Afgncaap5
2014-06-24, 10:25 PM
I may be running a low-level one-shot adventure for a party in the near future, and I wanted a memorable boss fight for the near end of the story, and I was stuck on the image of a living waterfall as a boss. I came up with a few weird ideas and threw them together, and was wondering what people thought about the following creature which the ignorant commoners of the land ignobly refer to as a Slaughterfall.
Slaughterfall (AKA Euphratian)
Large Elemental (Water)
Hit Dice: 4d8+24 = 45 hp
Initiative: +1
Speed: 0 ft.
Armor Class: 16 (-1 size, +1 dex, +6 natural), Touch 10, Flat-Footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+8
Attack: Slam +7 melee (1d6+5)
Full Attack: 2 Slams +7 melee (1d6+5)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Drench, Fluidity
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., Flowing Rebirth, Natural Scenery, Flowing Form, SR 14, Elemental Traits
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +2, Will +4
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 12, Con 23, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 16
Skills: Hide +15, Listen +7, Spot +7
Feats: Snatch, Combat Reflexes
Environment: Temperate Forests, Mountains, Hills, Underground
Organization: Usually Solitary
Challenge Rating: 3
Alignment: Usually Neutral
Drench (Ex): As a water elemental; a slaughterfall can put out any fire or flame of large size or smaller automatically. It can dispell magical fires as if casting Dispel Magic (CL 4).
Flowing Form (Ex): While merely a Large creature, the Slaughterfall can reshape parts of itself to be effectively Huge if it wishes, granting itself bonuses (such as to Grapple checks). This also allows it to qualify for certain feats generally only available to Huge creatures (assuming it otherwise meets the prerequisites.)
Flowing Rebirth (Ex): As long as its waterfall continues to flow, the Slaughterfall restores itself to full hitpoints every round as fresh water flows into its space and the old, injured water flows away. Cold damage freezes water in place, however, and lowers the maximum amount of effective hitpoints that the Slaughterfall has for a period of 1d4 hours for every point of cold damage. As long as the waterfall flows, a Slaughterfall is effectively unkillable; however, reducing it from full hitpoints to below zero hitpoints in a single round will knock out the Slaughterfall for a period of one hour for every hitpoint below zero that it fell. In addition, Slaughterfalls are immune to polymorph effects, and other effects that force changes in shape.
Natural Scenery (Ex): At rest, a Slaughterfall appears almost identical to an actual waterfall. It gains a +8 racial bonus to hiding in appropriate environments (effectively anywhere that a waterfall might form). Even if a Spot check succeeds at noticing the Slaughterfall, it will probably be mistaken for nothing more than a waterfall with an unusual flow unless a Knowledge (Nature) or Knowledge (The Planes) check of DC 14 or a Bardic Knowledge check of DC 10 is passed to let the spotter know about the possibility that the waterfall is alive.
Fluidity (Ex): While largely immobile, a Slaughterfall can bend and flow in surprising ways, still allowing it to dodge as normal. In addition, while it only threatens squares within ten feet of itself, it can spend a full attack action to make two attacks beyond its threatened range at a rate of five feet per hit die (in this case, up to 25 feet away) for reduced damage (in this case, 1d4+2).
The Slaughterfalls, or Euphratians as they call themselves, are strange creatures that come into being near significant waterfalls. Some say that they are the product of natural events, like a dryad being tied to a tree, while others see them as water elementals who were mutated or altered by a powerful force. The Euphratians themselves seem to dislike speculation about their origins, and are generally focused on what is.
Far less hostile than their name would imply, Slaughterfalls are still fierce guardians of their land, particularly the waterfall that comprises them or anything hidden within or behind them. When they feel that an intruder is coming too close, a Slaughterfall will usually spring to life and use a combination of surprise and its alarmingly lengthy arms to persuade oncoming creatures to stay away.
