I received the final PDF of Sandy Petersen’s Cthulhu Mythos for Pathfinder. The book had been long delayed but the wait appears to have been worth it: this is a really nice looking supplement. One of the mythos monsters that works really well for the Great Dungeon is the formless spawn of Tsathoggua, a nasty intelligent ooze that “deserves” porting into 0e, 3e, and 5e.
The following text is Open Game Content.
Formless Spawn
This black heap of thick organic material swiftly changes form, emitting rope-like tendrils and building legs, mouths, and other structures seemingly without pattern. It is utterly silent despite the chaos of its ever-moving structure.
Shapes without Form. Deep below the earth live the formless spawn, highly fluid entities of black protoplasm that can shift between shapes with the rapidity of water. They are liquescent in their native habitats, and build channels or gutters of stone that they can flow through with incredible speed. Their preferred resting-place is a tub or a depression in the earth. The average size is around 16 feet across with a weight of about 2,000 pounds.
Endless Mutability. The formless spawn, though technically oozes, almost never form simple shapes. They often sprout spindly legs to run upon, twisted faces to leer with, and limbs to grasp and hold. When lurking in a room, they commonly shoot out sticky strands to cling to the walls or ceiling, building a web-like structure out of their own bodies. If an enemy is significantly smaller than the spawn, it can open up a huge toothless mouth and swallow a victim whole. A formless spawn frequently transforms its whole body into a pointed deadly ram and thrusts at a single, large enemy. Its club attacks are generally reserved for heavily-armored foes. The formless spawn's whip attacks are lashes with many small tendrils sharpened to razors, which slice lightly-armored enemies to shreds.
Embodiments of Chaos. The formless spawn are wholly chaotic in their philosophy. Though they sometimes work toward the same larger goal, each takes its own independent action and direction.
0e
Formless Spawn CL 14 (2,600 XP)
A formless spawn can attack with either 3 tentacles or 1 bite. The victim of a formless spawn’s tentacle attacks must make a saving throw or be held fast and pulled to the mouth for a bite attack. Victims of a bite attack must likewise make a saving throw or be swallowed whole. Once inside the spawn, a creature suffers 3d6 points of damage per round. A swallowed creature can attempt to climb into the spawn’s mouth, where it must make a successful open doors roll to escape. A swallowed creature can also cut its way out using a dagger to deal 20 points of damage (AC 6 [13]). A formless spawn can hold 1 human or elf or 2 dwarves or halflings.
A formless spawn is immune to spells and blunt weapons.
HD 10; AC 4 [15]; Atk bite (3d6) or 3 tentacles (1d6); Move 15/12 (climbing)/15 (swimming); Save 5; AL C; Special: Immune to spells, blunt weapons; swallow whole
3.5e
Formless Spawn CR 8
Always CE Huge ooze
Init +9; Senses all-around vision, blindsight 120 ft.; Listen +12, Spot +16
Languages Aklo
Aura tendrils (20 ft.)
AC 22, touch 22, flat-footed 13
(+5 deflection, +9 Dex, –2 size)
hp 115 (10d10+60 HD); DR 10/—; fast healing 10
Fort +9, Ref +12, Will +4
Immune acid, ooze traits; Resist electricity 10; SR 19
Spd 60 ft., climb 40 ft., swim 60 ft.
Melee bite +15 (4d6+6) or
3 club tentacles +15 (2d4+4) or
12 whip tentacles +9 (1d4+2) or
ram +14 (6d8+6/x3)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 20 ft. (15 ft. with bite)
Special Attacks improved grab, swallow whole, variable attacks
During Combat Formless spawn simply re-form after being cut or chopped. Each combat round, the formless spawn can take a different shape and use a different attack system, as the combat demands.
Morale Formless spawn are extremely fast and intelligent, so they can and do flee superior foes clever enough to focus on high-damage magical attacks.
