Athach

Huge Giant, Chaotic Evil

A malformed terror of the wild hills, an athach stands nearly eighteen feet tall. Its gray, leathery hide stretches over thick muscle, and a grotesque third arm sprouts from its chest, granting it a horrifying three-fisted fighting style. Clad in ragged furs adorned with stolen gems, it delights in crushing intruders beneath relentless blows.

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AC 15 (Natural Armor)
HP 189 (15d12 + 90)
Speed 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
24 (+7)	11 (+0)	22 (+6)	6 (−2)	12 (+1)	7 (−2)

Saving Throws Str +10, Con +9
Skills Athletics +10, Perception +4
Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 14
Languages Giant
CR 8 (XP 3,900; PB +3)

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Traits

Keen Smell. The athach has Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Gem Hoarder. The athach has Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks made to notice gems, jewelry, or precious stones.

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Actions

Multiattack. The athach makes three Massive Club attacks. It can replace any of these attacks with Rock attacks, and it can replace one of these attacks with a Bite attack.

Massive Club. Melee Attack Roll: +10, reach 10 ft.
Hit: 20 (3d8 + 7) Bludgeoning damage.

Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +10, reach 5 ft.
Hit: 18 (2d10 + 7) Piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) Poison damage. The target must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or have the Poisoned condition for 1 minute. While Poisoned in this way, the target repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Rock. Ranged Attack Roll: +10, range 60/240 ft.
Hit: 27 (4d10 + 7) Bludgeoning damage.

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Tactics

The athach prefers high ground and broken terrain. It begins combat by hurling rocks at clustered enemies to disrupt formations. Once foes are scattered, it charges into melee, battering armored defenders while targeting lightly armored creatures with its venomous bite.

If reduced below half its Hit Points, it may retreat briefly to resume ranged attacks before reengaging.

Athach

Huge giant, chaotic evil

Armor Class 16 (scale mail)
Hit Points 230 (20d12 + 100)
Speed 50 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
29 (+9)	14 (+2)	20 (+5)	7 (-2)	12 (+1)	6 (-3)

Saving Throws Str +14, Con +10
Skills Athletics + 14, Perception +5
Senses passive Perception 15
Languages Common, Giant, Orc
Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The athach makes two heavy mace attacks or (when available) tricky!
• Heavy mace. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 30 (6d6 + 9) bludgeoning damage.
• Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (1d10 + 9) piercing damage plus 6 (2d6) poison damage.
• Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, range 60/240 ft., one target. Hit: 35 (4d12 + 9) bludgeoning damage.
• Tricky! (1/Day). The athach pulls three fuzzy objects from her bag of tricks and flings them into combat.

REACTIONS

• Swift Claw. When the athach is hit by a melee attack, she can make a claw attack against the creature that struck her.
• GEAR The athach’s favorite toy is a tan bag of tricks that lies among the tangle of her sleeping furs. If she hears PCs approaching, she uses the bag in combat, but if she’s surprised, she doesn’t take the time to dig it out.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Legendary Planet Adventure Path (5E) © 2020, Legendary Games; Authors: Matt Goodall, Jim Groves, Steven T. Helt, Tim Hitchcock, Jason Nelson, Richard Pett, Tom Phillips, Mike Shel, Neil Spicer, Mike D. Welham

Athach

Source(s) 3.5E Monster Manual I, 3E Monster Manual I, Mystara Appendix, Master Boxed Set, Rules Cyclopedia

Athach
Size/Type	Huge aberration
Hit Dice	14d8+70 (133 hp)
Initiative	+1
Speed	35 ft. in hide armor (7 squares); base speed 50 ft.
Armor Class	20 (-2 size, +1 Dexterity, +3 hide armor, +8 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 19
Base Attack/Grapple	+10/+26
Attack	Morningstar +16 melee (3d6+8) or rock +9 ranged (2d6+8)
Full Attack	Morningstar +12/+7 melee (3d6+8), and 2 Morningstars +12 melee (3d6+4),and bite +12 melee (2d8+4 plus poison);or rock +5 ranged (2d6+8), and 2 rocks +5 ranged (2d6+4)
Space/Reach	15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks	Poison
Special Qualities	Darkvision 60 ft.
Saves	Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +10
Abilities	Strength 26, Dexterity 13, Constitution 21, Intelligence 7, Wisdom 12, Charisma 6
Skills	Climb +9, Jump +18, Listen +7, Spot +7
Feats	Alertness, Cleave, Multiweapon Fighting, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (bite)
Environment	Temperate hills
Organization	Solitary, gang (2-4), or tribe (7-12)
Challenge Rating	8
Treasure	½ coins; double goods; standard items
Alignment	Often chaotic evil
Advancement:	15-28 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment	+5

