Great Old One, the Water Lizard

This great reptilian monster is an aquatic lizard with a beard of tentacles and a sting-tipped tail.

The Water Lizard CR 27

XP 3,276,800
CN Large magical beast (aquatic, chaotic, extraplanar, Great Old One)
Init +22; Senses blindsight 120 ft., darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +43; Aura toxic breath (30 ft., DC 41), unspeakable presence (300 ft., DC 33)

DEFENSE

AC 45, touch 27, flat-footed 37 (+8 Dex, +10 insight, +18 natural, –1 size)
hp 645 (30d10+480); fast healing 20
Fort +33, Ref +25, Will +22
Defensive Abilities immortality, insanity (DC 41), spines; DR 15/epic and lawful; Immune ability damage, ability drain, aging, cold, death effects, disease, energy drain, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, petrification, poison; Resist acid 30, fire 30; SR 38

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft., swim 120 ft., air walk
Melee bite +44 (4d8+22/19–20), 2 claws +44 (2d8+22/19–20), sting +44 (3d6+22/19–20 plus poison), tentacle beard +39 (4d6+22 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks constrict (4d6+22), critical poisoning, Mythic Power (10/day, surge +1d12), poison, powerful blows (bite, claws, sting, tentacle beard), vengeful dreams
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 27th; concentration +35)

Constantair walk
At willcloudkillM (DC 23), dimension doorM, dreamM, greater dispel magic, hallucinatory terrain, nightmareM (DC 23), plane shiftM, transmute rock to mud, wind walk
3/daydemand, quickened feeblemind (DC 23), horrid wilting (DC 26)
1/daycontrol weatherM, symbol of insanity (DC 26), tsunamiM (DC 26)

STATISTICS

Str 40, Dex 27, Con 42, Int 22, Wis 30, Cha 27
Base Atk +30; CMB +46 (+50 bull rush, grapple, or overrun); CMD 74 (76 vs. bull rush or overrun, 78 vs. trip)
Feats Bleeding Critical, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Greater Bull Rush, Greater Overrun, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Critical (claw), Improved Critical (sting), Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Improved Overrun, Iron Will, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (feeblemind)
Skills Knowledge (arcana, history, nature, religion) +36, Perception +43, Spellcraft +36, Stealth +37, Swim +56
Languages Aklo, Aquan, Draconic; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ amphibious, otherworldly insight

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Critical Poisoning (Su)

If the water lizard confirms a critical hit with his sting, he injects his foe with 3 doses of poison (this increases the save DC by 4). A foe that is normally immune to poison can be affected by the water lizard’s poison in this way, but treats the poisoning as if it had been injected with only 1 dose.

Immortality (Ex)

If the water lizard is killed, his body immediately begins to thrash and writhe spasmodically, continuing to do so for 1d4 rounds. During this time, he makes a single sting attack against one random target in reach. At the end of this time, his body grows still, then melts into water and evaporates away. The water lizard reforms in dormancy back in his realm in the Dimension of Dreams soon thereafter, remaining in a comatose state for hundreds of years unless he is awoken earlier via complex rituals.

Any effect that destroys the water lizard’s body (such as disintegrate) merely reduces his remains to water that then evaporates away as described above, but such measures do prevent his body from thrashing and stinging prior to this supernatural evaporation.

Poison (Ex)

Sting—injury; save Fort DC 41; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 2d4 Wisdom damage; cure 3 consecutive saves. A creature whose Wisdom damage equals its Wisdom score automatically becomes afflicted by a random insanity. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spines (Ex)

Any creature that makes a melee attack against the water lizard must succeed at a DC 33 Reflex save or be struck by the numerous swiftly reacting spines that cover the Great Old One, taking 2d6+15 points of damage. Using a reach weapon does not endanger the attacker in this way. The save DC is Dexterity-based.

