Suntermaw
Suntermaw (CR 14)
A Suntermaw is one of the many aberrant things which infest the world, thrown up by the natural background magic of the universe.
Some say tha a nest of Suntermaw's arise when a communities greed becomes too great. Others say that Suntermaw's are spawned from tiny seeds of the Outer Madness, which are sewn upon the world by the dark agencies of the Without.
Still other say Suntermaws are the result of dark experimentation, the same foolishness that unleashed Bugbears upon the world. Or are the result of a witches curse, or an ill-omened birth, or portents of a dark harvest....
In truth, it may be all of these things, or none. No one knows.
Suntermaws are driven by an endless hunger for flesh and magic, and a mad hatred of both Life and Unlife. They will attack all living creatures, as well as undead, or perhaps worse, they will mark a living creature as bait and then patiently stalk that person, picking off those around them, so that the person is the center of a vortex of death and terror.
A nest of Suntermaws is a thing to be expunged, there is no negotiation or parley with them. Once they begin their depredations, they must be destroyed,. or they will render aberything around their lair into lifeless, deathless, ruin.
General
CR 14 Hit Dice 20
XP 38,400
NE, Large, Aberration
Init +6; Senses Weak_Blindsense, Perception +21
Defense
AC 36, touch 21, flat-footed 32 (+9 armor, +4 dex, +6 natural, +7 deflection)
hp 315
Fort +17, Ref +13, Will +13
Aura -
SR -
Special Defenses ER 15/Positive Energy, Er 15/Negative Energy
Immunities -
Weaknesses -
Offense
Speed 50 ft.
Space / Reach: 10 ft. / 10 ft.
Single Melee Shattering Bite +23 (2d8+17/x2), if hit, roll one free Sunder (CMB +27)
Full Melee Shattering Bite +23 (2d8+17/x2), if hit, roll free Sunder (CMB+27), 2x Scything Claws +23 (2d6+6/x2)
Ranged Azoic Ray +15 ranged Touch attack (2d8+10/x2), either Positive Energy OR Negative Energy, may not be used to heal
Special Attacks Gaze of Despair
Action Points 0
Statistics
Str 24, Dex 18, Con 26, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 16
Base Atk +14; CMB +23; CMD 31
Feats Improved Sunder, EFFECT: Sunder does not provoke an opportunity attack, +2 on Sunder attempts and vs sunders Combat Reflexes, EFFECT: Up to five Attacks of Opportunity each round. Note: Reach ten on Bite attacks.
Skills Stealth +21, Survival +21, Knowledge:Local +16
Languages Common
Special Abilities
- Gaze of Despair
If you look at a Suntermaw while it has no status condition that hampers its actions, it will attempt to catch your eye. You must make a Will save vs a DC of 24 or suffer the Nervous condition until the end of the combat. This save is rolled at the beginning of your round. Once you have failed this save once, you are immune to Gaze of Despair from any Suntermaw for 24 hours. Note that this is a gaze attack, and you may avoid rolling the save by not looking at the Suntermaw. This grants the Suntermaw Total Cover if you choose to do so. (50 percent miss chance, and no Precision Damage.)
Treasure
sell value of approximately 13,750 gp
Combat Tactics
Suntermaw's love sneaking and ambushing, picking a weak victim and tormenting them, slowly and steadily wrecking everything in their lives. If they are challenged by a strong foe, they are not cowed, but instead will attempt to set up an ambush, preferring to attack in open and inhabited places, where their Gaxe power will cause a shrieking panic to erupt among hapless bystanders.
Once combat begins, some of the Suntermaw's will show themselves and close aggressively, seeking to use their Gaze of Despair upon as many foes as possible. Others of the Suntermaws will attempt to use Stealth (possibly aided and abetted by characters averting their eyes to avoid the gaze attack) to sneak into the ranks of the heroes and attack any spell casters or buffers they may find.
Suntermaws are not wholly of this world, and their bite attacks are incredibly destructive, shattering stone and metal with ease. They will seek to Sunder notable magic items first, to feed their hungers, and will target such things as amulets, cloaks, and especially wands, staves, and rods, in preference to other items.
Suntermaws are arrogant and vicious, but they will attempt to flee a battle if more than half their number are killed. Often, their aggressive attacks and stealth have placed them deep among the heroes ranks, so how successful they may be in escaping is highly variable. If they are attacked with powerful ranged attacks or heavy area of affect spells, they will seek to target the attacker with their Azoic Rays, in an effort to drive the offender into hiding or kill them outright. Otherwise, they are quite content to engage in melee, counting on their powerful bite attacks, Reach, and gaze power to carry the day.