Steel Men and other strange creatures (3.5, PEACH)

[afroakuma]

Tzilgar
Large Magical Beast (Earth, Extraplanar, Fire)
HD 8d10+24 (68 hp)
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares), swim 80 ft. (in lava/magma only), burrow 40 ft.
Init: +2
AC 19; touch 11; flat-footed 17 (+8 natural, +2 Dex, -1 size)
BAB +8; Grp +22
Attack Tentacle +13 melee (1d4+6 and 1d6 fire) or rock +9 ranged (2d6+6 and 1d6 fire)
Full Attack 10 tentacles +13 melee (1d4+6 and 1d6 fire) and bite +11 melee (2d6+3 and 1d6 fire) or 4 rocks +9 ranged (2d6+6 and 1d6 fire)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (20 ft. with tentacle)
Special Attacks Burn, constrict 1d4+6 and 1d6 fire, fluxeater, improved grab, molten bore, rock throwing
Special Qualities Crusting, darkvision 60 ft., DR 5/magic and slashing, fluxsense, immunity to electricity, fire, and poison, SR 18, vulnerability to cold
Saves Fort +8 Ref +8 Will +3
Abilities Str 22, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 5, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills Balance +11*, Climb +10*, Listen +8*, Spot +8*, Swim +14*
Feats Combat Reflexes, Improved Toughness^MMIII, Multiattack
Environment Para-Elemental Plane of Magma
Organization Solitary
Challenge Rating 8
Treasure Half standard
Alignment Often chaotic neutral
Advancement 9-12 HD (Large); 13-16 HD (Huge); 17-24 HD (Gargantuan)

Ambitious, curious, and a bit territorial, tzilgars (sometimes known as lava squids, among many other names) are predatory beasts that reside on the Para-Elemental Plane of Magma. Resembling squids with magmatic tentacles and a red-hot main body with a black, metallic beak, tzilgars operate in many ways much like their Material Plane counterparts. A large black sphere embedded in the mantle is a sensory organ that combines their fluxsense with vision and auditory senses. Their greatest fondness, and chief weakness, is for searching out planar flux differentials, which they can sense at great distance. Oftentimes, this means prey of some kind - tzilgars quite enjoy "eating" fire elementals and earth elementals who have somehow ended up in the Plane of Magma, and in a pinch they'll also cheerfully chow down on a thoqqua, magma mephit, or magma paraelemental. In many cases, however, the flux originates due to a temporary rift opening to the Prime Material Plane - a volcanic eruption, or a disturbance in the heart of a sun. Tzilgars will hurtle toward these with reckless abandon, ending up stranded on another plane whose environment is less hospitable to them.

A tzilgar radiates intense body heat, which can be channelled into sand, stone, or loose dirt to either tunnel through it or simply to create a pool of molten rock for the tzilgar's own comfort. It draws energy from planar flux differentials, including (somehow) its own, and given enough time and a fresh enough place to burrow into stone, a tzilgar's own molten form can eventually create a brief rupture between the Material Plane and the Plane of Magma - not at all good for the locals of the Prime, but an opportunity for a tzilgar to get back home safely. In an enclosed space of any kind, a tzilgar's own presence is usually quite sufficient to produce a severely hot environment of at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit - not its preferred environment by any means, but hot enough to keep it from becoming too uncomfortable. As the process of creating a new magmatic rift generally takes 1-2 months, a tzilgar is also likely to need to feed on some of the local wildlife to ensure its health.

Reports of tzilgars on the Material Plane are fairly rare, no doubt due to the circumstances of their arrival being less than optimal - many will cool down past the point of survivability before reaching a safe patch of stone in which to nest and reside. When they do appear, it is usually from a total or partial volcanic eruption, which sees a tzilgar use its tentacles in a "rolling" sort of motion to rush down the mountain in search of stone that has not been touched by the disruptive energies of the rift that swept it up in the first place. From a distance, especially at night, this can look very faintly like a flaming horse galloping down the mountainside, which has earned them the unlikely moniker "mountain mares."

Erimish and efreet consider tzilgar "meat" to be a delicacy, while elementals try to avoid them as the battle will always be dreadfully one-sided. Tzilgars have been successfully employed by genies as "pets" of a sort, generally by those of malevolent bent who want something unusual to feed visitors to. For the most part, tzilgars dislike containment or confinement of any stripe, and do not appreciate being made to do anything they don't want to. Most of what a tzilgar wants to do, of course, consists of eating, mating, searching out rifts, or playing with debris and pockets of nonnative matter. Some tzilgars like to "sculpt" stones they find around them, though rarely into anything that a humanoid would recognize, and it's even odds whether a tzilgar's curiosity takes the form of a magmatic tentacle erupting out of the ground to poke about, or whether the whole mantle will pop up so that its large black "eye" can peer at whatever has provoked its interest.

Tzilgars do not live together and are never naturally encountered in multiples. Mating involves a long and detailed "dance" requiring several tentacle flourishes, at the end of which time the female, if she approves of the male's performance, grabs two of his tentacles to ensure a coupling position, collects what she needs, and rips the tentacles away while expelling fertilized eggs that look like oblong black diamonds. The weakened male guards the eggs while the female departs, exploiting the interest of local fauna to prey on them as he regenerates his missing limbs. Once the male's tentacles are back, he throws each egg in a random direction as a diversion for anything he doesn't expect to be able to fight and swims off into the endless magma.

