GriothSource Alien Archive 4 pg. 40
Sadistic psychics and religious fanatics, grioths raid other worlds under the cover of darkness. These unfathomably cruel creatures take delight in inflicting pain and sowing terror. Ancient grioths once inhabited planets adrift in the Dark Tapestry, where they encountered unthinkable horrors and embraced them as kin. Subsumed by darkness and fouler things, grioths are devoted thralls to their patron, the Haunter of the Dark, an aspect of the chaotic evil Outer God Nyarlathotep.
Grioths appear as lean, stooped bat-like humanoids with four narrow eyes and exceptional hearing. They typically stand around 5 feet tall. They have dry, raspy voices and speak in an eerie language of clicks, squeaks, and sibilant sighs.
Grioths live in vast crystalline spire cities. With few resources available on their frozen, lightless worlds, they depend on raiding, theft, and war to obtain the resources they need to survive. Powerful grioth psychics known as eclipse seers organize raids that span entire galaxies. They serve as conduits to the Hunter of the Dark, enacting eldritch rituals to establish temporary portals to worlds undergoing an eclipse. Grioth soldiers and mercenaries pour through these mystical portals in a wave of blood and terror, glutting on violence and pillaging resources—primarily food, technology, and living sapient creatures. In addition to temporary portals, grioths maintain a series of permanent gateways to sunless worlds like their own, creating a web of cities among countless lost worlds.
For unknown reasons, Triune’s Signal was lost to the grioths, though they quickly pried the secrets of Drift travel from the minds of their sapient victims. In their sleek voidglass starships, they travel the Drift and beyond in search of easy prey and resource-rich worlds to subjugate.
Due to prolonged exposure to the Dark Tapestry, grioths can be born with strange physiological alterations, the terrors of the unknowable realm intruding into their forms or giving them powers far beyond their kin. The most powerful become potent psychics who boast nigh‑impenetrable mental defenses. These grioth paragons, known as Vessels, are considered blessed by the Haunter of the Dark and swiftly rise to positions of power, becoming CEOs of major corporations, military generals, religious leaders, or overseers of entire colonies.Aliens in the "Grioth" FamilySource Alien Archive 4 pg. 40Grioth CR 1 XP 400
CE Medium monstrous humanoid
Init +4; Senses blindsight (sound) 60 ft., see in darkness;; Perception +10
DefenseHP 17
EAC 11; KAC 12
Fort +1; Ref +3; Will +6
Defensive Abilities void adaptation; Immunities cold
Weaknesses light blindness, vulnerable to sonicOffenseSpeed 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (Ex, average)
Melee bite +7 (1d4+2 P plus psychotomimetic saliva) or voidglass longsword +7 (1d8+2 S; critical demoralize AR)
Ranged bruiser decoupler +5 (1d4+1 A; critical demoralize AR)
Offensive Abilities mindshock
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st)
1/day—detect tech, lesser confusion (DC 12)
At will—daze (DC 11), detect magicStatisticsSTR +1; DEX +4; CON +0; INT +0; WIS +2; CHA +0
Skills Acrobatics +10, Athletics +5, Intimidate +10, Mysticism +5, Stealth +5
Languages Aklo, Grioth; limited telepathy 60 ft.
Other Abilities no breath, void adaptation
Gear second skin, bruiser decoupler AR with 2 batteries (20 charges each), voidglass longswordEcologyEnvironment any
Organization solitary, clutch (2–6), or omen (7–20 plus 1 grioth eclipse seer)Special AbilitiesMindshock (Su) Once per day as a standard action, a grioth can unleash a wave of violent psychic energy. Each non‑grioth creature within 30 feet takes 2d6 damage and is shaken for 1d4 rounds. A creature that succeeds at a DC 12 Will save takes half damage and negates the shaken condition. This is a mind-affecting effect.
Psychotomimetic Saliva (Ex) Grioth saliva is laced with psychotropic toxins that overload a victim’s neurological pathways, causing intense, rapid‑fire hallucinations, confusion, and violent seizures. Creatures that are immune to mind‑affecting effects are immune to this poison. Psychotomimctic SalivaType poison (injury); Save Fortitude DC 12
Track Wisdom; Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds
Cure 1 save
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