Monday Monster

 As part of our work on the new THT manual: The Creatures Compendium, We'll be sharing monster teasers here every other monday! We hope you enjoy throwing them at your players and parties! If you do, come back and comment how the encounter went!

Name: Vast Squid

Description: The Vast Squid is a huge cephalopod-like creature that drifts and slides through the ethers of the Vast. It eats large masses of matter that float in that extradimensional space. This is mostly rock and stone, but they have been known to attack and consume Vast ships and other hominid-crafted items that travel the Vast. Its excrement is a gravel-like substance that, when it drifts into a Vast cloud, can seed the formation of magical crystals, from which powerful oculi can be made. This is, of course, only one way to obtain oculi, and is certainly the most dangerous method.

Vast Squid are extremely rare. <I haven’t even seen one, and I live in the Vast. I only have records of them from the Seeker’s Library. Though I can’t tell when it was written. Was it written in the past or the future? I may never find out. Regardless, Vast Squids are solitary creatures, that, according to the record are very slow.> 

Vast Squid also feed on magical energy, flying or swimming through colored clouds and entropy storms, eagerly drawing in energy as multi-colored lighting blasts from the clouds.

Intelligence: Completely unknown. No one on record has ever communicated with one.

Motivation: Also unknown. (Note to Narrator: Have fun with this!) They are mostly docile, but will attack if hungry or attacked first. If one is pulled through a portal into the Great Reality, it will be very disoriented and upset and may attack fiercely until it is able to return to the Vast.

Hearts: 4-6

Difficulty to Hit: Hard (17+) because of the thick, rubbery skin. In The Great Reality, it may be more difficult because of the distortion mentioned below.

Average Attributes: 

Str:  +5   Dex:   -3   Frt:   +4    Awr:    ?    Soc:    -4

Actions: X primary, X secondary

Attacks\Combat Skills: +3 Strength attack. A Vast Squid has 10 tentacles, but is not fast enough to attack with all 10 in one round. It will likely only attack with 2-3 tentacles per phase. If a Vast Squid attack rolls higher than Difficult DF, they have likely wrapped a tentacle around the victim and will squeeze the life out of it. A Hard Strength or Dexterity roll (17+) will be required to break free. 

Armor/Protections: 

Powers (including WP): Dimensional Magic +4

Special Rules: The magic of the Vast Clouds allow the Squid to regenerate hearts of damage and severed tentacles. This won’t happen immediately, but gradually. A Vast Squid in The Great Reality exudes dimensional energy, distorting reality around it. Things can change and warp very quickly, sometimes temporarily, sometimes permanently. 

Possibility of treasure: The Vast Squid has nothing of value to hominids, other than the gems that are seeded in the clouds.