It's Friday, and that means another frightful entry, based on yet another real-world creature. This is the promachoteuthid sulcus, a recently discovered member of the squid family. It has a weird, creepy facial expression, so naturally I decided to create a powerful yet helpful denizen of the seas out of the inspiration. Hopefully, your characters will befriend the promachoteuthid guardian once they realize it doesn't actually mean any harm.
That's it for this week. I'll be back next week with the most frightening mash-up ever, and then beginning on April 1st, Frightful Fridays! expands beyond its Friday remit for the month of April. As always, thanks for reading!
This light-brown squid turns and reveals an unsettling smile amid its array of tentacles.
Promachoteuthid Guardian CR 14
XP 38,400
NG Large outsider (aquatic, good)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +35
Defense
AC 28, touch 20, flat-footed 23 (+5 Dex, +6 insight, +8 natural, –1 size)
hp 218 (19d10+114)
Fort +17, Ref +11, Will +18
Immune cold, electricity, poison; Resist acid 10, fire 10; SR 25
Offense
Speed 10 ft., swim 80 ft., jet 240 ft.
Melee bite +27 (2d6+9/19–20), 8 tentacles +22 (1d8+4 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (15 ft. with tentacles)
Special Attacks positive energy ink, constrict (1d8+4)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 19th; concentration +25)
At will—control water (DC 20)
5/day—water breathing
3/day—cone of cold (DC 21)
1/day—reincarnate, summon elemental swarm (water elementals only)
Statistics
Str 28, Dex 21, Con 22, Int 19, Wis 25, Cha 23
Base Atk +19; CMB +29 (+33 grapple, +31 sunder); CMD 50 (52 vs. sunder, can’t be tripped)
Feats Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Craft Wondrous Item, Greater Disarm, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Disarm, Improved Sunder, Persuasive, Skill Focus (Perception), Spring Attack(B, only while swimming)
Skills Bluff +22, Diplomacy +31, Handle Animal +21, Heal +17, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (nature) +14, Knowledge (planes) +26, Perception +35, Sense Motive +29, Spellcraft +26, Swim +39, Use Magic Device +27
Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Aquan, Celestial, Common, Infernal
Ecology
Environment any aquatic
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Positive Energy Ink (Su) Twice per day, a promachoteuthid guardian can release ink charged with positive energy. The creature can choose to heal all living creatures (excluding evil aberrations) or damage all undead or aberrations (excluding good aberrations—luckily for aquatic flumphs!) in a 120-foot cone. The promachoteuthid guardian heals or inflicts 19d6 damage with this ability.
Not everything in the world’s oceans and seas is out to kill those brave enough to explore them. A promachoteuthid guardian occasionally travels to Prime Material waters to thwart the machinations of a dread kraken or other underwater menace. The creature is bodily smaller than the typical squid specimen, measuring six-feet in diameter, but it makes up for that with lengthy twelve-foot tentacles. Overall, the creature weighs roughly 400 pounds.
Ancient relatives of the promachoteuthid guardian emigrated from the Prime Material plane to the Elemental Plane of Water through a random portal that opened between the two planes. There, the creature evolved into its current incarnation, developing an incredible amount of intelligence as well as an unusual beneficence. A single promachoteuthid or a mated pair will travel to the Prime Material plane—and more dangerous planar waters—to perform acts of mercy and rid their adopted worlds of great aquatic evils. The creature crusades against sharks, sahuagin, and the occasional aboleth or dread kraken, and assists those who wind up literally over their heads in vast open stretches of water. The creature lives for several centuries and usually spends 50 years (or more) at a time patrolling its assumed home; once it is satisfied with the conditions there, it returns to the Elemental Plane of Water.
Characters may add promachoteuthid guardians to the list of summonable creatures in summon monster IX or summon nature’s ally IX.
