Two Face Devourer

TWO FACE DEVOURER by Reagren Wright

The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.
Since the time of the Battle of the Gods, men have told tales of meeting beautiful maidens in the wilderness who are in need of rescuing or assistance, but these fair damsels are not necessarily benign. They might be something completely different, and the dreaded Two Faced Devourer is one such creature that has lead many male astray to his doom. The creature has two different forms, the avatar (male or female, the female is used for hunting more or less) and its true form. Its true form is a giant land squid buried within the earth. Its mantle points downward and is as hard as granite. The creature has eight arms and two longer tentacles. The arms and tentacles account for much of the squid’s great length. The inside surfaces of the arms and tentacles are lined with hundreds suction cups and sharp hooks, each mounted on a stalk. The circumference of the suckers are lined with sharp, finely serrated rings of chitin. The perforation of these rings and hooks and the suction of the cups serve to attach the squid to its prey. The bases of all the arms and tentacles are arranged in a circle surrounding the animal’s enormous parrot-like beak which is big enough to swallow a small ogre or wolfen. These creature normally are stationary, they almost never move from their chosen spot, but if they do, they are capable of traveling trough earth and stone effortlessly (equal to an earth elemental). They don’t appear to breath air nor do they have any sort of vision. Like the Rock Shark, it “senses” motion and detect vibrations on the surface. But this creature doesn’t go out hunting per say, that is the job of the avatar. These squids create essentially an essence fragment, similar to those created by alien intelligences (a possible distant cousin?) that can appear in any humanoid form, usually that of a female. The avatar is used a bait to catch the attention of an unsuspecting male and convince him to wander close enough for the squid to snatch him. To ensure the squid remains undetected, the vicinity in which the squid inhabits is equal to a circle of concealment, which means even those capable of seeing the invisible will not be able to detect the squid’s presence. The squid lies in wait, its tentacles hidden beneath the ground and its mouth open wide like a pit waiting for the “man” to get within its reach. Once a humanoid is ensnared in its grip, breaking free in almost next to impossible.
When not luring unsuspecting men to their doom, the Two Faced Devourer will prey upon unsuspecting animals as well. It will even feed on large herd of grazing animals or pride/pack of predators, nearly anything that is flesh and bone the creature considers food. Unlike its aquatic ancestors, the squid relies on its ability to move through earth and stone as it main defense, but if it needs too, the creature possesses an arsenal of earth elemental magic for attack and defense.
The main part of this creature that is vulnerable to attack is the avatar. The squid can only generate two (a male and female). Each possesses a small portion of the squid’s attributes and abilities, but the avatar is made out of flesh and bone, and cannot move through earth and stone like the squid. So the squid only creates the avatar when it needs to set up an ambush or to reproduce! Yes, the squid uses male avatars to lure unsuspecting female into copultation. Nine months later the woman has her mind completely taken over by the unborn squid in her womb. She then ventures out to a remote location and gives birth to the creature which immediately buries itself into the earth. Once the infant squid is expelled from the woman’s body, she regains her free will but more than likely will lose her sanity.
It is not known how many of these monsters there are in the world. During the Elf/Dwarf War, both sides reported platoons stumbling into these monsters. They were a far great menace to the dwarves, for the squid would enter into their underground kingdoms and make a meal out of four or five dozen dwarves before disappearing into the earth. All underground races fear these monsters accept some troglodyte communities worship them as gods, and like a malevolent deity, it demands its followers send it sacrifices to feast upon.

Alignment: Miscreant

The Eight Attributes: I.Q.: 2D6+6, M.E.: 3D6+2, M.A.: 2D6+6 (mainly used by the avatar), P.S.: 1D4+22 for the eight tentacles, and 30+2D6 for the two big tentacles, P.P.: 3D6+6, P.E.: 5D6 (minimum of 18), P.B.:1D6/3D6+6 for the avatar, Spd: 20+3D6 through the earth.

