Ashalakat (Blood Creeper)
The ashalakat is a 4'-long monstrosity possessing a flat, translucent body and eight strong tentacles. The beast is an aggressive predator that subsists entirely on blood. Its preferred habitat is dark and moist, such as the middle reaches of the Vaults beneath Nalu Hesh.
AC 7 [12], HD 5+1** (23hp), Att 8 × tentacles (1d3), 1 × bite (1d3 + blood drain) THAC0 16 [+3], MV 120’ (40’), SV D12 V13 P14 B15 S16 (2), ML 9, XP 575, NA 1d4 (1d4), TT B
- Blood drain: Attaches to victim on a successful hit, doing 1d4 automatic damage per round.
- Detaching: Must be killed.
- If victim dies: Detaches and finds a dark place to digest.
- Constriction: Tentacles grab and constrict after a hit. 1d3 automatic damage per round.
- Severing tentacles: Requires a hit that inflicts 3 or more damage.
- Cling: Can move along walls and ceilings.
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| An ashalakat by Zhu Bajiee |
Creepy. That thing generates an incredible amount of no-roll-to-hit damage once it's landed the initial ones, making it a real tPK threat in melee. At least the tentacles are fairly easy to cut off, but it's starting with nine attacks already and on average HP will keep at least four all the way to the end. Definitely a ** critter for XP, and maybe deserving of *** or more. The "go digest dinner" thing tones it down a bit, but only at the cost of a life.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that Player Character creatures with multiple arms (Pei Choi, Pachi Lei, Tharks, Thri Kreen, etc.) can only attack with half of their limbs in any given round, but monsters can attack with everything they've got every round? Doesn't sound too equitable to me. To limit lethality, I would require an opposed strength roll for the tentacles to stay attached, from round to round.
DeleteTo be fair, none of the PC species mentioned have special rules for getting limbs hacked off in a fight, either. The ashalakat is going to lose damage output during a fight, although maybe not as fast as it gains it once it starts constricting.
DeleteExcellent. I'm borrowing this...
ReplyDeleteHow long are the tentacles?
ReplyDeleteGood question! I'd imagined the tentacles as about 4–5' (or roughly the same size as the body of the creature itself).
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