Combat

They charge into melee combat unless their opponents are out of reach, in which case they throw rocks. They sometimes try to overrun armored opponents to reach unarmored opponents in back ranks. With its first few melee attacks, an athach tends to flail about indiscriminately. After a few rounds, it concentrates on foes that have been hitting it most often and uses its bite on whoever has dealt it the most damage.

Poison (Ex) Injury, Fortitude DC 22, initial damage 1d6 Strength, secondary damage 2d6 Strength. The save DC is Constitution-based.

A hulking, misshapen biped. Its flabby, pear-shaped body has a third arm growing from its chest.

Immensely strong, an an athach can hammer most opponents to gory paste. An adult stands some 18 feet tall and weighs about 4,500 pounds. They speak a crude dialect of Giant.

ATHACH LORE

Originally posted by Evandar_TAybara of the Wizards Community forums.

On this Thread

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Nature) can learn more about them. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

Knowledge (Nature)
DC	Result
18	This huge, portly giant-like creature is in fact an athach, identifiable by its third arm and its unbelievable stench. This result reveals all aberration traits.
23	As well as being superb melee combatants, athachs can hurl rocks as skillfully as most giants, and have a nasty poisonous bite that can drain the strength of its victims. Athachs speak a crude dialect of giant.
28	Though having no sense of personal hygene, athachs do have a love for the finery of gems, crystals and jewellery – a passion only matched by their love of food and violence. Though fearful of most giantkin, athachs hate hill giants with a passion and will usually attack them on sight.

Athach

XP 4,800
CE Huge humanoid (giant)

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Defense

AC 20, touch 8, flat-footed 20 (–2 Dex, –2 size, +14 natural)
hp 150 (12d8+96)
Fort +16, Ref +2, Will +5

Defensive Abilities rock catching; Immune poison

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Offense

Speed 40 ft.

Melee

• 3 greatclubs +18 (2d8+10)
• bite +18 (2d6+10 plus poison)

Ranged rock +16 (2d10+10)

Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.

Special Attacks rock throwing (120 ft.), poison

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Statistics

Str 31, Dex 7, Con 26, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 7

Base Atk +9; CMB +21; CMD 29 (31 vs. trip)

Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Toughness, Weapon Focus (greatclub)

Skills Climb +23, Intimidate +10, Perception +16, Survival +13;
Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +8 Climb

Languages Giant

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Special Abilities

Poison (Ex)
Bite—injury; save Fort DC 24; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds;
effect 1d4 Con damage and sickened for 1 round;
cure 2 consecutive saves.
The save DC is Constitution-based.

Rock Catching (Ex)
An athach can catch Small, Medium, or Large rocks (or similar projectiles) once per round as an immediate action with a successful Reflex save (DC 15).

Rock Throwing (Ex)
An athach can hurl rocks weighing 40–50 pounds up to 120 feet. The rock deals 2d10+10 bludgeoning damage.

Three-Armed Assault (Ex)
An athach’s deformity grants it three primary natural-equivalent melee attacks when making a full attack. It applies its full Strength bonus to damage with each greatclub.

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Ecology

Environment temperate hills and mountains
Organization solitary, pair, or gang (3–5)
Treasure standard (gems and jewelry double)

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Description

An athach stands nearly eighteen feet tall, its gray hide stretched over bulging muscle. A grotesque third arm juts from its chest, each hand clutching a massive club. Its tusked maw drips venom as it bellows challenges across the hills.

Athachs are malformed giant-kin, often cast out at birth due to their deformity. Those that survive become feral terrors, preying on travelers and claiming remote highlands as their domains. They are obsessive hoarders of gemstones and adorn their ragged furs with glittering trophies ripped from fallen foes.

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Tactics

Before Combat An athach hurls rocks from high ground, targeting lightly armored foes or clustered enemies.

