Aboleth
“Uncover the chilling secret of the Aboleth: a primordial, mind-controlling sea monster that lurks in the depths, ready to enslave your worst nightmares!”
The Aboleth is a grotesque, fish-like creature that measures about 25 feet in length and weighs around 6,500 pounds. Its elongated, serpentine body glistens with a thick layer of clear, viscous slime, which helps it maneuver through water effortlessly. The Aboleth has three large, unblinking eyes that emit a faint bioluminescent glow, allowing it to see in the darkest depths. Four long, sinuous tentacles writhe from its flanks, tipped with suckers that help it grip its prey and surroundings. Its skin is a mottled greenish hue, resembling the murky waters of its habitat, aiding its camouflage against potential threats.
Behavior:
Aboleths are cold, calculating creatures that exhibit a high degree of intelligence and cunning. They are known for their insatiable curiosity and relentless desire for control, viewing most other beings as mere pawns in their intricate games of manipulation. While often solitary, they can form temporary alliances with lesser creatures, utilizing them as spies or servants to further their own ends. Despite their formidable presence, Aboleths prefer to avoid direct confrontation, using their psionic abilities to ensnare and dominate foes from a distance.
Habitat:
Aboleths dwell in the darkest, most isolated regions of the ocean, often residing in massive, cyclopean underwater cities built from coral and bioluminescent materials. These cities are hidden from the eyes of surface dwellers and are home to a plethora of enslaved creatures, both aquatic and terrestrial. The water in their lairs is thick with their transformative mucus, creating a suffocating atmosphere for intruders and providing an environment conducive to their needs.
Modus Operandi:
The Aboleth’s primary strategy is to employ its telepathic abilities to probe the minds of potential victims, uncovering their deepest desires and weaknesses. It uses this knowledge to manipulate individuals into becoming loyal servants or unwitting allies. When threatened, it relies on its disease-inflicting tentacle strikes to weaken opponents, often incapacitating them before moving in for a final blow. Its enslave ability allows it to charm creatures from afar, establishing control without the need for physical confrontation.
Motivation:
Driven by a profound sense of superiority and a desire for domination, Aboleths view themselves as the rightful rulers of the world. They are motivated by a longing to reclaim the empires they once commanded, seeking to expand their influence over all forms of life. This ambition fuels their relentless pursuit of power, and they are willing to employ any means necessary, including deceit, coercion, and outright violence, to achieve their goals. In their eyes, the world is a stage for their grand designs, with every creature merely a tool to be exploited in the quest for ultimate control.
Four long tentacles writhe from this three-eyed fish-like creature’s flanks, and its green body glistens with thick, clear slime.
As befits their hideous primeval appearance, the hermaphroditic aboleths are among the world’s oldest forms of life. Ancient even when the gods first turned their eyes to the Material Plane, the aboleths have always existed apart from other mortal life, alien and cold and endlessly plotting. They once ruled the world with vast empires, and today view most other forms of life as either food or slaves—and sometimes both. They disdain the gods and see themselves as the true masters of creation. An aboleth is 25 feet long and weighs 6,500 pounds.
In the darkest reaches of the sea, they still dwell in grotesque cities built in nauseating and cyclopean styles. There they are served by countless slaves culled from every nation, air-breathing and aquatic alike, although the air-breathing slaves are doubly bound by magic and the need to constantly replenish their water-breathing ability via the excretions of their aboleth masters. Lone aboleths are often advance scouts for these hidden cities, seeking out new slaves.
They speak their own language, as well as Undercommon and Aquan.
Aboleth 5e
Aboleth 3.5
Aboleth
Four long tentacles writhe from this three-eyed fish-like creature’s flanks, and its green body glistens with thick, clear slime.
Large aberration, lawful evil
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 135 (18d10 + 36)
Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft.
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
21 (+5) | 9 (-1) | 15 (+2) | 18 (+4) | 15 (+2) | 18 (+4) |
Saving Throws Con +6, Int +8, Wis +6
Skills History +12, Perception +10
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 20
Languages Deep Speech, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Special Traits
- Amphibious: It can breathe air and water.
- Mucous Cloud: While underwater, the aboleth is surrounded by transformative mucus. A creature that touches the aboleth or that hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature is diseased for 1d4 hours. The diseased creature can breathe only underwater.
- Probing Telepathy: If a creature communicates telepathically with the aboleth, the aboleth learns the creature’s greatest desires if the aboleth can see the creature.
Actions
- Multiattack: It makes three tentacle attacks.
- Tentacle: Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or become diseased. The disease has no effect for 1 minute and can be removed by any magic that cures disease. After 1 minute, the diseased creature’s skin becomes translucent and slimy, the creature can’t regain hit points unless it is underwater, and the disease can be removed only by heal or another disease-curing spell of 6th level or higher. When the creature is outside a body of water, it takes 6 (1d12) acid damage every 10 minutes unless moisture is applied to the skin before 10 minutes have passed.
- Tail: Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft. one target. Hit: 15 (3d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
- Enslave (3/Day): The aboleth targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed by the aboleth until the aboleth dies or until it is on a different plane of existence from the target. The charmed target is under the aboleth’s control and can’t take reactions, and the aboleth and the target can communicate telepathically with each other over any distance. Whenever the charmed target takes damage, the target can repeat the saving throw. On a success, the effect ends. No more than once every 24 hours, the target can also repeat the saving throw when it is at least 1 mile away from the aboleth.
Legendary Actions
The aboleth can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The aboleth regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
- Detect: The aboleth makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
- Tail Swipe: The aboleth makes one tail attack.
- Psychic Drain (Costs 2 Actions): One creature charmed by the aboleth takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage, and the aboleth regains hit points equal to the damage the creature takes.
See Also Aboleth Greater; Aboleth Noble, Aboleth Ruler, Skum