Veinar, High

High Veinar CR 6

Deep hues of orange red and green shimmers from the tentacles of this large beast as it unfurls and reaches out to embrace its helpless prey.

XP 2,400
CN Large aberration (extraplanar)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., mindsense; Perception +11
Aura stench (Fort DC 18, 10 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +5 natural armor, –1 size)
hp 76 (8d8+40)
Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +9
Defensive Abilities mind screen; DR 3/—; Immune diseases, mind-affecting effects, poison; PR 19; Weaknesses confused (50% chance each round)

OFFENSE

Speed fly 50 ft. (good)
Melee 4 tentacles +11 (2d6+6 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks gene fusion, implanting touch, strangle
Psi-Like Abilities (ML 8th; concentration +11)

At will—id insinuation, mind thrust (DC 17, 8d10), time hop

TACTICS

During Combat A high veinar has a 50% chance of being confused each round, but otherwise acts like a veinar. When facing difficult opponents, it uses time hop to remove some enemies from the battlefield before manifesting id insinuation to disable others while the creature’s allies move in. When a foe seems unable to defend themselves, a high veinar moves in to grapple with its tentacles.

Morale At 15 hp or less the high veinar seeks out a veinar to gene fuse with it; if there are none nearby, it fights to the death instead.

STATISTICS

Str 22, Dex 19, Con 20, Int 11, Wis 17, Cha 15
Base Atk +6; CMB +13 (+19 grapple); CMD 28 (34 vs. grapple; cannot be tripped)
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Grapple^B, Rapid Metabolism, Sidestep Charge
Skills Acrobatics +11, Fly +13, Perception +11, Stealth +7, Survival +9, Use Magic Device +6
Languages Aklo; telepathy 100 ft.

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Astral Stench (Ps)

High veinar produce a foul odor that can be smelt even by ethereal and incorporeal creatures. Creatures within 30 ft. of a high veinar make a DC 17 Fortitude save or become sickened for 10 rounds. Creatures that successfully save against a high veinar’s astral stench cannot be affected by the same high veinar’s astral stench for 24 hours.

Gene Fusion (Ex)

As a standard action, a veinar can merge with another veinar, granting that veinar +2 power resistance for 4 rounds and 10 temporary hit points. If a veinar fuses with 4 other veinar, it evolves into a high veinar.

Implanting Touch (Su)

Whenever a creature come into contact with the high veinar’s body they must make a DC 38 Will save or have hallucinations about the high veinar for 1d4 weeks. For every –5 a creature fails this save by, the duration of these hallucinations increases by +1 week (on a natural 1, they last for an entire year).

Shared Confusion (Ps)

Targets that fail a Will save against a high veinar’s mind thrust psi-like ability by –3 or more are confused for 1d6 rounds.

Alternate Abilities

Using abilities (see below) designed for the encephalon gorger.

Mindsense (Su)

As a move action, an encephalon gorger can gauge the relative intelligence level of any creature within 60 feet as follows: unintelligent, animal (Int 1–2), low (3–8), average (8–12), high (13–16), genius (17–20), or supra-genius (21+).

Mind Screen (Ex)

The mind of an encephalon gorger is an alien and dangerous place. Should a creature attempt to scan the mind or read the thoughts of an encephalon gorger (with detect thoughts, telepathy, or the like), it must make a successful DC 20 Will save or be driven permanently insane (as by an insanity spell, CL 15th); if the save succeeds, the creature is instead confused (as the spell) for 1d4 rounds.

The save DC is Intelligence-based.