Friday, October 13, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Slurryfish

Happy Friday the 13th! The horrifying image below demanded an equally horrifying monster, and I hope I delivered on that. The slurryfish takes its inspiration from Edgar the Bug from the first Men in Black movie, but it goes beyond that inspiration. Throw a melting butcher who's actually a slurryfish at your characters and see what happens.

Thanks for reading! I'll be back tomorrow with something less messed up (maybe).



Melted humanoid skin covers the pale skin of this fish-like creature featuring a face seemingly in mid-scream.
Slurryfish      CR 12
XP 19,200
CE Medium aberration (aquatic)
Init +1; Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +22
DEFENSE
AC 27, touch 11, flat-footed 26 (+1 Dex, +16 natural)
hp 152 (16d8+80); fast healing 5
Fort +12, Ref +6, Will +15
Defensive Abilities amorphous, second skin; DR 10/cold iron; Immune acid; Resist cold 20, fire 10; SR 23
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., swim 60 ft.
Melee bite +19 (2d6+9/19–20 plus 6d6 acid, 1d8 Dexterity drain, and grab)
Special Attacks dexterity drain, melt foe, melting visage
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th; concentration +20)
   At will—alter self, detect thoughts (DC 18)
   3/day—cure serious wounds, mind probe[OA] (DC 19), mind thrust VI[OA] (DC 22), zone of silence
STATISTICS
Str 23, Dex 12, Con 21, Int 17, Wis 20, Cha 18
Base Atk +12; CMB +18 (+22 grapple); CMD 29
Feats Deceitful, Great Fortitude, Greater Spell Focus (divination), Improved Critical (bite), Intimidating Prowess, Spell Focus (divination), Spell Specialization (mind probe) [UM], Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Bluff +24, Disguise +24, Escape Artist +20, Intimidate +29, Knowledge (local) +14, Perception +22, Spellcraft +16, Stealth +20, Swim +14
Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Common; telepathy 120 ft.
SQ amphibious
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Dexterity Drain (Su) Constructs, elementals, and other creatures that do not possess flesh are immune to this effect. A successful DC 23 Fortitude save halves the Dexterity drain. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Melt Foe (Su) A living creature killed by a slurryfish’s bite attack or reduced to 0 Dexterity by the slurryfish’s Dexterity drain dissolves into a puddle of boneless flesh. If the victim is adjacent to the slurryfish, it can use a swift action to assume the flesh as an outer covering and benefit from its second skin ability. A victim affected by this ability must have regenerate or a similar spell cast on it to restore its bone structure.
Melting Visage (Su) As a standard action, a slurryfish can have all or part of its second skin seem to melt away in horrifying fashion. This allows it to make an Intimidate check to demoralize all creatures within 30 feet, and it can force one target to attempt a DC 22 Will save to avoid becoming stunned for 1d4 rounds; if the slurryfish sloughs off its second skin (losing the benefits of second skin), it imposes a –4 penalty on this save. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Second Skin (Ex) When the slurryfish covers itself with the flesh of another creature using its melt foe ability, it gains a +4 circumstance bonus on Escape Artist checks and to its CMD against grapple attempts. After an hour in the newly assumed form, it gains a +4 circumstance bonus on Bluff and Disguise checks to pretend to be the victim. Additionally, any attack against the slurryfish deals half damage to it (although the slurryfish’s DR, resistances, and immunities may negate some or all of this damage) and half damage to the second skin. If the second skin takes damage equal to half the original creature’s hit points, it is destroyed.
While inhabiting a second skin, a slurryfish can use armor and weapons used by creature whose skin it inhabits. It must use 10 rounds of mind probe (which the original creature can resist with a Will save, even if it died as a result of combat with the slurryfish) to be able to use spells and spell-like abilities possessed by the creature.

Slurryfish are deep sea horrors that terrorize underwater humanoid settlements with an approach not dissimilar to a serial killer. They kill one victim and take over its life for a while before leaving a pile of melted flesh behind after they get bored and stalk another victim. They prefer to kill solitary victims so they can spend time probing the minds of their victims and getting used to the new flesh they use as a covering (during the first hour, the skin is loose-fitting and obviously out of place), but, if they must, they will kill a group of victims and assume the form of one of the them, usually armed with stories about their narrow escape from the creature that killed their comrades.

Slurryfish sometimes make their way to the surface, usually following a visitor to the depths or after killing a landbound victim and reading its thoughts. They can change their bodies to live out of the water, but they find it uncomfortable, so they sow chaos for a short duration before returning to the sea.


A typical slurryfish outside a fleshy shell measures 5–1/2 feet in length and weighs 150 pounds. Slurryfish are long-lived, having natural lifespans reaching 800 years. A pair of slurryfish produce over a dozen spawn, usually seeding the larvae-like brood among dissolved humanoids the pair have killed. Slurryfish otherwise operate independently, but have no antagonism toward each other when they meet; although, they do take a perverse pleasure in tricking other slurryfish into attacking them when they take a humanoid form.