Croaking Fiend
by Jamie BatyWotI 108
Large Outsider (Chaos, Evil, Exalted, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 13d8+133 (191 hp)
Initiative: +7 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative, +2 Enhanced Reflexes)
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), fly 20 ft. (poor)
Armour Class: 24 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +14 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 23
Base Attack/Grapple: +13/+23
Attack: Claw +18 melee (1d3 +6)
Full Attack: 2 Claw +18 melee (1d3 +6) and bite +13 melee (2d8 +3) or tongue +13 melee touch (no damage)
Space/Reach: 10 ft. /10 ft. (20ft with Snap ability)
Special Attacks: Call other, improved grab, mind power, snap, stench, summon
Special Qualities: Control undead, Damage reduction 10/good, darkvision 60ft., enhanced reflexes, fiend immunities, flight, immunity to electricity and poison, outsider traits, potent magic, resistance to acid 10, cold 10, and fire 10, spell resistance 19, spell-like abilities, telepathy 100ft
Saves: Fort +18, Ref +9, Will +11
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 12, Con 31, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 20
Skills: Climb +22, Concentration +26, Escape Artist +17, Hide +13, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (the planes) +20, Listen +27, Move Silently +17, Search +20, Spellcraft +20, Spot +27, Survival +19, Use Rope +1
Feats: Blind Fighting, Cleave, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Toughness
Environment: Entropic Planes
Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 15
Treasure: Double Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 14-26 HD (Large); 27-39 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: -
Also known as the Swamp Fiend and the Gobbler, this foul, slimy monster looks like a giant humanoid toad standing over 7ft tall.
Croaking fiends speak Abyssal, Celestial and Draconic.
The forms of croaking fiends are based on the hezrou, although any creature raised to this status is given this form.
Combat
Croaking fiends have a tremendous love of battle, searching for conflict wherever it is. Croaking fiends will often open combat by snapping its claw and tongue attacks at its foes. If things are going badly for the fiend, it will start slinging spells as needed to pummel its enemies. It is more willing to use its Summon and Call Other abilities than the screaming fiend.
Croaking fiends are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and will occasionally use one. When using a weapon, the croaking fiend may use its bite and offhand claw (if free) as secondary attacks. They do not use armour.
Call Other (Sp): Once per round, a croaking fiend may attempt to call another fiend or entropic immortal to come to its aid. Each attempt has a 15% chance of success. There is no limit to the number of times this ability may be used, or on the total number of allies called (although no more than one ally will respond to an individual call).
Improved Grab (Ex): If a croaking fiend hits a foe with both of its claws, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If the claw attacks are part of the Snap ability, the victim is immediately dragged back to the fiend if the grapple succeeds.
If the croaking fiend hits the foe with a tongue touch attack, it does no damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If the grapple succeeds, the victim is dragged back to the fiend and automatically suffers bite damage.
Mind Power (Sp): As a swift round action, a croaking fiend may create a variety of spell-like effects at the expenditure of Power Points. A croaking fiend possesses 100 Power Points. Power Points regenerate with rest at the rate of 1 PP per minute of rest. Croaking fiends are associated with the Sphere of Entropy. The following are typical uses for the Power Points:
• A croaking fiend can cast any mortal spell at 25th level, but that costs him double the spell level in PP (for example, a fire ball would cost him 6 PP).
Snap (Ex): A croaking fiend may stretch its tongue and arms up to 20ft to make an attack on a foe. The tongue attack is a touch attack and the claw attacks are normal attacks. If the tongue or both claws hit, the croaking fiend may attempt to grapple the victim (See Improved Grab).
Stench (Ex): A croaking fiend's skin produces a foul-smelling, toxic liquid whenever it fights. Any living creature (except other demons or fiends) within 10 feet must succeed on a DC 26 Fortitude save or be nauseated for as long as it remains within the affected area and for 1d4 rounds afterward. Creatures that successfully save are sickened for as long as they remain in the area. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same croaking fiend's stench for 24 hours. A delay poison or neutralise poison spell removes either condition from one creature. Creatures that have immunity to poison are unaffected, and creatures resistant to poison receive their normal bonus on their saving throws. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Summon (Sp): Once per day a croaking fiend can attempt to summon 4d10 dretches or a hezrou with a 35% chance of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 4th-level spell.
Control Undead (Sp): A croaking fiend may command undead as if it were a 23rd level cleric. The croaking fiend must make a turn check normally, and ignores any rebuke result. The fiend must take a standard action to give mental orders to a commanded undead. At any one time, the fiend may command any number of undead whose total Hit Dice do not exceed his effective level (23). He may voluntarily relinquish command on any commanded undead creature or creatures in order to command new ones. This ability may be used at will.
Damage Reduction (Su): A croaking fiend has damage reduction of 10/good. Its natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as chaotic-aligned and evil-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Enhanced Reflexes (Ex): A croaking fiend gains a +2 bonus to Initiative and its foes take a -2 penalty to all skill checks made at the beginning of an encounter to determine awareness.
Fiend Immunities (Ex): Lesser Fiends are immune to ability damage, ability drain, energy drain, disease, all types of scrying and the effects of unnatural aging.
Flight (Su): A croaking fiend can cease or resume flight as a free action. This ability becomes ineffective in an antimagic field, and the croaking fiend loses its ability to fly for as long as the antimagic effect persists.
Potent Magic (Ex): Unlike mortal creatures, a croaking fiend can affect an immortal with its magical attacks.
Spell-like Abilities (Sp): At will
chaos hammer, greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), unholy blight; 3/day
blasphemy, gaseous form. Caster level 25th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Telepathy (Su): A croaking fiend can communicate telepathically with any other creature within 100 feet that has a language. It is possible to address multiple creatures at once telepathically, although maintaining a telepathic conversation with more than one creature at a time is just as difficult as simultaneously speaking and listening to multiple people at the same time.
Skills: Croaking fiends have a +8 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks.