Qlippoth Lord, ThuskchoonThis sluglike creature leaves a swath of tar wherever he goes, and
his upper body opens into a gaping, sludge-dripping mouth.Thuskchoon CR 21Source Bestiary 6 pg. 238
XP 409,600
CE Gargantuan outsider (chaotic, evil, extraplanar, qlippoth)
Init +14; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect good, detect law,
tremorsense 120 ft., true seeing; Perception +36
Aura cloak of chaos (DC 23)DefenseAC 37, touch 21, flat-footed 26 (+4 deflection, +10 Dex, +1 dodge,
+16 natural, –4 size)
hp 396 (24d10+264); regeneration 15 (lawful)
Fort +23, Ref +28, Will +27
Defensive Abilities freedom of movement; DR 15/cold iron
and lawful; Immune acid, cold, death effects, mind-affecting
effects, poison; Resist electricity 30, fire 30; SR 32
Weaknesses nearly mindlessOffenseSpeed 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee bite +33 (6d8+13/19–20 plus 2d6 acid and grab),
4 talons 33 (2d6+13)
Space 20 ft., Reach 20 ft.
Special Attacks breath weapon (120-ft. line, 20d10 acid damage,
Reflex DC 33 half, every 1d4 rounds), fast swallow, horrific
appearance (DC 27), swallow whole (10d6 bludgeoning damage,
10d6 acid damage, and 1d6 Intelligence damage; AC 18; 39 hp)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 21st; concentration +26)
Constant—cloak of chaos (DC 23), detect good, detect law, fly, freedom of movement, true seeing
At will—acid fog, blindness/deafnessM (DC 17), desecrateM, greater dispel magic, greater teleport, slowM (DC 18)
3/day—foresightM, mass hunger for flesh (DC 21), power word blindM, quickened slow (DC 18), vision, waves of exhaustion
1/day—imprisonment (DC 24), summon qlippoth
M Thuskchoon can use the mythic version of this ability within his sanctum.StatisticsStr 36, Dex 30, Con 33, Int 3, Wis 28, Cha 21
Base Atk +24; CMB +41 (+43 bull rush); CMD 66 (68 vs. bull
rush, can’t be tripped)
Feats Awesome Blow, Blinding Critical, Combat Reflexes, Critical
Focus, Dodge, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (slow), Vital Strike
Skills Fly +45, Perception +36
Languages Abyssal (can’t speak); telepathy 300 ft.
SQ entangling acid, false intellect, intellectual flash, no breath,
trailing tarEcologyEnvironment any (Abyss)
Organization solitary (unique)
Treasure tripleSpecial AbilitiesEntangling Acid (Ex) Any creature that takes acid damage from any of Thuskchoon’s attacks or abilities (whether an extraordinary, supernatural, or spell-like ability) becomes entangled by the thick, sticky acid this qlippoth lord generates. Freedom of movement prevents this entangle effect; otherwise, it persists until a character peels off and discards the acidic sludge; doing so requires a successful DC 20 Strength check. Attempting to do so is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
False Intellect (Su) In any round that Thuskchoon causes any Intelligence damage to a creature via his swallow whole ability, the qlippoth lord can use that digested intellect to gain the benefits of his intellectual flash ability for 1 round per point of Intelligence damage dealt in that round. This duration stacks if Thuskchoon has swallowed multiple creatures, or if the Intelligence damage continues for more than 1 round.
Horrific Appearance (Su) A creature that succumbs to Thuskchoon’s horrific appearance has its mind flooded with horrific recollections that may or may not be real, repressed terrors knocked loose and brought to the conscious mind by the presence of the monstrosity that is Thuskchoon. Often these memories are a strange mix of racial memory and flashes from past lives. The victim also experiences genetic reversions. The victim is immediately affected by feeblemind (as per the spell), and its body is deformed and hideously twisted. Select (or choose randomly) from the list of deformities gained from the mutant template (see page 180 of Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 5) to apply to the victim. Alternatively, simply reduce one of the victim’s physical ability scores by 4 points (feel free to devise an appropriate cosmetic atrocity to add flavor to this reduction). The feeblemind effect can be cured normally by any effect that removes that condition (see the spell description for more details), but the mutation is permanent and can be removed only via a miracle or wish spell, or by death and subsequent resurrection. Thuskchoon’s horrific appearance has no effect on creatures with an Intelligence score of 1 or 0.
