Cancer Hound (3.5)

[ObsidianRose]

Cancer Hound



Size/Type: Colossal Aberration
Hit Dice: 13d8+156 (214 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 60 feet
Armor Class: 17, touch 5, flat-footed 14 (-8 size, +3 dex, +12 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+33
Attack: “Bite” +9 melee (4d8+12/ 20/x2)
Full Attack: +9/+4 melee (4d8+12/ 20/x2)
Space/Reach: 30 ft./60 ft.
Special Attacks: Disease, swallow whole, improved grab
Special Qualities: Blindsense 200 feet, regeneration 1, assimilation, aura of rot, DR 20/good and magic, telepathy 500 feet, blood-borne intellect
Saves: Fort +16, Ref +7, Will +12
Abilities: Str 26, Dex 16, Con 35, Int 23, Wis 19, Cha 28
Skills: Hide + 5, Move Silently + 21, Survival +20, Heal +20, Climb +24, Disguise + 25, Escape Artist +19, Spot +20
Feats: Toughness, Blind-fight, Great Fortitude, Stealthy, Ability Focus (Disease)
Enviroment: Underground
Organization: Solitary
Challange Rating: 15
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 13+ HD Colossal
Level Adjustment: —

The cancer hound is a vast, rigid blob of tumors and bursting cells. It lopes and crawls on its eight great legs, each the thickness of massive redwoods. It is tall, but can pull its mass low to the ground. Its neck reaches longer than it should, and can extend when needed.
At first glance, it appears to be a hungry, voracious, and very unintelligent beast, but it bears a cunning that its physiology belies.
The cancer hound is made up of hundreds of victims, who have each been infected and pulled into its body. Inside is a vast central blood stream that carries the collective brain mass of all its victims.

The cancer hound is the highest form of disease evolution. It vies for godhood, and is getting closer, for each creature it devours increases its power, ambition, and destructive tendencies.

The cancer hound speaks no languages

Combat
The cancer hound fights by directly assaulting its victims, wounding them and infecting them as soon as possible. It then weakens its targets with its very presence, and when they are weakened enough, it devours them and continues onto its next target.
The cancer hound never takes penalties for squeezing, and can squeeze down to huge size.
Disease (Su): Cancer, DC 30 negates, incubation 1d10 years, damage 2d4 con
Swallow Whole (Ex): The cancer hound can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of Huge or smaller size by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 2d8+8 points of crushing damage plus 2d8+6 points of acid damage per round from the cancer hound’s digestive juices. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by dealing 50 points of damage to the cancer hound’s digestive tract (AC 25). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. The cancer hound’s gullet can hold 2 Huge, 8 Large, 32 Medium, 128 Small, or 512 Tiny or smaller creatures.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the cancer hound must hit a Huge or smaller opponent with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can try to swallow the foe the following round.

Regeneration (Ex): Fire and negative energy deal normal damage to a cancer hound. The cure disease spell deals 50 damage to it, with a will save.
Assimilation (Su): Any time a creature infected with cancer dies while under the effects of the cancer hound’s swallow whole ability, the cancer hound gains temporary hit points equal to the hit dice of the creature and the creature’s intelligence modifier (if positive) as a bonus to the cancer hound’s intelligence. This intelligence bonus does not fade.
Aura of Rot (Su): In the presence of the cancer hound, all diseases progress faster. Incubation time is reduced, from years to rounds, and all other forms of disease incubate instantly. Damage from diseases occurs every round, rather than every day. Recovery rate is not accelerated by this, and the target still makes saving throws at the normal rate
Blood-borne Intellect (Ex): The brain matter of the cancer hound is carried in the blood stream, and for each 10 points of lethal damage the cancer hound takes, it suffers 1 point of intelligence drain.

[The Neoclassic]

Intriguing and a very interesting idea. I just have a bit of feedback (though keep in mind that I am not the best at crunch).

Disease (Ex): Cancer, DC 30 negates, incubation 1d10 years, damage 2d4 con

I might add supernatural disease to this. I know that cancer isn't a supernatural disease, but real cancer isn't spread from person to person, so
I'm assuming that this is some sort of magical variant.

