Otyugh — Three-Legged Sewer Scavenger
A surprisingly intelligent refuse-eater that lives where nobody else wants to go, grabbing intruders with barbed tentacles and infecting them with a filthy bite.
The otyugh is built for rubbish. Its broad body moves on three sturdy legs, two long tentacles seize food or attackers, and a third sensory stalk carries its eyes. Most live in sewers, middens, offal pits and underground refuse chambers where their colouring, smell and patience make them difficult to notice until something is already within reach.
At a Glance
Run It Tonight
An otyugh encounter does not have to begin with initiative. Let the party hear a simple telepathic demand from somewhere inside the rubbish: food, leave, or give shiny thing. If the characters cooperate, the monster may be more interested in what they brought than in eating them. If they push into its feeding place or threaten its hoard, the tentacles come out first.
Rules by Edition
Otyugh
Large Aberration, Neutral
AC 14; Initiative +0 (10)
HP 104 (11d10 + 44)
Speed 30 ft.
16 (+3)
11 (+0)
19 (+4)
6 (−2)
13 (+1)
6 (−2)
Saving Throws Con +7
Senses Darkvision 120 ft.; Passive Perception 11
Languages Otyugh; telepathy 120 ft. (one-way)
CR 5 (1,800 XP); PB +3
Actions
Multiattack. The otyugh makes one Bite attack and two Tentacle attacks.
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +6, reach 5 ft. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) Piercing damage, and the target has the Poisoned condition. Whenever the Poisoned target finishes a Long Rest, it makes a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, its Hit Point maximum decreases by 5 (1d10). On a success, the Poisoned condition ends.
Tentacle. Melee Attack Roll: +6, reach 10 ft. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) Piercing damage. A Medium or smaller target has the Grappled condition (escape DC 13) from one of the otyugh’s two tentacles.
Tentacle Slam. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 14, each creature Grappled by the otyugh. Failure: 16 (3d8 + 3) Bludgeoning damage and the Stunned condition until the start of the otyugh’s next turn. Success: Half damage only.
Otyugh
Large aberration, neutral
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 114 (12d10 + 48)
Speed 30 ft.
16 (+3)
11 (+0)
19 (+4)
6 (−2)
13 (+1)
6 (−2)
Saving Throws Con +7
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Otyugh
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Traits
Limited Telepathy. The otyugh can transmit simple messages and images to a creature within 120 feet that understands a language. The receiver cannot answer telepathically.
Actions
Multiattack. The otyugh makes one Bite and two Tentacle attacks.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing damage. A creature hit must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or contract a disease and become poisoned. Every 24 hours it repeats the save; failure reduces its hit point maximum by 5 (1d10), while success ends the disease.
Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) piercing damage. A Medium or smaller target is grappled (escape DC 13) and restrained until the grapple ends.
Tentacle Slam. Each creature grappled by the otyugh must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage and be stunned until the end of the otyugh’s next turn. On a success it takes half damage and is not stunned.
Otyugh CR 4
XP 1,200
N Large aberration
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., scent; Perception +9
Defense
AC 17, touch 9, flat-footed 17 (+8 natural, −1 size)
hp 39 (6d8+12)
Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +6
Immune disease
Offense
Speed 20 ft.
Melee bite +7 (1d8+4 plus disease), 2 tentacles +3 (1d6+2 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (15 ft. with tentacle)
Special Attacks constrict (tentacle, 1d6+2)
Statistics
Str 18, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 5, Wis 13, Cha 6
Base Atk +4; CMB +9 (+13 grapple); CMD 19 (21 vs. trip)
Feats Alertness, Toughness, Weapon Focus (tentacle)
Skills Perception +9, Stealth +2 (+10 in lair); Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in lair
Languages Common
Disease (Ex)
Filth fever: bite—injury; Fort DC 14; onset 1d3 days; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Dex damage and 1d3 Con damage; cure 2 consecutive saves.
