Hullathoin

With a distinctive preference for the dark places of the land, the hullathoin is most commonly encountered underground. Remote mountain passes, dark bogs, and ancient forests also serve as suitable homes for this undead monstrosity.

Standing 20 feet high at the shoulder, a hullathoin walks on four long, powerful legs. It has a skeletal head with a massive maw. The most distinctive aspect ofahullathoin is that its mottled gray and black body seems to carry some sort of wasting illness. Angry, red, pus-filled sores that pulse and weep cover its flesh. Buzzing insects surround the creature at all times and feast off its rotting body.

A hullathoin is nearly always accompanied by a ragtag mob of assorted undead creatures. Since the swarm it carries in its body is capable of creating fresh vampire spawn, these are the most common kind of undead in its retinue, but because it can command undead, mummies, ghasts, ghouls, zombies, or even mohrgs or spectres might be found in its company.

Hullathoins speak Common and, curiously, Draconic.

Combat

A hullathoin has an impressive level of control over its body. By contracting the muscles around its many weeping sores, a hullathoin irritates the bloodfiend locusts inside its body, causing a swarm to rush forth and attack any living thing within range. A hullathoin also likes to snag opponents with the two tentacles that sprout from its shoulders and twist their flesh into obscene, fantastic shapes. Nothing pleases the creature more than totally deforming some victim, then leaving it to the swarm to finish so that the grotesque creature rises later as a fiendish vampire spawn under the hullathoin’s control.

Deform (Su): A hullathoin can twist and deform victims grappled by its tentacles. When a hullathoin has an opponent pinned, it can deal normal damage and attempt to deform the creature. On a successful Fortitude save (DC 18), the victim takes only normal grapple damage. If the save fails, the victim also takes 1d6 points of Charisma damage.

Exude Bloodfiend Swarm (Su): As a standard action, a hullathoin can send forth a swarm of bloodfiend locusts to attack its foes. Swarms of these creatures live in the hullathoin’s pus-filled sores. They do not attack the hullathoin or its undead minions.

Improved Grab (Ex): If a hullathoin hits an opponent that is at least one size category smaller than itself with a tentacle attack, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity (grapple bonus +26). Thereafter, the hullathoin has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use its tentacle to hold the foe (see improved grapple, below). In either case, each successful grapple check it makes during successive rounds automatically deals tentacle damage. It can also attempt to pin its opponent. An opponent pinned by a hullathoins tentacle can be subjected to a hullathoin’s deform special attack.

Improved Grapple (Ex): Normally, a creature engaged in a grapple that does not want to be considered grappled must take a −20 penalty on its grapple check. But the hullathoin, while grappling with its tentacles, is never considered grappled. It can conduct grapple attacks with its tentacles normally without taking any penalties on other attacks, and it need not take the −20 penalty on grapple checks to be considered not grappling.

Poison (Ex): A hullathoin delivers its poison (Fort DC 19 negates) with each successful bite or tentacle attack. Initial and secondary damage are the same (1d10 Str).

Rebuke Undead (Su): A hullathoin can rebuke or command undead as a 20th-level cleric. Any fiendish vampire spawn created by the bloodfiend locusts it carries are automatically considered commanded on rising, although they count against the total number of Hit Dice of undead the hullathoin can command. If newly risen undead created by the locusts would exceed the hullathoin’s limit, it can opt to leave them uncontrolled or add them to its contingent of undead by dropping other undead followers to compensate.

Ring of Pus (Ex): Once per day, a hullathoin can spew forth the pus from its many sores. This ring of pus extends 30 feet in all directions from the hullathoin. Anyone caught in the burst must make a Reflex save (DC 18) or take 5d6 points of acid damage and 1d6 points of Strength damage. Success on the saving throw negates the Strength damage and half the acid damage. Victims who fail the save are also nauseated for 10 rounds.

Source: Fiend Folio, page 96. Changes applied as per the D&D^® v.3.5 Accessory Update.