Chuul

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Chuul(CR 12)

A chuul is a massive beast, and truly horrible to behold. It's appearance is all armored chitin and massive snapping claws and wet, dangling palps. Chuuls are scavengers and ambush predators, and are more than willing to feed on carrion, rotting plant matter, any undead they can catch, and whatever else they can get a death grip on.

Despite appearances, chuuls are not mindless beasts. That said, chuuls are certainly aberrant things, and there is little to no basis for conversation or peace between a chuul and anything not-chuul. Chuul's seem to exist to eat and reproduce and make weird spiky designs in mud, sand, trees, or whatever else happens to be to hand. Indeed, a sure sign of a chuul incursion is weird alien patterns showing up in unlikely places.

Chuul are amphibious, but definitely not aquatic. They do not swim well, being far to massive, and they cannot breathe water, but they can hold their breath for five times as long as you would expect them to be able to and suffer no ill effects for it. Chuuls prefer to live in places where there is shallow water, and are not terribly picky beyond that. Chuul haunt deserted beaches, swamps, bogs, watery caves and tunnels, dark mountain lakes, sewers in cities, ruins and dungeons of all kinds, clear forest streams, crashing rocky surf, fens and marshes, mud pits, peat bogs and many more places besides. They are hardy and horrible.

They like to lurk and creep, and their hard outer surface is often crusted with debris from their environment, making them incredibly stealthy for their size.

Chuul are not aggressive. They will not raid settlements and kill wantonly. They prefer to pick off victims with more discretion, but they can and will eat sentient races without hesitation. A chuul infestation must be confronted, and quickly, before tragedy happens.

GENERAL

CR 12 Hit Dice 17

XP 19,200

NE or CE Large, Aberration

Init +9; Senses darkvision, Perception +22

DEFENSE

AC 32, touch 20, flat-footed 27 (+7 armor, +5 dex, +5 natural, +5 deflection)

hp 249

Fort +15, Ref +12, Will +12

Aura: -

SR: -

Special Defenses: -

Immunities: -

Weaknesses: -

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., Swim 20 ft

Space / Reach: 10 ft. / 10 ft.

Single Melee 2x Claws +18 (2d6+4/x2) + Deathgrip

Full Melee Bite +18 (2d8+13/x2), 2x Claws +18 (2d6+4/x2) + Deathgrip

Ranged Disgusting Jet +18 (2d8+7/x2), Reflex save vs DC 21 or be [Sickened]

Special Attacks Deathgrip, Slimy Doom

Action Points 0

STATISTICS

Str 24, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 5

Base Atk +12; CMB +19; CMD 28

Feats Improved Grapple (EFFECT: Start grapple as a free action after claw hits, does not provoke.)

Skills Stealth +20, Knowledge, Local, +16

Languages Aquan

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Deathgrip

While it has a foe grappled, the Chuul may use Deathgrip as a damage action, and inflict 6d6+1 points of damage.

Slimy Doom

If it begins its turn with a foe grappled, a chuul may stuff them into the fringe of slimy paralytic palps hanging from its head...parts.... This uses up a move action, but is otherwise automatic. A Chuul can have one foe up to size large trapped in its Slimy Doom. Having a foe in Slimy Doom grapples that foe, but the Chuul is NOT considered to be in a grapple, and may make a free round of checks to sustain the grapple every round for free, while also taking its standard actions.

As a damage action, a Chuul can inflict upon a foe in Slimy Doom it's Deathgrip damage, and to make things even worse, if the foe takes damage from that Deathgrip, they must make a Fort save, DC 21, or be [Paralyzed]. Making the save negates the condition, but the chuul may certainly try again in its next round.

TREASURE

sell value of approximately 8,000 gp

COMBAT TACTICS

Chuuls are ambush predators and terribly, implacably, evil. They will hide in water, near trails and docks, and strike when their victims have their guard down.

In all cases, every claw attack is a chance to start a grapple attempt, for free. Chuul always try for a grapple, but will move a victim into its Slimy Doom tentacles as fast as possible. This allows it to grapple a foe and damage or paralyze them, and still move and attack unimpeded.

Chuul who have attacked are likely hungry. They will never consider retreat unless they have a victim in their Slimy Doom. If they do, and the combat is going poorly, a chuul will not hesitate to flee battle, abandoning its comrades without a second thought.