Khalk'ru Working Draft
Khalk'ru
Colossal Outsider (Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 30d8+420 (555 hp)
Initiative: +11
Speed: Fly 40 ft. (8 squares, perfect)
Armor Class: 42 (–8 size, +7 Dex, +8 deflection, +25 natural), touch 17, flat-footed 35
Base Attack/Grapple: +30/+61
Attack: Tentacle +37 melee (3d8+15 plus touch of destruction)
Full Attack: Twelve tentacles +37 melee (3d8+15 plus touch of destruction)
Space/Reach: 30 ft./ 20 ft. (60 ft. with tentacle)
Special Attacks: Constrict 3d8+15 plus touch of destruction, expert grappler, improved grab, interdimensional suggestion, spell-like abilities, touch of destruction
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., deflection, maddening presence, immunity to mind-affecting effects, spell resistance 35, true seeing
Saves: Fort +31, Ref +24, Will +25
Abilities: Str 40, Dex 25, Con 39, Int 15, Wis 26, Cha 26
Skills: Concentration +47, Diplomacy +12, Escape Artist +40, Hide +24, Intimidate +41, Knowledge (arcana) +35, Knowledge (religion) +35, Knowledge (the planes) +35, Listen +41, Sense Motive +41, Spot +41, Survival +8 (+12 on other planes), Use Rope +7 (+11 to bind)
Feats: Blind-Fight, Cleave, Dire Charge, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Quicken Spell-Like Ability ×4 (enervation, greater dispel magic, mass suggestion, nightmare)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 25
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: —
Level Adjustment: —
A titanic octopoidal horror with a dozen tentacles as long as ships and a globular body the size of a building. The creature floats in the air as if it were in water. Its skin is blacker than black, its only color is the red of its unfathomably malevolent eyes whose piercing gaze seems to see your every sin and weakness.
Khalk'ru is a terrifying extraplanar entity whose only interest in the Material Plane is its annihilation. It is known by many titles, including The Dissolver, The Eater-Up of Life, The End-Without-End, The Living Nothingness and The Lightless Timeless Void. The Dissolver is able to subtly influence mortals on the Prime Material Plane, creating insane cults who call upon Khalk'ru to destroy sacrifices or enemies and beg it to spare them. The worst of these cultists dream of summoning their lord to destroy all of creation, but fortunately most cults of The Dissolver are only able to summon an aspect of Khalk'ru (as detailed below). There are several magical items associated with The Living Nothingness, relics of a lost civilization of Khalk'ru worshippers whose nihilism destroyed them.
Khalk'ru is roughly 150 feet across, from tentacle-tip to tentacle-tip.
Combat
Khalk'ru typically opens combat by using Dire Charge and Great Cleave to try to strike as many opponents as possible with its tentacles while simultaneously barraging them with quickened spell-like abilities. If an enemy does not dissolve to Khalk'ru's touch of destruction the octopoid abomination switches to constriction attacks and its other spell-like abilities. When Khalk'ru is presented with opponents too feeble to pose a threat it occasionally holds off annihilating them and merely waits for its maddening presence special attack to transform those creatures into its insane worshipers.
Constrict (Ex): Khalk'ru deals automatic tentacle damage with a successful grapple check.
Deflection (Ex): Khalk'ru has a profane bonus to its armor class equal to its Charisma bonus (if any).
Expert Grappler (Ex): If Khalk'ru chooses to grapple an opponent but remain ungrappled itself it only takes a –10 penalty on its grapple checks instead of the normal –20 penalty. It may then make tentacle attacks as normal.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, Khalk'ru must hit with a tentacle attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict.
Interdimensional Suggestion (Sp): Once per week, Khalk'ru may use suggestion as a spell-like ability on a creature located on a different plane of existence, provided that the target creature knows of Khalk'ru's existence. This exposes the suggestion's target to Khalk'ru's maddening presence ability (see below).
Maddening Presence (Su): Khalk'ru's presence is so horrific that any creature within 120 feet who observes it are subject to madness. Failure on a DC 33 Will save indicates that the victim takes 1d4 Wis drain. Rather than entering a withdrawn nightmare state, a creature drained to zero Wisdom regains its normal Wisdom score but becomes a fanatical worshiper of Khalk'ru who returns to their home plane and attempts to summon Khalk'ru there. A creature that makes a saving throw against Khalk'ru's maddening presence is immune to it for 24 hours. Blindness is no protection — Khalk'ru's presence is an affront to all five senses. This is a mind-affecting ability. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will—astral projection, chaos hammer (DC 22), cloak of chaos (DC 26), desecrate, destruction (DC 25), detect good, detect law, enervation, greater dispel magic, greater scrying (DC 25), greater teleport (DC 25), mass suggestion (DC 24), nightmare (DC 23), unhallow, word of chaos (DC 25); 3/day—dream, quickened enervation, quickened greater dispel magic, quickened mass suggestion (DC 24), quickened nightmare (DC 23), symbol of insanity (DC 26), weird (DC 27); 1/day—implosion (DC 27), storm of vengeance (DC 27). Caster level 20th; save DC 18 + spell level.