Slaughterfalls speak Aquan when they aren't pretending to be a common waterfall, and they usually speak Common as well. Depending on the nearby communities, however, some Slaughterfalls speak a language other than common (Sylvan, Elvish, and Dwarvish in particular appear to be favorites, though other languages aren't unheard of.)
Slaughterfall (AKA Euphratian)
Large Elemental (Water)
Hit Dice: 4d8+24 = 45 hp
Initiative: +1
Speed: 0 ft.
Armor Class: 16 (-1 size, +1 dex, +6 natural), Touch 10, Flat-Footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+8
Attack: Slam +7 melee (1d6+5)
Full Attack: 2 Slams +7 melee (1d6+5)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Drench, Fluidity
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., Flowing Rebirth, Natural Scenery, Flowing Form, SR 14, Elemental Traits
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +2, Will +4
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 12, Con 23, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 16
Skills: Hide +15, Listen +7, Spot +7
Feats: Snatch, Combat Reflexes
Environment: Temperate Forests, Mountains, Hills, Underground
Organization: Usually Solitary
Challenge Rating: 3
Alignment: Usually Neutral
Drench (Ex): As a water elemental; a slaughterfall can put out any fire or flame of large size or smaller automatically. It can dispell magical fires as if casting Dispel Magic (CL 4).
Flowing Form (Ex): While merely a Large creature, the Slaughterfall can reshape parts of itself to be effectively Huge if it wishes, granting itself bonuses (such as to Grapple checks). This also allows it to qualify for certain feats generally only available to Huge creatures (assuming it otherwise meets the prerequisites.)
Flowing Rebirth (Ex): As long as its waterfall continues to flow, the Slaughterfall restores itself to full hitpoints every round as fresh water flows into its space and the old, injured water flows away. Cold damage freezes water in place, however, and lowers the maximum amount of effective hitpoints that the Slaughterfall has for a period of 1d4 hours for every point of cold damage. As long as the waterfall flows, a Slaughterfall is effectively unkillable; however, reducing it from full hitpoints to below zero hitpoints in a single round will knock out the Slaughterfall for a period of one hour for every hitpoint below zero that it fell. In addition, Slaughterfalls are immune to polymorph effects, and other effects that force changes in shape.
Natural Scenery (Ex): At rest, a Slaughterfall appears almost identical to an actual waterfall. It gains a +8 racial bonus to hiding in appropriate environments (effectively anywhere that a waterfall might form). Even if a Spot check succeeds at noticing the Slaughterfall, it will probably be mistaken for nothing more than a waterfall with an unusual flow unless a Knowledge (Nature) or Knowledge (The Planes) check of DC 14 or a Bardic Knowledge check of DC 10 is passed to let the spotter know about the possibility that the waterfall is alive.
Fluidity (Ex): While largely immobile, a Slaughterfall can bend and flow in surprising ways, still allowing it to dodge as normal. In addition, while it only threatens squares within ten feet of itself, it can spend a full attack action to make two attacks beyond its threatened range at a rate of five feet per hit die (in this case, up to 25 feet away) for reduced damage (in this case, 1d4+2).
The Slaughterfalls, or Euphratians as they call themselves, are strange creatures that come into being near significant waterfalls. Some say that they are the product of natural events, like a dryad being tied to a tree, while others see them as water elementals who were mutated or altered by a powerful force. The Euphratians themselves seem to dislike speculation about their origins, and are generally focused on what is.
Far less hostile than their name would imply, Slaughterfalls are still fierce guardians of their land, particularly the waterfall that comprises them or anything hidden within or behind them. When they feel that an intruder is coming too close, a Slaughterfall will usually spring to life and use a combination of surprise and its alarmingly lengthy arms to persuade oncoming creatures to stay away.
Slaughterfalls speak Aquan when they aren't pretending to be a common waterfall, and they usually speak Common as well. Depending on the nearby communities, however, some Slaughterfalls speak a language other than common (Sylvan, Elvish, and Dwarvish in particular appear to be favorites, though other languages aren't unheard of.)