Intellectual Flash (Ex) When Thuskchoon enters combat, there’s a cumulative 20% chance per round that he receives a flash of intellect. Check for this flash at the start of the qlippoth lord’s turn in combat. If the chance succeeds, for that round Thuskchoon loses his nearly mindless weakness and can use his spell-like abilities freely and engage in combat tactics on par with those of a typical human. During that round, Thuskchoon can attempt Knowledge checks untrained with a +20 insight bonus (he retains his –4 penalty from his Intelligence score of 3, so this means his Knowledge checks are attempted with a +16 bonus for this round). The next round, the chance of an intellectual flash occurring is reduced to 0%, but then increases by 20% each subsequent round.
Nearly Mindless (Ex) Thuskchoon’s limited intellect and his overwhelming hunger combine to make the creature nearly mindless in his actions. Unless he uses his intellectual flash ability or gains the benefit of false intellect, he cannot activate any spell-like abilities and his tactical choices in combat are those of a violent animal. While in his nearly mindless state, Thuskchoon gains a +8 bonus on all saving throws against mind-affecting effects.
Trailing Tar (Ex) Thuskchoon exudes a thick swath of sticky, tarlike sludge whenever he moves using his base speed. Any square he passes over using this base speed is transformed into difficult terrain for 1 hour. Freedom of movement allows free passage through this sticky terrain, and a dose of universal solvent can cleanse one 5-foot-square area of tar. Spell effects that cleanse an area of filth or detritus can also remove this difficult terrain, provided the spell effect in question is 6th level or higher.DescriptionNot all of the qlippoth lords have alien intelligences that outstrip the minds of most mortals. In the case of Thuskchoon, the qlippoth lord’s intellect is replaced almost entirely by a ravenous need to consume and feed. Now and then, the qlippoth lord gains flashes of insight and momentarily comprehends vast puzzles of reality, yet those brief insights fade quickly. These periods of insight are lengthened when Thuskchoon consumes prey, for as he digests flesh, he also digests thought, and can parasitize his victim’s minds in order to act with purpose.
Thuskchoon’s Abyssal sanctum is a vast warren of tunnels that wind through the depths of the Abyss and connect most, if not all, of the other qlippoth sanctums. Rarely does he spend time in this maze of caves, though, instead aimlessly wandering the depths of the Abyss in constant search of anything to sate his eternal hunger. Now and then, the qlippoth lord blunders through portals that bring his ravenings to other planes, whereupon it is but a matter of time before he is banished or slain and forced to start his wanderings over anew from his sanctum’s heart.
Thuskchoon measures 40 feet in length and weighs 16,000 pounds.Thuskchoon's CultThe worshipers of Thuskchoon refer to
the qlippoth lord as the Everglutton
to honor his nearly mindless and
nigh-constant hunger. Cultists of
this unusual qlippoth lord venerate
him while not expecting much in the
way of intentional reward, for a core
part of the faith is the acknowledgement
that Thuskchoon is not particularly
driven by intellect. The secrets he reveals are potent and
world-shaking, yet they are accidental revelations—the
circumstantial repercussions of the meandering swaths of
destruction the Everglutton leaves in his wake as he lumbers
through creation. Temples of Thuskchoon are converted
from large caverns or ruined buildings, but the cult is
nomadic and never remains in one location for long. Visions
of new regions to savage and destroy constantly plague the
leaders of this qlippoth lord’s cults, but now and then they
may settle in a region for a few years. In these cases, they
tend to carve hideous pictographs and foul Abyssal prayers
into the stones that make up their temporary shrines. Just
as the qlippoth lord himself can gain momentary flashes of
insight from the minds of digested victims, so do his cultists
constantly seek new drugs, poisons, and exotic consumables
to feed upon in hopes of being granted strange visions or
unexpected answers to questions they haven’t dared ask.
