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Large Aberration (aquatic, psionic)
Hit Dice: 7d8+28 (59 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), swim 40 ft.
Armor Class: 21 (+3 dex, +9 natural, -1 size), touch 12, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+12
Attack: Tentacle +13 melee (1d6+4)
Full Attack: 6 tentacles +13 melee (1d6+4)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./20 ft.
Special Attacks: Drowning dreamt, improved grab, psi-like abilities, wood rot
Special Qualities: Absorption, amphibious, blindsight 120 ft., natural invisibility, ooze traits, resistance to acid and cold 10, slippery, stranger to the sun
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +8
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 16, Con 19, Int 7, Wis 17, Cha 14
Skills: Escape Artist +18
Feats: Ability Focus (drowning dreamt), Diehard(B), Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Focus (tentacle)
Environment: Any aquatic
Organization: Solitary or Violation (3-9)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: 8-19 HD (large)
Level Adjustment: -
Every sailor has secret dreads, from being lost at sea to starvation. But to drown, and be lost helplessly amongst the waves to slowly die of thirst or until one's muscles give out and then slip down into the deep, dark waters... this is a fear all seaman possess. This fear haunts the dreams of the sailor's uneasy dreams, especially as they rock to and fro on the swells of storms. Patches of damp wood form over the beds of these sailors, which drips a greasy black water upon the sleeping. This gives the erroneous impression that these creatures came from the storms and mists, while it is the sailors themselves whom attract these abominations.
A drippitch appears as a shadowy puddle of murky, foul-smelling water. From the middle of the puddle erupts a noxious collection of what looks to be broad, cancerous seaweed coated in slime that floats and undulates as if directed by non-existent ocean currents.
Normally unseen, the only way most can detect its presence is by the puddles it leaves which quickly soaks right through wood, causing unnerving drippage from dark patches on the ceilings of lower decks.
A drippitch weighs some 400 lbs. and seems to speak no language.
Combat
A drippitch often stalks a ship invisibly for several days below deck, feeling about its surroundings. It will then hang upside down over the sleeping form of its victim and tries to envelope them. It then departs quickly, waiting for them to drown in their sleep.
Absorbtion (Ex): A drippitch can move through and along surfaces made of non-living organic substances at will, such as wood, bone, and leather. It may pass from floor to wall or wall to floor, or even wall to ceiling and vice versa, freely, as long as they are made of these substances. Weapons made of these materials still harm a drippitch, though its natural attacks ignore the AC provided by armor made of these materials.
Drowning Dreamt (Su): A creature whom is pinned for a full round by a drippitch must succeed on a Will save (DC 17). Those that fail their save are Shaken until they sleep or lose consciousness. They then suffer horrible dreams of drowning, black tentacles pulling them into the crushing cold of the deep waters. The victim must make the appropriate saves to keep from drowning even if he or she would normally be able to breathe water from natural or supernatural means. While their dreamself drowns, foul smelling, shadowy water trickles from the choking victim's real nose and mouth. Rapid shaking or dealing damage of any kind to the real body automatically awakens them. Spells such as Calm Emotions can temporarily suppress the victim being shaken, though once the spell's duration is over the condition returns. Remove Curse and similar spells have a chance of negating drowning dreamt, though a successful caster level check against the drippitch's HD must be made. This is a mind-affecting ability. The save DC is Charisma-based.
While a victim is drowning in his dreams a drippitch may envelope the body once more and travel physically into the dream of the victim as the Dream Travel power.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a drippitch must hit with at least two of its tentacle attacks. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Natural Invisibility (Su): This ability is constant, allowing a drippitch to remain invisible even when attacking. This ability is inherent and not subject to the invisibility purge spell.
Psi-like Abilities:
At will - Body Equilibrium; 3/day Cloud Mind (DC 14), Crisis of Breath (*DC 16, affects all). Manifester level 10th. Save DC's are Charisma-based.
* Includes augmentation for the creature's manifester level.
Slippery (Ex): A drippitch's coating makes it intensely difficult to hold onto. They gain a +6 racial bonus on any Escape Artist check or grapple check to free itself from another's embrace.
Stranger to the Sun (Ex): A drippitch cannot tolerate direct sunlight. While in direct sunlight it loses its blindsight and takes 1d6 points of non-lethal damage per round. Once the damage equals its normal total the non-lethal damage becomes lethal.
Wood Rot (Ex): If it wishes, any appropriate surface or object a drippitch is in continuous contact with for a full minute is affected as by the Wood Rot spell (Complete Arcane, p. 130). Plant creatures automatically take 3d6 points of damage from its tentacle attacks.
Last edited by The Vorpal Tribble : 07-17-2007 at 06:48 PM.
Missed that; but it states that you can go through an object. In addition, the ability applies to weapons and armor, which aren't considered surfaces either. It's slightly confusing.
As far as I know no spells count as direct sunlight, so light spells don't affect it.
I'd have thought the invisibility would have needed more of an RP reason...
Basically it fit my concept of the creature.
Actually, Sunburst (Druid8/Sor/Wiz8/Sun8) destroys Undead who are specifically subject to damage and weakness from sunlight. It similarly deals damage (like it does to normal undead) to oozes, slimes, fungi and mold. I guess it sort of counts as replicating true Sunlight. I would rule that it does, as a DM.
By the way, I like the creature, but it does seem to lack a justification for being invisible. It seems to be somewhat extradimensional in the way that it produces seaweed from apparent nothingness. Just a thought, but it sounds sort of like it would be an interesting creature to have hail from the elemental plane of water.
I think that the natural invisibility would make more sense as a need to spot check it like a Gelatenus Cube when out of water. In water, it makes sense to be entirely invisible. Just some thoughts.
Last edited by TwentiesFTW : 07-24-2007 at 09:11 PM.
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Maybe creatures that can naturally breathe underwater should get some type of bonus to their save against Drowning Dreamt. It seems to me they would be more resilient to these dreams.
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[Creature] Sleep of the Deep
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