Touch of Destruction (Su): Any creature hit by Khalk'ru's tentacle or constrict attacks must succeed at a DC 33 Will save or gain negative energy levels equal to their hit dice. A victim who fails the Will save must then succeed at a DC 33 Fortitude save or their corpse is utterly consumed as if affected by a destruction spell. Creatures immune to energy drain and/or death effects are still subject to the destruction effect it they fail both saving throws. The only way to restore to life a creature destroyed by Khalk'ru's touch is to use true resurrection, a carefully worded wish spell followed by resurrection, or miracle. Victims who have merely had all their energy levels drained by Khalk'ru may be restored to life by resurrection. In either case, restoration spells can be used to restore the lost levels. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
True Seeing (Su): This ability continuously duplicates the effect of the spell.
Aspect of Khalk'ru
Gargantuan Outsider (Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 15d8+135 (202 hp)
Initiative: +9
Speed: Fly 40 ft. (8 squares, perfect)
Armor Class: 32 (–4 size, +5 Dex, +5 deflection, +16 natural), touch 16, flat-footed 27
Base Attack/Grapple: +15/+39
Attack: Tentacle +23 melee (2d8+18 plus touch of destruction)
Full Attack: Tentacle +23 melee (2d8+18 plus touch of destruction)
Space/Reach: 20 ft./ 15 ft. (60 ft. with tentacle)
Special Attacks: Constrict 2d8+18 plus touch of destruction, expert grappler, improved grab, touch of destruction
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., deflection, immunity to mind-affecting effects, spell resistance 25, true seeing
Saves: Fort +18, Ref +16, Will +14
Abilities: Str 34, Dex 21, Con 29, Int 11, Wis 20, Cha 20
Skills: Diplomacy +7, Hide +11, Intimidate +23, Knowledge (arcana) +18, Knowledge (religion) +18, Knowledge (the planes) +18, Listen +18, Sense Motive +18, Spot +18, Survival +5 (+7 on other planes)
Feats: Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 15
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: —
Level Adjustment: —
A gigantic black tentacle coils in the air. It resembles the limb of a titanic octopus with sucking discs along its inner surface, but there is something ineffably hideous about it.
An aspect of Khalk'ru is a single tentacle from a terrifying extraplanar entity known as Khalk'ru the Dissolver whose only interest in the Material Plane is its annihilation. Crazed worshippers call upon Khalk'ru to destroy sacrifices or enemies and beg it to spare them. Most cults of Khalk'ru lack the means or power to conjure The Dissolver in its entirety so summon an aspect of Khalk'ru instead.
An aspect of Khalk'ru is a 50 foot long tentacle.
Combat
An aspect of Khalk'ru uses its Cleave and Combat Reflexes feats to try to hit as many opponents as possible and affect them with its touch of destruction ability. It reserves its improved grab and constrict special attacks for powerful or desirable targets.
Constrict (Ex): An aspect of Khalk'ru deals automatic tentacle damage with a successful grapple check.
Deflection (Ex): Khalk'ru has a profane bonus to its armor class equal to its Charisma bonus (if any).
Expert Grappler (Ex): An aspect of Khalk'ru that chooses to grapple an opponent but remain ungrappled itself only takes a –10 penalty on its grapple checks instead of the normal –20 penalty. It may then make tentacle attacks as normal.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the aspect of Khalk'ru must hit with a tentacle attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict.
Touch of Destruction (Su): Any creature hit by an aspect of Khalk'ru's tentacle or constrict attacks must succeed at a DC 22 Will save or gain 1d4+2 negative energy levels. A victim who gains negative energy levels equal to their hit dice must succeed at a DC 22 Fortitude save or their corpse is utterly consumed as if affected by a destruction spell. Creatures immune to energy drain and/or death effects are still subject to the destruction effect it they fail both saving throws. The only way to restore life to a creature destroyed by Khalk'ru's touch is to use true resurrection, a carefully worded wish spell followed by resurrection, or miracle. Victims who have merely had all their energy levels drained by Khalk'ru may be restored to life by resurrection. In either case, restoration spells can be used to restore the lost levels. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
True Seeing (Su): This ability continuously duplicates the effect of the spell.
Originally appeared in Supplement IV: Gods, Demigods, Heroes (1976)