Buy me a coffeeBhole
“Discover the colossal, world-devouring nightmare that slithers beneath your feet—encounter the unstoppable Bhole!”
Bholes are colossal, wormlike leviathans that defy comprehension, stretching hundreds—if not thousands—of feet in length. Their segmented bodies are thick and ridged, with colors ranging from deep purples and blues to sickly grays, yellows, and whites. Their most terrifying feature is a cavernous maw lined with hooked, bony jaws that can extend outward, snapping shut with unimaginable force. Their slick, mucus-covered hide secretes a thick, corrosive slime that coats their burrows and traps anything foolish enough to wander into their domain. Despite their size, few have seen a Bhole’s full form, as they often remain hidden underground, surfacing only to devastate.
Behaviorally, They are primal and single-minded, driven by an insatiable hunger. They care nothing for their surroundings or for other creatures, consuming everything in their path—be it rock, soil, or flesh. Despite their near-mindlessness, they are relentless, tearing through vast underground regions, leaving behind immense tunnels that destabilize entire landscapes. Bholes are ancient and unbothered by time, lacking any awareness of history or purpose beyond their constant feeding.
Their habitat is typically deep underground in remote, desolate regions. They inhabit vast subterranean wastelands of their own making, where their corrosive slime reduces everything to ruin. Entire landscapes collapse into rubble-filled pits after a Bhole has burrowed through, creating uninhabitable badlands. These lairs are often treacherous, filled with difficult terrain and slime that entangles or traps any intruders.
Their modus operandi is simple but devastating: burrow, consume, and move on. Bholes move swiftly through earth and stone, devouring everything in their path. They have no need for strategy; their sheer size and overwhelming strength make them nearly unstoppable forces of destruction. Their corrosive breath weapon can be unleashed to slow or incapacitate enemies, creating a hazardous zone of sticky, entangling slime.
A Bhole’s motivation is purely instinctual—driven by an unending need to feed and survive. They have no higher purpose, no goals or desires beyond consumption. While they seem indifferent to most creatures, they possess an eerie, timeless existence, seemingly aware only of their hunger and the vast tunnels they leave behind in their wake.
Bhole 5e
Bhole 3.5
Bhole
Colossal Aberration, Chaotic Neutral
Armor Class 21 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points 454 (28d12 + 280)
Speed 50 ft., Burrow 50 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 (+10) | 8 (-1) | 30 (+10) | 3 (-4) | 22 (+6) | 18 (+4) |
Saving Throws Str +18, Con +18, Wis +13
Skills Perception +13
Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities Acid, Fire, Psychic
Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened, Paralyzed, Stunned
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Tremorsense 120 ft., Passive Perception 23
Languages Aklo (rarely speaks)
Challenge 23 (50,000 XP)
Colossal Presence
The Bhole’s size and cosmic nature warp the very space around it. The Bhole occupies a 30-foot space and can extend up to 60 feet in length. Any creature within 120 feet of the Bhole feels a visceral, mind-warping dread and must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or suffer from short-term madness for 1 minute.
| Roll (1d10) | Effect Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | The character experiences hallucinations and can’t discern what is real. Must make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or attack a random target within reach. |
| 2 | The character believes they are being pursued. They must use their action to Dash away from the nearest creature each turn. |
| 3 | The character believes they are in danger and gains the frightened condition until the end of their next turn. |
| 4 | The character begins to babble incoherently, unable to communicate effectively, and can only speak in gibberish. |
| 5 | The character sees everything as a threat and attacks the nearest creature, including allies, on their next turn. |
| 6 | The character loses the ability to concentrate, effectively unable to cast spells that require concentration. |
| 7 | The character believes they are in a different location or time, becoming disoriented and unable to take effective action. |
| 8 | The character feels an overwhelming sense of sadness, reducing their ability to act (disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks). |
| 9 | The character exhibits paranoia, refusing to trust any allies and can only take actions to hide or prepare to defend themselves. |
| 10 | The character is struck by a vision of horror, suffering psychic damage equal to 1d10. |
Roleplaying Short-Term Madness
- Behavior Changes: Encourage players to roleplay the effects of their madness. This can lead to dramatic and memorable moments, enhancing the atmosphere of the encounter.