Hit Points: P.E. attribute x 5

S.D.C.: 4D6x10.

Natural Armor Rating: A.R.: 18 for its mantle, but 10 for its tentacles and mouth

Average P.P.E.: P.E. attribute x3 plus 20.

Horror Factor: 15

Physical Appearance: Looks like a giant squid but doesn’t have any eyes. Has a large parrot like beak in the middle of the circle of tentacles. It rock-like mantle cannot be seen, it stays beneath the ground. The avatar looks like a beautiful, athletic humanoid. Given time to prepare, the avatar will be dressed in clothes that suit its function (like a lost lovely peasant girl or a dashing, heroic elf noble).

Size: 60-80 feet (18.2-24.3 m) with tentacles, the eight tentacles measure between 18-24 feet (5.4-7.3 m) while the two long tentacles are 30-40 feet (9.1-12.1 m) in length.

Weight: 2200-3400 lbs (990-1530 kg)

Average Lifespan: Some estimate they live between 500-1000 years.

Vulnerability: They cannot swim (they drown in water). While moving through earth and stone, it cannot move through wood (large tree roots), metal barriers, or through a liquid medium.

Natural Abilities: Superior strength and prowess, Travel through earth and stone at will (cost nothing); same as spell, but without limit, effectively swim through earth and rock (beneath the surface it has a 98% prowl), feel vibrations in and above the ground like a living seismic sensor, cannot be snuck upon or surprise by nearby opponents approaching by ground, can track and locate prey by following the ground vibrations caused by movement (running or walking) 1000 feet (304 m) away (90%), feel the vibrations of an approaching ground vehicle, large humanoid taller then 9 feet (2.74 m), herd of mammals, giant animals, or an army on the march, up to three miles (4.8 km) away, does not need to breath air, since it has no eyes, it cannot suffer penalties for being blind, however since it only has motion/vibration detecting, anything that doesn’t move it can’t see.

Circle of Concealment: Same as the spell, equal to 8th level. Cost nothing. Only the squid can perform this ability, not the avatar.

Create Avatar(s): All the mental and physical attributes of the squid but at half strength. They do not have a Natural Armor Rating. Hit Points and S.D.C. is one-third of the squid. P.P.E. is 30% of what the squid possesses. Its skills are the same as the squid. It possesses all the earth elemental magic that the squid does, making them almost perfect copies of earth warlocks. It has four attacks per melee or two by magic. Bonuses: +1 on initiative, +1 to strike, +6 to save vs. psionics, +8 to save vs. horror factor, and +2 on all other saving throws. The avatar is impervious to mind control and possession. Killing the avatar causes the squid too permanently loose the avatar’s hit points and P.P.E. from its base. Each squid can only create two avatars in its entire lifetime.

Attacks per Melee: Six

Damages: A hit from a tentacle arm does 4D6 damage (don’t forget P.S. attribute), power punch (counts as two melee attacks) does 1D4x10 damage, crush/squeeze does 3D6 points of damage per melee attack, and a bite does 6D6.

Bonuses: +4 on initiative, +2 to parry, +10 to save vs. horror factor, +4 to save vs. psionics, impervious to mind control and possession, and +2 to all saving throws.

Magic: All earth elemental magic spells from level 1-6.

Psionics: None

Value: None

Habitat: They seek out locations that allow them to be close to large populations of humanoids, but far enough away that their presence remains undetected. Presently they can be found in Land of the South Winds, Old Kingdom, Yin Sloth Jungle, and parts of the Timiro Kingdom and Western Empire. Languages: The avatar can speak any language. The squid can understand any language but is incapable of speaking.

Enemies: Underground inhabitants, it likes to make a meal out of them but they are also the individuals able to locate it the easiest. Rock Sharks love to make a meal out of them.

Allies: None. They only care about their own survival.

Favorite Weapons: None, relies on its natural abilities.