Elder Thing Researcher
Level 10Abilities
This monster can see in all directions simultaneously and therefore can't be flanked.
The elder thing doesn't breathe and is immune to effects that require breathing (such as inhaled poison).
(2d8+11) bludgeoning, DC 29 fortitude The monster deals the listed amount of damage to any number of creatures Grabbed or Restrained by it. Each of those creatures can attempt a basic Fortitude save with the listed DC.
Frequency once per day Effect By focusing its senses and thoughts on a single concept, an elder thing researcher can draw upon the thousands of years of deep memories. It then selects one of the following skills: Arcana, any Lore, Nature, Religion, or Society. Once the skill is chosen, the elder thing researcher can attempt checks for the selected skill using its Occultism modifier. This effect lasts until the elder thing researcher uses Eldritch Insight again to change its focus. If no focus is predetermined, assume an elder thing researcher has chosen to focus on Library Lore.
The elder thing enters a state of hibernation after focusing its thoughts for 1 minute. While hibernating, an elder thing is Unconscious. The elder thing can remain in hibernation as long as it wishes—while hibernating, it doesn't need to eat or drink, nor does it age. Time effectively stands still for a hibernating elder thing. Any effect that would normally rouse an unconscious creature can end an elder thing's hibernation, but the elder thing must attempt a DC 25 will save. On a success, the elder thing awakens in 2d4 rounds; otherwise it takes 1d4 days to wake from hibernation. The elder thing can set the length of its hibernation when it enters this state, so that it can awaken after a set amount of time has passed. When awakening in this way, the elder thing does so in only 1d4 rounds, with no Will save necessary.
The elder thing's wings allow it to fly in regions where flight is normally impossible, such as outer space. It gains a +2 circumstance bonus to checks made to Maneuver in Flight, and on saving throws against effects that impede flight.
Requirements The monster's last action was a successful Strike that lists Grab in its damage entry, or the monster has a creature Grabbed or Restrained Effect If used after a Strike, the monster attempts to Grapple the creature using the body part it attacked with. This attempt neither applies nor counts toward the creature's multiple attack penalty. The monster can instead use Grab and choose one creature it's grabbing or restraining with an appendage that has Grab to automatically extend that condition to the end of the monster's next turn.
Description
As one would expect from a species capable of living for thousands of years, many elder things grow more powerful than the standard specimen. Elder thing researchers are among the more frequently encountered of these incredibly rare beings, for their nature and interests often see them traveling to distant worlds to explore and lay the foundations for later conquest and colonization. Elder thing researchers often carry strange weapons or tools that merge technology with magic.
Known by various names on various worlds, but most often as "elder things" or "old ones," these alien creatures are interested in creating lasting works of art, architecture, and even life (such as the legendary and dreaded shoggoth). Matched with their boundless capacity for egotism and enormous life spans, elder things often see themselves as the most learned and advanced species on any planet they visit, and tend to treat most other forms of life like a scientist might treat experimental stock. While not generally inimical or violent, their nature often puts them at odds against other societies they encounter, and war is a time-honored solution. The elder things rarely shy away from using violence to secure their own territory and their perceived right to experiment and explore.
A typical elder thing is 6 feet tall from head to foot, with a 7-foot wingspan. Their bodies are radial in nature, with five wings, five tentacle-like arms that each end in a writhing nest of tendrils, and five eyestalks. At one end of their barrel-shaped bodies are several larger tentacles they use for combat and locomotion, while at the other, at the center of their five eyes in their starfish-shaped heads, sits a single mouth surrounded by multicolored cilia. An elder thing's language is a mix of piping and whistling sounds, but they can vocalize a wide range of other languages as well—albeit with a strange, high-pitched accent.
Space Travelers
An elder thing can travel through outer space via flight, but it doesn't do so at a greater speed than its normal fly Speed. When an elder thing wishes to travel through the void of space, it typically aims itself in the direction it wishes to go, then enters a timed hibernation so that it wakes at a point where it nears its destination.