#zoalinth

[thecreaturecodex]

Zoalinth

Image © David Gallagher

[Our newest theme block is going to be for Fighting Fantasy. Fighting Fantasy is a series of Choose Your Own Adventure style books, and was expanded into a tabletop RPG. Several, actually. I’m basing the monsters in this block off of the information from Beyond the Pit, a compilation of monsters from the series done for the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG in 2011. I’m going with the second book partially because it has more interesting and original monsters than the first, Out of the Pit, and partially because it credits individual artists, which I always appreciate.

In the original text, the zoalinth is a creation of Chaos made by and guarding a wizard. There’s a lot of references to Chaos--the Fighting Fantasy line was created by Steven Jackson and Ian Livingstone, who founded Games Workshop. So the books definitely draw from the same pool of influences as Warhammer, but are aimed at children so they’re less relentlessly grim. Chaos monster plus vaguely resembles an established humanoid equals a good excuse for me to make it a fleshwarp.]

Zoalinth CR 9 NE Aberration This creature is bipedal and vaguely humanoid, with a body covered in a mix of scales and shaggy feathers. It has two heads, each like that of a crocodile, and two arms, each of which has eight clawed fingers. It has a long tail, ending in an array of paired spines.

The zoalinth is the product of fleshwarping techniques applied to lizardfolk. Their bodies are a riot of misapplied evolution, with different parts of their bodies expressing traits of birds, dinosaurs and crocodiles. As fleshwarps go, they are loyal and relatively intelligent, and often serve drow masters willingly for the opportunity to inflict pain. Drow often trust them with tasks that they would not risk delegating to other fleshwarped creatures.

In combat, a zoalinth prefers to use its wide variety of natural weapons than any form of manufactured weapon. Each head can spit a gout of acid, and zoalinths often use this to put pressure on spellcasters hiding in the back ranks of combat. They often split up their attacks in melee between multiple enemies, more as a way to show off their prowess than out of tactical efficacy. They will fight to the death if ordered to, but otherwise attempt to flee a losing confrontation when badly injured.

A zoalinth stands about ten feet tall, with a tail almost that length again. Their two heads share the same personality, but they do have the habit of vocalizing their “inner” thoughts with one of the heads while the other engages in conversation.

Zoalinth CR 9 XP 6,400 NE Large aberration Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +20 Defense AC 21, touch 10, flat-footed 20 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +11 natural) hp 119 (14d8+56) Fort +10, Ref +5, Will +10 Resist acid 10, electricity 10 Defensive Abilities fortification (25%), slippery mind Offense Speed 30 ft., swim 15 ft. Melee 2 claws +15 (1d6+6), 2 bites +15 (1d8+6), tail slap +13 (1d12+3) Ranged 2 acid jets +10 touch (4d8 acid plus sickened) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Statistics Str 22, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 8 Base Atk +10; CMB +17; CMD 28 Feats Alertness, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot Skills Acrobatics +17, Climb +18, Perception +20, Sense Motive +15, Stealth +9, Swim +26; Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics, +2 Perception Languages Draconic, Undercommon SQ thagomizer Ecology Environment any marshes and underground Organization solitary, pair or honor guard (3-6) Treasure incidental Special Abilities Acid Jet (Ex) A zoalinth can spit acid from one of its heads as a standard action, and both heads as a full attack action. Treat these acid jets as a ranged touch attack with a range of 60 feet and no range increment. A creature struck takes 4d8 points of acid damage and must succeed a DC 21 Fortitude save or be sickened from pain for 1d4 rounds. A creature struck by both acid jets in the same round does not have to save twice, but does suffer a -2 penalty to the single save. A zoalinth can spit acid from each of its heads every 1d4 rounds; track each head separately. The save DC is Constitution based. Slippery Mind (Ex) If a zoalinth is affected by an enchantment spell or effect and fails its saving throw, it may attempt a second save 1 round later at the same DC. If it fails this second chance, it does not gain another save against that effect. Thagomizer (Ex) A zoalinth’s tail slap attack deals bludgeoning and piercing damage.