Skip to main content

Swineherd




The Swineherd is more parasite than man now. It still bears a human face of limpid flesh from which its squid-like mantle sprouts. The meaty, pink tube contains all of its still-humanoid guts and comes to a sharp point at the end which is all that remains of fused leg and foot bones. A squirm of tentacles curls away from the swineherd's chin. These six appendages are each as long as a man’s arm with tips adored by bone hooks that were once phalanges.


Scourge Shepherd. Once, the swineherd was a humanoid. That was until the coming of The Pariah. In the grand aberration’s presence, the parasites within the swineherd’s livestock mutated into horrific, squirming horrors. Alas, they were still nigh-undetectable and it wasn’t long before the parasites made their way into human hosts.


Within a victim, the little creatures burrow their way into the victims’ brains, all the while excreting toxins that break down their bones and putrefy the flesh. The mental deterioration also makes the victims more susceptible to the Pariah’s calling. Within a few days, a week at most, the transformation is complete. In a gush of slime, the swineherd sheds what remains of its humanoid form and slithers into the nearest mudpatch or sewer.


It has the infected, twisted pigs to look after, after all.

Swineherd

Medium aberration, chaotic neutral

 Armor Class 13 (natural armor)

Hit Points 76 (9d8 + 36)

 Speed 30ft

Burrow 30ft

Str 18 Dex 8 Con 19 Int 6 Wis 12 Cha 8

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +1

Damage Resistancespoison, necrotic

Damage Immunities Condition Immunities frightened, poisoned

Senses tremorsense 10ft passive Perception 13

Languages Common, Deep Speech

Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Camouflage.

The swineherd has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in muddy and urban terrain.

Soothing Aura.

All aberrations of CR 3 or less within 60 ft of the swineherd gain advantage on Wisdom Saving Throws and are immune to the frightened condition.

Actions

Multiattack.

The swineherd makes four pseudopod attacks as one action.

Pseudopod.

Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage.

Vomit Mud (Recharge 6).

The swineherd sprays a 20ft cone of rancid, parasite-infested mud from its mouth. All creatures within the area of effect must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity save or take 10 (3d6) necrotic damage and be Blinded until the end of their next turn. In addition, creatures that failed the save are infested with parasites. These parasites function as per the Contagion spell and produce the sale effects as Flesh Rot, though the infestation is not a magical effect but a disease.


If a humanoid creature dies while suffering from this Flesh Rot, a swineherd will wiggle its way from the decaying remains within 1d4 days.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Netting Mimic

This particular mimic species has a rather unique origin. As polyps the first batch was caught in a giant spider's web soon after being spawned. Rather than being devoured by the arachnid, they turned into sticky strands amid the webwork. Not long after that, a group of adventurers slew said spider and moved on. The mimics had something to subsist on and kept their disguise to keep more bugs. When the spider's eggs hatched, instead of eating the young, the mimics were amused by the creatures and they protected them until they were large enough until to ride off to better climes. Eventually, these mimics took the shape of netting of all sorts: ship rigging, cargo nets, and so on as they were less conspicuous than spider webs. They still remain friends with things eight-legged. Netting Mimic Medium Monstrosity (shapechanger), neutral Armor Class 13 (natural armor) 52 (8d8 + 16) Speed 15 ft Climb ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gears

Gears can't remember if he was a dwarven hero or a condemned criminal. Either way, he is more cogwork than flesh now and driven to mete out justice with his metal fists. He was first deployed during an intense goblin invasion of a dwarven stronghold. Initially he served as something between a shocktroop and a living weapon, but this cigar chopping 'cyborg' inspired the dwarven defenders fighting along side of him to the point that he became a mascot, then a leader. More times than one could count, he should have gone down under a barrage of attacks only to plow forward losing more flesh and blood later replaced with mithril and steel. Eventually, Gears lost every last dwarf he fought along side and just kept killing goblins whenever he could until the fortress housed him alone. Now he wanders the world, making things right the best he can one punch at a time. Gears Medium construct (dwarf), chaotic good Armor Class 12 (natural armor) ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Piecemeal

Eveyrone should be free to live as they want and die as terribly as they can. This is the creed that the strange collection of bodyparts known as Piecemeal holds. Originally, it was a trio of kobolds who attempted a 'ritual' of their own design meant to grant immortality. Instead, it tore the three creatures into pieces that forgot how to die. The mass went quite mad and seeks to free other body parts from the 'bondage' of well, being part of a body. Travelling as three kobolds in a trenchcoat, Piecemeal wages a brutal war against 'slave owners' (IE anything with a body) and adds new parts to its collectiona as needed to keep the revolution going. Over time little of the kobolds remain, but it still rambles about in a trenchcoat spouting its made philosophy. Piecemeal Medium swarm of tiny undead creatures, chaotic neutral Armor Class 11 136 (16d8 + 64) Speed 30 ft Climb 20 ft ...
Post a Comment
Read more