Should I submit?

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KingOfChaos's picture
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Namer
Joined: 2004-05-13
Should I submit?

Just wondered if I should submit the following beastie to Planewalker...

Demon, Calurga
Huge Outsider (Evil, Chaotic, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 20d8+160 (250 hp)
Initiative: +10
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 24 (+6 dex, -2 size, +10 natural), touch 16, flat footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +20/+34
Attack: Slam +27 melee (2d6+6)
Full Attack: 6 Slams +27 melee (2d6+6) and Bite +20 melee (1d6+6, plus vampiric curse)
Space/Reach: 20 ft./20 ft.
Special Attacks: Vampirism, Deforming Touch, Draining Webs, Consume Undead
Special Qualities: SR 18, Damage Reduction 20/disruption, Aura of Decay, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to electricity and poison, resistance to acid 10, cold 10, and fire 10, spell resistance 18, telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +12
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 26, Con 20, Int 5, Wis 15, Cha 20
Skills: Spot +26, Listen +26, Search +21, Bluff +29, Climb +21
Feats: Weapon Focus (Slam), Weapon Focus (Bite), Improved Critical (Slam), Improved Critical (Bite), Power Attack, Multiattack, Improved Initiative
Environment: The Abyss (Sanguinaria, Layer 367)
Organization: Solitary or Nest (1 Calurga +1d4 Calurga)
Challenge Rating: 15
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 21 - 25 HD (Gargantuan), 26 - 30 HD (Colossal)

Deep within the bloody realm of Sanguinaria lies the massive webs of the Calurga demons, the main resident of this layer of the abyss. Here they spawn and consume their vampire petitioners and slaves and here the curse of vampirism finds its origins. Not to surprising that demons are responsible for yet another undead form, but the truth is the Calurga demons simply change their food to this undead state so it is easier for them to consume. The positive energy contained within living beings and the lingering taint of positive energy on dead bodies keeps the demon from feeding. However, by turning the dead into vampires, it causes the flesh to be tainted and connected to the negative energy plane making it easier to feed upon and not poisonous to the demons. Calurga demons are not concerned with the affairs of other more intelligent demons, though many of them have been pulled into the conflict between the demon races and those devils of the nine hells. They want nothing more than to consume the undead they create and to spread vampirism across the planes.

Calurga demons appear to be large bloated sacks of mottled grey flesh from which no less than twelves ‘legs’ of nefarious green energy sprout which supports the demon’s body. This gives them a spider appearance and they’re often mistaken as a being from the demonweb pits because of this. Each body contains one large blood red eye which contains several triangle pupils that all seem to see something different and a large set of fangs which contain no less than six sets of teeth which all line a formless hole which constantly drips some magical ichor.

Calurga can speak abyssal and common, though they’re barely intelligent enough to understand what is spoken to them and often act purely on instinct.

Combat: Calurga begin combat by attempting to slam an opponent with their energy based legs. These legs, being energy, ignore conventional armor and are considered touch attacks. When determining what they can strike, count only armor derived from force effects and/or deflection bonuses.

Vampirism (Su): A creature struck by the Calurga’s bite must roll a Will save (DC 25) or become tainted with a negative energy substance. This substance kills the character by causing the positive energy that makes up their soul to ooze from the pores of their skin as visible light. This process takes 1d6 minutes and as it progresses, the character begins to pale, becomes cold inside, and begins feeling hunger for blood. This blood lust is strong and the inflicted character must roll a Will save (DC 30) every round or attack their living allies in an attempt to sate this urge.

Deforming Touch (Su): A creature struck by the energy legs of the Calurga must roll a fortitude save (DC 25) or have their flesh warped and made grotesque. This causes 2d4 points of permanent charisma damage. Any creature who drops to 0 charisma is comatose and is in danger of being made into a ‘nest’ for the Calurga’s newest crop of eggs. Any comatose character will be drug off 1d4 rounds after falling to the ground as a formless lump of flesh.

Draining Webs (Sp): As the Web spell except the webs created by this effect also cause anyone caught in them to become exhausted if a Fortitude save (DC 25) is failed. A reflex save (DC 25) is awarded to avoid the webbed area entirely. A Calurga demon can fling these magical webs once per day.

