Aboleth Mite

Aboleth Mite (CR 10)

Pure Evil - Medium - Aberration

Lore:	K. (Dungeoneer)
20		35
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

14

Perception:
26	+16
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

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

Movement Types:

• Walk 20 ft.
• Greater Climb 20 ft.
• Greater Swim 20 ft.

Defense

AC

26

Man Def

27

Monster Health
235	117	16
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+7
Refl:	+7
Will:	+12

Strong Against:

• ER 10/fire (energy, common)

• ER 10/lightning (energy, common)

• Immune (no effect): acid (energy, common)

Weak Against:

Offense

Size:	Medium
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+16

Man Off

+15

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Tentacle Lash +16 (2d8+10/19-20 x2)
  as acid (energy, common)
  plus: Psychoactive Slime, and Splatters

Full Attack (Melee):

• 3x Tentacle Lash +16 (2d8+10/19-20 x2)
  as acid (energy, common)
  plus: Psychoactive Slime, and Splatters

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Vile Spurt +16 (2d8+10/19-20 x2)
  as acid (energy, common)
  (Increment: 30 ft.; Max Range: 150 ft.)
  plus: Unctuous Slime, and Splatters

Full Attack (Ranged):

• 3x Vile Spurt +16 (2d8+10/19-20 x2)
  as acid (energy, common)
  (Increment: 30 ft.; Max Range: 150 ft.)
  plus: Unctuous Slime, and Splatters

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

14

STR

14

DEX

16

CON

8

INT

14

WIS

8

CHA

Skills:

• Perception: 16
• Stealth: 16
• All other skills: 11 (no ranks)

Languages: Gőbhach, Aquan

Feats:

Special Abilities

Psychoactive Slime (Ex) Automatic on successful attack

Each time an enemy is successfully struck in melee by an aboleth mite's Tentacle Lash, in addition to taking damage, that enemy must also make a Fortitude save, DC 20, or become Unsteady until the end of the encounter. If a target is already Unsteady from a previous failed save, and it is successfully struck by a Tentacle Lash, the target must make a new Fortitude save, DC 20, or become Disoriented until the end of the encounter. Additional attacks cannot make this condition worse than Disoriented. While these conditions can be cured with spells or abilities (such as Restoration or the Paladin's cleanse ability), cured targets are still susceptible to future status conditions inflicted by the aboleth mite.

Unctuous Slime (Ex) Automatic on successful attack

If a target is successfully struck by the aboleth mite's Vile Spurt, he must make a Reflex save, DC 20, or become Entangled until the end of the encounter as the slippery stuff makes even standing still nearly impossible, as you are unable to get a grip on anything with any part of your body. While this condition can be cured with spells or abilities (such as Restoration or the Paladin's cleanse ability), cured targets are still susceptible to future status conditions inflicted by the aboleth mite.

Splatters (Ex) Automatic at end of each round

At the end of each round of combat, all creatures attacked by a Mite during that round in any way, hit or miss, are subject to one Sunder as splatters of the acidic goop eats away at their possessions. Roll a single Maneuver Offense check (1d20 + 16) against the Maneuver Defense of each targeted creature (note, it is only a single check, even if the target was attacked more than once this round). This sunder is resolved against the affected creature's gear in the normal order: Shield Armor Weapon/Item held in main hand Weapon/Item held in off-hand Boots Helmet Belt Bracers If none of the above items are present, or all of them are broken, the Sunder maneuver has no effect. Note that once the combat ends, this power ceases to work after a final check for the last round of the combat (even if it was only a partial round).

Aboleth Mite

The Aboleth Mite is a horrid slimy thing of dark, mottled membranes full of sticky jelly, all slathered in stinking and richly acidic mucus. It is frankly impossible for any non-aberrant living thing to emit as much oozing slime as an aboleth does and not die of dehydration. Unluckily for the world, the Aboleth Mite, like all of its horrible tribe of fiends, is indeed an unnatural aberration, and so it survives just fine despite leaving behind gallon upon gallon of its disgusting muck.

From even close range an Aboleth Mite looks like a large mound of glistening ooze, and indeed, it is possible to mistake one for an ooze until it is disturbed and it suddenly displays numerous bloody-red eye-things, extrudes oozing tentacles, and hurls itself at you with horrifying speed, sucking mouth-pores ready to slurp up your dissolving remains.

Aboleth Mites are the smallest and weakest of its aberrant clade, and they thrive anywhere and everywhere. They lay eggs constantly, and are disgustingly fertile to boot. They can and will eat anything they can catch, and they are willing to try to catch just about anything they perceive. Aboleth Mites are the hardy explorers and shock troopers for the slimy aboleth, and in aboleth 'society' they are considered utterly disposable. As a result, Aboleth Mites can be found in rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps, sewers, ruins, catacombs, caves, forests, mires, and lots of other places besides. Due to their freakish aberrant physiology they actually don't need water to live, and their slime production, regrettably, is unaffected even if you find a clutch of them nesting in a dry desert gulch. It's possible to find entire nightmarish nesting sites composed of dark, dried slime, and such places are vile in the extreme.

Aboleth Mites are not very smart, but if any stronger Aboleths encounter them, the greater Aboleth will eat the Mite and thus learn everything that it knows about the local area. In a very real sense, Mites are just the extended eyes and ears and tongues of the Aboleth collective.

Combat Tactics

Aboleth mites are not renowned for their strong sense of self-preservation, but they do try to survive encounters, so that their collective knowledge can serve the greater aboleth collective. As a result, at least one aboleth mite will always hang well back and support its fellows by using Vile Spurt to target enemy support characters while the rest will rush to the attack. As they close they will all use Vile Spurt on the 'back rows' of any opponents, and then will seek to get flanks and use their Tentacle Lash on melee opponents. This tactic ensures that as many of their foes as possible are affected by their miserable Splatters, as well as forces enemies to defend themselves early.

Whenever possible Aboleth Mites will concentrate their Tentacle Lash attacks, not seeking to kill a foe early, but trying to Disorient as many foes as possible. As soon as any foe is Disoriented, it is not attacked further, as the Mites hope it acts as a 'loose cannon' and will seek to move away, to draw Disoriented foes close to their allies. Nasty, really.

If the melee Aboleth Mites are doing poorly, the supporting one will flee early and without hesitation. Despite this frequent-escape behavior, the players still get rewarded for defeating this mite.

Out of Combat

Aboleth Mites are very alien, but they seem to be driven by hunger, the urge to breed furiously, and a savage need to snoop on the world. They are constantly killing and eating, laying egg masses in the most unlikely places, and always, always, sneaking and peering and poking around, eternally getting into wells and sewers, peering oozily down from rafters, draped in cobwebs and filth, always creeping and crawling, looking for advantages, weaknesses, and vicims.

Mites tend to blight the world, their slime weakening plants and animals not killed outright, and in bad cases, tainting the groundwater and vegetation for miles. Wise polities exterminate them without hesitation, paying whatever price is required.

Mites also seek to ingratiate themselves into the employ of more powerful monsters, and can be encountered as stupid, disposable minions of almost any creature vile enough to consort with them. Mites serve as guards and shock troops willingly, their ever-peering eyes always spying for their vile Elder Cousins.

Mites seem to crave being eaten by those Aboleths stronger than they are, and seeing a swarm of Mites worshipfully begging to be eaten by a more senior monster is surely one of the least appealing sights in all reality....

Rewards

XP: 9,600

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 6,875 gp.

Weight: 100 lbs.     Volume: 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)