Chuul Worker

Family: Chuul

Medium aberration (brutal), any neutral alignment or unaligned

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 60 (8d8 + 24); Wound Threshold 15
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	10 (+0)	16 (+3)	8 (-1)	10 (+0)	12 (+1)

Skills Perception +2
Tools mason’s tools +4
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Deep Speech
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Amphibious. The chuul worker can breathe air and water.
• Sense Magic. The chuul worker senses magic within 120 feet of it at will. This trait otherwise works like the detect magic spell but isn’t itself magical.
• Innate Spellcasting (1/Day). The chuul worker can innately cast stone shape, requiring no material components. Its innate spellcasting ability is Charisma.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The chuul worker makes two pincer attacks.
• Pincer. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

BONUS ACTIONS

• Disenchant (Recharge 6). The chuul worker chooses a magic item within 10 feet and makes a DC 10 Charisma check. On a successful check, the item’s magical properties are suppressed until the next dawn.

ABOUT

Chuul workers faithfully toil toward the completion of the aboleths’ projects. Significantly smaller and less fierce than the warriors, they remain tough creatures, and are more disciplined than their vicious kin. Their pincers are more prehensile, though less powerful, and so they attack by striking rather than crushing. They’re also distinguished by long tentacles that serve as tools. They also possess a rudimentary magical affinity; their ability to suppress the effects of magic items piques arcanists’ curiosity.

Chuuls have a disturbing appearance. They combine characteristics evoking cephalopods, crayfish, and humanoids. Their physique makes them strong fighters and allows them to perform many tasks aboleths are ill-suited to. In fact, the latter are the chuuls’ creators, and make use of them for all sorts of labor.

Mutual Fear

Using this option, chuuls are dangerous and often fanatical creatures, but with free will.

They live in communities controlled by rigid traditions stemming from the teachings of the aboleths, their ancient creators. They learned to worship and devote themselves to these greater beings. Their fear of the outside world is born from their ignorance of other languages and the fear that their appearance elicits. Most people flee or grab their weapons when they see a chuul, feeding an unending cycle of fear and mutual loathing.

Under some conditions, their attitude could change and they’re able to free themselves-with difficulty-from the indoctrination they’ve been subjected to. This is a change that could only be a personal one. The most powerful chuuls have little to gain from changing the status quo.

If any chuuls manage to completely throw off the aboleths’ yoke, they would become greater aberrations.

Bereft of Free Will

If you choose this option, the chuuls’ fate is as tragic as it is hopeless. They lead miserable lives as slaves, anonymous existences devoted only to satisfy their masters and creators, the aboleths-no matter the consequences. The vagaries of history sometimes led communities to survive without a leader, but rather than emancipating themselves, the chuuls merely continued following their last instructions, such as building a monumental aquatic structure, guarding an ancient sanctum, or gathering many magic objects.

The Chuul King

Some sorcerers derive their powers from the aboleths’ emanations of energy. To the chuuls, these psychurge sorcerers are divine beings.

A tribe lacking any inspiring figure may recognize this energy and might be prepared to kidnap its future king to forcefully make it clear they must rule over this flock in the Netherworld. The reign of this ruler would be seriously compromised if the tribe happened to come in contact with a real aboleth!