Grakka
“Grakka” by Dean Ormston, © Wizards of the Coast. Accessed at the Monster Manual III Art Gallery here
[Monster Manual III was the first WoTC monster book for 3.5e (after the core), and it has something of an experimental flavor to it. On the one hand, it means a further movement away from conversions and towards original ideas, but on the other hand the game balance is particularly bad. For example, the protean scourge, which can duplicate itself and keep these duplicates around indefinitely. So why don’t they always go around in huge packs of themselves? My take on it seeks to address this, both mechanically and flavorfully. I did use one of these in my Age of Worms game, where it was an assassin that was a briefly recurring character.]
Grakka CR 12 NE Monstrous Humanoid This humanoid creature has a devilish aspect, with its red, pebbly skin and the pair of long horns curving from its forehead. It stands tall, its legs proportionately long. It clutches a scythe in its spindly, clawed fingers.
Grakkas, sometimes called morphic scourges or killer doubles, are shapeshifting creatures resembling a cross between a fiend and a doppelganger. Although their ability to change shape does not afford them the precise control of a doppelganger, they are nevertheless excellent at disguises, and may trade between a dozen guises a day as suits their needs. Grakkas are thrill seekers and unrepentant murderers, who roam the world seeking challenging targets to kill for fun. Some make a living as traveling adventurers, but they are hated as much as they are beloved, as they will just as readily murder a beloved public figure or ruler as they will a monster or villain.
Grakkas have some spellcasting talent, and indeed those that progress in class levels typically refine their sorcerous skills. They favor illusions, using disorientation and confusion to draw close to their favored target to set up the perfect strike. The most feared ability of a grakka is the capacity to duplicate themselves—the duplicate has all of the memories and personality of the original, and fights on their behalf. This tactic is potentially risky, as each duplicate draws from the same set of spells, and they are both injured in the process of creation. The duplicate may end up replacing its original if the original is slain or critically injured while the duplicate exists. Some grakkas have thus turned to killing their own duplicates as the time limit approaches in order to ensure their own survival.
A grakka stands seven feet tall in its natural form, with its horns rising another two feet above that. They typically weigh around 200 pounds.
