Witchlight Marauder

Primary Marauder — Secondary Marauder — Tertiary Marauder — Space Marauder

Witchlight marauders are terrors that can lay waste to an entire planet, leaving nothing but barren rock and briny seas. Marauders can digest animal and vegetable matter, as well as metal and precious minerals—but not bare rock. They often strip the land down to bedrock before moving on. Marauders excrete a dark sludge that reeks of burning tar and supports no life. Their insatiable hunger can devour all life on a world in a few year's time if left unchecked.

Combat

Marauders of all types live to consume anything they can and spawn more marauders. None of the species will coordinate or plan with each other, always hunting as individuals. They are barely intelligent enough to surmount obstacles in their search for food, and will not use any form of strategy or tactics.

Witchlight Marauder Qualities (Ex): Witchlight marauders have a strange biology and alien minds, and as such, aren't subject to afflictions which plague other creatures. They do not breathe, sleep, age, or take damage from environmental hazards like temperature extremes or water pressure. They are immune to poison, disease, and mind-affecting effects. Marauders are also not subject to death from massive damage, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, or any form-altering attack (like polymorph or petrification).

In the Spheres

Witchlight marauders were introduced by the orcs during the first Unhuman War. Thought to be completely destroyed by the elves before these living weapons could be used, rumors and legends persist that several primary marauders were preserved.

When released upon a planet, a primary marauder will "forage" for several weeks before establishing a lair. This lair is often guarded by secondary marauders. After a few days the primary will split like an amoeba into two primary marauders of minimum hitdice. This cycle continues until the marauders run out of food, whereupon they turn on and destroy each other.

Colossal Aberration

Hit Dice: 50d8+600 (825 hp)

Initiative: +6 (-2 Dex, +8 Superior Initiative)

Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)

Armor Class: 20 (-8 size, -2 Dex, +20 natural), touch 0, flat-footed 20

Base Attack/Grapple: +37 / +70

Attack: Primary bite +47 melee (6d6+17/19-20)

Full Attack: Primary bite +47 melee (6d6+17/19-20) and 6 secondary bites +44 melee (2d8+8)

Space/Reach: 60 ft. / 60 ft.

Special Attacks: Improved Grab, Poison Cloud, Swallow Whole, Trample 4d8+25

Special Qualities: Acid Resistance 20, Damage Reduction 20/epic, Extended Reach, Fast Healing 20, Fire Resistance 20, Spawn Secondary Marauder, Tremorsense 120 ft., Witchlight Marauder Qualities

Saves: Fort +34, Ref +14, Will +24

Abilities: Str 45, Dex 6, Con 34, Int 3, Wis 4, Cha 1

Skills: Listen +35, Spot +12

Feats: Cleave, Devastating Critical (primary bite)^E, Diehard, Endurance, Epic Fortitude^E, Great Cleave, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (primary bite), Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (primary bite), Improved Overrun, Multiattack, Overwhelming Critical (primary bite)^E, Power Attack, Superior Initiative^E, Weapon Focus (primary bite)

Environment: Any

Organization: Solitary or apocalypse (1 plus 2-20 secondary marauders plus 8-80 tertiary marauders)

Challenge Rating: 30

Treasure: Standard

Alignment: Always chaotic evil

Advancement: 51-150 HD (Colossal)

Level Adjustment: —

The slug-like creature is over 100 feet in length and surrounded by a thin, sickly green cloud of gas. The many mouths all around its body constantly tear and chew the surrounding terrain and anything that gets within their range.

Primary marauders are the largest of the terrestrial marauders. Everything in the marauder's path is food: plants, animals, cities, and mountains. All food—including metals and minerals—makes its way to their blast-furnace stomach to produce poison gas and to spawn more witchlight marauders.

Primary marauders are active in cycles. They mindlessly eat and spawn secondary marauders for 5-8 (1d4+4) weeks before they instinctively delve underground, literally eating the ground out from under themselves. Once they've burrowed to a sufficient depth (rarely less than 500 feet) they begin to spawn another primary marauder. This takes 1d6+1 days, during which time the primary marauder is unable to make full-round actions. At the end of this period, another primary marauder is born, and the two go their separate ways.

A primary marauders natural weapons are treated as epic for purposes of overcoming damage reduction.

Combat

Primary marauders mostly travel in straight lines, eating everything in their path and turning only around obstacles. They rarely slow to deal with small opponents in their way, instead trampling and leaving them for the secondary and tertiary marauders to finish off.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a primary marauder must hit 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 attempt to swallow the foe the following around.

