Dretch

Dretch (CR 6)

Chaotic Evil - Small - Outsider (Demon)

Lore:	Know (Planes)
12		29
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

9

Perception:
20	+10
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Darkvision 60 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 30 ft.

Defense

AC

22

Man Def

21

Monster Health
81	40	9
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+9
Refl:	+2
Will:	+6

Strong Against:

• DR 6/Common (Bludgeoning,  Crushing,  Piercing,  Slashing,  Slime), bypassed by Cold Iron weapons.

• ER 9/acid (energy, common)
• ER 9/cold (energy, common)
• ER 9/fire (energy, common)
• ER 9/negative (energy, uncommon)

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

• Immune (no effect): Poison

Weak Against:

Offense

Size:	Small
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+10

Man Off

+9

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Indolent Bite +10 (1d10+9/x2)
  as crushing (physical, common)

Full Attack (Melee):

• 1x Indolent Bite +10 (1d10+9/x2)
  as crushing (physical, common)
• 2x Skittish Claws +10 (1d6+4/x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

Full Attack (Ranged):

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

12

STR

10

DEX

14

CON

5

INT

11

WIS

11

CHA

Skills:

• Barter: 10
• Bluff: 10
• Perception: 10
• All other skills: 5 (no ranks)

Languages: Abyssal, Common

Feats:

Special Abilities

Better You Than Me (Sp)

Concentration: 1d20 + 13 vs. a DC of 21 (8 needed on the die) Once per encounter as a move action, the Dretch may attempt to spawn forth another Dretch from the Abyssal planes to aid him in combat. Roll 1d20, and on a result of a 10 or higher, a new Dretch appears in a square adjacent to the Dretch that spawned him. The new Dretch may not act until the next round as it orients itself to the material plane. The new Dretch is mistrustful of everyone including other Dretches, but will defend itself if attacked, and most likely attack anything its fellow Dretches are attacking. A Dretch may only use this ability once per encounter, even if he fails. Spawned Dretches may also use this ability if they wish. Note that spawned Dretches provide XP and treasure when slain just like normal monsters. Because this is a spell, it provokes attacks of opportunity.

Wretched Demise (Su)

When the Dretch is slain, he explodes in an oily black fire of terrible bile and abyssal essence. Any non-demon creature in the 3x3-square area centered on the Dretch when it dies takes 1d8+6 points of darkfire (energy, rare) damage. Affected creatures may make a DC 18 Reflex save for half damage. Furthermore, the area affected by the Wretched Demise remains aflame and does not dissipate until the end of the encounter. Any non-demon creature who passes through one or more squares of the affected area takes 1d6+4 points of darkfire (energy, rare) damage for every square entered. If multiple zones exist, their effects do not stack, but obviously they present a larger obstacle.

Dretch

Even the lowest demons of the Abyss are dangerous and filled with a driving need to spread ruin and dismay. The lowly dretch is as hideous and foul as it is cruel, even if it lacks the strength and power to realize its need to brutalize others in its native realm. The lot of the dretch's existence is to serve more powerful demons as victims, and only the lucky few survive long enough to evolve.

The dretch is a favorite target for dabblers in Abyssal spawnings to call forth. Relatively weak and easy to bully, dretches can often be pressured into long periods of servitude with only vague promises of the opportunity to vent their frustrations and anger on softer foes. Yet the prospective dretch-spawner would do well to remember that these demons are as craven and untrustworthy as they come. A dretch faced with a more powerful foe is only too eager to trade what it knows for its pitiful excuse for a life.

Unlike most demons, a dretch's slovenly personality and disdain for prolonged physical labor rarely result in success. Advanced dretches are rare, but those who do find it within themselves to be more than they were at creation often become the pauper-kings of the Abyss, cruel and bitter in their rule over vermin, broken souls, mindless undead, and other dretches. Their empires are confined to abandoned stretches of sewers under backwater cities, unstable reaches of swampland avoided by more sensible minds, and other undesirable corners of the Abyss that even demons find uncomfortable or foul. Yet to the dretch lords, these realms are their empires, and they defend them with a pitiful tenacity.

A dretch stands 4 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds. Dretches typically form from the souls of slothful, evil mortals — yet it only takes a small fragment of a soul to trigger such a hideous birth. A single soul can often trigger the manifestation of a small army of dretches, and the sight of a horde of fresh-birthed dretches pulling free from the heaving protomatter of the Abyss is a nauseating and terrifying one indeed.

Combat Tactics

Dretches are, above all else, lazy, cowardly, and eager to continue living. They prefer not to fight, and usually run from any encounter unless forced to stay by a power greater than them, or due to limited escape options. Of course, Dretches are also pretty stupid, and have a tendency to hide in the nearest dead end, hoping no one will find them there.

In combat, a dretch's first priority is to call in some other dretch to do the fighting instead of them, via their Better You Than Me ability. Once that's done, dretches will try to get as many full attacks as possible, as moving around is a huge bother.

Needless to say, while the Wretched Demise is a horrible ability, the Dretch has no real desire to have that happen. When it inevitably does, any remaining Dretches in the area will make use of the 'blocked' terrain to make it harder for multiple foes to come at them.

Out of Combat

Dretches are the vile masses of the lower Abyss, and are as numerous as particles of filth at the bottom of a cosmic sewer. They are remarkably easy to spawn, and as a result, the less scrupulous sorts of creatures will often have them around as servants, minions, cheap (if poor) labor, etc. This is of little note in most cases, except for the Dretch's Wretched Demise ability, which means that even as lowly and vile and ineffectual as they are, their presence on almost any battlefield means they create terrain upon their death which must be taken into account.

Granted, this terrain is frequently little more than "don't step in that, it's gross", but that can have an impact more often than you might think.

Rewards

XP: 2,400

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 2,125 gp.

Weight: 60 lbs.     Volume: 2.4 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)