Among the more frightening and iconic monsters from the Cthulhu mythos are the shoggoths, the protoplasmic servitor race created by the Elder Things to build their terrible cities. H.P. Lovecraft included them in his novella At the Mountains of Madness (1931).
The Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos for Pathfinder Kickstarter came with several shoggoth miniatures. I was initially disappointed that they weren’t larger, but they are nice sculpts that could be mounted on a Huge base. I knew I wanted to paint one with a blue-black color with glowing green eyes. For my first attempt I primed it gray and then went with a soft blue base coat, but this was much too light. I tried again with a black primer and a thin base of the same soft blue—this approach worked much better, creating the dark, midnight blue effect I was looking for. I then used the same technique for glowing green eyes that I‘ve been using for red eyes. This worked pretty well, though when I added a glossy varnish to give the model a nice slimy sheen the glowing effect died back a bit.
There have been several versions of shoggoths in D&D, starting with “The Lovecraftian Mythos in Dungeons & Dragons” from The Dragon #12 (February, 1978). The first printing of the Deities and Demigods book (1980) also had AD&D stats for shoggoths in the Cthulhu Mythos section that was cut from later printings. Paizo created an open version for 3.5e in the Crucible of Chaos (2008), which was then updated for Pathfinder in the first Bestiary. The Petersen Mythos Bestiary has a second, slightly tougher Pathfinder version which was used to create the following 0e and 3.5e conversions.
The following text is Open Game Content.
Shoggoth
This mass of undulating tarry black flesh exudes the smell of decay, filled with bubbles of vilest air and giving off a very faint luminescence. Its unworldly voice is plaintive, always crying, “Tekeli-li!”
Formless Horror. A shoggoth’s form is constantly shifting, as the creature moves, explores, and interacts with its environment. Extremely adaptable, its current form is always the one that is most ideally suited to finding and consuming living flesh. At any one time, a shoggoth has dozens of pseudopods of varying proportions, and it uses them to create hands, suckers, stingers, or tentacles to grab and consume its prey. Shoggoths have no proper mouth but create and absorb such organs as needed
Always Hungry. Shoggoths are near-mindless predators though legends say they possess a cunning beyond that of most oozes.
Fueled by Chaos. Shoggoths are servitors of dark gods and things normally spoken of only in whispers. At one time, shoggoths were servants to a greater race, but after centuries or eons of mistreatment they rebelled and cast down their masters.
Unnaturally Resilient. Shoggoths are impervious to cold and can thrive on minimal foodstuffs filtered from air or water when nothing more nutritious is available. They prefer environments where water or ice is available.
A shoggoth’s skin glows with a very faint emerald luminescence. Its black tarry flesh is sometimes translucent as well, especially when it has not eaten in a long time. It is capable of secreting a thick, viscous, semi-opaque, sticky slime that further enhances its ability to catch and devour its prey.
0e
Shoggoth CL 19 (4,100 XP)
If a shoggoth hits an opponent with 2 tentacles in 1 round, it can decide to engulf the opponent automatically on the next round. An engulfed opponent takes 1d10 points of damage each round it remains trapped. Attacks on a shoggoth deal half their damage to anyone engulfed by the creature.
HD 13; AC 3 [16]; Atk 4 tentacles (1d10); Move 18/18 (swimming); Save 3; Al C; Special engulf, half damage from weapons, immune to cold, magic resistance (40%).
3.5e
Shoggoth CR 20
Always CE Huge ooze (aquatic)
Init +12; Senses all-around vision, darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision, scent, tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +20, Spot +25
Languages Aklo
AC 36, touch 16, flat-footed 28
(+8 Dex, +20 natural, -2 size)
hp 403 (26d10+260 HD); fast healing 10
Fort +20, Ref +16, Will +22
Defensive Abilities ooze traits, strong willed; DR 10/–; Immune blindness, charm effects, cold, deafness, sonic; Resist acid 30, fire 30; SR 31
Spd 50 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 50 ft.
Melee 4 pseudopods +32 (3d8+15/19–20)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 30 ft.
Special Attacks constrict, consume, deadly blow, improved grab, maddening cacophony, trample
Before Combat The shoggoth cries with its maddening cacophony to induce fear before closing to engulf its foes.
During Combat The shoggoth uses its pseudopods in the first round of any encounter, hoping to knock down a foe quickly. In the second round, it swallows one or more foes.
Morale The shoggoth retreats under cover if faced with flying opponents and it flees if reduced to less than 50 hit points without feeding on a foe. Otherwise, the shoggoth fights to the death.
Str 40, Dex 26, Con 31, Int 5, Wis 22, Cha 13
Base Atk +19; Grp +42
Feats Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (pseudopods), Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Iron Will, Power Attack
Skills Climb +23, Listen +20, Spot +25, Swim +23
Environment cold aquatic or underground
Organization solitary
Treasure standard
Advancement 24–34 HD (Huge), 35–46 HD (Colossal)
All-Around Vision (Ex) A shoggoth’s many sense organs grant a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks and immunity to flanking.
Constrict (Ex) A shoggoth deals automatic pseudopod damage with a successful grapple check.
Consume (Ex) A shoggoth can attempt to consume a grappled opponent of Huge or smaller size by making a successful grapple check as a free action. Once inside, the opponent takes 4d6+22 bludgeoning damage plus 10d6 acid damage per round. A consumed creature can cut its way out by dealing 25 points of damage to the shoggoth (AC 28, and the shoggoth’s damage reduction still applies to those inside). A creature that cuts its way out of a shoggoth leaves no hole in the protoplasmic creature’s body. The shoggoth’s body can hold 1 Huge, 2 Large, 8 Medium, 32 Small, or 128 Tiny, or 512 Diminutive or smaller creatures.
Deadly Blow (Ex) If a shoggoth reduces a creature to fewer than 0 hit points with a pseudopod attack, the creature must make a successful DC 38 Fortitude save or it is instantly slain as the shoggoth plucks off the victim’s head, crushes its torso, or otherwise destroys the creature’s body. The save DC is Strength-based.
Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability, a shoggoth must hit a creature up to one size category smaller than itself with a pseudopod attack. It may then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it it establishes a hold and can attempt to constrict or consume the opponent as a free action.
Maddening Cacophony (Su) As a free action, a shoggoth can give voice to sounds and words sane life was not meant to hear. All creatures in a 60-foot radius must make a DC 24 Will save or be confused for 1d6 rounds. Each round a creature is affected it takes 1d6 points of Wisdom damage. A creature that saves cannot be affected by this shoggoth’s maddening cacophony for 24 hours. This is a sonic mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Pseudopods (Ex) A shoggoth can attack with up to four pseudopods in a round. As it attacks, it can decide as a free action if the pseudopod inflicts bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage.
Strong-Willed (Ex) A shoggoth has a +6 racial bonus on Will saves. Once per day the shoggoth can reroll one failed Will save.
Trample (Ex) As a standard action during its turn each round, a shoggoth can literally run over an opponent at least one size smaller than itself. It merely has to move over the opponent to deal bludgeoning damage equal to 4d8 + 15. The target can attempt a DC 38 Reflex save to negate the damage, or it can instead choose to make an attack of opportunity at a -4 penalty. The save DC is Strength-based.
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
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