Gloom Crawler

Huge monstrosity, neutral

Armor Class 17
Hit Points 136 (13d12 + 52)
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
20 (+5) 24 (+7) 18 (+4) 4 (-3) 12 (+1) 2 (-4)

Skills Perception +9, Stealth +11
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 19
Languages
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Special Traits

  • Hyper-Awareness. The gloom crawler has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and on saving throws against being blinded.

Actions

  • Multiattack. The gloom crawler makes three tentacles attacks and one bite attack.
  • Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d8 + 7) piercing damage.
  • Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 23 (3d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 19). At the beginning of the gloom crawler’s turns, it can choose to pull a grappled creature 15 feet to its mouth or constrict its tentacles to deal 10 (1d10 + 5) bludgeoning damage to the grappled target. The gloom crawler can grapple up to three different targets.

About

This giant, squid-like beast has thirty to forty tentacles, each about 30 feet long. At the end of each tentacle stares a small, round, lidless eye with a stark blue pupil. The creature’s glossy flesh is inky-black with a slightly paler underside centered upon a vicious looking, monstrously-sized, hooked beak.

The gloom crawler is a solitary creature resembling a giant squid with blackened skin and a large mass of writhing squid-like tentacles. It makes its lair in underground caves, dungeons, and other such subterranean complexes far away from the daylight of the surface world and spends most of its time dormant, waking every so often to eat.

The gloom crawler moves along its underground world using the suction cups on its tentacles to pull itself along. The average gloom crawler has anywhere from thirty to forty tentacles, each averaging 15 to 30 feet long. In addition, each tentacle has a small eye near the tip that allows it to see in any direction at any time if it wishes. When prey is encountered the gloom crawler brings as many tentacles to bear on a foe as it can, using its smaller tentacles to move around during combat.

Gloom crawlers are omnivorous creatures sustaining themselves on a diet of subterranean plants, mosses, rodents, and other subterranean fauna.

They do not, however, turn down the chance for a larger meal, such as that offered by a foolhardy adventurer that stumbles into a gloom crawler lair.

When an opponent first approaches a gloom crawler, it lashes out with its tentacles attempting to grab a foe. If successful, it hangs on and constricts that opponent while fighting off other foes with its other tentacles. A held foe is also pulled in close so the gloom crawler can bite with its beak. A gloom crawler can bring up to five tentacles to bear on a single 5-foot space.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Horrors © 2018, Frog God Games, LLC; Authors: Kevin Baase, Erica Balsley, John “Pexx” Barnhouse, Christopher Bishop, Casey Christofferson, Jim Collura, Andrea Costantini, Jayson ‘Rocky' Gardner, Zach Glazar, Meghan Greene, Scott Greene, Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Ian S. Johnston, Bill Kenower, Patrick Lawinger, Rhiannon Louve, Ian McGarty, Edwin Nagy, James Patterson, Nathan Paul, Patrick N. Pilgrim, Clark Peterson, Anthony Pryor, Greg Ragland, Robert Schwalb, G. Scott Swift, Greg A. Vaughan, and Bill Webb

This is not the complete license attribution - see the full license for this page