monstersdownthepath

[monstersdownthepath]

Still reading through Divine Mysteries and while I've greatly enjoyed 99% of what I've read so far, there's a few bits that make me frown.

Perhaps one of my biggest disappointments is:

Aonaurious, a Qlippoth Lord* introduced way back in 1st edition's Bestiary 6 as a footnote among the existing Qlippoth Lords who were actually getting stats, alongside Yamasoth (who was given stats in another book) and Shiggarreb (who was never given stats, but who got a Divine Obedience). He had the intriguing epithet of "the Enigma Clot," invoking the imagery of some malefic hair clog or perhaps a constricting fungus, in either case fitting in alongside the grotesqueries of both the other Qlippoth Lords and the qlippoth in general.

Absolutely nothing about Aonaurious was known but his name and his title for the longest time, and though Shiggarreb received some additional development in the Complete Book of the Damned which came out months later, the Enigma Clot was left to languish for 8 entire years and a whole edition shift before finally appearing in Divine Mysteries as... a giant praying mantis.

Not just a loss in terms of what the Enigma Clot could have been, but he also seems to have completely supplanted Shiggarreb, being a warmongering beast hellbent on slaughtering literally anything and everything he sees without pause or tire, exactly as the Marauding Maw/Warmonger Queen was once stated to do. Fair enough, all things considered, especially since with Shiggarreb being gone, we get a more unique Qlippoth Lord named Nyuo-Ogh the Always-Observing... but this also means that poor Aonaurious stands out like a sore thumb among his demigod kin, as his current lore as it is has him lacking any form of parasitic aspects, a mainstay among qlippoth as a whole and incredibly pronounced in the existing Qlippoth Lords. He instead represents a relentless hyper-predator, something that already has representation in the forms of existing lords Chavazvug and Thuskchoon (each of which also embody parasitism in different ways).

All this being said, I don't hate Aonaurious, and I do like the threat he presents as "the predator that kills far more than it could ever possibly eat and chases down prey that could not possibly be worth the effort of getting at," but I feel like such a plain appearance is a waste of a fascinatingly evocative title and a sad miss in terms of fitting in thematically with the rest of the lords.

Nyuo-Ogh is a fantastic addition to the Parasite Pantheon, though, I'll say that. Shiggarreb wasn't exactly a good fit herself, so I do not mourn her.

Edit: Reading his physical description more closely (Divine Mysteries, pg. 226) makes him sound more like a monstrously enormous and clawed house centipede, and if ANY creature could be called an "Enigma Clot" it would be a gigantic house centipede! I'm going to treat him like he's one of those.

[monstersdownthepath]

I'm still reading through Lost Omens: Divine Mysteries, but there's a fascinating and worrying aside recounting the tale of Abadar's brother, Llod, an entity that does not exist outside of this book, because Abadar unmade him. Llod stole from the First Vault and betrayed his brother's trust in him, and as such Abadar made him pay by convincing every mortal on Golarion that Llod not only didn't exist, but never did, an act which somehow unwove Llod from the fabric of reality and utterly destroyed him and everything he had ever made or done... which caused a tremendous collapse across several nations, artifacts, and faiths they had built together when half of everything there completely vanished.

[monstersdownthepath]

Homebrew Horror: Qlippoth, Gor'glurin

(Art by @chasm-connected!)

Also called "Gore Orbs" or "Gorgans" by those with a hideous sense of humor, Gor'glurin are a breed of qlippoth which were created as a weapon of traumatic transformation by Yamasoth, the Polymorph Plague, in an attempt to scour mortal worlds of sinful life, though they work just as well against their hated demonic foes. The first of their numbers were created with cooperation from Oaur-Ooung, and they have been purposely spread by mad cultists of both entities ever since, sometimes in the form of a "blessing," sometimes as a curse, for both ally and enemy alike.

Gor'glurin begin their lives as tiny, microscopic flakes no larger than a mote of dust, easily slipping into others through their eyes, nose, or mouth, or even an open wound. They act as a disease within the body, causing tremors, fever, and nausea, appearing as a stomach bug as they slowly construct a larger body nestled within the victim. After just a few days, the qlippoth's growing body is visible as a lump rising from the stomach, and at this point only surgical or magical intervention can save the host's life. Wait too long and it will be too late, as tendrils of infected tissue will begin to weave around the victims' other organs to contaminate them like some eldritch, living tumor, turning them into parts of the qlippoth's body rather than the host's. Weaving itself a body from the stolen viscera, the Gor'glurin emerges from the host in a sickening display, but remains firmly attached, pulling the hapless victim behind them or even into the air as abyssal gas fills them like a gory balloon to finish the transformation. In just a short few minutes, the hosts' bodies are reduced to a limb of the qlippoth instead of the other way around while their minds are imprisoned within, unable to do anything but watch as the parasite lashes out at friends, family, and neighbors.

Once emerged, Gor'glurin exist to spread their infection to as many creatures as they possibly can while they use their host as both a vehicle and sustenance, slowly transmuting unneeded flesh and bone into more infectious cells. Worse still is that the qlippoth also steadily drains the victims' soul to prevent their sin from passing into the Abyss, rendering the soul down into a corrupted form of positive energy that allows the invader to sustain not only its life, but the lives of its qlippoth kin. Their spearing limbs and sprays of blood and bile carry their transformative infection, but once they've fully consumed the victims' soul, the qlippoth finds as high a perch as they can and detonates in a dramatic and disgusting display, casting their tiny, infectious brood into the winds to spread them for miles around.

GOR'GLURIN CR 7 Chaotic Evil Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Evil, Qlippoth) Init: +10; Senses: Darkvision 60ft; Perception +15

------ Defense ------

AC 20, touch 17, flat-footed 13 (+6 Dex, +1 Dodge, +3 Natural Armor) HP 82 (9d10+36) fast healing 5 Fort +10 Ref +9 Will +9 DR 5/Lawful; Immune Cold, disease, mind-affecting effects, poison; Resist Acid 10, Electricity 10, Fire 10 Weaknesses Curative Vulnerability

------ Offense ------

Speed 30ft, fly 20ft (clumsy), climb 20ft Melee 4 stings +15 (1d6+1 plus disease) Ranged Bile spray +15 touch (1d8 Acid plus disease) Special Attacks Horrific Appearance (DC 17), Infectious Detonation Spell-like Abilities (CL 10; Concentration +12)

3/day--Cure Light Wounds 1/day--Cure Moderate Wounds

------ Statistics ------

Str 12 Dex 22 Con 18 Int 11 Wis 17 Cha 14 Base Atk: +9; CMB +10; CMD 26 Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon Finesse Skills Climb +20, Escape Artist +18, Fly +10, Knowledge (Nature) +12, Perception +15, Stealth +18 Languages Abyssal, primary language spoken by the host; Telepathy 80ft SQ Flailing Host

------ Ecology ------

Environment any (Abyss) Organization Solitary, pair, outbreak (3~10), or pandemic (20~60) Treasure Incidental (host's belongings)

------

Combat: Gor'glurin seek to spread their infection to as many creatures as possible, and will stealthily spray or stab victims when able. Once in combat proper, they divide their stings between as many targets within their reach as they can. They have no special ability to tell when a creature has been successfully infected, and thus tend to continue to attack until their victims fall unconscious before seeking new prey. When among other breeds of qlippoth, they will briefly pause their assaults to heal their injured kin with stolen life energy.

