Monster: Death Pillow

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Death Pillow
A mass of bloated, semitransparent inky bubbles with vaguely visible skulls, bones, and other half-digested bones inside them.

CR 9; XP 6,400
N Gargantuan Ooze
Init –5; Senses blindsight 30 ft., lifesight; Perception –5

Defense
AC 1, touch 1, flat-footed 1 (–5 Dex, –4 size)
hp 230 (20d8+140); fast healing 10
Fort +13, Ref +1, Will +1
Defensive Abilities absorb death; DR 10/—; Immune ability damage, ability drain, death, disease, negative levels, ooze traits; Resist acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10, sonic 10

Offense
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft.; ignore difficult terrain, ooze around minor obstacles
Melee swarm (10d6 plus energy drain)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks energy drain (1 level, DC 15), pulling strands, swarm-like

Statistics
Str 30, Dex 1, Con 24, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
Base Atk +15; CMB +27; CMD 32 (can't be tripped)
Languages moans in Necril

Ecology
Environment underground and ruins
Organization solitary
Treasure incidental

Absorb Death (Ex) Effects that would heal undead creature use on the death pillow, on creatures within its space or by creatures within its space, grant the death pillow equal amount of temporary hit points. The death pillow's energy drain grants it 5 temporary hit points for each creature affected. For each accumulated 20 temporary hit points, the death pillow issues a long, resounding ringing which attracts attention of undead creatures within 1 mile. Undead creatures within 100 feet gain a cumulative +1 profane bonus to attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, and saving throws (to a maximum of +5), as well as 5 temporary hit points (to a maximum of 50 temporary hit points) for 1 minute.

Pulling Strands (Ex) As a standard action, a death pillow can fire strands of sticky slime at up to three living creatures within 60 feet of its location, making a combat maneuver check against each, and pull them 5 feet on success, plus 5 feet per 5 points its combat maneuver check exceeded the target's CMD.

Swarm-like (Ex) A death pillow is a single entity composed of many bubbles of loosely connected bubbles of ooze that can move over other creatures, occupy their space, and attack them like a swarm. Death pillows space is considered difficult terrain for other creatures.


Death pillows are strange, necrotic oozes that consume the living and attract and empower the dead. It is said that the fist death pillow had been spawned in the lair of an ancient deity of death and decay out of vile slime oozing out of the entity whenever it laid to sleep.

Occasionally a death pillow might absorb a lingering incorporeal entity, gaining vestiges of sentience, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores of 3d6, and malignant personality. On at least one occasion, a death pillow absorbed spirit of a lich, whose phylactery it swallowed, becoming particularly intelligent and vile being, though unable to use the lich's own magical powers...