Udug
“Utukku” © TSR Inc, by Roger Raupp.
[The last monster I’m covering from the original Creature Catalogue, this is written by Roger Moore, not Ed Greenwood. Moore’s preferred design space was to make statistics for monsters from myth and folklore, which I respect. The udug/utukku is a Mesopotamian demon of darkness (different names for different cultures). I went with udug as a name because Pathfinder already has an utukku. Images of the udug/utukku haven’t survived into the modern day, if they ever existed, but I feel like this design captures the Sumerian feel better than the Paizo version. A scaled lion-man feels more like a genuine folkloric creature than Wilbur Whateley crossed with a sea anemone.
The original Dragon Magazine utukku was a straightforward fiend, native to Tartarus. But they hunted other fiends and had a given lifespan, which lead me to make them a monstrous humanoid instead. If you want to make them a full on outsider, mechanically the main difference would be more class skills. The original stat block was mostly a pile of spell-like abilities and immunities and not much else, as is common for fiends of this era. I made its fear SLA a signature ability, and gave it something to do with its quills. Its umbral valor ability is inspired by the Sumerian version being a demon of darkness specifically.
Also, is it just me, or does this art give of Grinch vibes? I think it’s the crossed arms and the pot belly. He could be the lovechild of the Grinch and Tony the Tiger]
Udug CR 12 CE Monstrous Humanoid This creature resembles a brick-red, scaled humanoid with the head of a lion and tusks jutting from its lower jaw. Its mane is a mass of striped, porcupine-like quills, and its face bears a cruel expression.
The udugs are often mistaken for fiends, but they are creatures of flesh and blood as much as they are darkness and pain. They are descended from immigrants from the Material Plane, but have made the Abyss their home. There, udugs carve out territories from which to lash out at fiends and mortals alike. Most udugs go out of their way to kill and eat demons, qlippoths and other fiends weaker than they, believing that doing so will secure them a more powerful form when their own souls become demons in death.
The roar of an udug is infused with supernatural fear. An udug will usually start combat with a roar in order to force enemies to flee, and then attack whoever is left on the battlefield. Udugs prefer to fight from darkness, and often swathe their forms in deeper darkness spells. In melee they are straightforward, but soften up enemies beforehand with a few lightning bolts or by making them fight each other. Udugs flee from superior forces, but are cocky and overconfident when fighting humanoid enemies.
An udug can live for thousands of years, inflicting suffering all through that time. They prefer to lair in the Abyss, but travel occasionally to the Material Plane in search of riches. Udugs covet magic weapons, but hardly ever use them, preferring instead to fight with teeth and claws. Udugs dislike being in positions of either leadership or authority, and do not get along well with others of their own kind. Presumably, as living things, they must mate and reproduce in some fashion, but the specifics are yet unknown.
