Blackdyrge's Bestiary - Perils of the Burning Waste.pdf - Blackdirge Publishing - R5700

Blackdyrge

Blackdyrge’s Bestiary II

Perils of the Burning Waste

Blackdyrge’s Bestiary II

Perils of the Burning Waste

The Campaign Construc-

tion System is a format

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Written and Created by

Aeryn Rudel

Editing

John Ball & Dwight Hulse

Illustrations

Jesse Mohn & Edward Bourelle

Graphic Design & Layout

Edward Bourelle & Erik Nowak

SkeletonKey Staff

Edward Bourelle & Art Braune

Each page is organized with the following information

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B: Product title in which the entry can be found

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and the Blackdirge Publishing logo are trademarks of Aeryn Rudel.

Blackdyrge is a trademark of Aeryn Rudel.

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of the character names, backgrounds, place names, stories, or any other

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publishing

Author: Aeryn Rudel

Blackdirge Publishing

Credits

Groog

Blackdyrge’s Bestiary II

Perils of the Burning Waste

G ROOG

CR 5

Usually NE Small aberration (earth)

Init +3; Senses all-around vision,

darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +9, Spot +10

Languages Common, Terran, telepathy 100 ft.

AC 16, touch 14, ﬂat-footed 13

(+1 size, +3 Dex, +2 natural)

hp 27 (5 HD)

PR 16

Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +6

Speed 20 ft. (4 squares), burrow 10 ft.

Melee 2 claws +7 (1d3+1 plus poison)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Base Atk +3; Grp +0

Special Actions paralytic blast

Psi-Like Abilities (ML 5th)

At will— chameleon, ego whip (1d4, DC 13),

empty mind (+4 on Will saves)

3/day— inertial armor, mind thrust (5d10, DC 15)

Abilities Str 12, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 15

SQ create groog golem

Feats Alertness, Ability Focus (paralytic blast),

Weapon Finesse B

Skills Concentration +5, Hide +15, Listen +9,

Move Silently +11, Search +8, Spot +10,

Survival +4 (+4 following tracks)

Advancement 6-10 HD (Small);

11-15 HD (Medium)

All-Around Vision (Ex): The groog’s many small

eyes spaced around the circumference of its

body grant it excellent vision in all directions.

Groogs receive a +4 racial bonus on Spot and

Search checks, and they cannot be ﬂanked.

use of its special abilities. It gains the physical

qualities (natural attacks, speed, armor class,

etc.) and physical ability scores of its host, but

does not have access to any supernatural or

extraordinary abilities the host had in life.

Create Groog Golem (Ex): The most insidious

power of the groog is its ability to steal the

bodies of other creatures. It accomplishes this

in a most gruesome fashion by ﬁrst overcoming

a victim with its paralytic blast, and then killing

and removing the head of its stricken foe.

Once the head has been removed the groog

will insert its ﬁve stalk-like legs into the body

cavity, settling upon the stump of the victim’s

neck like a new misshapen head. Through an

array of chemical and magical secretions the

groog is then able to animate the corpse, using

it as an extension of its own body. The resulting

hybrid is known as a groog golem, and retains

all of the groog’s mental ability scores and

The process of creating a groog golem is a

lengthy one, taking an average of ten minutes.

Because of this, the groog will seek out solitary

victims to overcome, allowing it to enact its

gruesome transformation without interruption.

The groog targets only humanoid, giants, and

monstrous humanoids for transformation into

groog golems, seemingly unable to make the

transformation in other body types. A groog is only

able to animate the body of a creature its own size

or one size larger, this typically means humanoid

creatures such as humans, elves, and the like, but

larger groogs have been reported to animate the

corpses of minotaurs, trolls, and even giants.

Author: Aeryn Rudel

Illustrator: Edward Bourelle

Monster

Groog

Blackdyrge’s Bestiary II

Perils of the Burning Waste

The groog derives its only nourishment from the

bodies it possesses, drawing sustenance form

the corpse of its host. This consumption only

hastens decomposition, which forces the groog

to search for a new host in around a week’s time.

Alien in the extreme, this creature appears as a small

grayish brain supported by ﬁve thin, stalk-like legs.

Dozens of small, staring eyes dot the bulging lump of the

creature’s head, adding an even more frightening aspect

to its already bizarre appearance.

Paralytic Blast (Ex): At will, a groog may unleash

a 30 ft. cone of paralytic psychic energy.

Anyone caught in the area of effect must make a

successful Will save at DC 16 or be paralyzed for

2d4 rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based and

includes a +2 bonus from the Ability Focus feat.

Groogs are horrid little beasts that haunt the barren

wastes of deserts, lingering around watering holes and

oases in hopes of snaring potential prey. They derive

their only nourishment from the capturing of host bodies,

absorbing nutrients directly from the decaying corpses

of their groog golems.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 13,

initial and secondary damage 1d2 Dex.

The save DC is Constitution-based.

Although intelligent, groogs are malicious in the extreme,

and rarely deign to speak with sentient humanoids,

considering them little more than a walking meal.

