Great Old One, BokrugThis great reptilian monster is an aquatic lizard with a beard of tentacles and a sting-tipped tail.Bokrug CR 27Source Bestiary 4 pg. 136
XP 3,276,800
CN Large magical beast (aquatic, chaotic, extraplanar, Great Old One)
Init +22; Senses blindsight 120 ft., darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +43
Aura toxic breath (30 ft., DC 41), unspeakable presence (300 ft., DC 33)DefenseAC 45, touch 27, flat-footed 37 (+8 Dex, +10 insight, +18 natural, –1 size)
hp 645 (30d10+480); fast healing 20
Fort +33, Ref +25, Will +22
Defensive Abilities immortality, insanity (DC 41), spines; DR 15/epic and lawful; Immune ability damage, ability drain, aging, cold, death effects, disease, energy drain, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, petrification, poison; Resist acid 30, fire 30; SR 38OffenseSpeed 50 ft., swim 120 ft., air walk
Melee bite +44 (4d8+22/19–20), 2 claws +44 (2d8+22/19–20), sting +44 (3d6+22/19–20 plus poison), tentacle beard +39 (4d6+22 plus grab)
Space 10 ft., Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks constrict (4d6+22), critical poisoning, mythic power (10/day, surge +1d12), poison, powerful blows (bite, claws, sting, tentacle beard), vengeful dreams
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 27th; concentration +35)
Constant—air walk
At will—cloudkillM (DC 23), dimension doorM, dreamM, greater dispel magic, hallucinatory terrain, nightmareM (DC 23), plane shiftM, transmute rock to mud, wind walk
3/day—demand, quickened feeblemind (DC 23), horrid wilting (DC 26)
1/day—control weatherM, symbol of insanity (DC 26), tsunamiAPG, M (DC 26)StatisticsStr 40, Dex 27, Con 42, Int 22, Wis 30, Cha 27
Base Atk +30; CMB +46 (+50 bull rush, grapple, or overrun); CMD 74 (76 vs. bull rush or overrun, 78 vs. trip)
Feats Bleeding Critical, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Greater Bull Rush, Greater Overrun, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Critical (claw), Improved Critical (sting), Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Improved Overrun, Iron Will, Power Attack, Quicken Spell- Like Ability (feeblemind)
Skills Knowledge (arcana, history, nature, religion) +36, Perception +43, Spellcraft +36, Stealth +37, Swim +56
Languages Aklo, Aquan, Draconic; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ amphibious, otherworldly insightEcologyEnvironment any water
Organization solitary (unique)
Treasure tripleSpecial AbilitiesCritical Poisoning (Su) If Bokrug confirms a critical hit with his sting, he injects his foe with 3 doses of poison (this increases the save DC by 4). A foe that is normally immune to poison can be affected by Bokrug’s poison in this way, but treats the poisoning as if it had been injected with only 1 dose.
Immortality (Ex) If Bokrug is killed, his body immediately begins to thrash and writhe spasmodically, continuing to do so for 1d4 rounds. During this time, he makes a single sting attack against one random target in reach. At the end of this time, his body grows still, then melts into water and evaporates away. Bokrug reforms in dormancy back in his realm in the Dimension of Dreams soon thereafter, remaining in a comatose state for hundreds of years unless he is awoken earlier via complex rituals.
Any effect that destroys Bokrug’s body (such as disintegrate) merely reduces his remains to water that then evaporates away as described above, but such measures do prevent his body from thrashing and stinging prior to this supernatural evaporation.
Poison (Ex) Sting—injury; save Fort DC 41; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 2d4 Wisdom damage; cure 3 consecutive saves. A creature whose Wisdom damage equals its Wisdom score automatically becomes afflicted by a random insanity (Pathfinder RPG GameMastery Guide 250). The save DC is Constitution-based.
Spines (Ex) Any creature that makes a melee attack against Bokrug must succeed at a DC 33 Reflex save or be struck by the numerous swiftly reacting spines that cover the Great Old One, taking 2d6+15 points of damage. Using a reach weapon does not endanger the attacker in this way. The save DC is Dexterity-based.
