Astral Snapper

Medium aberration, neutral evil

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 78 (12d8 + 24)
Speed 40 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
12 (+1) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 8 (-1)

Saving Throws Constitution +4
Skills Arcana +4, Deception +1, Perception +5, Stealth +4
Damage Resistances bludgeoning and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Deep Speech
Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Special Traits

  • Astral Devour. A creature hosting an astral snapper’s astral form must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw each time it finishes a long rest. On a success, the astral snapper is ejected from the host and the Astral Plane into an unoccupied space in the Material Plane within 10 feet of the host and is stunned for 1 round. On a failure, the astral snapper consumes part of the host’s internal organs, reducing the host’s Constitution score by 1d4. The host dies if this reduces its Constitution to 0. The reduction lasts until the host finishes a long rest after the astral snapper has been expelled. If the host’s Constitution score is reduced to 0, the astral snapper exits the host’s body in the Material Plane by tearing its way out through the abdomen. The astral snapper becomes completely corporeal as it exits the host, stepping out of the host at its full size. From the time the astral snapper succeeds on the initial dive into the host through the Astral Plane until the moment it emerges from the host’s abdomen, it can be seen by any creature that can see into the Astral Plane-its head buried in the host’s back. The astral snapper has disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and is effectively stunned when in this position until it takes damage.

Actions

  • Multiattack. The astral snapper makes two attacks with its claws. If both attacks hit the same target, the target must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or its wound becomes a rift to the Astral Plane. The astral snapper immediately passes through, closing the rift behind it. The target is then affected by the astral snapper’s Astral Devour trait.
  • Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) slashing damage.

About

This hideous creature has the body of a pale human. Its yellow eyes are slit with vertical pupils, and its wide grin reveals a mouth full of shark’s teeth.

Hunters from Beyond. Mysterious extraplanar creatures, astral snappers hunt humanoids on the Material Plane, but they feed on their victim’s innards while concealed in the Astral Plane. They erupt back into the Material Plane from the slain creature once the feast is complete. Though they are most at home in the Astral Plane, they can only get there through killing another creature and can only remain there until they have fed.

Servants or Parasites. The few scholars familiar with these creatures speculate that they may have come into the world either attached to or in the wake of far greater creatures from beyond the stars, and perhaps they serve such godlike beings in some way.

Strange Hungers. Astral snappers hunt by means of stealth and ambush, while seeking out lone travelers. When the astral snapper enters the victim’s body by opening a portal in it to the Astral Plane, many of the creatures believe the astral snapper has simply broken off its attack and vanished. They count themselves lucky right up until the first pains of being devoured from the inside strike them.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Creature Codex. © 2018 Open Design LLC; Authors Wolfgang Baur, Dan Dillon, Richard Green, James Haeck, Chris Harris, Jeremy Hochhalter, James Introcaso, Chris Lockey, Shawn Merwin, and Jon Sawatsky.

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