Morale: Gor'glurin always fight to the death in the hopes their Infectious Detonation spreads their spores to their killers. The sole exception is if they are in combat with Undead or Constructs, which they will flee as swiftly as possible from to seek viable hosts.

------ Special Abilities ------

Bile Spray (Ex): The Gor'glurin's bile spray is a ranged touch attack with a range of 40ft.

Curative Vulnerability (Ex): Gor'glurin are harmed by any spell or effect which attempts to cure diseases. If it fails its saving throw against the spell or effect, it takes 1d8 damage per caster level of the creature using the spell/effect. A Heal spell cast upon it slays it instantly without offering a saving throw. It never regains hit points from any such effects. If this damage reduces its HP to 0 or less, it dies instantly without triggering Infectious Detonation (see below) as its body shrinks back to nothingness, and the host regains control of their body, though the damage and drain done do them is not instantly undone.

Disease (Ex): Sting, bile spray, Infectious Detonation--Injury, inhaled; save Fortitude DC 19, onset 1d6 days, frequency 1/day, effect 1d4 Str and 1d4 Con damage, cure 2 consecutive saves. A creature that would be reduced to 0 or less Con by this disease instead stabilizes at 1 Con, stops taking damage from the disease, and transforms into a Gor'glurin Qlippoth over the course of 1d4 minutes. This disease has no effect on other qlippoth.

Flailing Host (Ex): The host of the Gor'glurins infection (see disease, above) remains attached to the qlippoth, but cannot take any actions, even purely mental ones. The qlippoth cannot use any of the host's abilities and uses its stats instead of the host's in all cases; the host is nothing more than a puppet. It uses the host's limbs to move, perform combat maneuvers, or manipulate objects. Despite this, the host is still alive, and the qlippoth feeds from them to sustain itself. The host suffers 1d6 points of Charisma drain each day as the qlippoth consumes its soul, and when the host reaches 0 Charisma, the qlippoth seeks a high place to use its Infectious Detonation ability (see below). If the Gor'glurin is slain, the host is slain as well unless the qlippoth was slain by its Curative Vulnerability.

Horrific Appearance (Su): A creature that succumbs to the Gor'glurin's Horrific Appearance feels as though their organs are shifting around within their body, becoming nauseated for 1 round, and sickening them for 1d4 rounds after.

Infectious Detonation (Ex): When the Gor'glurin is reduced to 0 HP, it explodes gruesomely. All creatures within 10ft of it must make a DC 19 Reflex save or take 2d8 bludgeoning and 1d8 Acid damage from the spraying viscera, and all creatures within 30ft must save against its disease as its spores spray in every direction. A Gor'glurin which has fully consumed its host's soul (see Flailing Host, above) can use this ability at any time it wishes by destroying itself as a full-round action, causing the same damaging explosion but spraying its spores in a 100ft cloud instead. In addition, the qlippoth will typically seek a high position to use this ability from, spreading its spores to the wind and potentially infecting creatures miles away (at the DMs discretion).

[monstersdownthepath]

It really is a pity, if I'm being honest. If you told someone who had never dove into Pathfinder's lore that Golarion has its own version of the Joker and that he was an extremely powerful devil whose job and entire purpose for existence, specifically, is "conquer Golarion," this hypothetical person would probably have their flabbers gasted if you told them he has never been the Big Bad in an AP or even so much as a Module.

This guy

is Asmodeus' most trusted agent for the purpose of conquering Golarion, arguably THE most important planet in all of creation for Asmodeus to have total dominion over due to it containing Rovagug.

And yet, scarcely a mention in any book not specifically about fiendish divinities! One of the scant bits of lore about him (in Council of Thieves: Infernal Syndrome, pg. 89) tells of when his trickery was reversed upon him, while his second largest scattering of lore (throughout Rule of Fear) reveals him as the secret patron of a clown school, with his most fervent follower being a mime, who work to gather enough blackmail material to secretly control a whole city from the shadows.

NOT including him in more material feels like leaving proverbial money on the table, if you ask me.

[monstersdownthepath]

You know, considering how much attention Golarion gets from the Infernal Dukes and Asmodeus himself thanks to both Cheliax and its status as the Rough Beast's cage, I can't help but wonder if Alchino feels a bit sidelined. Or is he settled into more of a support role I wonder, helping other lords of Hell in their plans in the background since the ultimate goal is just 'conquer Golarion'?

------

Poor, poor Alichino. You'd think he'd be way more important to Golarion as a setting, being the Malebranche in charge of conquering the thing. As it is, though, I don't think he gets much more than a footnote here or an odd worshiper there because, like you said, Asmodeus found a way to worm his way onto the planet all on his own.

And then in Starfinder, he loses his job because the planet is gone! Man can't catch a break. He SHOULD be the greatest diabolic threat to Golarion, but he's shown up by his own boss!

I don't think he's especially sour about it, though, because unlike all those other Malebranche who have to work on their own, HE gets to work with the manager! I think it's hard for him to be mad about being given the opportunity to work with Asmodeus himself to conquer the planet.

[monstersdownthepath]

Maybe a bit of an esoteric question, but how do you make hags interesting, especially powerful ones?

------

Give them abilities beyond what is present on their statblock. Granted, most Hags have PLENTY enough in their stats to make them interesting, intimidating, and tricky foes--especially when there's more than one!--but if you want to make them more terrifying, giving them access to powers no player could ever reach or conceive of is a surefire way to make them spooky.

One can simply look at the popular depictions of Green Hags; on the tabletop proper, they're among the weakest and most simple of all Hags. You wouldn't think so if you've ever seen, say, specific stretches of Critical Role or a certain foe in Baldur's Gate 3, though, which show just what happens when a Green Hag becomes ambitious enough to reach for more power. In Pathfinder, a Hag is a person who has purged their soul of the capacity for Good, leaving them as close to pure Evil as any demon, devil, or daemon, so of course they would be willing to undertake rituals even more depraved and vile if it means increasing their power.

A powerful Hag may have the ability to conjure illusions without needing to make any spellcasting gestures, manipulate all the objects in her hut with a thought, control the environment around her home as easily as she could move her own limbs, ensnare the minds of the weak or the beastly and verminous, or manipulate the party's magic or luck.

[monstersdownthepath]

A Collection of Fiendish Demigods

(pic source)

A Duke of Hell and two Daemon Harbingers for fun. As always, there's more lore than what I put in their little blurbs; the Duke of Hell especially is one I came up with years ago but never had the opportunity to put into any practice. I actually considered it for the position of Demon Lord for the longest time, but its focus on back-breaking labor and law--plus my dearth of Lawful Evil fiends in general--made me reconsider.

The Harbingers are also two niches I've noticed have yet to be filled. In a world full of unfair deaths, I can think of few miserable ends more unfair than death through allergies, an affliction which the people of Golarion understand but not have the means to treat. With it, I'm also introducing the concept of the Phylaxidaemons, plant-insect creatures who shed thick layers of choking pollen and whose poisonous touch causes horrific swelling in its victims which can lead to them choking to death as their throat closes up. The Phylaxidaemons themselves will be another post.

The second is a much more recent creation, representing death through medical malpractice and through trusting care providers who don't have your interests at heart. And with him, the introduction of the placebodaemon and iatrodaemon. CR 4 and 12, representing death by false cures and harmful "cures," respective.