Ecology
Environment any underground
Organization solitary, pair or cluster (3–4)
Treasure standard
Otyugh
Large Aberration
Hit Dice 6d8+9 (36 hp)
Initiative +0
Speed 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class 17 (−1 size, +8 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple +4/+8
Attack tentacle +4 melee (1d6)
Full Attack 2 tentacles +4 melee (1d6) and bite −2 melee (1d4)
Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft. (15 ft. with tentacle)
Special Attacks constrict 1d6, disease, improved grab
Special Qualities darkvision 60 ft., scent
Saves Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +6
Abilities Str 11, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 5, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills Hide −1 (+7 in lair), Listen +6, Spot +6
Feats Alertness, Toughness, Weapon Focus (tentacle)
Environment underground
Organization solitary, pair or cluster (3–4)
Challenge Rating 4
Treasure standard
Alignment usually neutral
Constrict (Ex)
The otyugh deals automatic tentacle damage with a successful grapple check.
Disease (Ex)
Filth fever: bite; Fortitude DC 14; incubation 1d3 days; damage 1d3 Dexterity and 1d3 Constitution.
Improved Grab (Ex)
After hitting with a tentacle, the otyugh can begin a grapple without provoking an attack of opportunity. On a successful hold it can constrict.
Behaviour
Otyughs are scavengers first and predators second. A well-fed otyugh has little reason to risk injury fighting armed travellers when a negotiated meal is easier. Underground communities sometimes exploit this, feeding an otyugh regularly in exchange for waste disposal and a living deterrent against intruders.
That bargain can work for years. It becomes dangerous when food stops, when strangers enter the feeding area or when someone mistakes tolerance for domestication.
Signs Before Initiative
- A midden contains a surprisingly tidy path that no humanoid wants to use.
- Refuse disappears overnight without ordinary scavenger tracks.
- Simple telepathic images of food, danger or territory intrude into a character’s thoughts.
- Broken objects have been arranged rather than merely discarded.
- A deep sewer pool contains drag marks from two directions converging on the same mound of waste.
- Locals warn newcomers not to throw spoiled meat anywhere except one particular pit.
If Violence Starts
The otyugh grabs before it bites. Two tentacles let it hold separate targets while its mouth remains free, and fifth-edition Tentacle Slam rewards it for establishing both grapples before spending an action on damage. In the older editions, constrict performs the same role more simply.
An otyugh defending its feeding site may fight longer than one encountered away from home. A roaming, hungry specimen is far more likely to retreat if badly hurt.
Counterplay
Break the grapples quickly. A character left in a tentacle becomes the setup for the creature’s best damage or control. Disease protection and cleansing magic are also useful because surviving the fight does not automatically end the danger of an infected bite.
Negotiation is legitimate counterplay. Food, carrion or access to refuse may buy passage if the otyugh is not already starving or enraged.
Variants
Older Pathfinder material describes several useful otyugh mutations. A corpsefeaster can vomit diseased carrion but gives up its normal constriction. A mutant may have an extra tentacle, an extra leg or aquatic adaptations. Oozing specimens develop caustic secretions after feeding on alchemical waste, while plaguebearers carry multiple diseases and are treated by other otyughs with a mixture of fear and strange reverence.
Use these as encounter variants rather than stacking every mutation onto one ordinary otyugh.
Scent and Otyugh Communication
Otyughs can supplement speech and telepathy with strong scent signals. A lair may therefore contain information that characters can learn before meeting the creature: one smell marks danger, another hunger, another mating or intrusion. The exact “vocabulary” varies by colony and should be treated as local behaviour rather than a universal code.
Using an Otyugh in an Encounter
The sewer contract. A city has quietly fed one otyugh for years. A change of government ends the arrangement without telling anyone who uses the tunnels.
The missing refuse. A monastery’s waste pit is being emptied every night, and the monks think someone is stealing food.
The telepathic beggar. Characters hear a simple image of hunger while crossing an apparently empty midden.
The plague prophet. Several ordinary otyughs are feeding a diseased plaguebearer and obeying its incoherent proclamations.
Related Creatures
Browse the Aberration Bestiary, or compare other waste- and sewer-dwellers such as the Gelatinous Cube. For its classic disease, see Filth Fever.
Rules Sources and Licensing
The 5.5e/2024 Otyugh is from SRD 5.2.1, released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. The 5e/2014 Otyugh is from SRD 5.1, also available under CC BY 4.0.
The Pathfinder 1e statistics derive from the open Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary. The D&D 3.5e statistics are Open Game Content from the Revised d20 System Reference Document. Variant ideas formerly reproduced at length from Dungeon Denizens Revisited are retained here only as concise original summaries.
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