Fetid Mound

Fetid Mound (CR 11)

Pure Evil - Large - Plant (Undead)

Lore:	Know (Nature)
22		40
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

18

Perception:
28	+18
Passive	Active

Ambush:

8+

on a d20

• Ambush Notes: Fetid Mounds look a lot like random debris, and thus are very good at ambushes.

Senses:

• Blind to Vision
• Standard Hearing
• Standard Smell
• Tremorsense 30 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 30 ft.

Defense

AC

30

Man Def

30

Monster Health
242	121	19
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+8
Refl:	+8
Will:	+13

Strong Against:

• DR 11/Slashing (physical, common)
• (Plant 1) Immune (no effect): poisons (tainted, poisoned, blighted), magical sleep (drowsy, sluggish, asleep), paralyzed, stunned, polymorph
• (Plant 2) Immune (no effect): Forced movement (including Drag, Reposition), Prone (quelled, prone, splayed)
• (Undead 1) Immune (no effect): diseases (infected, diseased, blighted), poisons (tainted, poisoned, blighted), ability damage (dilution, damage, drain), and essence damage (suppression, omission, destruction)
• (Undead 2) Immune (no effect): bleeds (bruised, bleed, ruptured), fatigued, exhausted
• (Undead 3) Immune (no effect): magical sleep (drowsy, sluggish, asleep), paralyzed, stunned
• (Undead 4) Immune (no effect): any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless)

Weak Against:

• (Undead 1) Undead cannot be healed normally, but negative energy restores their health like healing.

Offense

Size:	Large
10 ft.		10 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+18

Man Off

+18

Action

0

Points

• Maneuver Offense Notes: +3 on Cleaves

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Debris Bite +18 (3d10+11/x2)
  as crushing (physical, common)

Full Attack (Melee):

• 1x Debris Bite +18 (3d10+11/x2)
  as crushing (physical, common)
• 2x Fibrous Claws +18 (3d6+3/x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Hurled Debris +18 (3d10+11/x2)
  as bludgeoning (physical, common)
  
  has 50% miss chance beyond 30 feet, plus: Entangled

Full Attack (Ranged):

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

24

STR

10

DEX

—

CON

8

INT

14

WIS

8

CHA

Skills:

• Perception: 18
• Stealth: 23
• All other skills: 13 (no ranks)

Languages: Slough, Thanic, Common

Feats:

Special Abilities

Engulf (Ex) Part of a Move Action, 1/Enc

Once per encounter as part of a move action, a Fetid Mound may move over and engulf any Large or smaller creatures in its path. It can still make two fibrous claws attacks during a round in which it engulfs (but no bite), and those attacks may be against the target(s) of its engulf (typically as it become close enough to hit with its reach, but it will usually make the attacks regardless of reach) or possibly against any other target within reach. The fetid mound merely has to move over the opponents, affecting as many as it can cover. Opponents about to be engulfed may make attacks of opportunity against the mound, but if they do so they are not entitled to a saving throw against the engulf and are automatically overcome. Those who do not attempt attacks of opportunity can attempt a DC 21 Reflex save to avoid being engulfed. On a success, they are pushed back or aside (victim's choice) as the mound moves forward (this is forced movement). Engulfed creatures gain the Pinned condition, and are trapped within the fetid mound's body until they escape (see the rules for escaping a Pin at the condition link) or the mound is slain. At the beginning of each of the Fetid Mound's turns after a creature is engulfed, each engulfed creature takes 3d8+7 points of gnashing (physical, uncommon) damage, from the hot, crushing interior of the fetid mound. Up to four living medium (or smaller) creatures or one large living creature may be engulfed at any time. Creatures that are engulfed do not have line of sight or line of effect out of the mound. Creatures that are slain no longer occupy space within the mound, allowing more creatures to be engulfed.

Fetid Mound

A Fetid Mound is a massive pile of dead and decaying vegetable matter, similar to a compost heap, that has become animated by an undead spirit. They are malevolent and murderous, killing anything that lives to add to their bulk. Fetid Mounds will target plants as much as they do animals and people, and will "graze" upon the plants in an area to maintain their rotting hulk.

Fetid Mounds are deadly in combat if you get too close, as they can suddenly rush over top of nearby foes and sweep them up inside their interiors, which are hot and smothering. Few indeed are the heroes mighty enough to escape from the interior of a Mound before they are killed by the heat and debris!

Fetid Mounds are surprisingly common, and often form after large floods in areas with zombies, as flood debris including zombie bodies form ideal seed masses for them. They can also be made deliberately, and unlike most horrors, making a fetid mound is quite easy: Throw zombie corpses into a compost heap. More often than not, you wind up with some fetid mounds.

Fetid Mounds are why the only safe way to dispose of undead corpses is to burn them, and even then, they will eventually reform.

Combat Tactics

Fetid Mounds are not smart, but the fact they have a mind at all is a huge surprise, considering how they arise. Fetid Mounds are blind, and sense the world through smell and hearing, as well as vibrations in the ground and air. While they can tear off huge masses of their substance and make ranged attacks with their Hurl Debris attack, any ranged attacks made past the limits of their tremorsense are made at a 50 percent miss chance, assuming they can figure out which square to aim out.

Any creature hit by Hurled Debris gains the Entangled condition, from the hundreds of pounds of stinking fetor and sticks that has crashed down around them.

In a battle, Fetid Mounds like to close in against enemies and use their reach to make Cleave combat maneuvers on as many foes as they can. Due to their reach, they can Cleave into a 'second rank' of enemies with ease, and it's one of their favorite actions.

Once they are adjacent to their foes, they will try to Engulf as many as possible into their wretched fever-hot interior.

Out of Combat

Compared to most monstrous things of their sheer power, Fetid Mounds are very easy to make. Throwing a few crippled-up zombies into a hot compost heap almost always does the trick, the vegetable matter combining with the undead in a truly terrible fashion.

As a result, it is very common to find fetid mounds anywhere there are lairs with intelligent monsters. Fetid mounds serve as living trash dumps, thriving on leftover food and prisoners, and they are plenty smart enough to defend their lairs and hosts with vigor. Otyughs tend to treat Fetid Mounds as a sort of horrible pet and/or guard service, in exchange for corpses and other choice offal.

There are apocryphal reports of fetid mounds that have been fed and pampered for many years, until they grow to the size of a castle!

Rewards

XP: 12,800

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 9,375 gp.

Weight: 110 lbs.     Volume: 4.4 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)