Reminder that Infernal Dukes grant a spell-like of levels 3, 7, and 9 as Boons which are usable 1/day, and Daemon Harbingers grant spell-likes of levels 2, 4, and 6 usable 2/day.

Father Dermosi, Duke of the Endless Rows Lawful Evil Infernal Duke of Labor, Sacrifice, and Farming

One would not expect a devil to be a holy man, but in his life before his infernal transformation, the figure that would become Father Dermosi was a follower of Erastil. A passionate preacher, hard worker, skilled farmer, and firm believer in the cleansing power of difficult labor, Dermosi is a textbook showing of what too much fervor can do to one's mind, as he believed (and preached) a corrupt form of Old Deadeye's teachings in which backbreaking labor and sacrifice of one's own health for the good of the community were the only true sacrifices which Erastil would appreciate.

In his own words, he believed that a soul had to be "beaten into a shape that could fit through Heaven's gates," and the only way to achieve this 'shape' was to grind away at every edge and angle of one's personality until all that was left was a desire to work. Physical abuse to drive people further became more and more common, and when people began to die from him constantly pushing them to do more, many snapped to their senses and realized that he had strayed from Erastil's guidance, that this could not possibly be what the god wanted... but any who spoke up were harshly punished, exiled, or even executed by the rest of the flock, out of either fear or fervor. It was only when Erastil himself sent a few of his chosen to the town to try and fix what happening that many of Dermosi's naysayers found the bravery to stand up alongside one another, and the corrupt Father found himself facing execution or exile. He chose execution, believing he would be judged worthy of Heaven.

As one can likely tell, he didn't even see the gates before he was thrown into the fires of Hell.

Rather than turn inwards and reflect on his own wicked beliefs, Father Dermosi concluded that Heaven denying him was an error on their part, that Erastil had betrayed him rather than the other way around. As his soul became corrupted by hellfire, he concluded that Erastil's teachings were far too 'light-handed' and that Heaven didn't deserve someone with his strength of will and desire to improve himself and others, at which point he embraced his transformation into a devil and rose swiftly through Hell's hierarchy.

Father Dermosi now lays claim to the Sinner's Till, an area of Avernus where endless fields of strange and unearthly crops are nourished by and tended to by hapless petitioners and enslaved Outsiders, each one subject to the sermons and sadism of the Duke of the Endless Rows as they ceaselessly work until their souls begin to break down, allowing him to--literally and figuratively--beat them into entirely new shapes in service to the Archdevils.

Domains: Community, Evil, Law, Plant Subdomains: Devil, Sovereignty, Growth, Toil* Favored Weapon: Scythe Symbol: A bundle of corn wrapped in white or gold thread. Sacred Animals: Farm animals, particularly chickens Sacred Colors: Gold, green *Followers of Dermosi may alter any of his Domains with the Toil Subdomain, replacing the second power of each Domain and the spells granted at the appropriate levels. They may only alter one Domain in this way, and cannot alter a Domain that has already been altered by a Subdomain.

Obedience: Perform one hour of strenuous manual labor, or force another to do so with threats of pain if they do not comply. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus to saves against any effect which would fatigue or exhaust you.

Boon 1: Spike Growth Boon 2: Waves of Exhaustion Boon 3: Dominate Monster

-----

Tazhimea, the Baleful Bouquet Neutral Evil Daemon Harbinger of Allergens, Stinging Insects, and Weeds

Somewhere in the dismal plane of Abaddon, there is a land where a false sun shines over a gorgeous landscape filled with a veritable rainbow of strange plants bearing an equally alien yet delicious bounty. As one may expect, this is not a place of mercy or respite, as even a single breath of its sickly sweet air can spell a miserable, choking end for most mortals. Even other daemons tend to steer clear of this place lest they, too, fall victim to the machinations of the Phylaxidaemons and their beautiful progenitor, Tazhimea.

Tazhimea appears to be some anthropomorphic butterfly or moth woven of beautiful and otherworldly plants, their wings shimmering with a myriad of colors rarely seen in nature, but standing anywhere close enough to examine the details is almost certain death; the moment one is able to smell the daemon's powerfully cloying perfume is the moment one has breathed their last, their nose overrunning with thick mucus as their throat begins to close up, all to keep out the scent. Tazhimea is Harbinger of Allergens, and thus has a unique approach to the problem of how to bring death to the masses, namely by twisting the body's own immune response against itself with puffs of spores and pollen, powerful perfumes, or the stings and bites of insects that hide within the body of the Harbinger and of its servitors. The Harbinger's garden is their laboratory as they breed together flora and fauna from all over the Great Beyond to birth creations whose effluvium triggers violent reactions in any creature that inhales or touches them, with the fiend's ultimate goal to form an allergen that can affect even them, at which point they know their work has become perfect.

Because Tazhimea's creations turn the victims' own immune system against it, there is little one can do to protect themselves from it. Living creatures that are immune to disease or poison are ironically more vulnerable to the Harbinger's foul magic as their powerful immunity goes berserk in response to a sniff of a foul but ultimately harmless perfume or a painful and debilitating but nonfatal sting, turning an attack that could have been survived into a life-threatening affliction for which there is no cure. For all the terror they bring to the living, though, they have a distinct disadvantage when combating creatures such as Elementals, Constructs, and Undead, a disadvantage which prevents them from truly seeking the throne of the Horseman of Plague.

Domains: Animal, Evil, Death, Plant Subdomains: Insect, Daemon, Growth, Venom* Favored Weapon: Rapier Symbol: A beautiful flower with a bee sitting in the center Sacred Animals: Bees and ants Sacred Colors: Green and red *followers of Tazhimea may modify the Animal Domain with the Venom Subdomain.

Obedience: Sow the seeds of plants which provoke allergic reactions. If you cannot, invoke an allergic reaction in yourself, then suffer through it for at least 1 hour before attempting to cure or alleviate it. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus to saving throws against disease and poison effects.

Boon 1: Garden of Peril Boon 2: Cape of Wasps Boon 3: Greater Insect Spies

-----

Qaicol, the Honest Doctor Neutral Evil Daemon Harbinger of Placebos, False Cures, and Malpractice

A foul and recent fiend, Qaicol was once a snake-oil salesman whose silver tongue and seemingly miraculous mixtures ended numerous lives. Whether it was a balm that soothed pain but prompted hemorrhagic bleeding or some 'incredible' surgery to replace a failing organ which went tragically awry, Qaicol was at the forefront of inventing countless ways to harm others with fabricated cures and poisonous medicines, and was always a change of name and facial hair away from doing it again in the next settlement he preyed upon.

Far beyond any rational or explainable motive, Qaicol would dissect or even vivisect others to better understand the border between panacea and poison upon the body's various systems, and how the two could be blended together to provoke the most destructive reactions. Were he benevolent he could have been an incredible doctor, but as it was, he was a serial killer with a particularly sadistic modus operandi, one that involved giving another hope for a cure only to have their symptoms become worse, then terminal. His actions were not even for the purpose of becoming rich--though he did make a tidy profit off stealing and selling the belongings and even the bodies of the deceased--but from outright sadism and a wicked desire to sow public distrust towards actual, well-meaning practitioners.

