I hope you enjoy today's monster, and I'll be back next week with yet another installment. As always, thanks for reading!
This enormous spider-like creature is an array of death-dealing claws, fangs, and tail pincers. It surveys its surroundings with hateful yellow eyes.
Burnville Horror CR 11
XP 12,800
CE Large aberration
Init +13; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +21
Aura fear aura (30 feet, DC 19)
Defense
AC 26, touch 18, flat-footed 17 (+9 Dex, -1 size, +8 natural)
hp 152 (16d8+80); regeneration 5 (fire)
Fort +10, Ref +14, Will +12
Immune acid; Resist cold 10, electricity 10
Offense
Speed 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., climb 30 ft., sidestep
Melee bite +20 (1d8+6 plus grab), 4 claws +20 (1d4+6), 2 pincers +15 (1d4+3 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks constrict (1d4+6), halfling foe, swallow whole (4d6 acid damage, AC 14, 15 hp)
Statistics
Str 22, Dex 29, Con 21, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 13
Base Atk +12; CMB +22 (+26 grapple); CMD 38 (can't be tripped)
Feats Acrobatic Steps, Agile Maneuvers, Deadly Finish, Improved Initiative, Nimble Moves, Power Attack, Rending Claws, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +24 (+36 jump), Climb +20, Escape Artist +17, Intimidate +20, Perception +21, Stealth +20
Languages Common (can't speak)
Ecology
Environment any terrestrial
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure incidental
Special Abilities
Fear Aura (Su) Halflings do not receive their racial bonuses on saving throws (from fearless or halfling luck, for example) against the Burnville Horror's fear aura. For halflings who fail their Will saves, the fear aura paralyzes them for 2d4 rounds, while the aura functions like the fear spell for other victims.
Halfling Foe (Ex) The Burnville Horror treats halflings as its favored enemy. It gains a +8 bonus on Bluff, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against halflings. Additionally, it gains a +8 bonus on attack and damage rolls against them.
Sidestep (Su) The Burnville Horror can take an immediate action to move 5 feet. The creature can still take a normal 5-foot step during its turn.
The Burnville Horror is named for the first reported encounter with the creature, an encounter that ended with the deaths of ninety percent of Burnville's halfling population. The handful of survivors reported that the creature could have easily caught them, but it seemed to allow them to leave safely. It chose the survivors at random, and no common thread united the survivors, leaving one conclusion: the Burnville Horror wanted them to spread the word about its presence. Since the first attack, Burnville Horror attacks have occurred in other halfling communities infrequently, but they follow the same pattern as the initial attack.
Genetically and magically modified from giant spider stock or created whole cloth, a Burnville Horror bristles with an array of weapons that enhance its murder sprees. The creature has a great deal of mobility, and its powerful claws allow it to climb most surfaces. The creature also projects an aura of fear that drives away all creatures except halflings, who are frozen in place while the Horror slaughters them. A Burnville Horror presented with a mix of creatures focuses its attacks on halflings to the exclusion of all other targets, unless something else offers stiff opposition. In extremely rare cases where the Horror must escape, it burrows into the ground.
A Burnville Horror stands 8 feet tall and measures 7 feet in diameter, with its pincered tails adding an extra 2 feet. The creature weighs 550 pounds.
--------------------
Burnville Curse
The original Burnville Horror allowed the handful of halflings to flee the carnage at Burnville for a reason beyond merely sowing fear. All the survivors who witnessed the Horror's attack suffer from the Burnville Curse, which slowly drives its victims mad, and, after a victim succumbs to insanity, warps the victim's body into a new Burnville Horror. Only the original Horror possesses the ability to inflict the curse.
Burnville Curse
Type curse; Save Will DC 19 (non-halflings automatically succeed)
Onset 1 day; Frequency 1/day
Effect 1d6 Wis damage, target must make a second Will save or 1 point of the damage is drain instead, once the victim reaches Wis 0, it becomes permanently insane; Effect (once victim reaches Wis 0) 1d4 Dex drain (no save), at Dex 0, the victim transforms into a Burnville Horror; Cure the curse can only be cured by destroying the original Burnville Horror and then successfully casting remove curse (heal is required for a victim at Wis 0, and a transformed victim requires miracle or wish).
