The Skittering Maw

Some call it a Centipede Shark, others have given it the name Sharktipede; however, those who have faced this monster and lived to tell the tale know it as Skittering Maw!

The Half-Orc cleric and death priest of Yogsoggoth, Yorlsen Gramz, was ridiculed one loathsome night just outside the local ruins.  This was nearly a decade ago, when the spawn of Yogsoggoth roamed the land, fruitful because of Yorlsen's dedication to that pallid masked Devil-God of unspeakable chaos - Yogsoggoth!  Yorlsen Gramz was spat upon and laughed at by the leader of a competing sect as unremarkable as they are unremembered.

Precious few believed Yorlsen had the understanding of outer sorcery to combine two opposed species into a single unnatural abomination.  But it was the leader of that sect who called him out.  As the Half-Orc had many times in the past, the death priest of Yogsoggoth accepted the challenge set out before him.

He walked under the horned moon, searching for a suitable creature.  Seconds later, he noticed a giant centipede weaving in and out of the forbidden ruins.  Wrestling it to the ground, Yorlsen proceeded to summon a larger beast from a dimension familiar to him - an oceanic world.  A shark appeared, thrashing and flopping before all in attendance.

With the willpower of a thousand birthing demonesses, Yorlsen Gramz forcibly merged the two species into one.  A hideous shriek resounded through the lightless air as if observing Gods of order could not abide such an unwholesome union.  Nevertheless, the Half-Orc's hybrid held its spliced molecular structure.  In less than a minute, the ridiculing leader of that forgotten sect was beheaded by an acolyte of Yogsoggoth and his body fed to the Sharktipede.

Since its creation nine years hence, various wizards and clerics devoted to Yogsoggoth have managed to replicate the Skittering Maw, placing their creations in various dungeons, towers, and sorcery ravaged wastelands.  The beauty of the hybrid beast is this: it retains the ferocious nature of the shark while enjoying the centipede's sustainability upon dry land.  However, there are a few Skittering Maws which live and fight exclusively in water.
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Skittering Maw

HD:  9
HP:  57
AC:  14
Attack Bonus:  +6
# of Attacks:  1d8 centipede legs and one bite
Damage:  1d4 + special; 2d12

Special Attack:  each centipede leg has hundreds of tiny, stiff fibers which may temporarily paralyze those hit by one.  Roll save giving the victim a +2 bonus to resist the paralysis poison.  On a natural "20" regarding the shark bite, victim is severed into two pieces, yet able to act (albeit without much movement) for 1d8 rounds following the severing.

Special Defense:  three out of four Sharktipedes have 30% spell resistance, one out of four magnifies any magic cast within a 30' radius of itself - multiply the spell's duration, range, damage, etc. by 1.5

Treasure:  a Skittering Maw is only likely to keep gold, gemstones, and magical items from those creatures and adventurers it devours.
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http://dungeonskull.blogspot.com/2011/08/unholy-matrimony.html

This creation is not my own, but came from the twisted minds of Blizak, his brother Chris, the artist Ryan Browning, and the Adventurer Conqueror King roleplaying game.  Thanks for letting me freestyle riff all over this thing, guys!


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