Such a foul soul could only ever be condemned to Abaddon, but Qaicol's vicious drive persisted even after death. For all his power in life, though, he spent many years as a plaything in the courts of Apollyon before finally gaining the strength needed to betray and slay a pair of Harbingers--one which held dominion over surgeries, and one which delighted in spreading sickness in places of healing--and take their power for himself. He now commands squadrons of Placebodaemons and Iatrodaemons representing, respectively, those who die from false cures and those who die from medical complications, as the greatest of their numbers, and works to hock his poisonous snake oil to every corner of the Great Beyond and erode the bonds between communities and the apothecaries and doctors striving to help them.

Domains: Artifice, Evil, Healing, Trickery Subdomains: Alchemy, Daemon, Medicine, Espionage Favored Weapon: Estoc Symbol: A medicine bottle of unknown liquid with a fanciful label Sacred Animals: Snake Sacred Colors: Blue, brown

Obedience: Work to cure injuries and ailments in other creatures for one hour in whatever fashion you can. Alternately, create and/or sell false medicines. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus to Bluff and Heal checks.

Boon 1: Fester Boon 2: Poisonous Balm Boon 3: Phantasmal Putrefaction

[monstersdownthepath]

A Collection of Fiendish Demigods

(pic source)

A Duke of Hell and two Daemon Harbingers for fun. As always, there's more lore than what I put in their little blurbs; the Duke of Hell especially is one I came up with years ago but never had the opportunity to put into any practice. I actually considered it for the position of Demon Lord for the longest time, but its focus on back-breaking labor and law--plus my dearth of Lawful Evil fiends in general--made me reconsider.

The Harbingers are also two niches I've noticed have yet to be filled. In a world full of unfair deaths, I can think of few miserable ends more unfair than death through allergies, an affliction which the people of Golarion understand but not have the means to treat. With it, I'm also introducing the concept of the Phylaxidaemons, plant-insect creatures who shed thick layers of choking pollen and whose poisonous touch causes horrific swelling in its victims which can lead to them choking to death as their throat closes up. The Phylaxidaemons themselves will be another post.

The second is a much more recent creation, representing death through medical malpractice and through trusting care providers who don't have your interests at heart. And with him, the introduction of the placebodaemon and iatrodaemon. CR 4 and 12, representing death by false cures and harmful "cures," respective.

Reminder that Infernal Dukes grant a spell-like of levels 3, 7, and 9 as Boons which are usable 1/day, and Daemon Harbingers grant spell-likes of levels 2, 4, and 6 usable 2/day.

Father Dermosi, Duke of the Endless Rows Lawful Evil Infernal Duke of Labor, Sacrifice, and Farming

One would not expect a devil to be a holy man, but in his life before his infernal transformation, the figure that would become Father Dermosi was a follower of Erastil. A passionate preacher, hard worker, skilled farmer, and firm believer in the cleansing power of difficult labor, Dermosi is a textbook showing of what too much fervor can do to one's mind, as he believed (and preached) a corrupt form of Old Deadeye's teachings in which backbreaking labor and sacrifice of one's own health for the good of the community were the only true sacrifices which Erastil would appreciate.

In his own words, he believed that a soul had to be "beaten into a shape that could fit through Heaven's gates," and the only way to achieve this 'shape' was to grind away at every edge and angle of one's personality until all that was left was a desire to work. Physical abuse to drive people further became more and more common, and when people began to die from him constantly pushing them to do more, many snapped to their senses and realized that he had strayed from Erastil's guidance, that this could not possibly be what the god wanted... but any who spoke up were harshly punished, exiled, or even executed by the rest of the flock, out of either fear or fervor. It was only when Erastil himself sent a few of his chosen to the town to try and fix what happening that many of Dermosi's naysayers found the bravery to stand up alongside one another, and the corrupt Father found himself facing execution or exile. He chose execution, believing he would be judged worthy of Heaven.

As one can likely tell, he didn't even see the gates before he was thrown into the fires of Hell.

Rather than turn inwards and reflect on his own wicked beliefs, Father Dermosi concluded that Heaven denying him was an error on their part, that Erastil had betrayed him rather than the other way around. As his soul became corrupted by hellfire, he concluded that Erastil's teachings were far too 'light-handed' and that Heaven didn't deserve someone with his strength of will and desire to improve himself and others, at which point he embraced his transformation into a devil and rose swiftly through Hell's hierarchy.

Father Dermosi now lays claim to the Sinner's Till, an area of Avernus where endless fields of strange and unearthly crops are nourished by and tended to by hapless petitioners and enslaved Outsiders, each one subject to the sermons and sadism of the Duke of the Endless Rows as they ceaselessly work until their souls begin to break down, allowing him to--literally and figuratively--beat them into entirely new shapes in service to the Archdevils.

Domains: Community, Evil, Law, Plant Subdomains: Devil, Sovereignty, Growth, Toil* Favored Weapon: Scythe Symbol: A bundle of corn wrapped in white or gold thread. Sacred Animals: Farm animals, particularly chickens Sacred Colors: Gold, green *Followers of Dermosi may alter any of his Domains with the Toil Subdomain, replacing the second power of each Domain and the spells granted at the appropriate levels. They may only alter one Domain in this way, and cannot alter a Domain that has already been altered by a Subdomain.

Obedience: Perform one hour of strenuous manual labor, or force another to do so with threats of pain if they do not comply. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus to saves against any effect which would fatigue or exhaust you.

Boon 1: Spike Growth Boon 2: Waves of Exhaustion Boon 3: Dominate Monster

-----

Tazhimea, the Baleful Bouquet Neutral Evil Daemon Harbinger of Allergens, Stinging Insects, and Weeds

Somewhere in the dismal plane of Abaddon, there is a land where a false sun shines over a gorgeous landscape filled with a veritable rainbow of strange plants bearing an equally alien yet delicious bounty. As one may expect, this is not a place of mercy or respite, as even a single breath of its sickly sweet air can spell a miserable, choking end for most mortals. Even other daemons tend to steer clear of this place lest they, too, fall victim to the machinations of the Phylaxidaemons and their beautiful progenitor, Tazhimea.

Tazhimea appears to be some anthropomorphic butterfly or moth woven of beautiful and otherworldly plants, their wings shimmering with a myriad of colors rarely seen in nature, but standing anywhere close enough to examine the details is almost certain death; the moment one is able to smell the daemon's powerfully cloying perfume is the moment one has breathed their last, their nose overrunning with thick mucus as their throat begins to close up, all to keep out the scent. Tazhimea is Harbinger of Allergens, and thus has a unique approach to the problem of how to bring death to the masses, namely by twisting the body's own immune response against itself with puffs of spores and pollen, powerful perfumes, or the stings and bites of insects that hide within the body of the Harbinger and of its servitors. The Harbinger's garden is their laboratory as they breed together flora and fauna from all over the Great Beyond to birth creations whose effluvium triggers violent reactions in any creature that inhales or touches them, with the fiend's ultimate goal to form an allergen that can affect even them, at which point they know their work has become perfect.

Because Tazhimea's creations turn the victims' own immune system against it, there is little one can do to protect themselves from it. Living creatures that are immune to disease or poison are ironically more vulnerable to the Harbinger's foul magic as their powerful immunity goes berserk in response to a sniff of a foul but ultimately harmless perfume or a painful and debilitating but nonfatal sting, turning an attack that could have been survived into a life-threatening affliction for which there is no cure. For all the terror they bring to the living, though, they have a distinct disadvantage when combating creatures such as Elementals, Constructs, and Undead, a disadvantage which prevents them from truly seeking the throne of the Horseman of Plague.

