Eremite Symbiont

Eremite Symbiont CR 10

A horrific melding, the creature looks at first glance like a human riding a great winged monster, but the two parts are attached by a grotesque fleshy tube. The monster has a gigantic gaping mouth but no head, curved wings, and only a rudimentary body, tapering off into a thick prehensile tail.

XP 9,600
CE Large aberration
Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +20

DEFENSE

AC 25, touch 15, flat-footed 19 (+4 armor, +5 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural, –1 size)
hp 126 (12d8+72); fast healing 5
Fort +10, Ref +9, Will +15
Defensive Abilities resurrection link, share health; Immune disease, mind-affecting effects, poison; Resist acid 10, electricity 10; SR 21

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft., fly 70 ft. (average)
Melee bite +18 (2d6+10 plus grab), 2 claws +18 (1d8+10)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks consume

STATISTICS

Str 26, Dex 21, Con 22, Int 9, Wis 20, Cha 17
Base Atk +9; CMB +18 (+22 grapple); CMD 34
Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mobility, Power Attack, Vital Strike
Skills Fly +18, Knowledge (arcana) +14, Perception +20
Languages Aklo, Common; symbiotic telepathy
SQ symbiotic link

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Consume (Ex)

If an eremite symbiont begins its turn grappling a foe, it can make a bite attack against that foe as a swift action and applies 1.5 times its Strength modifier to damage inflicted with a successful bite.

Resurrection Link (Su)

If an eremite symbiont or its bonded wizard is slain, the slain creature is immediately restored to life. This causes the living member of the bond to transfer half its current hit points to the creature that was restored to life. (For example, if a symbiont is slain while its attached wizard still has 50 hit points, the symbiont is restored to life with 25 hit points and the wizard’s hit point total is reduced to 25 hit points.) If the hit point total is not an even number, the donor retains the additional hit point when they are halved. If both symbiont and wizard are slain simultaneously by a single source of damage, then both die. If a symbiont or wizard is slain when the other half possesses only one hit point, both die.

Share Health (Su)

As an immediate action, an eremite symbiont or its linked wizard can transfer up to half its current hit points to the other creature.

Symbiotic Link (Ex)

An eremite symbiont can be attached to a wizard via a symbiotic link. The ritual to bond an eremite symbiont to a wizard is long, complex, and vile, and once completed cannot be reversed save for on the death of both symbiont and wizard. The wizard must be of a size category at least one step lower than the eremite symbiont (Medium or smaller for the typical symbiont).

Once attached, the wizard is considered to share the eremite symbiont’s space, as if the wizard were mounted on the symbiont, yet it cannot be removed or forced apart from the symbiont save for by killing both creatures.

The wizard loses all movement speeds when it becomes symbiotically attached. When an eremite symbiont is attached to an 11th- or higher-level wizard, it gains fast healing 5, a +4 armor bonus to its armor class (this is a force effect) and a +2 enhancement bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls with its natural attacks. The wizard to which it is attached gains a +4 armor bonus to his AC (this is a force effect), immunity to disease and poison, and spell resistance equal to the eremite symbiont’s spell resistance. Both symbiont and wizard gain the benefits of the resurrection link and share health abilities. The symbiont and wizard can communicate telepathically.

Any spell effect that targets a either the wizard or the symbiont automatically targets both creatures in this symbiotic link. If a spell effect allows a saving throw to resist or negate the effect, both the wizard and the symbiont can attempt a saving throw—only one need make the save successfully to resist or negate the effect.

An effect that must penetrate spell resistance must penetrate the spell resistance of both the symbiont and the wizard to affect the dualistic creature. Melee and ranged attacks target the wizard and the symbiont separately. Only extremely powerful magic, such as a wish or miracle spell, or a similarly powerful ritual can separate a symbiont from its eremite once bonded, at least if the intention is for both to continue living.

ECOLOGY

Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure none

Eremites are maimed, diabolic, surreal entities formed when a highly-powerful magician gets too involved with a Great Old One such as Tsathoggua. The resulting transformation is often horrendous, but by the time it takes place, the magician is generally so insane he readily acquiesces to the change. The eremite itself is of course human-sized, and its symbiont steed is comparable in size to a horse, perhaps a little larger.

Any mortal being can be transformed into an eremite, gaining various powers and characteristics.

The symbiont presented here is based on a griffon, but numerous variations, based on other creatures, exist.

To become an eremite, a mortal wizard is restrained and their flesh carved with never-healing runes of power. They are then forced into a permanent parasitic relationship with a mutant creature of some kind. Typically, both entities are enhanced by this connection. The eremite’s “monster part” derives much of its nourishment from tapping into the human portion, but not all.

All eremites are powerful magic users, and their demonic-looking symbionts are fearful monsters as well, often bred specifically for the purpose of joining with an eremite (so these steeds are not necessarily encountered on their own). The symbiont can vary, but it is common for it to be something winged or otherwise capable of fast movement. Typically, the symbiont is aggressive and carnivorous. The wizard’s knowledge of the waking world is useful in finding victims to sustain the symbiont.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Sandy Petersen’s Cthulhu Mythos, © 2017, Petersen Games; Authors: Sandy Petersen, Arthur Petersen, Ian Starcher.

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