Scylla, Demon Queen of the Seas and Water

5 posts / 0 new
Last post
Tisiphone's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2012-06-19
Scylla, Demon Queen of the Seas and Water

I need help with making Scylla, Demon Queen of the Seas and Water doe 3.5 D&D. She is some what based on Scylla from Greek mythology. I am using the Demon Lord temple from Dragon 359 make her. How do i fix her description so i can add two heads sprout from her long twin snake-like necks. What should her two heads look like? How do I give good original special ability? What do you think of her having a movement speed of 50 ft and swim speed of 120 ft? How do i go about figuring her history? What do you think of her having the Greater Multigrab feat from Serpent Kingdoms? Would she need need Improved Two-Weapon Fighting and Two-Weapon Fighting to get the MULTIVOICE feat when I do not have her using weapons right now?.

CE Gargantuan outsider (chaotic, evil, extraplanar, tanar’ri, water)
Above the waist Scylla seems to resemble a human female with the exception of her four arms, the lower pair of which do not have hands, but crab like pincers while her upper set are more human like, but they end in sharp hooked claws. In place of hair she has a thick mane of writhing octopus-like tentacles that each measures ten inches in length. Her large eyes are glowing orange orbs. A double row of teeth like those of a tiger shark line her mouth. Protruding from her back are eight nightmarish tentacles that split at the end, into three radial “fingers.” Each tentacle is sixteen feet in length. Below the waist she is serpentine, like a huge thick snake.
Height/Length: Top of the head is 10 feet off the ground and another 25 feet of snakelike lower body trails behind the creature.
Constrict (Ex): Scylla deals 3d8+13 points of damage with a successful grapple check, in addition to damage from his tentacle attack.
Dual Actions (Ex): Scylla, having two heads with distinct intelligences and personalities, can take two rounds’ worth of actions in any given round, as if she were two creatures. For instance, she could take two standard actions and two move actions, or she could take two full-round actions.
Freedom of Movement (Su): Scylla is constantly under the effects of a freedom of movement spell, and can suppress or activate this ability as an immediate action. This effect cannot be dispelled.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, Scylla must hit an opponent of any size with a tentacle attack. She can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If she wins the grapple check with a tentacle attack, she establishes a hold and can constrict.
Immunity to Water (Ex): Scylla is immune to attacks that are based on water.

Karsus's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2011-07-05
Re: Scylla, Demon Queen of the Seas and Water

Taking a look at one of Pathfinder's monsters, the Scylla, seems like a good place to start.

There's also this creature from the 3.5 supplement Stormwrack:

Spoiler: Highlight to view
SCYLLAN
Huge Outsider (Aquatic, Native)
Hit Dice: 16d8+112 (184 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: Swim 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 29 (–2 size, +3 Dex, +18 natural), touch 11, fl at-footed 26
Base Attack/Grapple: +16/+35
Attack: Tentacle +25 melee (1d8+11)
Full Attack: 4 tentacles +25 melee (1d8+11) and 2 claws +23 melee (2d6+5)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft. (30 ft. with tentacle)
Special Attacks: Constrict 1d8+11, control water, frightful noise, improved grab, swallow whole
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/magic and silver, darkvision 60 ft., spell resistance 27
Saves: Fort +17, Ref +13, Will +15
Abilities: Str 33, Dex 17, Con 25, Int 8, Wis 20, Cha 6
Skills: Hide +14, Intimidate +17, Jump +38, Knowledge (nature) +20, Listen +24, Spot +24, Survival +26,
Swim +19
Feats: Ability Focus (frightful noise), Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (claw), Multiattack, Swim-By Attack, Weapon Focus (tentacle)
Environment: Cold aquatic
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 13
Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: 17–24 HD (Huge); 25–32 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —

A monstrous creature rises from the black water, its upper body a mass of lashing tentacles surrounding two fearsome claws. A toothy maw gapes in its fishlike head.
Scyllans are descendants of the fabulous Scylla, an ancient fiendish sea monster (some say archdevil) with six snaky heads. Today, these lesser fiends primarily inhabit the frozen ocean of Stygia in the Nine Hells of Baator, but many have adapted to the relatively mild oceans of the Material Plane. A typical scyllan is about 20 feet tall and weighs around 10,000 pounds.
A scyllan lurks in treacherous passages through rocks or reefs where ships must maneuver carefully. As a vessel passes its lair, the creature grabs with its tentacles, snatching prey from the decks and rigging. It stuffs itself greedily with as much food as it can get and continues to fight while digesting the meal.
Mariners tell chilling tales of the scyllan’s horrible wailing, like the winds of a cyclone. The dreadful sound saps the will, leaving ships’ crews helpless in the face of the monster.
Scyllans can speak Aquan and Infernal but rarely do. The only sound they usually make is their frightful noise.

