Maddened Fragments
Maddened Fragments (CR 24)
| True Chaotic - Medium - Vermin (Aberration) |
|---|
| Lore: | Know (Nature) | ||
| 48 | 63 | ||
| Basic DC | Full DC | ||
| Initiative |
41 |
| Perception: | |
| 50 | +40 |
| Passive | Active |
| Ambush: |
| 6+ |
| on a d20 |
- Ambush Notes: 'Note Dormant ability, below.'
Senses:
- Standard Senses
- Low-Light Vision
- Keen Scent 60 ft.
- Tremorsense 40 ft.
Movement Types:
- Walk 50 ft.
- Greater Climb 50 ft.
- Vaulting 50 ft.
- Greater Swim 50 ft.
Defense
| AC |
50 |
| Man Def |
|
52 |
| Monster Health | ||
| 1,760 | 880 | 46 |
| Hit Points | Bloodied | Hit Dice |
| Saving Throws | |
| Fort: | +21 |
| Refl: | +26 |
| Will: | +21 |
Strong Against:
- (Mindless) Immune (no effect): all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, fear, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms)
Weak Against:
- Vulnerable (1.5x damage): to Interstice (physical, rare) damage
Offense
| Size: | Medium | ||
| 5 ft. | 10 ft. | ||
| Space | Reach | ||
| To-Hit |
+34 
|
| Man Off |
+40
|
| Action |
| 0 |
| Points |
Standard Attack (Melee):
- 1x Fragmenting Slash +34 (5d8+36/19-20 x2)
as slashing (physical, common)
, plus 'Crippling Scratch' (see below)
Full Attack (Melee):
- 3x Fragmenting Slash +34 (5d8+36/19-20 x2)
as slashing (physical, common)
, plus 'Crippling Scratch' (see below)
Standard Attack (Ranged):
- 1x Ichor Squirt +34 (5d8+36/19-20 x2)
as acid (energy, common)
(Increment: 80 ft.; Max Range: 240 ft.)
Full Attack (Ranged):
- 3x Ichor Squirt +34 (5d8+36/19-20 x2)
as acid (energy, common)
(Increment: 80 ft.; Max Range: 240 ft.)
Siege Damage: Not siege capable
Statistics
| 28 |
| STR |
| 30 |
| DEX |
| 28 |
| CON |
| — |
| INT |
| 6 |
| WIS |
| 16 |
| CHA |
Special Abilities
| Crippling Scratch (Ex) Free Action After successful attack |
|
Once per round per victim struck, upon a successful hit, the Fragmenting Slash attack can inflict 5d8+36 as abrasion (physical, uncommon) damage, and the Impaired condition, on one target the Fragment chooses, the terrible ragged bone shards, nails, and teeth embedded in their striking...parts... gouging terribly at their enemies. Affected victims are allowed a Fortitude save against a DC of 34 to reduce the damage by half and negate the hindered condition. A victim that is already Hindered due to this effect that fails a second save (due to two different successful attacks, which may come from one Fragment, or several), has the Impaired condition upgraded to the Crippled condition. |
| Dormancy (Ex) Free Action |
|
When dormant, a Maddened Fragment is indistinguishable from a pile of gory offal. It takes a perception check of 62 to notice something is amiss. A Maddened Fragment can activate or deactivate dormancy as a free action, and this ability is frequently used by the mindless things to lay ambushes for the luckless. |
| Fragmenting Frenzy (Ex) Full Attack Action |
|
As a full attack action, Maddened Fragments may make two Fragmenting Slash melee attacks upon every enemy creature within their reach. As mindless vermin, they will always use this ability if they threaten two or more enemies and have access to a full attack action. If they are suffering from a flank when they use this ability, they gain a circumstance bonus to all Frenzy attack rolls equal to the largest flanking penalty they are suffering from, and all attacks that hit against different enemies are subject to Crippling Scratch, as well. |
| Grotesquerie (Su) Swift |
|
As a swift action, Maddened Fragments can instinctively rear up and make a horrendous display of their gory forms, typically aimed at foes nearby. When they rear up and show off their awfulness, they may choose a 7x7x7 square space, adjacent to their space (either corner or edge). All enemy creatures in this area who use any visually-based sense suffer 5d6+23 points of rugosic (physical, uncommon) damage, as the gory mass of the Maddened is burned into their field of vision, scarring and wounding through sheer awfulness. Even worse, affected creatures gain the Vexed condition, and if several of the Maddened all use this ability, it can become difficult to attack all of them in time to avoid the vexed effects. There is no saving throw against this terrible power, but enemies who are blind to sight or who avert their gaze (voluntarily granting Total Concealment (missing attacks on a Natural 12 or less) against the Maddened until the end of their next action) are Immune to this effect. |
Maddened Fragments
It is widely accepted among most intelligent creatures, at a very general level, that the world we all live in is balanced upon the surface of a much larger, darker, and far more terrible reality called the Outer Madness. Most people have little understanding of Planes, and in the minds of most people, Demons, Devils, Aberrations, and most 'weird' monsters are part of this terrifying background reality.
