Squirming Swill
Squirming Swill
CR 2 NE Undead
This thing is a greasy mass of organic matter studded with more recognizable organs and bones occasionally rising to the surface. It smells overpoweringly of rot and char.
Cauldrons are among the most potent tools of a witch or a hag, but they should be cleaned regularly and carefully for fear of consequences. Squirming swills are among those consequences. They are the burnt and greasy remains of things overcooked in a magic cauldron, animated by leftover magic and given a dim, malign intelligence. Once able to move under their own power, they pull themselves out of their incubators and start to roam.
Squirming swills are usually hostile to humanoid creatures, trying to kill them with sizzling pseudopods and jets of hot grease. A creature that closely resembles their creator may instead be “adopted”, with the swill viewing them the way a neglected pet may treat a prospective new owner. Squirming swills often approach small animals looking for companionship, but tend to scare them away or lash out and kill them when the creature revolts at its new friend’s slime, heat or smell. A squirming swill is also happy to befriend a small animal carcass, toting them around the way a child does a beloved toy.
Due to the magical energy involved in their construction, the remains of a squirming swill retain useful properties. The liquid from a squirming swill’s body can be squeezed out to generate a random greater minor potion. A creature that uses this potion must succeed a DC 13 Fortitude save or be sickened for 1 minute.
Squirming Swill CR 2
XP 600
NE Small undead
Init +3; Senses blind, blindsense 60 ft., Perception +5
Aura wretched stench (Fort DC 13, 1 minute, 15 ft.)
Defense
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+1 size, +3 Dex)
hp 22 (3d8+9)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +4
Immune undead traits, visual effects; Resist fire 5
Defensive Abilities amorphous
Offense
Speed 20 ft., swim 15 ft.
Melee slam +6 (1d10-1 plus 1d6 fire plus slippery grease)
Ranged scalding oil +6 touch (2d6 fire)
Statistics
Str 9, Dex 16, Con -, Int 1, Wis 10, Cha 15
Base Atk +2; CMB +0; CMD 13 (cannot be tripped)
Feats Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +5 (-1 jumping), Perception +5, Stealth +12, Swim +7
Ecology
Environment any land or underground
Organization solitary, pair or banquet (3-12)
Treasure special (see above)
Special Abilities
Scalding Oil (Ex) A squirming swill can fire a jet of hot grease as a standard action. Treat this as a ranged touch attack with a range of 30 feet and no range increment. A creature struck takes 2d6 points of fire damage.
Slippery Grease (Ex) A creature struck by a squirming swill’s slam attack must succeed a DC 13 Reflex save or fall prone. The save DC is Charisma based.
Wretched Stench (Su) A creature can make a save to recover from a squirming swill’s stench as a move action on its turn. If the creature succeeds at this secondary saving throw, it vomits and the vomit joins the swill’s mass, healing the swill 3 hit points. The save DC is Charisma based.