Toxic Breath (Su) Bokrug’s breath is toxic. Whenever the Great Old One is above water, he is surrounded by a 30-foot-radius cloud of invisible poison gas that causes temporary madness and hallucinations. Any creature that begins its turn in this area must succeed at a DC 41 Will save or be confused for 1 round. A creature that holds its breath or doesn’t have to breathe gains a +4 bonus on this saving throw. This is a mind-affecting poison effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Unspeakable Presence (Su) Failing a DC 33 Will save against Bokrug’s unspeakable presence causes the victim to become overwhelmed with hopelessness and doom—it takes a –4 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls as long as it remains within the area of affect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Vengeful Dreams (Su) Any creature that has ever damaged Bokrug or has slain one of his clerics can be targeted by the Great Old One’s vengeful dreams regardless of the distance between the creature and Bokrug, even across planar boundaries. In order to use vengeful dreams against a target, Bokrug must successfully affect the target with his nightmare spell-like ability; the target is always treated as familiar to Bokrug, and as if Bokrug possessed a body part of the victim, resulting in a –15 penalty on the saving throw against the nightmare. If the victim fails its save against the nightmare, the horrific dream unfolds as a vision of Bokrug consuming the victim alive. The victim then remains alive, conscious, and aware as the Great Old One digests it, and as Bokrug destroys all that remains of the victim’s lifelong friends, home, belongings, and family. When the victim awakens from the nightmare, it must succeed at a DC 33 Will save or take 3d6 points of Wisdom drain from the vengeful dreams. If this drains the target’s Wisdom to 0, it automatically gains a random insanity (GameMastery Guide 250). Once Bokrug uses this ability against a creature, he can’t do so again until that creature again damages him or slays one of his clerics. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.DescriptionBokrug, the Water Lizard, dwells in a distant and forsaken corner of the Dimension of Dreams, in a land that was once heavily populated but is now a desolate and barren realm surrounding a nameless lake—a realm once ruled by mighty human empires, but now ruled only by the hideous amphibian minions of the Water Lizard. Bokrug himself is a vast creature, a vaguely iguana-shaped monster with a beard of writhing tendrils and a long tail tipped with a stinger. The scales that cover his body hide long spines that Bokrug can extend or retract with near lightning speed.
Bokrug spends the majority of his time slumbering far down in the depths of his submerged lair. No rivers feed the lake, nor does it drain into the sea. Yet the still, ominous waters are neither stale nor brackish, implying that they connect somewhere deep underground, and. By way of these dark, secret waterways, Bokgrug has access to the lakes and rivers of the Dimension of Dreams, and his ability to plane shift allows him access to other realms as he wills.Bokrug’s CultBokrug is worshiped more out of fear than adoration, and when traveling dreamers come across his cult in their nightmares, they can unknowingly spread this fearful faith into the waking world. Bokrug’s temples are often found on the shores of remote lakes or hidden away in large swamplands. Though humans worship him, so do boggards, lizardfolk, marsh giants, and other swampdwelling races—particularly those who have suffered at the hands of aggressors, such as invading armies, rival tribes, or adventuring parties.
Though Bokrug is chaotic neutral, almost all of his worshipers are chaotic neutral or chaotic evil. Only a rare few chaotic good worshipers of Bokrug exist— most of these being delusional heretics or apologists who seek to keep Bokrug calm, ensuring he continues to slumber. These heretics and outliers of the faith are remorselessly hunted down by his more zealous and traditional worshipers.
Bokrug’s cult is associated with revenge, storms, and water, and its sacred symbol is a green lizard with a long, coiling tail—an image of Bokrug himself. His greatest shrines feature unusually realistic statues of his form, statues the cult maintains Bokrug can see out of and even animate from his distant lair to take sacrifices. Bokrug’s clerics have access to the domains of Chaos, Destruction, Water, and Weather, and to the subdomains of Catastrophe, Oceans, Rage, and Storms. The Water Lizard’s favored weapon is the ranseur; his followers often forge their ranseurs’ blades to resemble the Great Old One’s stingered tail.Creatures in "Great Old One" CategorySource Bestiary 4 pg. 135
The Great Old Ones are otherworldly entities of almost unimaginable power—beings completely alien to humanity, both physiologically and spiritually. They exist in the forgotten corners of distant worlds or lost dimensions, yet their power is so great they can influence certain sensitive mortal minds in their dreams and nightmares, even if such influence is as accidental as a star’s gravitational pull on a tiny mote of dust adrift in space. In such ways, cults devoted to the Great Old Ones can rise on worlds throughout the Material Plane, even without prior contact between these worlds. Some of the Great Old Ones grant access to the domain of Void and its associated subdomains (see below).
While not all of the Great Old Ones are evil, all are forces of chaos. Their cults are almost always evil and cause harm and madness, but the Great Old Ones are generally content to ignore lesser life such as humans, elves, and dwarves. Yet when their attention is garnered, the results can be catastrophic on an immense scale— for just as the ant who bites someone’s toe invites swift destruction on a scale its feeble mind can’t envision, so too does humanity invite unimaginable ruin by delving into the affairs of these powerful creatures.
The Great Old Ones themselves often serve and worship even greater powers, such as Azathoth, Nyarlathotep, Shub-Niggurath, and Yog-Sothoth. Those creatures are the Outer Gods, and whereas the Great Old Ones can be thought of as akin to demigods, the Outer Gods are themselves true deities.Other Great Old OnesBokrug, Cthulhu, and Hastur are but three of the Great Old Ones—countless others exist on distant worlds or other dimensions, yet are still able to influence the world through their dreams and cults. The central concept of the Great Old Ones was created by H. P. Lovecraft, one of the most influential writers of weird fiction—and horror fiction in general—of the 20th century. Lovecraft actively encouraged his writer friends to add to his mythos of creatures, and today we have Great Old Ones created not only by Lovecraft’s contemporaries like Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Henry Kuttner, and August Derleth, but also by modern writers like Ramsey Campbell, Brian Lumley, and Stephen King. Chaosium’s excellent Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game is a perfect place to start delving into the realm of Great Old Ones evoked in RPG form. By creating new Great Old Ones for your game, you can become part of a tradition of shared mythology nearly a century old!
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