb checks.Spam Monster SwarmDiminutive Aberration (Shapechanger, Swarm)Hit Dice: 9d8+27 (67 hp)Initiative: +5Speed: 5 ft. (5 squares), Climb 5 ft.Armor Class: 20 (+4 size, +5 Dex), touch 20, flat-footed 14Base Attack/Grapple: +6/–Attack: Swarm (1d6)Full Attack: Swarm (1d6)Space/Reach: 10 ft./ 0 ft.Special Attacks: Choking hazard, distraction, devouring spawnSpecial Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, immunity to acid, immune to weapon damage, low-light vision, mimic meat, tremorsense 20 ft., scentSaves: Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +9Abilities: Str 1, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 5, Wis 16, Cha 7Skills: Climb +13, Escape Artist +15, Hide +21, Move Silently +13, Listen +6, Spot +6Feats: Ability Focus (choking hazard), Ability Focus (distraction), Ability Focus (mimic meat), Great Fortitude, Weapon Finesse(B)Environment: UndergroundOrganization: Solitary or shambles (2-12 swarms)Challenge Rating: 5Treasure: NoneAlignment: Usually neutralAdvancement: —Level Adjustment: —The mound of meat suddenly comes into hideous life, breaking up into a thousand pieces of animate flesh that squirm and flow over each other.A spam monster swarm is a composite entity made up of hundred or thousands of lurkers between. They typically mimic part of the carcass of some huge animal, such as a beached whale or a dead purple worm and prey upon whatever creatures attempt to scavenge the carcass. CombatA spam monster swarm uses similar ambush tactics as individual lurker between, except it need not wait for a victim to bite them but can flow over their bodies and smother them. If the swarm is badly damaged it will break up into its individual creatures and scatter in all directions, possibly reforming after its opponents have left.Choking Hazard (Ex): A spam monster swarm can try to smother any creature in its space. The opponent must succeed at a DC 19 Reflex save or have their noses and throats covered by lurkers between. They then must make a DC 19 Constitution check to prevent the lurker between forcing itself down their throat. A lurker between does double swarm damage (2d6) if it succeeds in entering an opponent's throat. In addition, if the spam monster swarm manages to cover the opponent's nose and mouth it cuts off their air supply (see Suffocation rules).The victim can try to clear their airways by making Fortitude saves, but this is a standard action and they must make two successful Fortitude saves to completely expel the Lurker if it has managed to enter their throat, but only one if it is just covering their nose and mouth. If the victim makes a breath weapon attack against the lurker between it automatically hits, and if the lurker attempts a Reflex check to avoid the breath weapon the opponent is entitled to an additional Fortitude save to expel the lurker as a free action. An ally can use Aid Another to boost the victim's saves, or substitute a Heal skill check for the Fortitude save.The save DCs are Constitution-based.Devouring Spawn (Ex): If a spam monster swarm kills a victim with its Choking Hazard attack it will start absorbing their flesh and growing. A spam monster swarm can absorb a creature up to Small size in an hour, a Medium sized creature in 2 hours or a Large creature in 3 hours, each additional size category takes another 3 hours (6 hours for Huge, 9 for Gargantuan and 12 for Colossal). The spam monster swarm creates a new lurker between for every pound weight of its victim's flesh it absorbs. It requires around 3000 pounds of meat to create a new spam monster swarm - the equivalent of several Large creatures or a single Huge creature.Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a spam monster swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 19 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.Mimic Meat (Ex): A spam monster swarm can assume the appearance of any kind of meat - cooked or raw, fresh or rotten, a specific organ, a fine-cut steak or a shapeless mass of blubber. They can also mimic the appearance, texture and odour of processed foodstuffs that are mostly based on meat or fat, such as spam or pemmican. The creature cannot substantially alter its size, though. Anyone who examines the mimic can detect the ruse with a successful Spot check against a DC of 27, with a +4 bonus if they possess the scent special quality. At the DM's discretion they may substitute another skill for the Spot check that matches the meat the lurker between is imitating (e.g. if the lurker between mimics a human liver, then they could use the Heal skill, if it mimics a pork tenderloin than Profession (cook) might be substituted.)SkillsA spam monster swarm has a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks, a +8 racial bonus on Climb and Move Silently checks and a +10 racial bonus on Escape Artist checks. It can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened, and may use either its Dexterity or its Strength bonus on Climb checks.</blockquote>

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