#crawling apocalypse

[chronivore]

The Crawling Apocalypse by Michael Phillippi

[thecreaturecodex]

Crawling Apocalypse

Image © Wizards of the Coast, by Michael Phillippi. Accessed at the Sandstorm Art Gallery here

[The crawling apocalpyse was especially broken, even by the standards of Sandstorm’s bestiary, so I never used it. That didn’t mean I didn’t like it, though, and I’ve taken this opportunity to reduce it to a reasonable power for its CR.

The flavor text of the original is tied to the marru, an extinct progenitor race from Sandstorm that left behind a bunch of jackal-headed marruspawn, some of the artifacts in the book, etc. I don’t particularly care for the marruspawn et. al, and will be ignoring them. So I had to alter the crawling apocalypse’s flavor text somewhat. I also gave them the ability to respawn, thus earning the “apocalypse” title in a way most CR 11 monsters don’t.]

Crawling Apocalypse CR 11 NE Undead This creature looks like an immense sea creature, desiccated and returned to unholy life. It drags its withered body on a carpet of tentacles, two of which lash ahead of it and are studded with hooks and barbs. Its enormous eyes are haunted orbs, staring over a parrot-like beak.

In ancient times, the krakens sought to overtly dominate the races of the dry lands. During a mighty war, powerful wizards developed a trap for the krakens, and teleported a handful of them into the middle of a desert to die of suffocation and dehydration. Although this gambit was enough to turn the tide of that ancient battle, it created by mistake the undead known as crawling apocalypses. These monsters are mummified krakens, animated by spite and driven to destroy humanoid life wherever they can.

A crawling apocalypse is not nearly as intelligent or strong as a kraken, but they are still overwhelming combatants for most. Their smaller tentacles are not coordinated enough to attack individually, but it can grab enemies in its lashing arms and drag them to the tentacle mass to be crushed to death. A crawling apocalypse’s beak is laced with the dried up remains of kraken ink, which can spread mummy rot. Worse, it can spray this ink over a wide area, killing dozens at once with negative energy and infecting survivors with its dreaded curse.

If this were not bad enough, when a crawling apocalypse is slain, its body calves apart and creates two more of the creatures, which travel their separate ways. Only by destroying the body on holy ground can this fate be averted. Fortunately, such rejuvenation events seem to tire the monsters, and a newly formed crawling apocalypse typically buries itself deep below ground and falls into a torpor for decades before returning to the surface to wreak havoc. Still, despite the limited nature of their origins, there are now more crawling apocalypses than there ever have been. Their name is derived from the concern that they will eventually overtake the world, starting from the deserts to besiege more verdant and populous lands.

Crawling Apocalypse      CR 11 XP 12,800 NE Gargantuan undead Init +4; Senses dakvision 60 ft., Perception +28, tremorsense 60 ft. Aura despair (30 ft., Will DC 22) Defense AC 26, touch 6, flat-footed 26 (-4 size, +20 natural) hp 150 (20d8+60); fast healing 10 Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +17 DR 5/-; Immune cold, undead traits Weakness vulnerable to fire Offense Speed 20 ft., burrow 20 ft. Melee 2 arms +18 (2d6+7/19-20x2 plus grab), bite +18 (2d8+7 plus mummy rot) Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (40 ft. with arms) Special Attacks constrict (1d8+7), ink dust, tentacle transfer Statistics Str 24, Dex 10, Con -, Int 7, Wis 21, Cha 15 Base Atk +15; CMB +26 (+30 grapple); CMD 36 (48 vs. trip) Feats Blind-fight, Critical Focus, Exhausting Critical, Fatiguing Critical, Improved Critical (arm), Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Stealth), Toughness Skills Perception +28, Stealth +17 Languages Aquan SQ rejuvenating split Ecology Environment warm deserts and underground Organization solitary or pair Treasure incidental Special Abilities Despair Aura (Su) All creatures within 30 feet that can see a crawling apocalypse must succeed a DC 22 Will save or be paralyzed with fear for the next 1d4 rounds. Whether or not the save is successful, the creature cannot be affected by that crawling apocalypse’s despair aura for the next 24 hours. This is a mind-influencing fear effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Ink Dust (Su) As a standard action once per day, a crawling apocalypse may spray black dust in a 60 foot cone. All creatures in the cone must succeed a DC 22 Fortitude save or take 11d6 negative energy damage and contract mummy rot. A successful save halves the damage and does not cause the creature to contract mummy rot. Mummy Rot (Su) Curse and disease—bite or ink dust; save Fort DC 22; onset 1 minute; frequency 1/day; effect 1d6 Con and 1d6 Cha; cure —. Mummy rot is both a curse and disease and can only be cured if the curse is first removed, at which point the disease can be magically removed. Even after the curse element of mummy rot is lifted, a creature suffering from it cannot recover naturally over time. Anyone casting a conjuration (healing) spell on the afflicted creature must succeed on a DC 26 caster level check, or the spell is wasted and the healing has no effect. Anyone who dies from mummy rot turns to dust and cannot be raised without a resurrection or greater magic. The save DC is Charisma-based. Rejuvenating Split (Su) 24 hours after a crawling apocalypse is slain, two crawling apocalypses form in squares adjacent to the corpse. This is only prevented if the body is reduced to ash in the area of a consecrate or hallow spell. Tentacle Transfer (Ex) As a swift action, a crawling apocalypse may transfer a Large or smaller grabbed creature to its tentacles by making a successful CMB check. If it does so, it continues to deal constrict damage and can maintain the grapple without spending an action. A crawling apocalypse does not gained the grappled condition if it has creatures held only in its tentacles. It may hold up to 4 Large or smaller creatures in its tentacles at a time.