Str 19, Dex 29, Con 22, Int 15, Wis 12, Cha 15
Base Atk +7; Grp +19
Feats Power Attack, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (club tentacle), Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Climb +12, Knowledge (religion) +12, Hide +11, Listen +12, Move Silently +19, Search +6, Spot +16, Swim +12
SQ compression, freeze
Environment any underground
Organization solitary or flood (2–6)
Treasure standard
Advancement 11–20 HD (Huge), 21–30 (Gargantuan)
All-Around Vision (Ex) A formless spawn has a +4 racial bonus on Spot and Search checks. A formless spawn can’t be flanked.
Blindsight (Ex) A formless ooze can ascertain prey by scent and vibration within 120 feet.
Compression (Ex) A formless spawn can move through an area as small as one-quarter its space without squeezing or one-eighth its space when squeezing.
Freeze (Ex) A formless spawn can hold itself so still that it appears to be nothing more than a puddle of tar or oil. An observer must succeed on a DC 24 Spot check to notice the spawn is really alive. While freezing in this way, a spawn need not drink or eat.
Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability, a formless spawn must hit a creature of any size with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can try to swallow the foe the following round.
Swallow Whole (Ex) A formless spawn can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of up to one size smaller by making a successful grapple check as a free action. A swallowed creature takes 2d4+4 points of acid damage per round. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 10 points of damage to the formless spawn (AC 12). Once the creature exits, the hole closes; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. A Huge formless spawn can hold 2 Large, 8 Medium, 32 Small, 128 Tiny, or 512 Diminutive or smaller opponents.
Tendrils (Ex) A formless spawn fills an area around it to a twenty-foot radius with a writhing storm of black tendrils formed from its own amorphous body. These tendrils grant it a +5 deflection bonus to AC and penalize all other creatures’ grapple checks made in that area by –5. Freedom of movement grants immunity to this penalty, and creatures that are gaseous or incorporeal do not suffer the penalty.
Variable Attacks (Ex) When a formless spawn attacks, it must choose one of the four attack modes it wishes to make in that round. When it makes attacks of opportunity, it always does so with a club tentacle. It cannot attack with multiple attack types as part of a full-attack action—it must choose one form of attack but is free to change that form each round of combat. A spawn can choose between a bite, up to three club-like tentacles, up to twelve whip-like tentacles, or a single powerful ram.
Bite: A formless spawn’s bite always functions as a primary natural weapon that inflicts bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage and allows it to use its improved grab ability.
Club Tentacles: A formless spawn’s club tentacles always function as primary natural weapons that inflict bludgeoning damage
Whip Tentacles: A formless spawn’s whip tentacles always function as secondary natural weapons that inflict slashing damage.
Ram: As a full-round action, a formless spawn can transform its whole body into a deadly pointed ram and thrust at a single foe. This primary attack inflicts piercing damage.
5e
| Huge ooze, chaotic evil | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armor Class 14 (natural) | |||||
| Hit Points 114 (12d12+36) | |||||
| Speed 60 ft., climb 40 ft., swim 60 ft. | |||||
| Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha |
| 17 (+3) | 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 13 (+1) | 14 (+2) |
| Senses blindsight 120 ft.; passive Perception 14 | |||||
| Damage Resistances lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage | |||||
| Condition Immunities deafened, exhaustion, prone | |||||
| Languages Aklo | |||||
| Challenge 7 (2,900 XP) | |||||
| Amorphous. A formless spawn can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. | |||||
| False appearance. While a formless spawn remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a puddle of tar or oil. | |||||
| Spider climb. A formless spawn can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check. | |||||
| Actions | |||||
| Multiattack. The formless spawn makes three tentacle attacks. | |||||
| Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 48 (8d10 + 4) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 16). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained. | |||||
| Swallow. The formless spawn makes one bite attack against a Large or smaller creature it is grappling. If the attack hits, that creature takes the bite’s damage and is swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the spawn, and it takes 36 (8d8) acid damage at the start of each of the spawn’s turns. If the spawn takes 30 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the spawn must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the spawn. If the spawn dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse using 15 feet of movement, exiting prone. | |||||
| Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 16). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained. The spawn has eight tentacles, each of which can grapple one target. | |||||
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.
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