Chlorthek

Medium Aberration

Hit Dice: 4d8+16 (34 hp),dying/dead –5/–19 Initiative: +4 Speed: 30 feet AC: 14 (+4 natural),touch 10,flat-footed 14 Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+10 Attack: Slam +6 melee (1d6+3 plus 1d8 acid) Full Attack: Slam +6 melee (1d6+3 plus 1d8 acid) Space/Reach: 5 feet/5 feet (Face/Reach:5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet) Special Attacks: Acidic touch,burst ofrage Special Qualities: Immunity to acid,low-light vision, regeneration 2 Saves: Fort +5,Ref+1,Will +8 Abilities: Str 16,Dex 10,Con 19,Int 8,Wis 15,Cha 7 Skills: Climb +6,Listen +6 Feats: Improved Grapple B , Improved Initiative,Iron Will,

Resistance to Magic

Environment: Any Organization: Solitary,pair,or mob (3–12) Challenge Rating: 4 Treasure: Standard Advancement: By character class or 5–8 HD (Medium), 9–18 HD (Large),19–30 HD (Huge) Level Adjustment: +1

These miserable abominations resemble short humanoids with patches ofmelted,baggy skin hanging from their bodies. The dramojh created these twisted humanoids by subjecting captives to a horrific combination ofacid baths,preserving salts,and magical rituals.Chlortheks are coated in acid,making their slightest touch deadly.This acid burns and warps their skin,but their regeneration ability allows them to heal these injuries before they become life-threatening.In battle, they draw strength from their state ofendless pain.

Were chlortheks any less violent,they would perhaps find succor and pity from giants and men.Unfortunately,the dramojh cursed them to find reliefonly when they channel their agony into destructive acts.To a chlorthek,each blow it lands on its enemy drains away the pain it feels.These creatures leave a wide swath ofdevastation in their path,as they topple buildings,fell trees,and seek to slay or destroy anything they come across.

While chlortheks are potent enemies,their overly aggressive actions make it difficult for them to survive for long. Invariably,they push the folk ofthe areas they despoil to hunt them down.Years ago large bands ofchlorthek marauders ravaged the countryside,but over time their numbers have dwindled.They persist in a few small,isolated groups.While these groups pose a lesser threat than in earlier times,they are still deadly enemies.Their depredations may be less extensive,but their urge to slay and pillage remains intact.

Most chlortheks speak Common,though they rarely communicate even with their own kind.Most ofthe time,their speech is limited to low,agonized moans and shrieks ofpain.

Combat

Chlortheks employ simple,direct tactics against their enemies. They prefer to charge forward in large numbers.They rarely use weapons and armor,since their acidic nature weakens or destroys such gear.Instead,they grapple opponents and allow their strength and acidic secretions to carry the day.

Chlortheks gain Improved Grapple as a bonus feat.Their squat,strong bodies and melted,viscous flesh make them adept at closing with an opponent and grabbing him in a powerful hold.

Chlortheks almost always fight to the death.Ifbattle brings them a reprieve from their miserable condition,then the empty oblivion ofdeath is the final reward they can hope to reap.

Acidic Touch (Ex): Due to the acidic film that covers their bodies,chlortheks smear caustic fluid on their opponents with a successful attack.They deal 1d8 points ofacid damage with each attack.In addition,they automatically deal 1d8 points ofacid damage each round they successfully initiate or maintain a grapple against an opponent.

Burst ofRage (Ex): The chlortheks’ ceaseless pain drives them to seek release in battle and destruction,granting them temporary reprieve from their agony.In combat,this ability to channel their emotions allows them to fight on despite horrid injuries.When a chlorthek is reduced to fewer than 0 hit points,it gains a +2 bonus to Strength and continues to fight until it is slain.It does not fall unconscious while dying,though it suffers the other drawbacks as normal.

Regeneration (Ex): The chlortheks’ ability to heal wounds swiftly is the only thing that prevents them from succumbing to their state ofendless pain.They do not regenerate fire or electricity damage.

Chlorthek Society

Some sages believe that the curse laid upon the chlortheks can somehow be broken and these poor creatures returned to their true forms.While many warriors see such talk as evidence ofa soft heart and cloudy vision,those who believe the chlortheks can be saved point to their crude culture as proofoftheir worthiness.When chlortheks gather in small numbers away from civilization,they tend to erect crude settlements that bear faint echoes ofthe architecture and governments used by humans,giants,and other creatures. Those who study chlortheks call this tendency evidence that these beasts retain some distant memory oftheir former states.Other,more militant observers believe that the dramojh simply preserved memories and impulses that could

prove useful for their slaves.No one has yet dared to venture into a chlorthek settlement to learn the truth,nor has any evidence ofhow to break this supposed curse come to light.

The Chlorthek Curse

The curse that afflicts all chlortheks is a legacy ofthe hated dramojh.In the research that led to the genesis ofthese creatures,the dramojh learned that the easiest way to produce willing,violent servitors was to horribly warp intelligent creatures’ personalities and forms.The traumatic alteration produced sufficiently vicious servants that the dramojh could easily set against their foes without fear ofrevolt.Too often in the past,the dramojh had found their experiments too intelligent to accept servitude willingly.

All chlortheks suffer from a magical curse that places them in their current state.This condition extends to their descendants,though two chlortheks can have children only ifthey were originally from the same or compatible species. To prevent the easy defeat oftheir minions (the dramojh feared that a single powerful spellcaster could undo their work),they placed a specific,customized method ofshattering the curse in the genetic makeup ofeach creature they altered.Breaking the curse frees an individual chlorthek,his ancestors,and his children and other descendants.

Unfortunately for the chlortheks as a race,the dramojh created a multitude ofspecific strains ofthis curse.One chlorthek bloodline may be cured by bathing one ofits members in water anointed by a greenbond and collected at the peak ofthe world’s tallest mountain.Other chlortheks may need to journey to the deepest point in the underworld and breathe the vapors ofa specific volcanic rift.Ofcourse,dragging a chlorthek along on this sort ofquest can prove difficult,but the effort promises to remove a deadly menace permanently from the world.Furthermore,freed individuals retain their own memories plus recollections oftheir ancestors’ lives.Forgotten lore,important knowledge ofthe dramojh era,and other secrets may linger on within the mind ofa seemingly mad,vicious monster.

Chlorthek Characters

The strongest and toughest chlortheks become warmains, tempering their destructive urges with the intelligence and cunning needed to become highly trained combatants. Otherwise,some specimens gain levels in the warrior class. Chlortheks lack the intelligence and clarity ofmind to master spellcasting or any complex talents,because their continual state ofpain breaks their concentration and leaves them unable to perform any purely mental endeavor.

Chlorthek Encounter (EL 7)

While staying in town,the characters hear news ofa small group ofchlortheks lurking in a nearby forest.Ifthey investigate,they learn that a merchant and his bodyguards saw the monsters and fled before they could suffer an attack.Within a short time,the story spirals out ofcontrol.Now,rumors run rampant ofa large band ofthese monsters bearing down on the town,while others speak ofa mad,giant greenbond who has rallied the creatures under his leadership.

In truth,the greenbond is seeking to unlock the curse that affects the chlortheks.The town’s leaders,fearful that the giant may accidentally unleash the monsters and worried that her efforts could drive away trade,launched a subtle propaganda campaign to turn popular sentiment against her.The PCs might find themselves unwittingly recruited by fearful townsfolk to oppose a potentially beneficial act.