- Impact on Combat: If a character is under the influence of short-term madness, adjust their actions according to the effect rolled. This can lead to chaotic and unpredictable combat scenarios, enhancing the tension of facing the Bhole.
Ending Madness
At the end of the madness duration, the affected creature can make another DC 20 Wisdom saving throw to end the effect early.
Eldritch Entity
The Bhole is not of this world. Its thoughts are incomprehensible, and it is immune to any form of mind control, possession, or telepathy. Any creature attempting to communicate with the Bhole or peer into its mind must succeed on a DC 20 Intelligence saving throw or suffer 33 (6d10) psychic damage and gain a long-term madness.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day)
If the Bhole fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Siege Monster
It deals double damage to objects and structures.
Magic Resistance
It has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Aberrant Might
The Bhole adds twice its Strength modifier (+20) to all its natural weapon attacks, representing its overwhelming cosmic strength.
Actions
Multiattack. It makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its slam.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 30 ft., one target. Hit: 52 (6d12 + 20) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 26). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the Bhole can’t bite another target.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 60 ft., one target. Hit: 41 (6d8 + 20) bludgeoning damage. On a hit, the target must succeed on a DC 26 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of the Bhole’s next turn.
Swallow. The Bhole makes one bite attack against a Large or smaller creature it is grappling. If the attack hits, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. The swallowed creature is blinded and restrained, has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the Bhole, and takes 44 (8d10) acid damage at the start of each of the Bhole’s turns.
If the Bhole takes 50 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the Bhole must succeed on a DC 25 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate the creature, which falls prone in a space within 10 feet of the Bhole. If the Bhole dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 30 feet of movement, exiting prone.
Breath of the Abyss (Recharge 5–6). It expels a 90-foot cone of mind-warping slime. Each creature in the area must make a DC 24 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 66 (12d10) acid damage, is stunned, and suffers short-term madness for 1 minute. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage and is not stunned or mad. The area becomes difficult terrain, coated in the slime for 1 hour.
Legendary Actions
It 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 Bhole regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
- Slam. The Bhole makes one slam attack.
- Corrupt Earth (Costs 2 Actions). It causes the ground in a 30-foot radius around it to warp and twist with unnatural force. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 24 Dexterity saving throw or be restrained by twisting, corrosive slime and take 22 (4d10) acid damage. The slime lasts for 1 minute.
- Eldritch Trample (Costs 3 Actions). The Bhole moves up to its speed in a straight line. Each creature in its path must succeed on a DC 24 Dexterity saving throw or take 41 (6d8 + 20) bludgeoning damage and suffer from short-term madness for 1 minute.
Tactics
The Bhole is a mind-breaking entity of sheer destruction. It uses its Breath of the Abyss to immediately disorient and incapacitate foes, spreading madness and dissolving their defenses with corrosive slime. It follows with bite and slam attacks, using its Swallow ability on weaker creatures to thin the ranks. When outnumbered, it uses Corrupt Earth to trap and isolate targets, making it difficult for enemies to move.
The Bhole’s movement is slow but methodical. Its Burrow speed allows it to reposition or collapse tunnels, forcing enemies into confined spaces. The Eldritch Trample is devastating for those who get too close, spreading fear and madness while flattening everything in its path. Its immense strength and Magic Resistance make it a nearly unstoppable force of nature.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Bhole can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects:
- Warped Gravity. Gravity distorts within the Bhole’s lair. All creatures within 120 feet must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
- Corrupt Terrain. The ground within 60 feet of the Bhole becomes covered in slimy, acidic sludge for 1 minute. This terrain is considered difficult and deals 10 (3d6) acid damage to any creature that starts its turn in or enters the area.
- Reality Tremors. The Bhole sends out psychic shockwaves. Each creature in the lair must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or suffer long-term madness.
Regional Effects
The region containing the Bhole’s lair is warped by its otherworldly presence, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- Cosmic Unraveling. Reality seems fragile near the Bhole’s lair. Small tears in space flicker across the environment, with strange, impossible stars visible through the rips.