Domains: Animal, Evil, Death, Plant Subdomains: Insect, Daemon, Growth, Venom* Favored Weapon: Rapier Symbol: A beautiful flower with a bee sitting in the center Sacred Animals: Bees and ants Sacred Colors: Green and red *followers of Tazhimea may modify the Animal Domain with the Venom Subdomain.

Obedience: Sow the seeds of plants which provoke allergic reactions. If you cannot, invoke an allergic reaction in yourself, then suffer through it for at least 1 hour before attempting to cure or alleviate it. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus to saving throws against disease and poison effects.

Boon 1: Garden of Peril Boon 2: Cape of Wasps Boon 3: Greater Insect Spies

-----

Qaicol, the Honest Doctor Neutral Evil Daemon Harbinger of Placebos, False Cures, and Malpractice

A foul and recent fiend, Qaicol was once a snake-oil salesman whose silver tongue and seemingly miraculous mixtures ended numerous lives. Whether it was a balm that soothed pain but prompted hemorrhagic bleeding or some 'incredible' surgery to replace a failing organ which went tragically awry, Qaicol was at the forefront of inventing countless ways to harm others with fabricated cures and poisonous medicines, and was always a change of name and facial hair away from doing it again in the next settlement he preyed upon.

Far beyond any rational or explainable motive, Qaicol would dissect or even vivisect others to better understand the border between panacea and poison upon the body's various systems, and how the two could be blended together to provoke the most destructive reactions. Were he benevolent he could have been an incredible doctor, but as it was, he was a serial killer with a particularly sadistic modus operandi, one that involved giving another hope for a cure only to have their symptoms become worse, then terminal. His actions were not even for the purpose of becoming rich--though he did make a tidy profit off stealing and selling the belongings and even the bodies of the deceased--but from outright sadism and a wicked desire to sow public distrust towards actual, well-meaning practitioners.

Such a foul soul could only ever be condemned to Abaddon, but Qaicol's vicious drive persisted even after death. For all his power in life, though, he spent many years as a plaything in the courts of Apollyon before finally gaining the strength needed to betray and slay a pair of Harbingers--one which held dominion over surgeries, and one which delighted in spreading sickness in places of healing--and take their power for himself. He now commands squadrons of Placebodaemons and Iatrodaemons representing, respectively, those who die from false cures and those who die from medical complications, as the greatest of their numbers, and works to hock his poisonous snake oil to every corner of the Great Beyond and erode the bonds between communities and the apothecaries and doctors striving to help them.

Domains: Artifice, Evil, Healing, Trickery Subdomains: Alchemy, Daemon, Medicine, Espionage Favored Weapon: Estoc Symbol: A medicine bottle of unknown liquid with a fanciful label Sacred Animals: Snake Sacred Colors: Blue, brown

Obedience: Work to cure injuries and ailments in other creatures for one hour in whatever fashion you can. Alternately, create and/or sell false medicines. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus to Bluff and Heal checks.

Boon 1: Fester Boon 2: Poisonous Balm Boon 3: Phantasmal Putrefaction

[monstersdownthepath]

So I have an infernal Duke I wanna try and make a bit more focused because a lot of his stuff a bit all over the place.

In life he was the court wizard of a queen and also a master poison maker. An expert in poisoning food and drink getting away with it. As a Duke I was thinking some of his abilities allow him to conjure poisoned food, with a special toxin that begins to make people more receptive to him and his abilities. Like imposing a cumulative -1 penalty to Will saves.

He's also a ratfolk,a fancy looking one too. Making him look harmless and easy to trust. Give off a noble fancy rat vibe.

Is this all too weird?

------

Nope! Poisoned food works well as a power set--one I've also been thinking about, too! An Infernal Duke would make for a good poisoner, but you may also want to consider a Malebranche, the demigods of Hell in charge of conquering whole worlds, as such a power set is suitable for slowly overtaking a planet's leadership. But if you're going to leave him as a Duke, you'll also have to give him the ability to pierce poison immunity, as other devils are immune to poison! AND the power to either hypnotize or trick people into eating it, since such a powerset really only ever works against someone once.

[monstersdownthepath]

Would Discord from MLP be considered a protean lord?

He's definitely the chaotic type.

------

Yes. He's even got the serpentine shape going on, AND the ambiguous morality that changes more or less at a whim.

[monstersdownthepath]

Homebrew Horror: Galroscul, Nascent Lord of Gluttony and Cannibalism

(Art done by the incredible @crankyteapot!)

First mentioned here, Galroscul is a fierce and powerful fiend who once coveted the throne of King of Demons, wishing to feed from Lamashtu's flesh to achieve his apotheosis... but before Lamashtu even registered his existence as a threat, he was beset by the combined forces of both Zura and Xoveron, who saw him as a challenger to their dominions over consumptive destruction and rampant gluttony. He was powerful, but not so much so that he could overcome such a fierce and coordinated assault from two Demon Lords and their armies, and yet his opponents could not simply kill him or he would rejuvenate and attack them while they were weakened, leaving them all back at square one... so they imprisoned him instead.

On a far-off world under the lock and key of a cadre of hedonistic Zurans and Urgathoans, Galroscul is imprisoned in a great and terrible machine that draws from his demonic power, infusing cuts of meat with fiendishly addictive energy that assures a steady trickle of profits for the meatmongers as customers become unable to stop themselves from buying more. This also serves the purpose of providing tantalizing food for the man-eating demons and undead among their ranks, and all the while the would-be Demon King is slowly being driven insane by the pain of the machine sapping his power and the pain of his empty stomach seeing countless tons of meat pass him by while he has no mouth to eat them.

And yet, wracked with pain and hunger, Galroscul is far more clever than he appears to be, and his fierce desperation will drive him to enact a plan no sane being would ever consider. Able to still wield sparks of his demonic magic even while imprisoned, Galroscul will slowly but surely do the unthinkable, cutting pieces away from his body and shearing his own divine power out of himself bit by bit. Every piece of meat and drop of blood that he cuts away falls onto the procession of meat below, contaminating them with a far more potent form of demonic corruption that his captors intended. Soon after he begins this process, demonic tieflings bearing the features of fiendish boars will start popping up all over the planet as new, bizarre religious groups begin to form around demagogues bearing traces of the Demon Lord's might, contacted in their dreams by the Hunger Sealed in Steel and guided towards the effort to free him.

The statblock below does not represent Galroscul as he was or as he is; in the current time, he is still imprisoned on a far-off world in the torturous meat machine. Despite his imprisonment, his influence still grows in strange parts of the cosmos from both the lingering cultists he possessed when he was vying for the throne of Demon King, and where covert deliveries of demon-tainted meat are served, whether it be the prison world he is held on or another world that his cultists have managed to smuggle products to. As the years tick excruciatingly by, he will cut enough away from himself to slip the machine's shackles and put out a rallying call to all his corrupted sycophants and wicked "children" at once. The factory in which he is held will be destroyed in a single night, after which Galroscul will rampage across this distant world's surface for a hundred days, devouring everything he comes across in both gluttonous fury and rapturous joy at his freedom. For now, though, he simply dreams of the times to come.

