Thursday, March 26, 2015

Azurthite Bestiary: Deodand

The deodand are a sinister, lurking presence in the dark places of Subazurth. Its appetite is insatiable, and it prefers to feed on people above all else. It abhors the light, and as a consequence no deodand has ever been seen clearly--or at least no one has survived the encounter to give a full description.

It is the general consensus that their are three varieties of deodand: leprous, gleimous, and hirsute. A fourth type, the slithery or lubricous is mentioned in some texts, but its existence is disputed. Glabrous and rugose varieties are described in Hokum's A Compleat and Entirely Accurate Bestiary of Subazurth, but the contents of that work are often as dubious as its title.

This is what is known of appearance of deodands in general: They are roughly human in shape, but taller. Their eyes glow like smoldering coals in the darkness. They seem no more intelligent than beasts and use no tools.

Today, we'll consider the Hirsute Deodand.


DEODAND, HIRSUTE
large monstrosity, neutral evil
AC 20 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 157 (15d10+75)
Speed: 30 ft.
STR 18(+4) DEX 14(+2) CON 21(+5) INT 11(+0) WIS 16(+3) CHA 18(+4)
Saving Throws  Str +9 Con +10 Wis +8
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that aren't silvered
Damage Immunities poison
Senses Truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 13.

Magic Resistance. A hirsute deodand has an advantage against spells and other magical effect.
Stench. Within 5 feet, make a DC 13 save or be sick.
Sunlight Weakness. In anything brighter candlelight, deodand have a disadvantage to attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. Bright sunlight causes them to melt like film in a projector, losing i hit dice worth of hit points a round.

Actions:
Multiattack. A hirsute deodand may make two claw attacks and one
Claw. +9 to hit. 10 ft. reach, 1 target. Hit: 12 (1d8+8) damage.
Bite. +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (2d6) damage.

Hirsute deodands are large, gangingly humanoids, their mass filled out by thick, course, foul-smelling hair. Their only vocalization is a phlegmatic growl or chortle. Only their malevolent red eyes are ever seen.

Deodands move silently and quickly for creatures so large, The favorite tactic of a hirsute deodand is to snatch folk from parties traveling through Subazurth--perhaps stragglers or merely the unaware--snuff their light source quickly, then carry them into the darkness to consume at their leisure. They consider eyes a delicacy. Their meeps of pleasure can sometimes be heard reverberating through dark and cavernous places. It might otherwise be a comical sound, but is chilling in context.

1 comment:

Al said...

OK, now you've made me want to go read my Dying Earth book again...