In addition to my backlog of Reaper Bones miniatures, I also have a sizable collection of figures from the Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos for Pathfinder Kickstarter. One of the more striking miniatures from that lot is the hunting horror, a Huge flying aberration.
I primed this figure with the gray Army Painter rattlecan primer, then broke out the airbrush to do a basecoat of Reaper Blood Red, following the illustration in the hardcover book. I used my Vallejo Umber Wash and then did some simple dry brushing for the highlights. It was a fairly simple paint, but the figure looks pretty decent. Although it already has a round 50mm base, I may still mount it on a 75mm Huge base more appropriate for its size.
The Pathfinder stats for this beast are pretty complicated, with numerous special abilities. I didn't try to simplify those too much for the 3.5e conversion presented below. For the 5e conversion, I dropped several ancillary abilities in keeping with Fifth Edition's design ethos, but this is still a pretty tough and complex monster design.
My only real complaint about this monster is that, at Challenge Rating 16, this is an upper echelon monster and it's hard to imagine encountering more than 2 or 3 at once—but I have a lot of these figures as part of the Kickstarter.
The following text is Open Game Content.
Hunting Horror
Flowing down directly from the sky, like black lightning, this wormlike creature appears before you, reeking of ancient rot. From between its armored plates seeps a grotesque mucus falling constantly like an unholy rain. Its many eyes stare at you with vile hatred.
Hunting horrors are very large, and their serpentine bodies act like tentacles to grip victims while their mouths grow impossibly wide to swallow foes whole. An individual hunting horror usually has a wingspan of 20+ feet, and an even longer body length. It weighs from 3000–6000 pounds, and could never fly if it was restricted to normal laws of physics.
Slimy Horror. Their flesh secretes a mucus so rapidly that it constantly drips off as if the hunting horror were falling apart. After sloughing off, the thick piles of mucus begin to harden, becoming like mud. It is possible to slowly plod through it, but not swim in it like water. The mucus begins to pile up during a fight, eventually covering the horror’s prey and holding them in place so they cannot escape when the horror swallows them whole.
Playing with their Food. Hunting horrors speak to their prey mentally. They send fantastically horrible images to the minds of those they are going to swallow.
Part of a Terrible Whole. Hunting horrors are all a branch of the same immense organism that spans great reaches of space. They are each the nerves and nerve endings of this being. This is how they can appear instantly and avoid sunlight. The creature as a whole is practically a Great Old One in terms of power.
3.5e
Hunting Horror CR 16
Always CE Huge aberration
Init +11; Senses scent, see in darkness; Listen +29, Spot +29
Languages Aklo; telepathy 300 ft.
Aura mucus (10 ft.)
AC 31, touch 15, flat-footed 24 (+7 Dex, +16 natural, –2 size)
hp 237 (19d8+152 HD); DR 10/—; fast healing 10
Fort +14, Ref +15, Will +19
Defensive Abilities amorphous; Immune cold, electricity, mind-affecting effects; SR 27
Weaknesses daylight powerlessness
Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (perfect)
Melee bite +26 (6d8+14), tail slap +24 (4d6+7)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (30 ft. with tail slap)
Special Attacks constrict 4d6+14, improved grab, swallow whole, telepathic assault
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th)
At will—greater teleport (self only), plane shift (self only)
Str 38, Dex 25, Con 27, Int 19, Wis 26, Cha 24
Base Atk +14; Grp +36
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack, Snatch
Skills Knowledge (geography) +25, Knowledge (planes) +25, Listen +29, Move Silently +28, Spot +29, Survival +29 (+31 on other planes)
SQ shared consciousness
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or pack (3–5)
Treasure none
Advancement 20–38 HD (Huge), 39–57 HD (Gargantuan)
Amorphous (Ex) A hunting horror is not subject to critical hits. It cannot be flanked.
Constrict (Ex) A hunting horror deals an automatic 4d6+14 damage with a successful grapple check.
Daylight Powerlessness (Ex) A hunting horror is utterly powerless in natural sunlight (not merely a daylight spell) and flees from it.
Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability, a hunting horror must hit an opponent of any size with a bite or tail slap 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 constrict or swallow the opponent.
Mucus (Su) A hunting horror’s “flesh” constantly weeps thick foul mucus, seemingly melting off its serpentine frame as swiftly as it rebuilds and restores its shape. When a hunting horror lands on a surface, the mucus swiftly spreads out in a ten-foot radius around the creature and hardens into a thick mud-like consistency. This area is treated as difficult terrain by all save hunting horrors. Each round a creature other than a hunting horror begins its turn within this area, it must make a successful DC 27 Reflex save or become entangled for as long as it remains within the area. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Shared Consciousness (Ex) All hunting horrors are branches of the same immense organism that has spread throughout several dimensions across the reaches of space, and anything one hunting horror experiences is experienced by all. When multiple hunting horrors are encountered, none of them are considered flat-footed unless all of them are.
Swallow Whole (Ex) A hunting horror can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of up to two sizes smaller by making a successful grapple check. The swallowed creature takes 4d6 points of bludgeoning damage and 4d6points of acid damage per round. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 23 points of damage (AC 18). A hunting horror’s body constantly reforms and repairs itself. The hole created when a creature cuts its way out of a hunting horror instantly seals as soon as the escaping creature exits.
A Huge hunting horror can hold 2 Medium, 8 Small, 32 Tiny, or 128 Diminutive or smaller opponents.
Telepathic Assault (Su) As it attacks, a hunting horror bombards its prey’s consciousness with its mind, sending grisly and horrific images into the victim’s thoughts in an attempt to undermine the potential meal’s defenses and to flavor the flesh with the tang of fear and despair.
Whenever a hunting horror attacks a creature, regardless of whether the attack successfully hits or not, that creature must make a successful DC 26 Will save or be staggered for 1 round by despair and horror at the images projected by the hunting horror. An already staggered creature that fails this saving throw is also stunned for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
5e
| Huge aberration, chaotic evil | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armor Class 18 (natural) | |||||
| Hit Points 195 (17d12 + 85) | |||||
| Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft. | |||||
| Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha |
| 23 (+6) | 20 (+5) | 21 (+5) | 19 (+4) | 20 (+5) | 19 (+4) |
| Saving Throws Str +11, Con +10, Wis +10, Cha +9 | |||||
| Skills Perception +10 | |||||
| Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks | |||||
| Damage Immunities cold, lightning, poison | |||||
| Condition Immunities charmed, poisoned | |||||
| Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 20 | |||||
| Languages Aklo, telepathy 120 ft. | |||||
| Challenge 16 (15,000 XP) | |||||
| Magic Resistance. The hunting horror has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. | |||||
| Mucus. The ground in a 10-foot radius around the hunting horror is difficult terrain. Each creature that starts its turn in that area must succeed on a DC 10 Strength saving throw or have its speed reduced to 0 until the start of its next turn. | |||||
| Sunlight Weakness. While in sunlight, the hunting horror has disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. | |||||
| Actions | |||||
| Multiattack. The hunting horror makes two attacks: one with its bite and one to constrict. | |||||
| Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (4d6 + 6) piercing damage plus plus 20 (4d6 + 6) psychic damage. | |||||
| Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one Large or smaller creature. Hit: 20 (4d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 20 (4d6 + 6) slashing damage. The target is grappled (escape DC 19) if the hunting horror isn’t already constricting a creature, and the target is restrained until this grapple ends. | |||||
| Swallow. The hunting horror makes one bite attack against a Medium or smaller target it is grappling. If the attack hits, the target is also swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the target is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the hunting horror, and it takes 21 (6d6) acid damage at the start of each of the hunting horror’s turns. A hunting horror can have only one creature swallowed at a time. If the hunting horror takes 30 damage or more on a single turn from the swallowed creature, the hunting horror must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate the creature, which falls prone in a space within 10 feet of the hunting horror. If the hunting horror dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 15 feet of movement, exiting prone. | |||||
| Teleport. The hunting horror magically teleports, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space it can see. | |||||
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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