Alpluachra

This minuscule creature resembles a newt with three tails. It’s covered in a transparent slime, and looks hungry.

Source Bestiary 4 pg. 9

Orginally posted in Archives of Nethys

These strange and insatiable fey prowl bubbling brooks, sauntering streams, and slow-moving rivers in a constant pursuit of food, but the extremely lazy creatures often tire of hunting. Alpluachras find it much easier to slip down a sleeping creature’s throat, fall asleep, and dream of fantastic feasts and warm bubbling pools while its host does the eating for it. Because of this, they always keep an eye on riverbanks, looking for creatures napping near waterways. Once they find potential hosts, they stealthily slither up and slide down their snoring gullets.

Once inside, they rest along the walls of the esophagus and devour all the food that comes down the host’s throat. The host often starves to death in the process, as the parasite becomes more ravenous over time.

Despite their propensity to slowly kill their hosts, alpluachras are slothful rather than cruel. They have no concept of the harm they are doing, lazily enjoying the benefits while the host is still alive.

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Alpluachra CR 1/2

XP 200 CN Diminutive fey (aquatic) Init +1; Senses Low-Light Vision; Perception +4

Defense

AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+1 Dexterity, +4 size) hp 5 (1d6+2) Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +2 Defensive Abilities numbing slime Weaknesses vulnerable to salt

Offense

Speed 10 ft., Swim 10 ft. Melee bite +1 (1d2-3) Space 1 ft., Reach 0 ft. Special Attacks implant

Statistics

Strength 4, Dexterity 13, Constitution 14, Intelligence 4, Wisdom 11, Charisma 11 Base Atk +0; CMB – 3; CMD 4 (8 vs. trip) Feats Skill Focus (Stealth) Skills Escape Artist +5, Perception +4, Stealth +20, Swim +5 Languages Aklo SQ amphibious

Special Abilities

Implant (Ex) As a full-round action, they can crawl into the mouth of a helpless creature (no more than three size categories larger than itself) and implant itself into the creature’s throat. Once implanted, anything that the creature ingests is instead consumed by the alpluachra, including such substances as elixirs and potions or ingested alchemical items, diseases, drugs, or poisons. Once the alpluachra is implanted, the host creature begins suffering the effects of starvation and thirst (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 444). Due in part to its numbing slime, an implanted creature is difficult to detect. Each time the host creature ingests anything, it gains an automatic Perception check against the alpluachra’s Stealth. After the newtlike fey is detected, it can be removed either by consuming at least half a pound of salt or a gallon of salt water, by a remove disease spell cast on the host creature, or by treating the host with a successful DC 15 Heal check. When a Heal check made for this purpose fails by 5 or more, the host creature takes 1d6 points of damage. If the host attempts to remove the creature by eating salt or drinking salt water, it must succeed at a DC 12 Fortitude save or become sickened for 1d8 hours from the reaction with the alpluachra. If the alpluachra dies or becomes unconscious, it is immediately detected by the host creature, and can be removed safely as a full-round action. While implanted, an alpluachra is considered helpless. Numbing Slime (Ex) Any creature that deals damage to an alpluachra with a natural attack or an unarmed strike, comes into contact with an alpluachra, or is host to the creature must succeed at a DC 12 Fortitude save or take a -4 penalty on all tactile Perception checks, as well as other skill checks requiring tactile senses (such as Disable Device and Sleight of Hand) for 24 hours. A host creature that fails this saving throw takes the penalty to detect the alpluachra implanted inside it. If the host creature succeeds at the saving throw, it can’t be affected by the same alpluachra’s numbing slime for another 24 hours. Vulnerable to Salt (Ex) Half a pound of salt or a gallon of salt water poured over an alpluachra or consumed by a creature it has implanted itself in deals 1d3 points of damage to the alpluachra.

Ecology

Environment temperate forests or fresh water Organization solitary Treasure none