Toxic Breath (Su)

The water lizard’s breath is toxic. Whenever the Great Old One is above water, he is surrounded by a 30-foot-radius cloud of invisible poison gas that causes temporary madness and hallucinations. Any creature that begins its turn in this area must succeed at a DC 41 Will save or be confused for 1 round. A creature that holds its breath or doesn’t have to breathe gains a +4 bonus on this saving throw. This is a mind-affecting poison effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Unspeakable Presence (Su)

Failing a DC 33 Will save against the water lizard’s unspeakable presence causes the victim to become overwhelmed with hopelessness and doom—it takes a –4 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls as long as it remains within the area of affect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Vengeful Dreams (Su)

Any creature that has ever damaged the water lizard or has slain one of his clerics can be targeted by the Great Old One’s vengeful dreams regardless of the distance between the creature and the water lizard, even across planar boundaries. In order to use vengeful dreams against a target, the water lizard must successfully affect the target with his nightmare spell-like ability; the target is always treated as familiar to the water lizard, and as if the water lizard possessed a body part of the victim, resulting in a –15 penalty on the saving throw against the nightmare. If the victim fails its save against the nightmare, the horrific dream unfolds as a vision of the water lizard consuming the victim alive. The victim then remains alive, conscious, and aware as the Great Old One digests it, and as the water lizard destroys all that remains of the victim’s lifelong friends, home, belongings, and family. When the victim awakens from the nightmare, it must succeed at a DC 33 Will save or take 3d6 points of Wisdom drain from the vengeful dreams. If this drains the target’s Wisdom to 0, it automatically gains a random insanity. Once the water lizard uses this ability against a creature, he can’t do so again until that creature again damages him or slays one of his clerics. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

ECOLOGY

Environment any water
Organization solitary (unique)
Treasure triple

The Water Lizard dwells in a distant and forsaken corner of the dreamlands, in a place that was once heavily populated but is now a desolate and barren realm surrounding a nameless lake—a realm once ruled by mighty human empires, but now ruled only by the hideous amphibian minions of the Water Lizard. The water lizard himself is a vast creature, a vaguely iguana-shaped monster with a beard of writhing tendrils and a long tail tipped with a stinger. The scales that cover his body hide long spines that rhe Water Lizard can extend or retract with near lightning speed.

The Water Lizard spends the majority of his time slumbering far down in the depths of his submerged lair. No rivers feed the lake, nor does it drain into the sea. Yet the still, ominous waters are neither stale nor brackish, implying that they connect somewhere deep underground, and. By way of these dark, secret waterways, the water lizard has access to the lakes and rivers of the Dimension of Dreams, and his ability to plane shift allows him access to other realms as he wills.

The Water Lizard’s Cult

The Water Lizard is worshiped more out of fear than adoration, and when traveling dreamers come across his cult in their nightmares, they can unknowingly spread this fearful faith into the waking world. The Water Lizard’s temples are often found on the shores of remote lakes or hidden away in large swamplands. Though humans worship him, so do boggards, lizardfolk, marsh giants, and other swamp-dwelling races—particularly those who have suffered at the hands of aggressors, such as invading armies, rival tribes, or adventuring parties.

Though the water lizard is chaotic neutral, almost all of his worshipers are chaotic neutral or chaotic evil. Only a rare few chaotic good worshipers of the water lizard exist—most of these being delusional heretics or apologists who seek to keep the Water Lizard calm, ensuring he continues to slumber. These heretics and outliers of the faith are remorselessly hunted down by his more zealous and traditional worshipers.

The water lizard’s cult is associated with revenge, storms, and water, and its sacred symbol is a green lizard with a long, coiling tail—an image of the water lizard himself. His greatest shrines feature unusually realistic statues of his form, statues the cult maintains the water lizard can see out of and even animate from his distant lair to take sacrifices.

Domains & Subdomains

The Water Lizard’s clerics have access to the domains of Chaos, Destruction, Water, and Weather, and to the subdomains of Catastrophe, Oceans, Rage, and Storms.

The Water Lizard’s favored weapon is the ranseur; his followers often forge their ranseurs’ blades to resemble the Great Old One’s stingered tail.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 4 © 2013, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Savannah Broadway, Ross Byers, Adam Daigle, Tim Hitchcock, Tracy Hurley, James Jacobs, Matt James, Rob McCreary, Jason Nelson, Tom Phillips, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, Tork Shaw, and Russ Taylor.

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