File #1: A depiction of an ymir, drawn by a survivor of the former town of West Gurren.
Colossal Giant (Reptilian)
Hit Dice: 50d8+490 (715HP)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 40’ (8 squares), Swim 40’ (8 squares)
Armor Class: 37 (-8 size, -1 Dex, +36 natural); touch 1; flat-footed 37
Base Attack/Grapple: +37/+71
Attack: Claw +47 melee (6d6+18)
Full Attack: 2 Claws +47 melee (6d6+18) & Tail Whip +45 melee (8d6+9) & Bite +45 melee (5d6+9)
Space/Reach: 30’/30’
Special Attacks: Antimagic Field, Breath Weapons, City Wrecker, Improved Grab, Rock Throwing, Swallow Whole
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 15/epic, Fast Healing 10, Giant traits, Immunities, Regeneration, Resistance to Energy (all types) 10, Rock Catching
Saves: Fort +36, Ref +21, Will +23
Abilities: Str 46 (+18), Dex 8 (-1), Con 29 (+9), Int 5 (-3), Wis 13 (+1), Cha 13 (+1)
Skills: Balance +8, Hide -2, Jump +27, Listen +13, Move Silently +11, Search +7, Spot +12, Survival +10, Tumble +9
Feats: Alertness, Awesome Blow, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Epic Reflexes, Epic Will, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Improved Toughness, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Hide), Stealthy
Environment: any land
Organization: solitary
Challenge Rating: 25
Treasure: ½ standard
Alignment: often Chaotic Good
Advancement: 51-100HD (Colossal)
Level Adjustment: N/A
The towering beast is like a mountain of scaly flesh on legs. Its stature boggles the mind, & its bearing is undeniably hostile. Its hide is dark & rough, & its eyes are cold & forbidding. Most fearsome of all, though, are the sharp spines on its back, as well as its long curved claws, each larger than the mightiest sword.
Few creatures inspire fear among the giants. They seem to exist in a different world than the smaller folk, untouched by predators & other hazards. No force seems to be able to threaten them for long; even dragons are sometimes stymied by their lumbering march across the land. But their arrogance & self-assurance is shattered by the presence of an Ymir, a living epitaph of a bygone era.
Named after the primordial progenitor of all giantkin, the ymirs are an ancient race of giantfolk that have walked the earth for untold eons. Although they are widely thought to be dying out, an individual ymir (EE-mur) can live for over a thousand years, & so their decline may last for many ages. Ymirs are rarely seen in civilized lands, preferring to keep to the wilderness, which reminds them of the way that the world used to be.
Every once in a great while, an ymir will go on a rampage through settled areas, stomping & blasting farms, villages, & even cities into utter ruin. Perhaps this is a violent attempt to return the land to its primeval state; these rare destructive episodes are often seen as the wrath of an angry god. More often, though, they will keep to their remote mountain peaks, their dense forests, their inhospitable deserts, or their vast trackless oceans. Many of them want nothing to do with the modern world, & so they live their hermetic lives, shunning human & giant alike.
An ymir is about 80’ tall, & weighs around 160 tons. It speaks Giant, albeit poorly & not often.
Combat
An ymir is a simple creature, & its tactics are simple, as well. They are also brutally effective. Protected by its almost ubiquitous
antimagic field, its regenerative power, & its many immunities, an ymir is free to assault opponents with its many forms of attack. It usually engages its enemies by first unleashing one of its breath weapons. It will then charge into melee, employing its many natural attacks. If it can, it will grab a foe in its mouth & attempt to swallow it.
Antimagic Field (Ex): An ymir constantly generates an
antimagic field with a radius of 60’. The field is an invisible barrier that is impervious to most magical effects, including spells, spell-like abilities, & supernatural abilities. Likewise, it prevents the functioning of any magic items or spells within its confines, except for the ymir’s own supernatural abilities. This effect is otherwise like an
antimagic field cast by a 25th-level caster.