However, there are always those who think that 'larger and more terrible' means, 'a convenient way to get power'. As a result, all over the world, in every race, creed, and culture, civilized or not, there are those with far too much greed and far too little wisdom who seek out this Deep Darkness and pledge themselves to it. The Creeping Madness is easy to access, easy to draw upon...and insanely dangerous. A fair number of those who attempt this foolish act are consumed utterly by their very first sup of that dark well, their lives, essence, souls, and flesh consumed entire.
Many of those luckless fools do not quietly disappear, however. A fairly common side effect of this utter destruction is that Madness Minions who have been destroyed have a portion of their remnants trapped in a horrific state of non-quiet, non-dead, non-alive 'existence', the very flesh and fabric of their bodies torn apart into gory pieces and forced into unnatural existence. These grisly chunks of remains are horribly recognizable as body parts, corrupted with fleshy palps and teeth, animated by a simple maddened urge to ruin and despoil, the new form filled with the terrible hungry rage of the Outer Madness.
Far worse, in many cases these 'Maddened Fragments', as they are known, are often recognizable as the beings they once were. Maddened Fragments are larger and more dangerous than lesser versions of their ilk, being made up of multiple body parts all horribly amalgamated together, with various mismatched limbs, ropy entrails, and stringy chains of parts linked together. A truly awful fate is to go to a friends home for an evening meal, and discovering the entire family has dabbled too deep, and are now horrifically mangled into utterly inimical madness machines, looking to kill and wreck everything they can reach.
Combat Tactics
Maddened Fragments are simple mindless vermin which arise from those fools who were lucky enough to die when they attempted to tap into the Outer Madness for 'power'. After they have arisen spontaneously (rather then being used by their mightier brethren as meaty problem detectors), they will typically search briefly for enemies to destroy, then become dormant until a living creature approaches, using the gore of their 'birth' to hide within.
They will attempt to ambush, activate, and attack. Failing ambush, they scuttle close and attack, trying to pack in close to their enemies and use their Fragmenting Frenzy ability as often as possible, seeking to use flanks against their foes and land as many Crippling Scratches each round as possible. Fragments are much larger than lesser Maddened vermin, and have a much larger reach, so that this ability is of considerable potency. If foes are beyond easy reach, they will usually move and use Ichor Squirt to dissolve their foes.
If they have a swift action that is unused, and an enemy is within seven squares, they will use their creepy Grotesquerie power without hesitation, laying Vexes with abandon, uncaring of their own survival. Grotesquerie can make fights with Maddened aided by Fragments into a much more dangerous affair, depending upon the actions of the players, and who gets which Vexed condition activated against them.
If their enemies withdraw and begin to use ranged attacks, they flee out of line of sight, hide, and go dormant to wait.
It is possible that some (many) of these awful things are made things, in which case they will follow the simple instructions given them by their creators. Indeed, Maddened Fragments are often found in the company of more intelligent Maddened, and serve the 'luckier' fiends as pets, guards, and attackers...rather like horrid cannibal zombie dogs made of peoples limbs and organs. Bleah.
Maddened Fragments are mindless, but they have been seen obeying the commands of other Maddened. It is speculated that Fragments are powerful enough that some connection to the Deep Dark allows them to serve as 'cheap muscle' for the Maddened ideology, and Fragments seem to have a surprisingly good ability, mindless as they are, to act in this capacity.
Given their allegiance to Chaos, their mysterious creators or Maddened allies usually set them as guards or send them out to kill or kidnap whoever they encounter. They attack until they or their target is destroyed.
Out of Combat
As mindless vermin, Maddened Fragments simply wait, dormant, until activated by a victim approaching, or they perform the simple duty they were ordered to fulfill by their maker.
Lairs of more intelligent Maddened will often have these horrible things around and about, acting as guards or performing simple patrols. In such cases, they will act as their smarter fellows wish, often with an uncomfortable degree of apparent autonomy.
Rewards
XP: 1,228,800
Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 293,545 gp.
- Weight: 240 lbs. Volume: 9.6 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) |