Shriezyx, Shriezyx QueenThis bulbous, green-skinned spider is as large as a horse, its toothy maw smiling beneath three glowing eyes.Shriezyx Queen CR 8Source Pathfinder #134: It Came from Hollow Mountain pg. 88
XP 4,800
CE Large aberration
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft.; Perception +19DefenseAC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+3 Dex, +8 natural, –1 size)
hp 104 (11d8+55); regeneration 5 (fire)
Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +10
Defensive Abilities ferocity; Immune mind-affecting effects
Weaknesses vulnerable to fireOffenseSpeed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee bite +11 (1d8+3 plus poison), 4 claws +10 (1d6+3)
Space 10 ft., Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks incendiary webs, poison, web (+10 ranged, DC 19, 11 hp)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 11th; concentration +13)
Constant—tongues
At will—remove fear, rage
3/day—command (DC 13)
1/day—resist energyStatisticsStr 17, Dex 17, Con 18, Int 9, Wis 12, Cha 14
Base Atk +8; CMB +12; CMD 25 (37 vs. trip)
Feats Alertness, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Toughness, Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Climb +18, Diplomacy +8, Knowledge (history) +5, Perception +19, Sense Motive +9
Languages Aklo; tonguesEcologyEnvironment any
Organization solitary or hive (1 plus 3-12 shriezyx)
Treasure standardSpecial AbilitiesHive Influence (Su) All shriezyx within 30 feet of a shriezyx queen lose their fear of fire weakness while they remain in the area of her aura and for 1 minute after leaving it or until the shriezyx no longer has line of sight to the shriezyx queen, whichever comes first. The shriezyx queen’s mind-affecting spell-like abilities function normally against shriezyx within her hive influence aura.
Incendiary Webs (Su) A shriezyx queen’s web is coated with a supernatural oil that catches fire with the slightest spark. Any creature struck by a shriezyx queen’s web gains vulnerability to fire for 1 minute. If a creature struck by the web is carrying a torch or otherwise using fire, the creature must succeed at a DC 18 Reflex saving throw or catch on fire. As long as a creature has vulnerability to fire from this effect, each time it casts a spell with the fire descriptor or takes fire damage, it must succeed at a DC 18 Reflex saving throw or catch on fire. This incendiary oil dries out quickly—a web can impart this vulnerability to fire only on the round it is spun. Thereafter, the web remains sticky but does not have this incendiary effect. The save DC is Strength-based.
Poison (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 19; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Str; cure 2 consecutive saves.DescriptionWhen Runelord Alaznist first learned the art of fleshwarping from the qlippoth lord Yamasoth, she and her assistants created myriad abominations that have survived into the modern day. Among these wretched creations are the spider-like shriezyx, which remain a constant threat to explorers venturing into the heart of Hollow Mountain, the ruins of Xin-Bakrakhan at the mountain’s base, and the Irespan in the nearby city of Magnimar. While shriezyx made excellent soldiers and guardians, they made poor servants, in part because of their unnatural fear of fire (a particular problem for Alaznist’s armies and devotees, who relied heavily on evocation magic). The same immunity to mental control that defended them against enchantments from the rival realm of Eurythnia also made them impossible to magically control by their own general. To solve this problem, Alaznist’s skilled fleshwarpers created a superior version of the shriezyx—a queen that could serve as commander to lesser shriezyx and ensure complete loyalty among the verminous minions.
A typical shriezyx queen is roughly 8 feet in length and weighs as much as 1,000 pounds.EcologyAlthough its name is something of a misnomer due to the shriezyx’s method of asexual reproduction, a shriezyx queen nevertheless maintains a position among other shriezyx analogous to that of a bee or ant queen. Rather than existing to grow the hive, a shriezyx queen was instead created to control, command, and—when necessary—overpower lesser shriezyx. A shriezyx queen exudes a strong supernatural pheromone that calms her subjects, especially around fire. A shriezyx queen is also singularly capable of using mind-affecting effects on other shriezyx, to work them into a frenzy before a battle or to ensure their obedience.
A shriezyx queen can use her incendiary webs to turn her fire vulnerability against enemies that may hope to employ flame against a shriezyx hive. Many alchemists and evokers have fallen victim to a shriezyx queen’s oily webs when deploying fire attacks.
Shriezyx queens are inveterate schemers, with intellects far superior to those of standard shriezyx. Although shriezyx queens use this intellect to protect their hive, they also work to obscure knowledge of their existence. Only the most learned Thassilonian scholars know that a queen caste exists above the common shriezyx. While dozens of shriezyx hives exist throughout western Varisia—most known to locals for the threat they pose— only the queen of the hive living at the base of Hollow Mountains has ever revealed herself to civilized peoples.
A shriezyx queen refers to her hive as her brood, despite not being the genetic matriarch of the lesser members of her species. A queen replicates herself via asexual reproduction in the same manner a standard shriezyx does—with an unfertilized egg that produces an identical spawn—but she often keeps her dormant egg in a secure place deep in the heart of the hive’s lair for centuries before it hatches. Thus, the number of shriezyx queens in existence at any time remains fairly static. Upon a queen’s death, her hive generally turns feral or breaks up entirely before her replacement hatches from its well-hidden egg. The newly hatched queen retains some of the memories of her predecessor in the form of racial instincts to cultivate a hive, but she must spend the first dozen or more years of her life reuniting the remnants of her predecessor’s brood. When a predecessor’s hive has been entirely eradicated—such as in the wake of Earthfall or another cataclysm—the new queen instead seeks out all the dormant eggs she can find to revive the shriezyx from the brink of extinction.
Larger and stronger than the average shriezyx, a queen requires more food and thus often sends her brood to hunt for her. All shriezyx have preternaturally variable metabolisms, which provide them rapid regeneration from wounds and also the ability to go long stretches with very little sustenance. A queen’s appetite is as much a function of her role within the hive as it is her physiology, and even the smallest shriezyx queen appears corpulent when compared to her smaller minions.Habitat and SocietyDespite their influential role within hive society, shriezyx queens live solitary lives, forever unique among their kin. Two shriezyx queens rarely meet one another, each tasked by their design with managing disparate hives. Shriezyx queens limit contact with underlings, except to issue orders or to orchestrate attacks during times of open conflict with the hive’s enemies. A queen spends her solitary hours stewing on her plots for returning her hive—or herself—to a position of prominence in the region, but she invariably produces convoluted, overwrought plans that she never finds the opportunity to act on.
A queen that does interact with members of another species—whether they’re allies of fallen Bakrakhan (normally demons, giants, or sinspawn) or members of modern societies now living in or near the shriezyx’s ruined lair—is likely to be quite verbose. After centuries of loneliness, most queens are overwhelmed by the idea of conversing with an intellectual equal, and they see such opportunities as a rare chances to implement long-delayed plans. Humanoids often find such conversations off-putting, both because the shriezyx are such horrific works of arcane mutation and because few adventurers would ever expect to encounter chatty monstrosities when exploring millennia-old ruins.Creatures in "Shriezyx" Category
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