AmmutThis massive creature has the head of a crocodile, the mane and torso of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. The wickedly curved claws on the creature’s forepaws pale in comparison to the danger of its mighty jaws.Ammut CR 18Source Pathfinder #84: Pyramid of the Sky Pharaoh pg. 82
XP 153,600
LE Huge outsider (evil, native)
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft., scent, tremorsense 60 ft., true seeing; Perception +30
Aura fear aura (30 ft., DC 29)DefenseAC 34, touch 14, flat-footed 28 (+6 Dex, +20 natural, –2 size)
hp 290 (20d10+180)
Fort +21, Ref +20, Will +13
DR 15/good and slashing; Immune disease, exhaustion, fatigue, fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10; SR 29OffenseSpeed 40 ft.
Melee bite +31 (4d6+19/19–20 plus grab), 2 claws +31 (2d6+13)
Space 15 ft., Reach 10 ft. (15 ft. with bite)
Special Attacks breath weapon (30-ft. cone, 14d6 fire damage, Reflex DC 29 half, usable every 1d4 rounds), devour soul, powerful jaw, swallow whole (3d6+13 bludgeoning plus 4d6 fire plus wasting curse, AC 20, 29 hp), wasting curse
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +23)
Constant—detect evil, detect good, detect chaos, true seeing
3/day—quickened ear-piercing screamUM (DC 20)
1/day—dominate monsterStatisticsStr 36, Dex 22, Con 29, Int 11, Wis 24, Cha 29
Base Atk +20; CMB +35 (+37 bull rush); CMD 51 (53 vs. bull rush, 55 vs. trip)
Feats Blind-Fight, Critical Focus, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Lunge, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like AbilityB (ear-piercing scream), Staggering Critical
Skills Climb +24, Intimidate +30, Knowledge (planes) +20, Knowledge (religion) +20, Perception +30, Sense Motive +30, Stealth +21
Languages Celestial, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.EcologyEnvironment any (Osirion)
Organization solitary
Treasure noneSpecial AbilitiesDevour Soul (Su) If a creature dies while swallowed whole by an ammut, its soul is consumed along with its body. A creature killed in this way cannot be brought back to life via any effect short of true resurrection, miracle, or wish, but even these spells require the caster to succeed at a caster level check equal to 10 + the targeted creature’s Hit Dice. If this check fails, the caster can’t attempt to return the targeted creature to life for the next 24 hours (though the caster can try again after this period).
Powerful Jaw (Ex) An ammut’s bite attack deals 4d6 points of damage plus one and a half times its Strength bonus. In addition, its reach with this attack is 5 feet further than normal and it gains the grab ability when attacking with its bite.
Swallow Whole (Ex) An ammut can swallow creatures size Large or smaller with this special ability, and can only swallow one creature at a time regardless of the creature’s size. In addition, creatures swallowed by an ammut are subject to its wasting curse.
Wasting Curse (Su) Swallow whole—contact; save Will DC 29; frequency 1 hour; effect 1d4 Cha drain. A creature whose Charisma score is reduced to 0 by this wasting curse dies; its body is destroyed and it is subject to the ammut’s devour soul ability as if it had died while within the ammut’s gut. The save DC is Charisma-based.DescriptionAmmuts are beastly but cunning creatures that consume souls in an attempt to satisfy their insatiable hungers. Few ammuts exist, and those that do wander the vast deserts of Osirion preying on the souls of any creature they can catch. These creatures prefer the taste of thoroughly evil souls or those who have experienced full and complex lives. Ammuts show disdain for creatures of inferior intelligence, but also tend to leave them alone, as they claim their souls are shallow and flavorless. The rarity of ammuts and their nomadic nature makes it difficult to determine how long they live, or even if they age at all. Ammuts are approximately 20 feet long and 9 feet tall at the shoulder. Their rounded and muscular hindquarters makes them denser than would be expected for their size, and ammuts can weigh up to 10 tons.EcologyAmmuts live among the ruins scattered throughout the Osirian deserts, often lairing in abandoned and lost temples of the gods of Ancient Osirion. When outside their lairs, ammuts bury themselves in sand to await the arrival of a suitable meal.
An ammut is covered in fur ranging from sandy-colored to dark brown, with shorter fur on its back and legs, and a long mane behind its head that covers its shoulders. Its snout and face are layered in reptilian scales that are usually crusted with sand that has partially fused into glass from the heat of its breath.
Ammuts never tire, and once an ammut notices a creature that it considers suitable prey, it’s unrelenting— stalking its prey for hundreds of miles if need be before running it down. These terrifying chases generally don’t last long, as the ammut makes use of a high-pitched scream that dazes prey long enough to allow the beast to catch and devour them. If that tactic fails to net the ammut its meal, it can also use its powerful force of will to dominate its prey, using telepathy to convince the victim to approach. Creatures that try to hide from an ammut using illusions soon find those plans foiled, as ammuts can see through illusions cast by even the most powerful mages. The only way to truly escape an ammut once it selects you as its quarry is to confront and defeat the beast.
Fire burns within the core of an ammut, and the heat generated by an ammut’s inner fires can sometimes fuse the sand it passes through into glassy depressions in the desert floor. The best desert guides can recognize these signs (called “blaze bowls”) and avoid areas in which an ammut might be lurking.Habitat & SocietyAmmuts are lone predators, and are so rare their social structures (if any) and method of reproduction are unknown. No live specimen has ever been caught for observation, because the inner fires of the ammut consume the creature’s body quickly upon its death, leaving little to be studied besides ash and brittle glass formed from fused sand. Every so often, a peddler in the markets of Eto or Shiman-Sekh will claim to possess a rare piece of an ammut’s body (such as one of its teeth or an eye) that they try to sell to foreigners and treasure hunters. Most native Osirians know to ignore such claims, but outsiders may be gullible enough to buy the extremely expensive fakes as souvenirs. One of the few things peddled in these markets that actually has a connection to ammuts are pieces of their blaze bowls. Sometimes brave explorers come across one of these glassy depressions, and remain in the area long enough to try to carefully remove the fused sand in one whole piece. More often than not these efforts are fruitless, as the brittle glass often crumbles if mishandled.
Because ammuts are so rare, the libraries of Osirion contain records of only two-dozen confirmed sightings, though it’s likely that many more encounters ended with no one left to report the event. Osirian scholars have estimated, based more on reports of the telltale blaze bowls than of actual ammuts, that there are perhaps twenty to thirty of the creatures roaming the vast wasteland between the Junira River and the River Sphinx, though a single sighting near the Ruins of Tumen suggests the ammuts are not confined between those waterways. No record of a peaceful encounter with an ammut exists, suggesting that they have no interest in anything other than feeding on the souls of those who cross their paths.
The origin of the ammuts is shrouded in mystery, though it’s thought that they descended from a single creature of their kind that was more powerful than all existing ammuts combined. This mythical ammut is sometimes referred to in Ancient Osiriani scrolls where it has the position of judging the souls of the dead—a role already assumed by Pharasma. Because of this conflict, scholars argue about the creatures’ true origin.
Though it is generally agreed that ammuts migrated to Golarion from another plane long ago, many scholars disagree on the exact planar origin. Some scholars claim that ammuts are perhaps descended from a race of devils, while others claim the lineage stems from the divs. The most logical association of a fiendish origin is rooted in daemonkind. That ammuts are connected with souls and have the ability to utterly consume them certainly lends to this hypothesis.
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