Poison Cloud (Su): Primary marauders constantly belch a cloud of poison gas. This cloud surrounds them out to a radius of 30 feet. Any character caught in the cloud is treated as being under the effect of a cloudkill spell (save DC 47).

Swallow Whole (Ex): A primary marauder can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of a smaller size than itself by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 4d6+17 point of crushing damage plus 2d10 points of acid damage per round from the marauder's stomach. The opponent is also treated as if they were in a marauder's poison cloud. A swallowed creature can cut it's way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 25 points of damage to the stomach (AC 30). The hole closes once the creature exists; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. A Colossal primary marauder's interior can hold 1 Gargantuan, 2 Huge, 8 Large, 32 Medium, 128 Small, or 512 Tiny or smaller opponents.

Trample (Ex): Reflex DC 52 for half damage. The save DC is Strength-based.

Extended Reach (Ex): Primary witchlight marauders can double their reach by extending their mouths on pseudopods. (This has been included in their statblock.)

Spawn Secondary Marauder (Su): Once it starts feeding, a primary marauder will spawn one secondary marauder per day.

Feats: Feats marked with an E are epic feats, and are described in Monster Skills and Feats.

Huge Aberration

Hit Dice: 15d8+90 (157 hp)

Initiative: +0

Speed: 60 ft. (12 squares)

Armor Class: 23 (-2 size, +15 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 23

Base Attack/Grapple: +11 / +28

Attack: Claw +18 melee (1d8+9/19-20 + poison)

Full Attack: 2 claws +18 melee (1d8+9/19-20 + poison) and bite +16 melee (2d6+4) and tail +16 melee (2d6+4)

Space/Reach: 15 ft. / 15 ft.

Special Attacks: Breath Weapon, Poison

Special Qualities: Acid Resistance 10, Damage Reduction 10/magic, Fast Healing 5, Fire Resistance 10, Scent, Spawn Tertiary Marauder, Witchlight Marauder Qualities

Saves: Fort +11, Ref +5, Will +7

Abilities: Str 29, Dex 10, Con 23, Int 4, Wis 6, Cha 1

Skills: Climb +19^*, Listen +4, Search +3, Spot +4

Feats: Cleave, Endurance, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Sunder, Multiattack, Power Attack

Environment: Any

Organization: Solitary, doom (1 plus 1-6 tertiary marauders), or horde (2-20)

Challenge Rating: 11

Treasure: Standard

Alignment: Always chaotic evil

Advancement: 16-35 HD (Huge); 36-45 HD (Gargantuan)

Level Adjustment: —

The creature is a twenty-foot tall humanoid. It's arms are tipped in long, metal talons; and it's stump-like feet have many gripping toes. It has no head, only the mockery of a face on its chest.

Secondary marauders eat just about anything in their path. Unlike primary marauders, secondaries will spread out in an erratic pattern to look for food. They often sunder the weapons and equipment of their foes. This isn't a battle tactic, but rather them attempting to rend whatever they come across in any way possible.

A secondary marauder's natural weapons are treated as magical for purposes of overcoming damage reduction.

Combat

Secondary marauders use their breath weapon first when entering combat, then they close in for the kill. A horde of secondaries will surround their prey to tear and shred its flesh for easier consumption.

Breath Weapon (Su): 30-ft. line of acid once every 1d4 rounds; damage 5d4 acid, Reflex DC 23 for half damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 23, initial damage 1d4 Con, no secondary damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spawn Tertiary Marauder (Su): Once it starts feeding, a secondary marauder will spawn one tertiary marauder every 1d4 days.

Skills: * Due to their gripping feet, secondary marauders receive a +10 racial bonus on Climb checks.

Medium Aberration

Hit Dice: 4d8+8 (26 hp)

Initiative: +3 (Dex)

Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)

Armor Class: 18 (+3 Dex, +5 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 15

Base Attack/Grapple: +3 / +7

Attack: Blade +7 melee (1d6+4)

Full Attack: 2 blades +7 melee (1d8+4) and bite +2 melee (2d6+2)

Space/Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft.

Special Attacks: Rage

Special Qualities: Acid Resistance 5, Fire Resistance 5, Scent, Witchlight Marauder Qualities

Saves: Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +2

Abilities: Str 18, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 6, Cha 1

Skills: Listen +5, Spot +2

Feats: Alertness, Power Attack

Environment: Any

Organization: Solitary, gang (2-7), swarm (8-80)

Challenge Rating: 3

Treasure: Standard

Alignment: Always chaotic evil

Advancement: 5-9 HD (Medium); 10-12 (Large)

Level Adjustment: —

The humanoid's flesh is dark and rubbery. It's arms end in crude sword blades that are constantly moving.

