Embrac
Image by Thomas Baxa, © TSR, Inc.
[The embrac is a monster that has not been well served by either of the pieces of art for it. The piece above gets the basic anatomy right, but has too few tentacles (the original monster had 8--I've cut it back to 4 due to the usual PFRPG reduction of natural weapon attacks), and the legs make it look bear-like and mobile as opposed to the more sea-anemone like, sessile creature the flavor text describes. The 3.5 version from Lords of Madness is properly immobile looking, and gets the number of tentacles correct, but moves them to the back, removing what makes the monster actually illithid like. The LoM version also removes their signature ability, depicted above: using illusions as bait to lure prey close enough to strike.]
Embrac CR 9 NE Aberration This bloated creature is shaped something like a giant sack. Its four limbs are little more than clawed stumps, and a parrot-like beak and large eyes are the only suggestions of a head the beast has. This beak is surrounded by four stout tentacles, each tipped in a clawed, three-fingered hand. Its skin is mottled and slimy, with bony plates studded in it at irregular intervals.
Embracs are members of the illithidae, aberrant kin to the mind flayers. Embracs are among the least intelligent of the illithdae, as their ecology does not require much problem solving. They are ambush hunters. Once an embrac detects the vibrations of a potential prey item, such as from footsteps, it uses its innate powers to scan nearby minds for what they desire. When it detects a desire, it creates a version of it with an illusion, which acts as bait to bring the prey close enough to strike.
An embrac attacks with the claws at the ends of its four tentacles, which both grab prey and inject it with a paralytic toxin. As the prey item struggles to break free, it is dragged towards the embrac’s waiting, beak-like mouth. If the victim was alone, this is usually enough to get the embrac a meal. If it is accompanied, such as a party of adventurers, the embrac uses confusion and crushing despair to break enemy morale and disrupt their tactics. Embracs are very slow; they usually flee using dimension door rather than their shambling gait, and will attempt to bribe or bargain their way out of danger if they cannot escape a losing battle.
Embracs collect treasure from their more civilized victims—this is as much to have as a bargaining chip as anything. They like magic items, but have little understanding of how they work. Embracs are usually solitary, but seek each other out to mate on rare occasions. Embracs are simultaneous hermaphrodites—they fertilize each other, and then lay the eggs in a carcass to develop. Embracs do not provide any parental care beyond the initial provisioning for their eggs.
An embrac is around ten feet in diameter, with tentacles that reach about fifteen feet in length.