Thus, these stats represents Galroscul shortly after his freedom. He is greatly withered both physically and mentally, but this is merely in comparison to his previous power at CR 29, and he still maintains a grip on vast portions of of his old might. As the picture above alludes to, he still has pieces of the imprisoning machine fused to his body. These are now welded to his very essence, and regenerate from damage just as his flesh and bone, serving as eternal reminders of his failure... and reminders to never let it happen again.

Galroscul, the Hunger Sealed in Steel CR 24 Chaotic Evil Huge Outsider (stuff) Init: +8; Senses: Darkvision 120ft, Detect Good, Detect Law, True Seeing, scent (60ft); Perception +35 Aura: Frightful Presence (120ft, DC 29), Unholy Aura (DC 24)

------ Defense ------

AC 40, touch 20, flat-footed 32 (+4 deflection, +8 Dex, +20 natural armor, -2 size) HP 515 (27d10+351); Regeneration 15 (Good) Fort +32 Ref +20 Will +24 Defensive abilities Ferocity, Hog Wild; DR 15/Cold iron and Good; Immune Charm and compulsion effects, death effects, disease, Electricity, poison; Resist Acid 30, Cold 30, Fire 30; SR 34

------ Offense ------

Speed 80ft, burrow 30ft, climb 80ft Melee Bite +45 (2d6+19/19-20 plus grab), 2 claws +37 (1d8+7 plus grab), gore +44 (2d6+19/19-20 plus Dispelling Gore), sting +37 (1d8+7) Space 15ft; Reach 15ft Special Attacks Dispelling Gore, Down in One, Fast Swallow, Gruesome Gullet, Merciless Assault, Overhead Flip (DC 37), Swallow Whole (6d8+22 bludgeoning and piercing plus 5d6 energy plus Consume Essence (DC 29), 30 AC, 51 HP), Spell-like Abilities (CL 20th; Concentration +26)

Constant--Air Walk, Detect Good, Detect Law, Greater Magic Fang (bite, gore), Unholy Aura (DC 24) At-Will-- Dragon's Breath (any option) (DC 20), Greater Dispel Magic, Greater Teleport (self plus 50lbs only), Hunger for Flesh (DC 20), Slow (DC 19) Telekinesis (DC 21) 3/day--Bountiful Banquet, Dimensional Anchor, Hungry Pit (DC 21), Mass Reduce Person (DC 20) 1/day--Delectable Flesh (DC 22), Dimensional Lock, Freedom of Movement, Time Stop

------ Statistics ------

Str 39 Dex 26 Con 37 Int 22 Wis 20 Cha 23 Base Atk: +27; CMB +43 (+4 grapple); CMD 61 (+4 vs grapple)

Feats Cleave, Cleaving Finish, Combat Reflexes (B), Consume Essence, Dazzling Display, Dramatic Slam, Great Cleave, Greater Grapple, Improved Grapple (B), Improved Unarmed Strike (B), Intimidating Prowess, Multiattack, Overhead Flip, Power Attack, Savage Leap, Savage Slam, Weapon Focus (Bite)

Skills Bluff +29, Climb +42, Diplomacy +26, Disable Device +28, Escape Artist +38, Intimidate +50, Knowledge (Arcana) +16, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +16, Knowledge (Engineering) +20, Knowledge (Nature) +16, Knowledge (Planes) +19, Knowledge (Religion) +16, Linguistics +12, Perception +35, Profession (Chef) +23, Sense Motive +28, Spellcraft +16, Survival +25, Swim +23, Use Magic Device +29

Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Gnoll, Necril, Orcish, Polyglot, Terran, Undercommon; Telepathy 300ft

SQ Nascent Demon Lord traits

------ Ecology ------ Environment Any Organization Unique Treasure Triple ------

Combat: From afar, Galroscul will buffet his foes with Slow and Dragon's Breath to soften them up, Hunger for Flesh and Delectable Flesh, to disrupt their ability to cooperate, and will set up Hungry Pits for future maneuvers. Against Outsiders or creatures whom he has seen use teleportation magic, he focuses his Dimensional Anchor and Lock to prevent them from fleeing. Against humanoids, he will prioritize Mass Reduce Person to shrink them down, allowing him to swiftly devour them with Down in One. After a very short setup, he rushes into combat and focuses his gore attacks on enemies with numerous magic effects on them to rip them asunder. Once in melee, he is not an especially complex creature: He seeks to devour as many enemies as he can at once, utilizing Great Cleave, Cleaving Finish, and Down in One to do so. Against meals that refuse to go down easily, he will utilize his Savage Slam feat line to pulverize his target (or hurl them into Hungry Pits) while Dramatic Slam allows him to continue terrorizing the rest of their allies.

Morale: Galroscul's morale is a fickle thing. His loss of power leaves him vulnerable to death, something he fears immensely while his cult is fractured and weak, but he gets lost in the thrill of combat and the taste of blood to the point he often does not realize how hurt he has become until he reaches a specific hitpoint threshold which forces him to go Hog Wild. Once Hog Wild, his frenzied state sees him acting like a desperate predator alternating wildly between fight and flight depending on how often his attacks connect with their intended targets and how many of his enemies are still standing. Because Hog Wild prevents him from teleporting away, he will fight to the death if he cannot instantly spot an escape route.

------ Special Abilities ------

Dispelling Gore (Su/Sp): The runes carved across Galroscul's tusks grants his bite and gore incredible power while having a ruinous effect on all other magic. Each time he strikes a creature with his gore attack, that creature is affected by a targeted Dispel Magic. If he confirms a critical hit with his gore, the creature is affected by a targeted Greater Dispel Magic instead.

Down In One (Ex): Galroscul's jaws can briefly unhinge to quickly snap down morsels before they can even react. Once per round when reducing a creature of any size to 0 HP with his bite attack OR when confirming a critical hit against a Small or smaller creature or object with his bite attack, he may immediately swallow that creature whole without needing to make any grapple checks.

Gruesome Gullet (Ex): While his crushing and gnawing innards are usually enough to kill most foes, Galroscul has numerous stomachs he can move meals into, each capable of digesting a wide variety of material. Creatures swallowed by Galroscul take an additional 5d8 points of Acid, Cold, Fire, or Electricity each round, chosen by him; he can divide the damage types as he desires between each swallowed creature by shunting each of them into different stomachs as a free action once per round. His multitude of stomachs allow him to continue swallowing victims even after some have previously cut their way out, and their reinforced tissues benefit from his full natural AC bonus, rather than half.

Hog Wild (Ex): Galroscul has been defeated once before, and refuses to ever lose again for fear of going through the same tortures. If he begins his turn below 150 HP, as a free action he enters a frenzied state in which he cannot use any of his spell-like abilities, but he gains the Dual Initiative extraordinary ability, with his second turn immediately added to the current initiative order. When he goes Hog Wild, all creatures within 300ft must immediately save against his Frightful Presence with a -4 penalty to the saving throw, even if they had succeeded the save previously that day. While going Hog Wild, Galroscul is immune to the staggered, fatigued, and exhausted conditions, and cannot be put to sleep through any means. He remains Hog Wild for 1 minute or until the current combat ends, whichever comes first, and cannot go Hog Wild again until 24 hours pass.

