Lastrogos (Spirit Devourer

Medium Aberration

Hit Dice: 9d8 (40 hp),dying/dead –1/–11 Initiative: +5 Speed: 30 feet AC: 21 (+5 Dexterity,+6 natural),touch 15,flat-footed 16 Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+7 Attack: Bite +11 melee (1d8+1) Full Attack: Bite +11 melee (1d8+1) and bite +9 melee (1d4) and 2 claws +9 melee (1d4) Space/Reach: 5 feet/5 feet (Face/Reach:5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet) Special Attacks: Paralysis gaze,devour spirits Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet,see invisibility,

DR 10/magic (or 10/+1),SR 18 Saves: Fort +4,Ref+8,Will +9 Abilities: Str 12,Dex 20,Con 11,Int 11,Wis 17,Cha 19 Skills: Knowledge (magic) +4,Listen +13,Sneak +10,

Wilderness Survival +8 Feats: Defensive Stance,Mobility,Multiattack*,Track B ,

Weapon Finesse

Environment: Any land or underground Organization: Solitary Challenge Rating: 8 Treasure: Triple standard Advancement: 10–18 HD (Medium) Level Adjustment: —

*Denotes a feat from the MM.

Although there are creatures far more powerful than the lastrogos,few are as feared.For even the common folk know that ifa lastrogos,or “spirit devourer,” slays you,it eats your soul,destroying it forever.Throughout the Lands ofthe Diamond Throne,people have many different ideas about what happens to one’s soul when one dies,but just about all would agree that utter destruction by a spirit devourer is a terrible thing.The exceptions,ofcourse,are the Cultists of the BriefRespite,who welcome the reprieve when their time comes,as they believe the soul suffers only torture and pain when not incarnated in the world.In fact,more than one adherent to this bleak beliefhas sought out a spirit devourer as a final quest,in order to avoid torment in the hereafter.

Even undead spirits have much to fear from the spirit devourer,a creature who cannot only affect incorporeal creatures as easily as corporeal ones,but whose touch renders them immobile and unable to act—the easier to devour them.

Despite its two dangerous-looking mouths,the lastrogos does not eat meat.It literally eats spirits.Created by terrible sorcery in the alchemical pits ofthe dramojh,the spirit devourers roam the world today still looking for food.The dramojh bred them to stalk and annihilate their victims,so they could never be brought back.The lastrogos proved effective but difficult to control,so the dramojh did not create many.The creatures appear able to reproduce asexually, laying one to two fertilized eggs every two to three years. These adults are too selfish to care for their young,however, so the little ones must fend for themselves as soon as they hatch.

This creature looks,at first glance,like a humanoid with grey and green mottled flesh.However,a closer inspection reveals that what one might take to be hair on the creature’s head is actually many tiny,flagellalike tendrils surrounding a large maw at the very apex ofits head.This secondary mouth can open wide enough to reveal that,unlike a human,the lastrogos does not house its brain inside its skull (instead,it lies within the creature’s chest).

Combat

A lastrogos can subsist on the spirits ofsmall animals and vermin,but it prefers those ofmore intelligent creatures, from which it gains more sustenance.It likes to attack from ambush,usually on a well-trod path far from its lair.Its strategy involves using its gaze to paralyze all threats.Should some foes resist its gaze at first,it mounts a defensive fight until all are paralyzed.Then,it can slay and devour spirits without worry for its own safety.

Paralysis Gaze (Su): The creature’s gaze paralyzes foes for 1d6+2 rounds.It has a 40-foot range (Fortitude save,DC 18).The saving throw DC is Charisma based.

Devour Spirits (Su): The lastrogos can strike incorporeal creatures with no miss chance.Its touch immobilizes an

incorporeal creature for 1d6+2 minutes (Will saving throw,DC 18,to negate).

Ifthe spirit devourer slays a corporeal creature,the victim must succeed at a Will save (DC 18) or the lastrogos eats its spirit.Such a victim cannot be revivified or raised from the dead,as ifa permanent rest spell had been cast upon it.

See Invisibility (Su): At all times,the lastrogos can see invisible creatures and objects, including incorporeal creatures and objects.

Lastrogos Lair

Lastrogos keep a lair,usually underground or in some other dark,dank place.Typically they guard their lairs with traps,due to their compulsive need to hoard valuables:gems,gold, artwork,weaponry—anything they can get their hands on.Such treasure is a symbol of status among their kind (since they produce nothing,it is,ofcourse,all stolen or collected from dead victims). 1.Secret Door. A successful Search check (DC 24) uncovers the entrance,which is craftily sealed with an innocuous stone slab. 2.Pit Trap. Beyond the entrance lies a covered pit,10 feet across and 30 feet deep,filled with jagged rocks.Those who fall in suffer 3d6 points ofdamage from the fall and 2d6 points from the rocks.A Reflex save (DC 20) allows one to avoid it altogether.A Search check (DC 20) reveals the trap,and a Disable Device check (DC 20) disables it. 3.Rockfall Trap. Those who enter this area may snag a tripwire,which brings a precarious load ofrocks down upon them.Anyone in the area suffers 4d6 points ofdamage (Reflex save, DC 20,reduces damage by half).A Search check (DC 22) reveals the trap,and a Disable Device check (DC 28) disables it. 4.Sleeping Chamber. This room,where the lastrogos lives,is filled with slain creatures—still intact but in various states ofdecay. 5.Hoard. This chamber is sealed with another stone slab, not concealed but very heavy (about 900 lbs.).Here,the lastrogos keeps all ofits valuables.The pile amounts to around 10,200 gp worth oftreasure,on average.

Lastrogos Encounter (EL 7)

The animate,free-willed spirit ofa long-dead woman contacts the player characters and pleads for their help.Ifthey will listen,she explains that a number ofghosts and spirits still tied to the world inhabit a nearby ruined castle. However,in the last few days,a lastrogos has arrived at the castle and made its lair there.This spirit devourer has made short work ofa number ofthe spirits,eating them and destroying them forever.The spirits are nearly powerless against it,she says.Some have simply fled the castle, but others are bound to the place and cannot leave.She herselfcan only speak with the PCs for a short time before she must return.

The woman’s spirit begs them to come and slay or drive offthe lastrogos,offering them ancient treasure still hidden in the castle as a reward for their efforts.Ifthe PCs agree, sure enough,they find the spirit devourer within the castle ruins,its lair beneath the structure in the old dungeons.