The smallest of the marauders—standing less than 5 feet in height—tertiaries are vicious fighters. They lack a head, but sprout a mass of weaving tentacle from their neck.

Combat

Tertiary marauders rage upon entering combat. When swarming an opponent, they'll start feeding before their prey is completely dead.

Rage (Ex): A tertiary marauder can rage as a barbarian equal to its hit dice in level. It can rage twice per day—though only once per encounter—to temporarily gain a +4 bonus to Strength, a +4 bonus to Constitution, and a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, but it takes a -2 penalty to Armor Class. This rage lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the tertiary marauder's (newly improved) Constitution modifier. At the end of the rage, the tertiary marauder loses the rage modifiers and restrictions and becomes fatigued (-2 penalty to Strength, -2 penalty to Dexterity, can't charge or run) for the duration of the current encounter.

Hazard (CR 50+)
Colossal Aberration

Space witchlight marauders are enormous creatures—over 1000 feet long—that are the source of planet-killing primary marauders. These spacebourne monstrosities fly through the void on web-like sails they spin. Their crocodilian mouths are several hundred feet long and full of thousands of sharp teeth. Their heads are dotted with small, red eyes; and they have six tentacles—each capped with a huge mouth—ringing their necks. The space marauders "tail" is mass of writhing tentacles protecting a handful of umbilicals, at the ends of which grow primary witchlight marauders or "remote" feeders—flying gullets that gather additional nourishment for their parent.

In battle, space marauders attack with their bite, which can crush even a large ship with just a few hits. The tentacles ringing its neck can also attack, focusing on both ships and crews. (These tentacles have a bite attack equivalent to a primary marauder's primary bite.) Space marauders can use their web-like sails as focusing mirrors to generate a sunburst effect every round. The marauder relies on its awesome size to keep itself safe from attacks as it takes passes at ships, traveling at a tactical rating of 3.

To help it feed, the space marauder can release a group "remote" feeders, and is often accompanied by 2-5 of these ravenous maws.

Remote Feeder

Colossal Aberration (Wildspace)

Hit Dice: 40d8+400 (580 hp)

Initiative: -1 (Dex)

Speed: Fly 60 ft. (poor) (12 squares)

Armor Class: 16 (-8 size, -1 Dex, +15 natural), touch 1, flat-footed 16

Base Attack/Grapple: +30 / +61

Attack: Bite +37 melee (6d6+22/19-20)

Full Attack: Bite +37 melee (6d6+22/19-20)

Space/Reach: 60 ft. / 30 ft.

Special Attacks: Improved Grab, Swallow Whole

Special Qualities: Acid Resistance 15, Damage Reduction 15/epic, Fast Healing 15, Fire Resistance 15, Tactical Rating 3, Wildspace Traits^[new], Witchlight Marauder Qualities

Saves: Fort +23, Ref +12, Will +22

Abilities: Str 40, Dex 8, Con 30, Int —, Wis —, Cha —

Skills: —

Feats: Cleave^B, Flyby Attack^B, Great Cleave^B, Improved Critical (bite)^B, Improved Natural Attack (bite)^B, Power Attack^B, Weapon Focus (bite)^B

Environment: Wildspace

Organization: Solitary or frenzy (2-5)

Challenge Rating: 18

Treasure: None

Alignment: Always chaotic evil

Advancement: 41-120 HD (Colossal)

Level Adjustment: —

This slug-like creature is almost 100 feet long. Its one feature is a gigantic mouth, open and ready to swallow anything in encounters.

These detached mouths are extensions of the space marauder, feeding on anything, and everything, nearby. When a remote feeder is full, it flies into its parent's mouth and is consumed.

Combat

Remote feeders fly straight at their prey and begin chewing and swallowing without any regard for their own well-being.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a remote feeder must hit 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 attempt to swallow the foe the following around.

Swallow Whole (Ex): A remote feeder can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of a smaller size than itself by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 4d6+17 point of crushing damage plus 2d10 points of acid damage per round from the feeder's stomach. A swallowed creature can cut it's way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 25 points of damage to the stomach (AC 25). The hole closes once the creature exists; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. A Colossal remote feeder's interior can hold 1 Gargantuan, 2 Huge, 8 Large, 32 Medium, 128 Small, or 512 Tiny or smaller opponents.