Kugaptee's Drakauthix
Level 9Attacks
Abilities
The drakauthix exudes a cloud of spores that it uses to see. This is an imprecise sense that functions only in areas without strong wind currents. Sporesight does not function underwater.
Whenever the drakauthix takes at least 10[slashing] damage, it releases a cloud of brown spores in a 20-foot emanation that persists for 1 minute (or until dispersed by a strong wind). All creatures within the spores become Concealed, and all creatures outside the spores become concealed to creatures within it. Within this cloud of spores, the drakauthix's sporesight becomes a precise sense. The spore cloud does not move with the drakauthix nor is it displaced by its movement.
The drakauthix pulls all creatures it has Grabbed 15 feet closer to itself.
The tendrils that cover the drakauthix's body reach out and infest adjacent creatures, dealing 4d6 poison damage and 1d6 persistent poison damage (DC 27 reflex save; a creature Grabbed by the drakauthix takes a –4 circumstance penalty to this save).
The drakauthix whirls, whipping creatures around it. It makes a tentacle Strike against every creature within reach. These attacks count toward the drakauthix's multiple attack penalty, but the multiple attack penalty doesn't increase until after the drakauthix makes all its attacks.
The drakauthix is a massive fungus that floats through the heights of the largest Darklands caverns, propelled by bladders that spray air and spores. A voracious but slow-moving hunter, the drakauthix prefers to ambush meaty creatures from above, using its hooked appendages to pull its victims upward to feed. The drakauthix's digestive process is entirely external-it clings to victims, and its spore-laden surface slowly feeds on and grows through the flesh before the spore-infested carcass is discarded. As the infested body strikes the ground below, it bursts and releases a cloud of spores, unleashing a host of young called sporelings that immediately scuttle up the cavern walls to cling to its ceiling and grow.
The drakauthix behaves no more intelligently than most predatory animals, and often uses a sort of symbiotic scavenger method to secure prey by capitalizing on the hunting methods of oozes and vermin found in the large cave systems it frequents. When a relatively mindless creature kills a victim, the drakauthix drifts down, hooks the freshly slain carcass with its tendrils, and reels in its meal. The mindless ooze or other creature that just had its food stolen rarely holds a grudge and simply slithers off to find a new quarry, letting the drakauthix digest the corpse in peace. Of course, the drakauthix isn't above feasting on more active prey as well, and might attack an adventurer who neglects to look upward for danger when exploring a network of mysterious caves.
Some Darklands-dwelling creatures, such as duergars, hunt drakauthixes for their flesh, which has a unique flavor with a peppery aftertaste. Subterranean races also make ink from drakauthixes by burning their carcasses, then grinding and pressing the ashes for a long time until a silvery substance congeals.