Tzilgars do not speak, but may understand Ignan and/or Terran. It has been rumored that Fierna is breeding fiendish tzilgars to guard parts of Phlegethos, the fourth layer of Baator. If they can be communicated with, tzilgars have a personality somewhere between impatient child and impatient puppy, wanting to both indulge their curiosity and secure food, both of them right now, always. Tzilgars despise cold, for obvious reasons, and will greatly appreciate efforts to ensure they are sufficiently warm. Mind you, tzilgar "gratitude" can still involve being hugged with a thick tentacle made of pure lava, so it's best to socialize from a safe distance. More massive tzilgars have been seen on the Para-Elemental Plane of Magma, and it is said that some truly colossal specimens fight with extraplanar dragons over prey.

An opponent can attack a tzilgar's tentacles with a sunder attempt as if they were weapons. A tzilgar's tentacles have 10 hit points each. If a tzilgar is currently grappling a target with the tentacle that is being attacked, it usually uses another limb to make its attack of opportunity against the opponent making the sunder attempt. Severing one of a tzilgar's tentacles deals 5 points of damage to the creature. A tzilgar usually withdraws from combat if it loses five tentacles. The creature regrows severed limbs in 1d10+10 days (1d4+4 days on the Para-Elemental Plane of Magma).

Burn (Ex) A tzilgar's natural attacks deal additional fire damage. Those hit by a tzilgar's natural attacks also must succeed on a Reflex save(DC 16) or catch on fire. The flame burns for 1d4 rounds. A burning creature can take a move action to put out the flame. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Creatures hitting a tzilgar with natural weapons or unarmed attacks take fire damage as though hit by the tzilgar's attack, and also catch on fire unless they succeed on a Reflex save.

Crusting (Ex) Tzilgars cannot comfortably endure temperatures below those of their home plane. At any given time, a tzilgar's body will exhibit patches of cooling outer crust when not at home on the Para-Elemental Plane of Magma or in a similarly hot environment, but these are rarely serious enough to cause an issue. However, at temperatures below 110 degrees Fahrenheit, a tzilgar's body will gradually start crusting over in more extreme fashion. For each hour spent below 110F, a tzilgar must make a Fortitude save (DC 15, +1 per previous save) or lose 5 ft. of ground movement speed, gain +2 natural armor, and gain hardness 1. After reaching hardness 8 in this fashion, a tzilgar reduces down one size category, and suffers 1 point of Constitution damage for each hour of exposure thereafter (Fort negates). A tzilgar needs exposure to significant heat (above 1000F) in order to recover naturally from these effects. Exposure to temperatures below 32F causes the tzilgar to make such saves once per minute rather than once per hour, and exposure to at least 10 points of cold damage forces an immediate save.

Fluxeater (Su) Tzilgars feed on a very distinctive kind of energy which consists of either living elemental matter or living matter from certain other planes. When attacking a creature of the elemental type, or a creature native to another Inner Plane, a transitive plane, or the Plane of Faerie, a tzilgar's natural attacks deal an additional 1d8 damage. Certain other planes' denizens may also be subject to this effect. A tzilgar attacking or being attacked by a creature native to the Far Realm suffers 1d8 damage for each successful natural attack and becomes sickened for 1 minute.

Fluxsense (Su) Tzilgars can sense the planar flux differential of rifts or gates between planes, as well as the flux differential surrounding creatures that have travelled from one plane to another. For stationary flux differentials such as portals, gates, or rifts, a tzilgar can sense their rough location up to a mile away per hit die. For individual creatures or moving differentials, a tzilgar can sense these up to 20 ft. away per hit die. Only lead, adamantine, or certain other rare and precious metals can block this sense.

Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability, a tzilgar must hit an opponent of any size with a tentacle 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. *A tzilgar has a +4 racial bonus on grapple checks.

Molten Bore (Ex) In place of any attack, a tzilgar can extend one of its tentacles into the surrounding terrain, provided it is solid (or semi-solid, i.e. sand) and not impervious to heat. The tzilgar chooses one 5 ft. square within reach of its tentacles, which begins to heat up from the magmatic intensity of the tentacle below it. Any creature in this square suffers 2d6 fire damage (Reflex DC 20 half) as the tzilgar's tentacle attempts to break through. At the start of the tzilgar's next turn, if it has not withdrawn the tentacle from that square, creatures in that square suffer 4d6 fire damage from the molten ground beneath them (Reflex DC 20 half), and the tzilgar may immediately make a tentacle attack against any such creatures with a +4 bonus to the attack roll. This effect repeats until the tentacle is withdrawn. Using the tentacle to attack, moving to a position from where that square is no longer in reach, or having the tentacle severed all count as withdrawing the tentacle for this purpose. Once a tentacle is withdrawn from a square, it remains hazardous for 2d4 rounds. Creatures entering or starting their turn in such squares suffer 1d6 fire damage (no save). Save DCs are Strength-based.

Spells and effects which move the earth underneath or around a tzilgar can force the tentacles to withdraw, including but not limited to move earth or earthquake. The tzilgar may be entitled to a saving throw against such effects to resist withdrawing its tentacles.

Rock Throwing (Ex) The range increment is 100 feet for a tzilgar's thrown rocks.

Skills Tzilgars have a +8 racial bonus to Swim checks (in magma or lava only). They have a +4 racial bonus to Balance, Climb, Listen, and Spot checks.