Merciless Assault (Ex): Once per round, if a creature within Galroscul's reach is knocked prone or becomes shaken, frightened, or panicked, he may make an attack of opportunity against that creature. In addition, when damaging a creature with his Savage Slam feat, the damage dealt is instead equal to the natural attack he established the initial grapple with.

Nascent Demon Lord Traits: Galroscul has lost enough of his power to have been reduced to a Nascent Lord instead of a full one, and as such he has the following traits:

Immunity to charm and compulsion effects, death effects, Electricity, and poison.

Resistance to Acid 30, Cold 30, and Fire 30.

Summon (Sp): Once per day, Galroscul can summon any demon or combination of demons whose total combined CR is 20 or lower. This ability always works, and is equivalent to a 9th-level spell.

Telepathy 300 feet.

Galroscul's natural weapons, as well as any weapon he wields, are treated as Chaotic, Epic, and Evil for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Galroscul can grant spells to his worshipers, which requires no actions on his part. He grants access to the domains of Animal, Chaos, Destruction, and Evil, with the subdomains Fur, Demon, Rage, and Cannibalism. His favored 'weapon' is bite attacks.

[monstersdownthepath]

@crankyteapot/@furiouskettle also did this great headshot!

And here's a little more lore: Unlike a lot of my other gluttonous creations, Galroscul is not plagued by an insatiable hunger. Like a proper Outsider, he doesn't need to eat, but he still feels hunger... it's just a normal amount for a creature of his size. He embodies Gluttony not through an endless appetite, but through the fact he eats far beyond what he needs, and delights in taking his meals from other people. He is a bully and a tyrant, and rather than believing 'hunger is the best sauce,' he believes other people's hunger is the best sauce of all, and will force victims (including other demons) to watch him feast to his heart's content, basking in the hunger in their eyes. Often, he snaps them up too.

He and his cult are enemies of Zura and Xoveron and their respective cults, has a peaceful relationship with Kabriri, and while Galroscul himself has a strained relationship with Urgathoa's cult, his opinion of Urgathoa herself is admiration. He considers her a rival to be competed against, whereas his view of Lamashtu is an obstacle to be overcome. Whether Urgathoa even registers his existence has yet to be seen, since he is only concerned with gluttony and has little else in common with her.

[monstersdownthepath]

Homebrew Horror: Galroscul, Nascent Lord of Gluttony and Cannibalism

(Art done by the incredible @crankyteapot!)

First mentioned here, Galroscul is a fierce and powerful fiend who once coveted the throne of King of Demons, wishing to feed from Lamashtu's flesh to achieve his apotheosis... but before Lamashtu even registered his existence as a threat, he was beset by the combined forces of both Zura and Xoveron, who saw him as a challenger to their dominions over consumptive destruction and rampant gluttony. He was powerful, but not so much so that he could overcome such a fierce and coordinated assault from two Demon Lords and their armies, and yet his opponents could not simply kill him or he would rejuvenate and attack them while they were weakened, leaving them all back at square one... so they imprisoned him instead.

On a far-off world under the lock and key of a cadre of hedonistic Zurans and Urgathoans, Galroscul is imprisoned in a great and terrible machine that draws from his demonic power, infusing cuts of meat with fiendishly addictive energy that assures a steady trickle of profits for the meatmongers as customers become unable to stop themselves from buying more. This also serves the purpose of providing tantalizing food for the man-eating demons and undead among their ranks, and all the while the would-be Demon King is slowly being driven insane by the pain of the machine sapping his power and the pain of his empty stomach seeing countless tons of meat pass him by while he has no mouth to eat them.

And yet, wracked with pain and hunger, Galroscul is far more clever than he appears to be, and his fierce desperation will drive him to enact a plan no sane being would ever consider. Able to still wield sparks of his demonic magic even while imprisoned, Galroscul will slowly but surely do the unthinkable, cutting pieces away from his body and shearing his own divine power out of himself bit by bit. Every piece of meat and drop of blood that he cuts away falls onto the procession of meat below, contaminating them with a far more potent form of demonic corruption that his captors intended. Soon after he begins this process, demonic tieflings bearing the features of fiendish boars will start popping up all over the planet as new, bizarre religious groups begin to form around demagogues bearing traces of the Demon Lord's might, contacted in their dreams by the Hunger Sealed in Steel and guided towards the effort to free him.

The statblock below does not represent Galroscul as he was or as he is; in the current time, he is still imprisoned on a far-off world in the torturous meat machine. Despite his imprisonment, his influence still grows in strange parts of the cosmos from both the lingering cultists he possessed when he was vying for the throne of Demon King, and where covert deliveries of demon-tainted meat are served, whether it be the prison world he is held on or another world that his cultists have managed to smuggle products to. As the years tick excruciatingly by, he will cut enough away from himself to slip the machine's shackles and put out a rallying call to all his corrupted sycophants and wicked "children" at once. The factory in which he is held will be destroyed in a single night, after which Galroscul will rampage across this distant world's surface for a hundred days, devouring everything he comes across in both gluttonous fury and rapturous joy at his freedom. For now, though, he simply dreams of the times to come.

Thus, these stats represents Galroscul shortly after his freedom. He is greatly withered both physically and mentally, but this is merely in comparison to his previous power at CR 29, and he still maintains a grip on vast portions of of his old might. As the picture above alludes to, he still has pieces of the imprisoning machine fused to his body. These are now welded to his very essence, and regenerate from damage just as his flesh and bone, serving as eternal reminders of his failure... and reminders to never let it happen again.

Galroscul, the Hunger Sealed in Steel CR 24 Chaotic Evil Huge Outsider (stuff) Init: +8; Senses: Darkvision 120ft, Detect Good, Detect Law, True Seeing, scent (60ft); Perception +35 Aura: Frightful Presence (120ft, DC 29), Unholy Aura (DC 24)

------ Defense ------

AC 40, touch 20, flat-footed 32 (+4 deflection, +8 Dex, +20 natural armor, -2 size) HP 515 (27d10+351); Regeneration 15 (Good) Fort +32 Ref +20 Will +24 Defensive abilities Ferocity, Hog Wild; DR 15/Cold iron and Good; Immune Charm and compulsion effects, death effects, disease, Electricity, poison; Resist Acid 30, Cold 30, Fire 30; SR 34

------ Offense ------

Speed 80ft, burrow 30ft, climb 80ft Melee Bite +45 (2d6+19/19-20 plus grab), 2 claws +37 (1d8+7 plus grab), gore +44 (2d6+19/19-20 plus Dispelling Gore), sting +37 (1d8+7) Space 15ft; Reach 15ft Special Attacks Dispelling Gore, Down in One, Fast Swallow, Gruesome Gullet, Merciless Assault, Overhead Flip (DC 37), Swallow Whole (6d8+22 bludgeoning and piercing plus 5d6 energy plus Consume Essence (DC 29), 30 AC, 51 HP), Spell-like Abilities (CL 20th; Concentration +26)

Constant--Air Walk, Detect Good, Detect Law, Greater Magic Fang (bite, gore), Unholy Aura (DC 24) At-Will-- Dragon's Breath (any option) (DC 20), Greater Dispel Magic, Greater Teleport (self plus 50lbs only), Hunger for Flesh (DC 20), Slow (DC 19) Telekinesis (DC 21) 3/day--Bountiful Banquet, Dimensional Anchor, Hungry Pit (DC 21), Mass Reduce Person (DC 20) 1/day--Delectable Flesh (DC 22), Dimensional Lock, Freedom of Movement, Time Stop