Breath Weapons (Su): Once every other round, an ymir can unleash a 120’ cone of energy. This blast deals 20d6 points of damage, from any one energy type (acid/cold/electricity/fire/sonic), chosen at the time of use. Opponents can make a Reflex save (DC44) for half damage; the save DC is Constitution-based.
City Wrecker (Ex): When making a sunder attempt on an object of Huge size or larger (such as a building), an ymir is treated as if it had the Improved Sunder feat & gets a +10 bonus on the roll. In addition, a successful sunder attempt sends rubble from the object flying, dealing 8d6 crushing damage to everything within 40’ (except the ymir itself); a successful Reflex save (DC26) is needed to avoid.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, an ymir must successfully perform a 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 & can either get an automatic hit with one of its Breath Weapons or Swallow Whole.
Rock Throwing (Ex): Adult giants are accomplished rock throwers and receive a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls when throwing rocks. An ymir can hurl rocks weighing up to 1 ton (2,000 pounds, Large size) up to five range increments (100’ range increment).
Swallow Whole (Ex): An ymir can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of Huge or smaller size by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 3d6+18 points of crushing damage plus 4d6+16 points of acid damage per round from an ymir’s digestive juices. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by dealing 65 points of damage to the containment chamber (AC24). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. An ymir’s stomach can hold 1 Huge, 4 Large, 16 Medium, 64 Small, or 256 Tiny or smaller creatures.
Giant traits: A giant possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry); a reptilian creature is scaly & usually coldblooded:
- Low-light vision.
- Proficient with all simple & martial weapons, as well as any natural weapons.
- Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium or heavy) it is described as wearing, as well as all lighter types. Giants not described as wearing armor are not proficient with armor. Giants are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any form of armor.
- Giants eat, sleep, & breathe.
Immunities (Ex): An ymir is immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, & morale effects). In addition, it is immune to all forms of ability damage, ability drain, disease, energy drain, non-lethal damage, paralysis effects, poison, polymorphing, death effects, & sleep effects. Lastly, it is immune to acid- & electricity-damage, both from magical & non-magical sources.
Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack deals lethal damage to an ymir. An ymir regenerates even if it fails a saving throw against a disintegrate spell or a death effect. If an ymir fails its save against a spell or effect that would kill it instantly (such as those mentioned above), the spell or effect instead deals nonlethal damage equal to the creature’s full normal hit points +10 (or 725HP). An ymir is immune to effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as mummy rot, a sword with the wounding special ability, or a clay golem’s cursed wound ability. If an ymir loses a limb or body part, the lost portion re-grows in 1d4 minutes (the detached piece dies & decays normally). The creature can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.
Rock Catching (Ex): An ymir can catch Huge or smaller rocks (or projectiles of similar shape). Once per round, an ymir that would normally be hit by a rock can make a Reflex save to catch it as a free action. The DC is 10 for a Small rock, 15 for a Medium one, 20 for a Large one, & 25 for a Huge one. If the projectile provides a magical bonus on attack rolls, the DC increases by that amount. An ymir must be ready for & aware of the attack in order to make a rock catching attempt.
Monster Lore
Characters that have ranks in Knowledge (History) or Knowledge (Nature) can learn more about ymirs. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DC’s.
- DC30: “There were once cyclopean beings that walked the land, dwarfing even the largest of giantfolk.” A character making this check recalls all reptilian giant traits.
- DC35: “These ancient creatures are the ymirs, & they still live today, albeit in smaller numbers.” A character making this check knows the workings of the creature’s Special Qualities, including Damage Reduction 15/epic, Fast Healing 10, Giant traits, Immunities, Regeneration, Resistance to Energy (all types) 10, & Rock Catching.
- DC40: “An ymir usually lives like a recluse, & it is very dangerous to disturb their self-imposed isolation.” A character making this check remembers the mechanics of the creature’s Special Attacks, including Antimagic Field, Breath Weapons, City Wrecker, Improved Grab, Rock Throwing, & Swallow Whole
A more accurate depiction of an ymir, standing in mid-roar.
Re: Vote Up a Monster (3.X) #8: The Vote That Shagged Me
