Thought Eater Nullifier

Thought Eater Nullifier (CR 36)

Pure Evil - Medium - Outsider

Lore:	Know (Planes)
72		87
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

61

Perception:
71	+61
Passive	Active

Ambush:

6+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Low-Light Vision
• Mindsense 30 ft.

Movement Types:

• Hover 60 ft.
• Greater Flight 60 ft.
• Greater Swim 60 ft.

Defense

AC

62

Man Def

74

Monster Health
5,357	2,678	77
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+35
Refl:	+35
Will:	+40

Strong Against:

Weak Against:

Offense

Size:	Medium
5 ft.		20 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+48

Man Off

+63

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Creepy Beak +48 (6d10+114/x2)
  as gnashing (physical, uncommon)

Full Attack (Melee):

• 1x Creepy Beak +48 (6d10+114/x2)
  as gnashing (physical, uncommon)
• 2x Flipper Smash +48 (6d6+59/--> x2)
  as Buffeting (physical, uncommon)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Psychic Vortex +52 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (6d10+114/x2)
  as psychic (energy, uncommon)
  (Increment: 150 ft.; Max Range: 750 ft.)
  plus Absorb Aura

Full Attack (Ranged):

• 3x Psychic Vortex +52 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (6d10+114/x2)
  as psychic (energy, uncommon)
  (Increment: 150 ft.; Max Range: 750 ft.)
  plus Absorb Aura

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

24

STR

28

DEX

30

CON

48

INT

14

WIS

10

CHA

Skills:

• Perception: 61
• All other skills: 56 (no ranks)

Languages: Djöfulleg, Common

Feats:

Special Abilities

Absorb Aura (Su) Auto upon making or receiving attack

Up to three times per round, a Thought Eater may Absorb Aura from an enemy creature. This power may be triggered if the Thought Eater makes a successful Psychic Vortex attack, or, it may be triggered if the Thought Eater is subject to any effects from an Arcane, Divine, or True Dweomer spell. When triggered with a successful attack, the Thought Eater absorbs up to five spells of its choice from the target of its attack, or, if used defensively, it absorbs the spell it was targeted with, along with an additional three spell slots from the originating caster. The Thought Eater gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the level of the highest level spell absorbed. Thought Eaters cannot absorb cantrips (or powerful cantrips), since those are a renewing resource. All other spells absorbed by a Thought Eater are lost from the caster as if cast to no effect, and the spell slot is now emptied. If a Thought Eater uses Absorb Aura against a foe who does not have spell slots, or a foe that has no valid spell slots remaining, it instead inflicts 6d6+56 points of damage as flensing (physical, rare) damage, as the damage transfers from the victims aura to their meat. In addition, the process of Absorbing the aura causes the caster or possessor of the spell to suffer Ability Damage to their Intelligence, making their INT score effectively 2 lower. This loss will stack, and the victim should keep track of their temporary Effective Intelligence Score to determine if the Thought Eater will continue to attack them.

Nullifying Gaze (Su) Swift

As a swift action, a Thought Nullifier can turn its horribly empty, glaring eyes upon one, two or three targets it can see, whom are all within 50 feet of each other, to each of which it has line of effect, and who are within 300 feet of its space. Each chosen creature is attacked once, resolved as a ray attack, rolling a D20 +48 against each targets Armor Class, always hitting on a natural result of 17 or higher on the die. If this ray attack successfully hits, it inflicts 6d6+56 points of radiant (energy, uncommon) damage. Far worse, the target(s) gains the Humbled condition against the Nullifier that attacked it. If a Nullifier hits a target that is already Humbled with Nullifying Gaze again, the condition is escalated to Slandered.

Backdrop of Madness (Su) Always On

Thought Eaters all have an effect on their surroundings, but with Nullifiers, this effect is pernicious and terrible. Any enemy creature that ends their turn adjacent to or within 30 feet of a Thought Nullifier's space suffers 6d6+56 points of flensing (physical, rare) damage, as the distortions in space tear flakes and ribbons of their skin and flesh away as a side effect, the evulsed flesh turning to motes of dust and vanishing. Even worse, up to twice per round, as a free action, the Thought Nullifier may choose one enemy who was affected by their Backdrop of Madness and make a Sunder roll against one of their magic items, of their choice, rolling their Maneuver offense (see above) against their targets maneuver defense.

Pure Malice (Su) Free Action when reaches Bloodied value

A Thought Eater Nullifier is made up of nearly pure Psychic Energy. As a result, it is always only 'half there', and when sorely wounded, it becomes even less so. When a Thought Eater Nullifier reaches it's Bloodied Value in hit points or less, it gains a teleport move speed of 60 feet that it can use as an immediate action once per round, while at the same time activating its Backdrop of Madness ability on all creatures within the area of effect as it leaves.

Thought Eater Nullifier

A Thought Eater is one of the oddest and most hated of all monsters. They appear out of nothing, surrounded by a wavy distortion in the air as if they are surrounded by massive heat-ripples (even though they are cold), and they hover a few feet above the ground. They appear emaciated, even skeletal, ribs and pelvis standing out against translucent ectoplasmic 'skin'. Their heads are ghastly, a large round skull with huge eye sockets that may or may not evidence eyes, and a vast jagged beak on the front. Their skeletal limbs are stunted, and they have a paddle-like tail and wide-flippered feet as if they are meant to swim.

It is speculated they live in the Ether, and after sensing prey in the Prime they force their way into our world to feed.