------ Statistics ------

Str 39 Dex 26 Con 37 Int 22 Wis 20 Cha 23 Base Atk: +27; CMB +43 (+4 grapple); CMD 61 (+4 vs grapple)

Feats Cleave, Cleaving Finish, Combat Reflexes (B), Consume Essence, Dazzling Display, Dramatic Slam, Great Cleave, Greater Grapple, Improved Grapple (B), Improved Unarmed Strike (B), Intimidating Prowess, Multiattack, Overhead Flip, Power Attack, Savage Leap, Savage Slam, Weapon Focus (Bite)

Skills Bluff +29, Climb +42, Diplomacy +26, Disable Device +28, Escape Artist +38, Intimidate +50, Knowledge (Arcana) +16, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +16, Knowledge (Engineering) +20, Knowledge (Nature) +16, Knowledge (Planes) +19, Knowledge (Religion) +16, Linguistics +12, Perception +35, Profession (Chef) +23, Sense Motive +28, Spellcraft +16, Survival +25, Swim +23, Use Magic Device +29

Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Gnoll, Necril, Orcish, Polyglot, Terran, Undercommon; Telepathy 300ft

SQ Nascent Demon Lord traits

------ Ecology ------ Environment Any Organization Unique Treasure Triple ------

Combat: From afar, Galroscul will buffet his foes with Slow and Dragon's Breath to soften them up, Hunger for Flesh and Delectable Flesh, to disrupt their ability to cooperate, and will set up Hungry Pits for future maneuvers. Against Outsiders or creatures whom he has seen use teleportation magic, he focuses his Dimensional Anchor and Lock to prevent them from fleeing. Against humanoids, he will prioritize Mass Reduce Person to shrink them down, allowing him to swiftly devour them with Down in One. After a very short setup, he rushes into combat and focuses his gore attacks on enemies with numerous magic effects on them to rip them asunder. Once in melee, he is not an especially complex creature: He seeks to devour as many enemies as he can at once, utilizing Great Cleave, Cleaving Finish, and Down in One to do so. Against meals that refuse to go down easily, he will utilize his Savage Slam feat line to pulverize his target (or hurl them into Hungry Pits) while Dramatic Slam allows him to continue terrorizing the rest of their allies.

Morale: Galroscul's morale is a fickle thing. His loss of power leaves him vulnerable to death, something he fears immensely while his cult is fractured and weak, but he gets lost in the thrill of combat and the taste of blood to the point he often does not realize how hurt he has become until he reaches a specific hitpoint threshold which forces him to go Hog Wild. Once Hog Wild, his frenzied state sees him acting like a desperate predator alternating wildly between fight and flight depending on how often his attacks connect with their intended targets and how many of his enemies are still standing. Because Hog Wild prevents him from teleporting away, he will fight to the death if he cannot instantly spot an escape route.

------ Special Abilities ------

Dispelling Gore (Su/Sp): The runes carved across Galroscul's tusks grants his bite and gore incredible power while having a ruinous effect on all other magic. Each time he strikes a creature with his gore attack, that creature is affected by a targeted Dispel Magic. If he confirms a critical hit with his gore, the creature is affected by a targeted Greater Dispel Magic instead.

Down In One (Ex): Galroscul's jaws can briefly unhinge to quickly snap down morsels before they can even react. Once per round when reducing a creature of any size to 0 HP with his bite attack OR when confirming a critical hit against a Small or smaller creature or object with his bite attack, he may immediately swallow that creature whole without needing to make any grapple checks.

Gruesome Gullet (Ex): While his crushing and gnawing innards are usually enough to kill most foes, Galroscul has numerous stomachs he can move meals into, each capable of digesting a wide variety of material. Creatures swallowed by Galroscul take an additional 5d8 points of Acid, Cold, Fire, or Electricity each round, chosen by him; he can divide the damage types as he desires between each swallowed creature by shunting each of them into different stomachs as a free action once per round. His multitude of stomachs allow him to continue swallowing victims even after some have previously cut their way out, and their reinforced tissues benefit from his full natural AC bonus, rather than half.

Hog Wild (Ex): Galroscul has been defeated once before, and refuses to ever lose again for fear of going through the same tortures. If he begins his turn below 150 HP, as a free action he enters a frenzied state in which he cannot use any of his spell-like abilities, but he gains the Dual Initiative extraordinary ability, with his second turn immediately added to the current initiative order. When he goes Hog Wild, all creatures within 300ft must immediately save against his Frightful Presence with a -4 penalty to the saving throw, even if they had succeeded the save previously that day. While going Hog Wild, Galroscul is immune to the staggered, fatigued, and exhausted conditions, and cannot be put to sleep through any means. He remains Hog Wild for 1 minute or until the current combat ends, whichever comes first, and cannot go Hog Wild again until 24 hours pass.

Merciless Assault (Ex): Once per round, if a creature within Galroscul's reach is knocked prone or becomes shaken, frightened, or panicked, he may make an attack of opportunity against that creature. In addition, when damaging a creature with his Savage Slam feat, the damage dealt is instead equal to the natural attack he established the initial grapple with.

Nascent Demon Lord Traits: Galroscul has lost enough of his power to have been reduced to a Nascent Lord instead of a full one, and as such he has the following traits:

Immunity to charm and compulsion effects, death effects, Electricity, and poison.

Resistance to Acid 30, Cold 30, and Fire 30.

Summon (Sp): Once per day, Galroscul can summon any demon or combination of demons whose total combined CR is 20 or lower. This ability always works, and is equivalent to a 9th-level spell.

Telepathy 300 feet.

Galroscul's natural weapons, as well as any weapon he wields, are treated as Chaotic, Epic, and Evil for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Galroscul can grant spells to his worshipers, which requires no actions on his part. He grants access to the domains of Animal, Chaos, Destruction, and Evil, with the subdomains Fur, Demon, Rage, and Cannibalism. His favored 'weapon' is bite attacks.

[monstersdownthepath]

Out of the way I have a brand new soup flavor to try

What would happen if an Unwanted Amalgam was born from a soup pot? Like one of those "forever stews" that got abandoned.

------

I think it's a different creature, at that point! Some kind of... soup ooze. A sooze, if you will. Ooup? Something like that.

... I can kind of see it, actually. A low-CR Ooze which can detect potential ingredients and sources of heat for itself. It assimilates food it crosses and boils itself over fires when at rest to process its "meals" into its living broth. Any attacks against humanity it makes are to either A) steal their food, or B) violently shove portions of itself into their mouths, causing damage or even drowning.

[monstersdownthepath]

Every time I feel bad about giving a demigod a few bonus feats, I remember that Nightripper has five of them so he can actually use his favored weapon well.

[monstersdownthepath]

I'm going to be hammering some homebrews, though, and reblogging some previous ones! I recently made a few corrections to Vodani's statblock, for example, because I forgot to factor in his Unholy Aura. Who knows what else I can fix in other ones!

I am, perhaps, going to need some extra time off. Articles will resume in December.

[monstersdownthepath]

I am, perhaps, going to need some extra time off. Articles will resume in December.