Assimilation (Su): Any time a creature infected with cancer dies while under the effects of the cancer hound’s swallow whole ability, the cancer hound gains temporary hit points equal to the hit dice of the creature and the creature’s intelligence modifier (if positive) as a bonus to the cancer hound’s intelligence. This intelligence bonus does not fade.

What benefits does this intelligence have? In other words, I dunno, just seems kind of unnecessary and this isn't the sort of creature that I envision as particularly intelligent.

Aura of Rot (Su): In the presence of the cancer hound, all diseases progress faster. Incubation time is reduced, from years to rounds, and all other forms of disease incubate instantly. Damage from diseases occurs every round, rather than every day.

Does the ability to make the saving throws and recover from disease similarly speed up?

[ObsidianRose]

I'll switch the disease to supernatural and include that you only get to shrug it off as normal.

I added the intelligence in there to show its mental powers growing. It becomes more intelligent because it wants sentience, as simple as that.

[Pyrusticia]

The cancer hound is the highest form of disease evolution. It vies for godhood, and is getting closer, for each creature it devours increases its power, ambition, and destructive tendencies.

Currently the only benefit you have it gain from the creatures it absorbs is an increase in intelligence. Since none of its attacks use intelligence, this isn't really increasing its power, much less allowing it to approach godhood.

To remedy this, I'd suggest one of two things:

First option, you can give it a tangible benefit from an increase in intelligence. Perhaps make the DC of its disease Int based (it learns how to warp cellular tissue more effectively), or you can give it an ability that allows it area-effect damage (something it currently lacks), that is intelligence based...something like the following:

Spoiler

Show

Warp Flesh (Su): A cancer hound can, as a full-round action, warp the flesh of creatures nearby. This ability affects all creatures within x feet of the cancer hound, where x is the hound's intelligence modifier. A successful Fort save vs DC 30 negates. If any creature takes damage from this effect, they must make a second Fort save (DC 30) or contract Cancer.

A cancer hound may not use this ability if its Int modifier is negative (often the case if the hound is severely wounded (see Blood-Borne Intellect)).

Alternatively, if you don't like giving it Int-based abilities, you really need to give it some tangible benefit from its Assimilation other than intelligence. Easiest would just be to allow it to grow by one HD any time it assimilates any creature of 5 HD or more (why five? Dunno, just pulled it from the Vamp rules...only creatures of 5 HD or more have crossed the 'magic threshold' that allows them to become vampires, instead of spawn). As it grows in HD, it will also gain skills and feats, which in due time would, indeed, allow it to approach godhood.

[Icewalker]

I like the concept, but I think it has far too low HD for a colossal creature. Something like this should be significantly more powerful, or significantly smaller, in my opinion.

You did a great job with the crunch, my only complaint on that is agreement with the rest of the people here, find a new application for assimilate.

On the note that it's aiming for sentience, technically, in dnd, the definition of sentience is 'Intelligence higher than 3'.

[Tingel]

Why did you add artwork that significantly contradicts the creature's description?

[ObsidianRose]

When I get back from quartet practice, I'll mix in some intelligence based abilities.

The image is a place holder, becuase I don't have a good one.

[JoshuaZ]

You may want to take a look at the Sentient Tumor which has some similarity to this: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3294755

Also, regarding the assimilation bit: I like the mechanism but I'm not sure I'm so happy with it just going to intelligence and not increasing anything else. Maybe have the same occur for constitution also?

Also, I'd suggest changing the languages so that it knows any language of any being it has ever assimilated but cannot speak. A default cancer hound might start with 4 or 5 languages that are the more common languages in a setting.

I might add supernatural disease to this. I know that cancer isn't a supernatural disease, but real cancer isn't spread from person to person, so
I'm assuming that this is some sort of magical variant.

Well not in humans but cancer transmission is a serious problem in some other species. Tasmanian Devils are getting decimated by it - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0128173735.htm and there's a similar disease among dogs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_...venereal_tumor . Although I agree making this supernatural makes more sense given the extreme speed of the disease.