Thuskchoon’s symbol is a triangular rune with teeth, and
his favored weapon is the greatclub. He grants access to the
domains of Chaos, Destruction, Evil, and Knowledge, and to
the subdomains of Catastrophe, Entropy,
Rage, and Thought.Creatures in "Qlippoth Lord" CategorySource Bestiary 6 pg. 231
The creatures known as qlippoth (the singular and plural forms are the same) are as mysterious as they are horrifying, as one might expect of the first form of life imagined by reality. These monsters hail from a time when morality did not exist, when gods and mortals were unknown, when, perhaps, time itself had not yet begun to unfurl. Certainly, the qlippoth were old when the first proteans brought order to chaos and discovered the endless tunnels of the Abyss running through the underworld of the Outer Planes. What the race’s goals and desires may have been in that unimaginably distant past is unknown, and more to the point, cannot be known to minds that have the current reality as their only point of reference. Just as reality changes what it touches, so did the introduction of the qlippoth to the reality of the Outer Planes change them. Enemies of all they encounter, they warred on any who would dare encroach upon their domains. And when no enemies dared approach, the qlippoth took their wars to others instead, boiling up out of the Abyss in seemingly endless armies.
But as vast and potent as the qlippoth may be, there are those among them that eclipse the power of them all— unique and powerful qlippoth lords that rule the deepest and darkest Abyssal depths. The number of qlippoth lords active today represents only a small fraction of those that existed at the dawn of creation. As the eons wore on, the qlippoth lords were opposed by nearly all who learned of their existence. Demon lords, archdevils, empyreal lords, and the deities themselves have taken offense at the blasphemy of the qlippoth lords, and have destroyed many of the more powerful among them. Those who remain are either shadows of the qlippoth lords’ one-time glory or are so adept at hiding their true natures that none have yet glimpsed even hints of their forms.
The bulk of qlippoth lords range in strength from CR 21 to 25. More powerful creatures akin to the Horsemen or archdevils in stature may still exist in the deepest parts of the Abyss, but for now, these theoretical qlippoth demigods remain mysteries. Certainly, any active qlippoth lords are potent enough to threaten and endanger the bulk of mortal life when they choose to turn their attention to the Material Plane.
Some qlippoth have chosen to abandon their roots and accept the demonic as the new order of the Abyss. Qlippoth lords who accept sin and allow themselves to be transformed often gain a significant boost in power that catapults them out of this lower tier directly into the ranks of demon lords, but only at the cost of forever losing any tenuous alliances they may have had with the first lords of the Abyss. These former qlippoth lords are seen as the worst kind of traitors by the qlippoth and their masters, but for these qlippoth, the trade-off is more than worth it, as the power they now wield as demon lords is formidable. Demon lords who began existence as qlippoth lords include primeval entities like Dagon and Jubilex, but are hardly limited to these alone.
The four qlippoth lords presented on the following pages have interests in multiple Material Plane worlds. Others, such as the Polymorph Plague Yamasoth, the Warmonger Queen Shiggarreb, and the Enigma Clot Aonaurious, have focused their wrath on specific worlds or have yet to fully emerge from the deepest recesses of the Abyss to turn their attentions to the worlds beyond, and are not detailed in this book.
Qlippoth Lord SanctumsAlthough the qlippoth lords are powerful, their strength does not equal that of their most hated enemies, the demon lords. But in their deepest, hidden lairs in the most remote corners of the Abyss, qlippoth lords are much more potent threats. As long as they remain in these domains (or can at least retreat there in times of need), they are well protected from retribution. These lairs are known as sanctums, and while methods of reaching and entering them are occult and obscure, a sanctum can be vast in size.
Within its sanctum, a qlippoth lord gains the following additional powers (with the exception of the mythic ability, the statistics presented on the following pages do not include these abilities). - Mythic: A qlippoth lord functions as a 10th-rank mythic creature, including having the mythic power ability (10/day, surge +1d12). It can expend uses of mythic power to use the mythic version of any spell-like ability denoted with a superscript “M,” just as if the ability were a mythic spell.
- Rejuvenation: The mind of a qlippoth lord that is slain in its sanctum merges with a qlippoth of the lord’s choosing, selected from any living qlippoth within the lord’s sanctum. This functions as per major mind swap, except there is no save to avoid its effect and the typical qlippoth immunity to mind-affecting effects offers no protection. After 1d100 years, the qlippoth transforms into a new incarnation of its previous body as a qlippoth lord, but if slain before this transformation, the qlippoth lord is forever dead.
- A qlippoth lord can use the following spell-like abilities once per day: astral projection, binding, demand, discern location, fabricate, major creation, miracle (limited to physical effects that manipulate the sanctum or to effects that are relevant to the qlippoth lord’s interests), and polymorph any object (when used on objects or creatures that are native to the sanctum, the polymorph duration factor increases by 6).
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