Consume Undead (Su): When activated, this ability destroys all undead within the radius that fail a will save (DC 25). For every undead killed this way, the Calurga gains 1d8 hit points and a +1 bonus to strength and constitution.

Aura of Decay (Ex): The Calurga is surrounded by a miasma of decaying blood and death. Characters that come into range of the Calurga’s slam attack suffer a -2 penalty to all attacks and suffer a 25% arcane spell failure. A fortitude save (DC 25) must be passed or the creature is considered nauseated as well.

Blood King
The calurga’s egg is a priceless item for any necromancer who happens to acquire one. The egg can be enchanted (using the Craft Wondrous Item feat) with the spells Gentle Repose and Soul Bind. Once this is done, the egg cannot hatch and the creature is forever locked inside the leathery shell. The owner can then replace their own heart or the heart of a lieutenant in order to gain the Blood King template. Doing this costs 324,000 gold pieces in materials and 12,960 XP.

ripvanwormer's picture
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Factol
Joined: 2004-10-05
Should I submit?

Yes. You should.

Nemui's picture
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factotums
Joined: 2004-08-30
Should I submit?

The Creature Codex is sorely lacking some fresh blood, so, what rip said. Just a few notes:

1) Are they tanar'ri or not? I would prefer not, but they do seem to have the immunities and resistances of the tanar'ri...

2) What's the Blood King template?

KingOfChaos's picture
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Joined: 2004-05-13
Should I submit?

The Blood King is an improved vampire template that I have written up. It requires a calurga demon's egg for the process to work, so I added a blurb about it at the end of the entry.

As far as not being tanar'ri, that would work. Since just about everything from the abyss is listed as being a demon and tanar'ri are demons, I figured they'd have the same stuff as the tanar'ri.

I would actually prefer them to be more like the bebillith and be demons, but not true tanar'ri.

Bob the Efreet's picture
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factotums
Joined: 2004-05-11
Should I submit?

Well, one of the PS books (Faces of Evil, maybe? I don't quite remember) mentioned that there is a potentially unlimited variance on types of tanar'ri, and listed a couple unique ones. So, I'm not sure why this creature couldn't be tanar'ri (unless you just don't want it to be, in which case that's totally all right).

__________________

Pants of the North!

Nemui's picture
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factotums
Joined: 2004-08-30
Should I submit?

I'm not saying it couldn't, it's just that the 3E trend was that "demons" are the assorted denizens of the Abyss, and the tanar'ri are one of the demonic clans (the dominant one). So, there's always room for non-tanar'ri in the Abyss... Unlike 2E where tanar'ri = demons. Personally, I like the 3E approach better in this case (*gasp* Blasphemer!) because it makes little sense that all the infinite varieties of the chaotic demons share the same resistances and immunities.

When I make new tanar'ri, I try to somehow include them in the existing hierarchy, but when I make new non-tanar'ri demons, I usually skip that part. The bottom line is, either way is OK with me, it's your (KingOfChaos's) choice. I'm asking in order to prevent potential toe-stepping when I edit the submission.

ripvanwormer's picture
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Factol
Joined: 2004-10-05
Should I submit?

"Nemui" wrote:
... Unlike 2E where tanar'ri = demons.

Non-tanar'ri denizens of the Abyss in 2e included varrangoins, fetches, bebeliths, retrievers, gremlins, galltrits, mephits, shadow fiends, fireshadows, vargouilles, eyewings, mara, quasits, yeth hounds, shinmus, khaasta, and vorrs. It's just that they used to get all their own entries (some still do, of course) instead of being lumped together as "demons."

Not that I mind, particularly. What I like about the 3e method is that there can be relatively important, multi-caste races parallel to the tanar'ri living in the Abyss, with the tanar'ri just the most dominant of the various broods. That's what the varrangoins are, to some extent, but this was taken advantage of more in Green Ronin's Book of Fiends and Mongoose's Slayer's Guide to Demons - the latter especially, which introduced three new demonic races, each with many distinctive subcastes. That book did a good job of making each race distinctive from the tanar'ri.

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