COMBAT
Once a ship has come within reach, a scyllan begins to utter its frightful noise to make the harvest easier. A scyllan that has grabbed prey can either transfer it to its massive crushing claws or gulp it down. Scyllans prefer to soften up larger prey with the claws first before eating it, but they swallow human-sized creatures without a thought.

Constrict (Ex): A scyllan deals 1d8+11 points of damage with a successful grapple check made with a
claw.

Control Water (Sp): 1/hour, caster level 16th.

Frightful Noise (Su): A scyllan produces a wailing sound by blowing air through the comblike growths on its head. This horrible racket is unsettling to nearby creatures. The scyllan activates its frightful noise as a move action and can end it anytime as a free action. Creatures within 100 feet of the scyllan are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than the scyllan.
A potentially affected creature who succeeds on a DC 18 Will save is immune to that scyllan’s frightful noise for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or fewer HD become panicked for 2d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 2d6 rounds. Scyllans are unaffected by the frightful noise of other scyllans.
Frightful noise is a sonic, mind-affecting compulsion. The save DC is Charisma-based and includes a +2 bonus from the Ability Focus feat.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a scyllan must hit with a tentacle attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can transfer the grabbed creature to a claw as a free action or attempt to swallow it whole. A scyllan that transfers a creature to its claw can constrict.

Swallow Whole (Ex): A scyllan can try to swallow a grabbed opponent by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 2d8+16 points of crushing damage plus 2d6 points of acid damage per round. A swallowed creature can cut its way out using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 25 points of damage to the maw (AC 17). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out.
A Huge scyllan’s maw holds 2 Large, 8 Medium, 32 Small, 128 Tiny, or 512 Diminutive or smaller opponents.

Skills: A scyllan has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

Images:
Scylla
Scyllan 1
Scyllan 2

Tisiphone's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2012-06-19
Re: Scylla, Demon Queen of the Seas and Water

Should my version of Scylla have a nymph torso, though her beauty is marred by the mass of dog heads and snakes or tentacles that swirl around her? Would you see her as demon or a devil?

Karsus's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2011-07-05
Re: Scylla, Demon Queen of the Seas and Water

Not necessarily. I was just showing you a couple monsters that were derived from Scylla on the chance that something in one of the entries might provide a little more inspiration for your take on her. Your interpretation or vision is entirely up to you.
Personally, I envision her as just a unique monster, rather than a fiend. However, if I had to pick one over the other... these monsters supposedly descended from her seem to act more like demons (though not necessarily tanar'ri) than devils; lurking along shipping routes to prey on, plunder, or simply destroy passersby, rather than manipulating or corrupting them, or conquering domains in their name.

Tisiphone's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2012-06-19
Re: Scylla, Demon Queen of the Seas and Water

What do you think of her having Greater Multigrab feat, Improved Critical (pincers) feat, Improved Critical (tentacles) feat, Multigrab feat, Multiattack feat, Swim-By Attack feat? Is Rending Constriction a good feats for her to have? What would be some other feats I might consider giving her?

Is her attributes to much for a 24 HD Demon Lord? These attributes include the bonuses she gets from the Demon Lord Template Found in Dragon Magazine #359. She is stronger then Dagon from Dragon Magazine #349 who has a Strength of 46 and is colossal in size.
Abilities: Str 49, Dex 24, Con 44, Int 30, Wis 32, Cha 34

How do I go about giving her an original ability?

Does she need the Multivoice feat if she has the following?
Dual Actions (Ex): Scylla, having two heads with distinct intelligences and personalities, can take two rounds’ worth of actions in any given round, as if she were two creatures. For instance, she could take two standard actions and two move actions, or she could take two full-round actions.

Planescape, Dungeons & Dragons, their logos, Wizards of the Coast, and the Wizards of the Coast logo are ©2008, Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. and used with permission.