- Maddening Whispers. Creatures within 6 miles of the Bhole’s lair experience random, maddening whispers and disturbing visions, imposing disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws.
- Decay of Time. Structures within 3 miles of the Bhole’s lair decay at an accelerated rate, as if centuries pass in minutes. Living creatures in the area age one year for every 24 hours spent near the Bhole’s lair.
If the Bhole dies, these effects gradually fade over 1d10 days.
This titanic worm heaves its endless bulk into the air, raising one end as if ready to strike with a massive set of hooked jaws.
Source Bestiary 4 pg. 18, Pathfinder #65: Into the Nightmare Rift pg. 84
Originally posted in Archives of Nethys
Known on some worlds as dholes, bholes are among the largest of living creatures, wormlike leviathans of such size that few can claim to have seen one wholly from head to tail, and those who do suffer from madness or other afflictions that cause others to doubt these tales. The coloration of these creature ranges widely, from dark blues and purples to pale grays, yellows, or white.
A bhole’s cavernous mouth consists of long, bony jaws that extend and unfold from the creature’s head when it feeds. Bholes are incredibly long-lived, those that exist in remote worlds or in other dimensions have done so for countless eons. The bholes themselves seem to have no interest in their history, perhaps as a result of their limited intellect, but they can live forever, barring death by violence.
Regions inhabited by bholes are always wastelands. Bholes seem able to eat and digest anything and everything, and in time can reduce a huge area to just a honeycombed network of immense tunnels. These regions swiftly collapse in on themselves, leaving rubble filled pits of terrifying size.
| Bhole CR 17 |
| XP 102,400 CN Colossal magical beast Init +3; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision; Perception +28 |
| DEFENSE |
| AC 33, touch 1, flat-footed 33 (-1 Dexterity, +32 natural, -8 size) hp 290 (20d10+180) Fort +21, Ref +13, Will +11 DR 10/; Immune acid, fire, disease, magical control, |
| OFFENSE |
| Speed 50 ft., burrow 50 ft. Melee bite +29 (6d6+25/19-20 plus grab), slam +29 (3d8+25/19-20) Space 30 ft., Reach 60 ft. Special Attacks breath weapon, overwhelming strength, swallow whole (20d6 acid damage, AC 26, 29 hp), trample (DC 37) |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 44, Dexterity 8, Constitution 28, Intelligence 3, Wisdom 21, Charisma 23 Base Atk +20; CMB +45 (+47 bull rush, +49 grapple); CMD 54 (56 vs. bull rush, can’t be tripped) Feats Awesome Blow, Critical Focus, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Critical (slam), Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Staggering Critical, Vital Strike Skills Perception +28 Languages Aklo (rarely speaks) |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Breath Weapon (Su) Once every minute, a bhole can expel a prodigious amount of thick slime from its gullet. This breath weapon has a range of 900 feet, and creates a 40-foot-diameter spread of slime in its targeted area. Any creature within this area must succeed at a DC 29 Fortitude save or be stunned for 1d4 rounds. The slime transforms the area it coats into difficult terrain. Furthermore, any creature that is in the area (or that attempts to enter the area) must succeed at a DC 29 Reflex save or be entangled by the slime. Bhole slime persists for 2d6 hours and bhole lairs are typically pre-caked with the stuff. A bhole can move through bhole slime without penalty. The save DC is Constitution-based. Immune to Magical Control (Ex) A bhole is immune to nearly all forms of mind control, including all charm, suggestion, and dominate spells. It is similarly immune to magic jar and possession attempts. Confusion and other mind-affecting effects that don’t allow another creature to directly control a bhole work normally. Rare effects that allow a creature to manipulate the exact effects of confusion on a creature provide one of the few ways to magically control a bhole. Other methods, particularly those tied to strange and powerful artifacts, may work as well. Overwhelming Strength (Ex) A bhole always applies 1-1/2 times its Strength modifier on all natural weapon attacks. |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment any underground Organization solitary Treasure none |