They understand common and are able to communicate

telepathically with any creature.

Skills: Groog’s have a +4 racial bonus

on Hide and Move Silently checks.

he Heshek dert aears to be nthing more than a vast baren waste, seemingly devoid f life and

therefore an unlikely region to ﬁnd strange and fabulous beasts. For the uninitiated this remains true, but

in reality the dert abounds with unique and fantastic creatur if one has the bth the diligence and

perseverance f a true xplorer.

My journy to the Heshek was founded on the bart rumor f a terible body-thieving monster, prying on

lone travelers and lurking about the merchant rout that wind their way through the dert. I was shocked

at how eay it was to ﬁnd the leavings f my quary, for on my ﬁrst day out I came upon the headl corpse

f a Jundari tribman, putrefying in the dert sun. he body was in an advanced state f day, but I nted

that the head had been removed with a surgeon’s prision and that the body cavity had been curiously

hollowed out. Intrigued by my ﬁndings, I continued my search.

It was days later, rustrated by a lack f spoor f my mysterious dapitator, that I discovered a small

watering hole, nthing more than a muddy pit, but without doubt a welcome paradise to those traveling in

the heat f the dert. he watering hole held a single occupant, a lone merchant rom Lukamaria, o

had s up a simple camp in order to cape the midday sun.

Under the cover f an invisibility spell, I stled down to watch this lone traveler, hoping that his aarent

vulnerability might atract my elusive quary. I waited until sundown, and as the air cooled, the merchant

emerged rom his tent, waterskins in hand. He went to the edge f the watering hole with the obvious intent

f ﬁlling his skins, en the most traordinary thing haened. A small, iregularly shaped rock near the

edge f the water suddenly blured, its outline changing to take on a ﬂeshy, organic quality.

Author: Aeryn Rudel

Blackdirge Publishing

Monster

Groog

Blackdyrge’s Bestiary II

Perils of the Burning Waste

Speculation has been made that a relation may exist

between the groog and the dreaded intellect devourer.

Sages theorize that the groog may be a related species,

having evolved to live in the arid environment of its

desert home.

separated and vulnerable. A groog will always open combat

with its paralytic blast, hoping to paralyze its foe and use

the body as a groog golem. A paralyzed opponent will be

subject to a coup de grace attack as the groog attempts to

remove the victim’s head with its small sharp claws.

COMBAT

If a groog is unsuccessful with its paralytic blast, it will

seek to escape by burrowing beneath the sand or using

chameleon to hide from its foes. If cornered or pressed

by multiple enemies, the groog will attempt to paralyze

as many as possible, resorting to its mind thrust ability to

neutralize those immune to its paralysis.

Groogs are primarily ambush predators, hiding with

exceptional skill along well-traveled trade routes, or among

the ﬂora surrounding water holes. They prefer to single out

lone victims, waiting for a member of a group to become

I knew then that I had tracked down my elusive monster. he merchant, however, was nt so observant.

he creature rose up on ﬁve spindly, segmented legs and opened a corona f small yellow y circling its

pulpy, brain-like body. he mtion ﬁnally alerted the merchant to the prence f his strange companion,

and even as his hand darted to the daer at his belt, the air shimmered around him as the beast unleashed

a powerful pychic blast. Overcome by this telekinic ault, the merchant ﬂoed bonelsly to the ground,

and lay still.

Nearly overcome with the euphoria f my discovery, I moved closer to g a bter look at my suje. he

litle bushwhacker then commenced with one f the more bizare, y delightful, slaughterings I have ever

witned. With a crab-like scutling, the small beast sidled over to its viim, brandishing two f its ﬁve legs.

he two waving aendag ended in small bony, serated blad, and it was with the that the creature

began to slice through the cartilage f the stricken merchant’s nk. I ten wonder if he felt the awful sting

f that slow dapitation, his agony heightened by the knowledge that he could do nthing to halt his grisly

demise. Neverthel, the odd litle beast succfully removed the merchant’s head with the prision f an

accomplished surgeon. It then began hollowing out the stump f the merchant’s nk, removing ﬂesh, bone,

and sinew, diing ever deeper into the cht cavity. When the gruome xcavation was comple, the beast

pushed all f its ﬁve stalk-like aendag into the gory hole it had created, stling its body m upon the

stump f the merchant’s nk.

My quaint litle surgeon gave me the utmost thrill with his nt trick; for as I watched, the merchant’s body,

now with a new mihapen head, twitched spasmodically, limbs thrumming against the dirt in a staccato

writhing. he spasm abated to stilln, and then, to my amazement, the corpse f the merchant sat up,

gathered its fe underneath it, and stood. he reanimated corpse swayed a bit, seemingly f-kilter by the

ponderous weight f its new head, but there was no doubt that my murderous litle beast was in control f

the body. I watched gleefully as the corpse and its rider shambled f into the dert, out f sight and direly

into the pag f this btiary.

- Blackdyrge

Author: Aeryn Rudel

Blackdirge Publishing

Monster

Blackdyrge's Bestiary - Perils of the Burning Waste.pdf

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