ThorgothrelA skeleton of silver rods gives this blob of protoplasm a roughly defined shape with an approximation of three arms and legs. Its outer skin shimmers with a rainbow of colors.Thorgothrel CR 8Source Pathfinder #87: The Choking Tower pg. 90
XP 4,800
LE Large ooze
Init +4; Senses blindsight 100 ft.; Perception +11DefenseAC 21, touch 9, flat-footed 21 (+12 natural, –1 size)
hp 100 (8d8+24 plus 40 hp force field)
Fort +7, Ref +4, Will +7
Immune cold, electricity, mind-affecting effects, ooze traits; Resist acid 10OffenseSpeed 20 ft.
Melee 2 slams +11 (1d6+6 plus bleed)
Ranged force ray +5 ranged touch (10d6 force)
Space 10 ft., Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks atavistic manipulation, bleed (1 Int damage), force rayStatisticsStr 22, Dex 10, Con 17, Int 17, Wis 16, Cha 11
Base Atk +6; CMB +13; CMD 23 (25 vs. trip)
Feats Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes
Skills Disable Device +8, Heal +10, Knowledge (arcana) +10, Knowledge (engineering) +10, Knowledge (nature) +10, Perception +11; Racial Modifiers +4 Heal
Languages Aklo, Common, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ no breath, poisonous sublimationEcologyEnvironment any
Organization solitary
Treasure standard (silver armature worth 350 gp, other treasure)Special AbilitiesAtavistic Manipulation (Su) A thorgothrel can alter a target’s genetic structure to induce rapid evolutionary regression by dealing Intelligence bleed damage with its slam attacks. As the target mentally regresses, it also becomes more feral and violent. A target that has taken at least 4 points of Intelligence damage from a thorgothrel gains a +2 enhancement bonus to Strength. If a thorgothrel spends an hour experimenting on a target rendered unconscious due to Intelligence damage, it can make this regression permanent. Thereafter, the target’s Intelligence score is reduced to 1. This regression can be reversed only with heal, limited wish, miracle, or wish. At the GM’s discretion, the target might change in additional ways to reflect its atavistic regression.
Force Field (Ex) A thorgothrel with a silver armature is sheathed in a thin layer of shimmering energy that grants 40 bonus hit points. All damage dealt to a thorgothrel with an active force field is reduced from these hit points first. As long as the force field is active, the thorgothrel is immune to critical hits. A thorgothrel’s force field has fast healing 10, but once its hit points are reduced to 0, the force field shuts down and can only be reactivated if the thorgothrel spends a fullround action and succeeds at a DC 15 Disable Device check. If successful, the force field reactivates with 1 hit point.
Force Ray (Ex) As a standard action, a thorgothrel can lose 5 hit points from its force field (if it has that many or more remaining) in order to fire a ray of force at any target within 100 feet. The ray is a ranged touch attack that deals 10d6 points of force damage.
Poisonous Sublimation (Ex) When a thorgothrel without an active force field is in a region with breathable atmosphere, it beings to evaporate into a poisonous mist. The thorgothrel takes 1d4 points of Constitution damage each round at the beginning of its turn, and the mist expands to fill a 20-foot radius. Any living creature in the mist with 6 or fewer HD must succeed at a DC 17 Fortitude save or be slain. A creature with more than 6 HD takes 1d4 points of Constitution damage each round while in the mist (Fortitude half). A moderate wind disperses the mist in 4 rounds; a strong wind disperses the mist in 1 round. This is a poison effect, and the save DC is Constitution-based.DescriptionThorgothrels are a spacefaring race of aggressive genetic manipulators. In their natural form, thorgothrels are blobs of protoplasm 12 feet in diameter that move with awkward undulation. Thorgothrels can extrude pseudopods in order to manipulate objects and form simple tools. These pseudopods excrete a complex cocktail of chemicals that can force changes to a victim’s underlying genetic structure.