Their feeding is ghastly, as they create sucking vortexes that target spell casters and feed on their very minds, damaging their intellects, aura, and bodies in equal measure. Once they have fed upon a hapless caster enough, they will then switch their attacks around, leaving a frightening mental numbness behind.

Thought Eaters are well-suited to feed on spellcasters, as they have defenses against the effects of spells and even destroy a caster's ability with spells at the same time. If you are attacked by these awful things, stab them. Spells are of little use.

'Nullifier' is the term used to describe the mightiest and most terrible of Thought Eaters. Thought Nullifiers, as they are often called, are massive things, far larger than Slayers or Hunters, and they look almost ghostly, the translucent 'flesh' of their bodies seeming to merge into the space around them. The weird spatial distortions that appear around all Thought Eaters when they manifest are nearly invisible with Thought Nullifiers, but their 'bodies' seem to fill everywhere around them, warping, distorting, and shifting in a most horrible fashion. Survivors of their attacks emphasize that the creeping insanity of their presence is nigh paralyzing.

Nullifiers attack with absolute savagery, their eldritch powers dreadful, and even survivors of their attacks are often so devastated they require rest to recover their auras. Approach with caution, fight with no mercy, and beware, that Thought Nullifiers often have allies as terrible as they are.

Combat Tactics

Thought Eaters always strive to pop out of the Ether somewhere near, but not too near, their targets. They have a fairly good ambush chance due to this behavior, but that's where their normality ends.

Thought Eaters have some mysterious ability to know the exact Int score of all intelligent creatures they can see. Since they 'feed' by eating thoughts, they will always attack the member of their foes who has the highest Int score, that they can currently reach. If two or more foes have the same Int in range, they will share their attacks as evenly as they can between them.

However, since successful Psychic Vortex attacks lower the victims Effective Intelligence Score by -2, Thought Eaters will often switch targets after they've pounded a high-int caster, and switch targets at seeming random as they use Psychic Vortex on the highest INT score that remains.

If they are attacked with spells, they simply use Absorb Aura on the spell, dispelling it to no effect and draining the caster of three extra spell slots. Even worse, every successful Absorb Aura they make as a consequence of their Psychic Vortex empties FIVE memorized spell slots, if the target has them. Nullifiers can choose to use their Absorb Aura twice each round, and can use it for all offense, all defense, or one use each, making spell caster's spells evaporate with frightening speed. Thought Eaters are not exceptionally deadly, but they are exceptionally damaging, as they can reduce a spellcaster to the use of their weakest but most reliable powers, before they switch to other, now smarter, victims.

The best way to deal with Thought Eaters is to mob them fast and hard with ranged or melee attacks, as the 'meat shields' try their best to drop the awful things before their casters are reduced to drooling husks. Thought Nullifiers, however, have their awful Nullifying Gaze power, their Backdrop of Madness, and their Pure malice ability once they are wounded. Even worse, they are uncertain in size and shape, since they are basically just a bad idea given existence. Thought Nullifiers are size medium, but they have a huge Reach, to simulate how they seem to expand and shift their size in a most disorienting fashion.

Thought Nullifiers will not choose to stay in melee, but if a foe presses close and ends their turn, the Thought Nullifier will usually roll their Sunder attempt as early as they can, to discourage other foolhardy fighters from pressing so hard. If they have their Pure Malice ability active, they will use it often to pop away from melee, damaging their attackers as they do. This tactic often works well.

If a Nullifier is attacked by a non-spell attack, they will almost always use Nullifying Gaze on their most dangerous non-spell-using foe. Inflicting the Humbled status makes their melee attacks much more effective, and if they are able to elevate a melee or ranged attacker to the Slandered status, they suddenly become outright dangerous in melee. Thought Nullifiers will often start using their Nullifying Gaze power even before they suffer a weapon attack, but even after they start using Nullifying Gaze, they usually stick to also using their Psychic Vortex as long as they can, using Pure Malice to make combats horrid, slogging affairs.

Thought Nullifiers are very intelligent, but they seem to go into a hunger daze when they are feeding. Once they have begun an attack, they press home fearlessly, hovering away from melee attackers if they can and relentlessly using their Psychic Vortex on the smartest remaining foes they can reach, until they are destroyed...or their enemies are.

When slain, Thought Eater Nullifiers leave behind a man-sized shapeless mass of...ichor... with a few misshapen bones and various valuable knick-knacks within. Of their huge, mutable forms, there is no trace.

Out of Combat

Thought Eater Nullifiers are incredibly smart, despite their appearance, but they are also extremely alien and weird. Nullifiers seem to have left their flesh behind, instead being massive, mutable translucent things made of psychic 'stuff'. They have been known to make common cause with many other kinds of monsters, such as xeph, trolls, giants, and the like, where they use the prime monsters as cannon fodder to keep the melee fighters off them. if fought outside the Prime, Thought Nullifiers are one of the very, very few creatures that will work with the nihilistic atropal... which is terrible in many ways.

Unlike lesser Thought Eaters, Nullifiers are able to speak Common, although they seem to do so only rarely. When they are allied with other monsters, Thought Eater Nullifiers are able to coordinate much more easily, although, to be fair, Thought Eaters are usually the ones coming up with all the plans, tactics and schemes, given their very high Intelligence.

Thought Eaters seem to have a weird affinity for souterrains as well, and have often been seen in areas where those other monsters infest. Why this is so is completely unknown, and might even be unknowable.

Rewards

XP: 78,720,000

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 4,205,879 gp.

Weight: 360 lbs.     Volume: 14.4 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)