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Skeljaskrímsli

Image © @a-book-of-creatures, accessed at their site here

[For a small island, Iceland has a huge number of monsters, possibly as a result of their strong oral and written traditions and cultural continuity for the last thousand years or so. They tend to fall into a fairly small number of categories (mother-of-sea creature, evil whales and hybrid mammals that act like basilisks have multiple representatives), but the shell monster is one of the more unique takes, well suited for RPG use. The book Meeting with Monsters, which is a translated Icelandic book, is hard to get hold of (check out the used prices on Amazon if you don’t believe me) but well worth a look. It helps that it’s gorgeously illustrated.]

Skeljaskrímsli CR 10 CE Magical Beast This creature is as massive as a horse, but slung lower to the ground. Its body is covered with a coat of shell-like armor, except for its underside with has a thick dense fur. Its mouth is faintly luminous, and is filled with sharp teeth. Its four feet all have long curving claws with webbing between the bases of the toes. Its tail ends in a mace-like structure.

The skeljaskrímsli is also called the shell monster or beach roamer, which aptly describes both its appearance and its habits. They are hunters and aggressive scavengers of rocky shorelines and ocean floors, slowly roaming along and eating whatever meat they can find. Skeljaskrímsli are actively malicious, and go out of their way to hunt aquatic sapient species for sheer love of causing pain. When the weather is bad or prey is scarce, they emerge and travel inland in search of meals. They are especially attracted to light—wise villagers douse their lanterns on dark and windy nights.

A skeljaskrímsli is outfitted with a wide variety of natural weapons—claws, teeth and a clubbing tail. They are not very intelligent, but are smart enough to take advantage of their ability to move along rocks with ease, attacking from heights or scrambling around boulders for cover. Their shell armor creates an awful noise when they are agitated, enough to disrupt spellcasting, and these shells can only be penetrated by silver weapons. They can even deflect bullets. Even if a creature successfully injures a skeljaskrímsli, the shell monster’s blood is acidic enough to etch stone and melt flesh. Victims that escape a skeljaskrímsli but are not slain may slowly succumb to a numbing disease similar to leprosy, carried in the beach roamer’s saliva.

A skeljaskrímsli is about ten feet long, and its humped back is five feet at its tallest point. It has a smell like the beach on a low tide.

Skeljaskrímsli CR 10 XP 9,600 CE Large magical beast (aquatic) Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +10, scent Aura clattering (30 ft.) Defense AC 24, touch 9, flat-footed 24 (-1 size, +15 natural) hp 125 (10d10+70) Fort +14, Ref +7, Will +8 DR 10/silver; Immune acid, disease, poison; Resist cold 10 Defensive Abilities acid blood, bulletproof, fortification (50%) Offense Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft. Melee bite +15 (1d8+6 plus disease), 2 claws +15 (1d6+6), tail slap +13 (2d6+9 plus trip) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Special Abilities powerful blows (tail) Statistics Str 23, Dex 10, Con 24, Int 5, Wis 16, Cha 9 Base Atk +10; CMB +17 (+19 bull rush); CMD 27 (29 vs. bull rush, 31 vs. trip) Feats Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Multiattack, Power Attack Skills Climb +14, Perception +10, Survival +7, Swim +18; Racial Modifiers +4 Climb Languages Aquan (cannot speak) SQ amphibious, luminous, rock hopper Ecology Environment cold aquatic and coastal Organization solitary or pair Treasure incidental Special Abilities Acid Blood (Ex) Any creature that strikes a skeljaskrímsli in melee with a slashing or piercing weapon must succeed a DC 22 Reflex save or take 1d6+7 acid damage. A creature wielding a weapon with the reach property does not endanger itself in this way. The save DC is Constitution based. Bulletproof (Su) A skeljaskrímsli gains its full natural armor bonus as a bonus to its touch AC against firearms and alchemical weapons. Touch attacks made with magic, such as rays, are not affected by this ability. Clattering Aura (Ex) Any creature attempting to cast a spell within 30 feet of a skeljaskrímsli must succeed a concentration check (DC 15+spell level) or the spell is lost. All concentration checks and Perception checks relying on hearing, made within the area gain a +5 to their DC. Disease (Ex) Shell leprosy; bite—injury; save Fort DC 22; onset 1 week; frequency 1/week; effect 1d4 Dex damage, target must succeed a second Fort save or 1 point of Dexterity damage is drain instead; cure 2 consecutive saves. Luminous (Ex) A skeljaskrímsli’s mouth gives off illumination as a candle. Rock Hopper (Ex) A skeljaskrímsli ignores difficult terrain and other movement penalties from mundane rock and stone.

#skeljaskrimsli #shell monster #iceland #icelandic folklore #pathfinder 1e #world tour #a book of creatures

An older drawing of the Icelandic shell monster. Aside from some odd details (humped back, broad neck), few sources clarify any other physical description. The name also highlights the obscure appearance: shell monster. With this in mind I wanted to draw it as a deliberate, generic sort of kaiju monster. The sort of thing that wouldn't look out of place in tokusatsu or gen 1 pokemon.

I would recommend reading more at A Book of Creatures (because the source I used, Meeting with Monsters, costs like 250 bucks...) (worth it tho)

#myth stuff #folklore #icelandic folklore #iceland #shell monster #monster #mythical creatures #skeljaskrimsli