Weighed down by Golarion’s gravity and quick to sublimate into poisonous vapor in the atmosphere, thorgothrels find Golarion (and similar planets) inherently inimical. A thorgothrel can move about on Golarion only by wrapping its body around a frame of silver rods that provides inner support and encases the creature in a resilient force field barrier. Despite the hazard Golarion’s atmosphere poses to these alien creatures, the planet’s staggering diversity of life presents a veritable cornucopia of beings upon which they can perform their genetic experimentations, inching closer to their goal of returning all creatures to a primeval, atavistic state.
The silver armature largely determines the exact size of a thorgothrel, but a typical thorgothrel stands around 11 feet tall and weighs about 900 lbs.EcologyHailing from a distant planet with a radically different environment, thorgothrels don’t fit into Golarion’s ecosystem. The environment on Golarion is deadly to this spacefaring race, as the planet’s comparatively low air pressure causes them to vaporize when exposed to it. Thorgothrels on Golarion combat this by remaining continually sheathed in a protective force field to avoid fatal dematerialization. Even in the best of conditions, a thorgothrel moves slowly. On Golarion, it must wrap its protoplasmic form around an artificial skeleton in order to move at a speed greater than a crawl. Thorgothrel mathematics are based on a ternary system, which is reflected in their armatures usually having three legs and three arms radially placed around a central spine.
Thorgothrels feed on electrical currents and certain metals. The armatures thorgothrels create in order to provide mobility are made of electromagnetically charged and refined silver, and thus contain all of the nutrients the creatures need to survive for several months. Without an armature, a thorgothrel requires an ounce of silver per week to survive. Thorgothrels don’t require true sleep, and the torpor they enter in the long years of travel between planets in their strange ships provides them with sufficient rest to remain active for months at a time.
Thorgothrels communicate telepathically, and consider verbal communication to be the sort of anathema that drives their work toward retrogressive development.Habitat & SocietyThe thorgothrel race were once humanoids. The greatest of their scientists and philosophers concluded that evolutionary advancement was a danger to the universe as a whole, and that life in its most primitive state was safest for all creatures. The thorgothrels began a great spacefaring crusade to subjugate other planets and force regressive evolution on the planets’ denizens via genetic manipulation. Thorgothrels take pride in devolving entire planets into primitive life forms, and slaughter those races that put up too much of a struggle against their “great work.”
As the thorgothrels “improved” world after world, they also manipulated their own genes. While maintaining their intelligence and skill at genetic manipulation, the race regressed its form to that of sentient blobs of protoplasm. Thorgothrels buttress the weaknesses of these new bodies, such as low mobility, with technological solutions. Although silver armatures and defensive force fields are the most common artifacts of thorgothrel science, rumors from other worlds tell of thorgothrels that occupy gargantuan walking machines or psychic field projectors powerful enough to render entire cities docile.
Their great crusade has caused the once numerous thorgothrel race to dwindle, but the race’s fervor to enforce regression still continues on many far-flung planets. A few decades ago, thorgothrel explorers discovered Golarion and were staggered by the abundance of advanced life found on this world. However, Golarion’s unfavorable environment and great distance from the thorgothrels’ homeworld has so far stymied a full-scale assault. To date, only a few daring adventurer-geneticists have come to Golarion. To avoid attracting wide public attention, these thorgothrels pursue their regression experiments in isolated locations, such as lonely wastelands, border outposts, or hidden valleys. Thorgothrels carefully dissect failed experiments in order to hone their craft, but usually set successfully regressed victims free. Rumors of remote areas where animals or people have suddenly “gone wild” or “turned feral” may indicate a thorgothrel’s presence.
Thorgothrels are arrogant and prone to overconfidence. Most thorgothrels encountered on Golarion have visited dozens of other worlds, and they consider even the most advanced of Golarion’s creatures to be evolutionary mistakes that must be corrected or exterminated. This gives thorgothrels little reason to communicate with other races, which in turn feeds into their intellectual and philosophical mandate to act however they see fit.
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