Torble, Torble SwarmTorble Swarm CR 2Source Pathfinder #25: The Bastards of Erebus pg. 84
XP 600
N Tiny vermin (swarm)
Init +2; Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 30 ft.; Perception +8DefenseAC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 size)
hp 13 (3d8)
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +3
Immune acid, swarm traits, weapon damage
Weaknesses ooze-vermin hybridOffenseSpeed 15 ft., climb 15 ft.
Melee swarm (1d6 plus 1 acid)
Space 10 ft., Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks distraction (DC 11)StatisticsStr 3, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 14, Cha 2
Base Atk +2; CMB —; CMD —
Feats Dodge, Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Perception +8
SQ hive mind, primitive sight, telepathic sensitivitySpecial AbilitiesHive Mind (Ex) Any torble swarm with at least 3 hit points per Hit Die (or 9 hit points, for a standard torble swarm) forms a hive mind, giving it an Intelligence of 3. When the swarm is reduced below this hit point threshold, it becomes mindless, losing its feats and reducing its Perception bonus to +2.
Ooze-Vermin Hybrid (Ex) Torbles react to ooze-affecting effects as if they were oozes and vermin-affecting effects as if they were vermin, whichever is least advantageous for the torble or more advantageous for the originator of the effect.
Primitive Sight (Ex) Though it has blindsight and can operate without vision, a torble’s simple eyes give it poor sight (mainly light and color) with an effective range of 30 feet. Because they can see, they are subject to attacks that affect sighted creatures (such as gaze attacks), but as they can still rely on their blindsight, they cannot be dazzled or blinded by sight-based attacks.
Telepathic Sensitivity (Ex) Torbles are receptive to the thoughtenergy of telepathic minds. A creature with the telepathy special ability can use a swift action to mentally command one torble per point of Charisma bonus for one round, twice that many by using a move action, or four times that many by using a standard action. The creature’s control of the vermin is limited to simple commands (“attack,” “defend,” “stop,” and so forth); orders to attack a certain creature when it appears or guard against a particular occurrence are too complex for the vermin to understand. Torbles that leave the range of the creature’s telepathy immediately revert to their standard behavior.
Torbles (called “chordoplasms” by scholars of strange fauna and “ooze bugs” by many others) are strange and fascinating creatures, curious in ways beyond what their simple forms might suggest. These strangely colored creatures resemble a cross between a tiny ooze and an insect. They typically have a bulbous, beetle-like translucent body, six legs, and long eyestalks with primitive sensory knobs on the end. Usually they take on green, gray, or pink shades, though they may be any color. Older torbles often tend toward the colors of large ooze predators such as ochre jellies, black puddings, or the colorless gelatinous cubes, though any relationship between them is unclear. The creature’s interior may be clear or cloudy, and has the same consistency and properties of the fluid that surrounds the brains of lower animals. After the creature feeds, however, its color temporarily changes to match the color of its meal—which sometimes remains visible for hours. Although a torble has no true organs, it has a stiff bundle of fibrous nerve tissue running the length of its body that helps hold its shape. When it rests, it retracts its antennae and legs into its body, similar to how a snail or slug withdraws its eyestalks when threatened.
A typical ooze bug is about 7 inches long and 5 inches wide, and weighs about 1 pound.Torble FamiliarsNotorious for infesting swamps and the sewers of coastal cities, torbles prove annoying and sometimes startling, but rarely dangerous in small numbers. Their devotion—or at least, lazy hunting practices—make them easily manipulated by even creatures without the ability to command them telepathically. Children in poor communities and swamp dwellers often adopt lone torbles, enjoying their attachment and shiny, ever-shifting colors. Some magic-users from such backgrounds even go so far as to adopt torbles as their familiars. While hardly the most popular or aggrandizing companions, torble familiars help their masters better understand strange magical processes and prove obsessively devoted, if at times clumsy.
Torbles that undergo the process of becoming a spellcaster’s familiar lose their telepathic sensitivity and hive mind abilities, but gain a permanent Intelligence score of 3. Torble familiars grant their masters a +2 bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks.Creatures in "Torble" CategoryThis scuttling thing looks at first glance like a colorful, animate blob of slime, but its thin insectoid legs and eyestalks suggest it is a more advanced creature. Its antennae-like appendages wave about curiously, and its multiple legs carry forth its transparent, hand-sized body at a surprisingly swift scuttle.
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