During Combat It closes to melee and unleashes its three greatclubs in savage succession, using Cleave and Great Cleave to maximize carnage. It bull rushes enemies off cliffs or into hazards when possible.

Morale An athach fights to the death if defending its hoard; otherwise, it retreats if reduced below 15 hit points, resuming ranged harassment.

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Lore

Knowledge (local or nature)

• DC 15: Athachs are deformed giants born with three arms and savage tempers.
• DC 20: Their bite carries a debilitating venom.
• DC 25: They are particularly skilled at hurling and catching boulders and obsessively hoard gemstones.

Athach Chieftain

XP 9,600
CE Huge humanoid (giant)

A towering tyrant among its kind, the athach chieftain dominates the wild hills through brute force, cunning tactics, and obsessive hoarding. Its grotesque third arm is nearly as thick as a tree trunk, and its furs glitter with trophies ripped from fallen rivals.

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Defense

AC 23, touch 9, flat-footed 22 (–2 Dex, –2 size, +16 natural, +1 dodge)
hp 195 (15d8+120) — 15 HD Huge giant, d8, Con 26 (+8)
Fort +18, Ref +4, Will +8

Defensive Abilities rock catching, ferocious resilience
Immune poison

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Offense

Speed 40 ft.

Melee

• 3 massive clubs +21/+21/+21 (2d8+13/×2)
• bite +19 (2d6+12 plus poison)

Ranged rock +18 (2d10+12)

Space/Reach 15 ft. / 15 ft.

Special Attacks rock throwing (120 ft.), poison, sweeping assault, commanding roar

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Statistics

Str 35, Dex 7, Con 26, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 12

Base Atk +10; CMB +24; CMD 32 (34 vs. trip)

Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Power Attack, Toughness, Weapon Focus (massive club), Dodge

Skills Climb +27, Intimidate +18, Perception +19, Survival +17;
Racial Modifiers +8 Climb, +4 Perception

Languages Giant

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Special Abilities

Poison (Ex)
Bite—injury; save Fort DC 26; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds;
effect 1d4 Con damage and sickened 1 round; cure 2 consecutive saves. DC is Constitution-based.

Rock Catching (Ex)
Can catch Small, Medium, or Large rocks (or similar projectiles) once per round as an immediate action with a successful Reflex save (DC 15).

Rock Throwing (Ex)
Throws rocks 40–50 lbs up to 120 ft., dealing 2d10+12 bludgeoning damage.

Three-Armed Assault (Ex)
Has three primary melee attacks with full Strength bonus each round; treats all as natural-equivalent for full attack.

Sweeping Assault (Ex)
Full-round action. Makes one massive club attack against each creature within reach at its highest attack bonus. Usable once every 1d4 rounds. Counts as extraordinary.

Commanding Roar (Ex)
Standard action. 30-ft. radius, sonic fear effect. Will DC 23 (Cha-based).

• Shaken 1d4 rounds on failure.
• Other giants within range gain +2 morale bonus on attack rolls and Will saves for 1d4 rounds.

Ferocious Resilience (Ex)
Once per day, when reduced below 0 HP, can continue fighting for 3 rounds as if disabled. Dies immediately if HP falls to negative Constitution.

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Ecology

Environment temperate hills and mountains
Organization solitary, warband (chieftain + 2–4 athachs + 4–12 hill giants), or tribe (chieftain + 6–10 athachs + 12–24 giants)
Treasure double (gems and jewelry triple)

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Description

An athach chieftain towers over other giants, its third arm corded with unnatural strength. Tusks drip venom, furs glitter with stolen gems, and crude sigils mark the clubs of fallen rivals.

Athach chieftains are feared tyrants, gathering lesser giants into savage warbands. They are obsessively territorial and obsessed with hoarding gemstones.

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Tactics

Before Combat

• Hurls rocks from high ground to disrupt formations.
• Uses Commanding Roar to inspire allies and intimidate foes.

During Combat

• Activates Power Attack and uses full attack with three massive clubs.
• Employs Sweeping Assault on clusters of enemies.
• Bull rushes enemies toward cliffs or hazards.
• Targets lightly armored foes with bite and poison.

Morale

• Fights to the death if defending hoard or warband.
• If isolated and below 30 HP, withdraws and harasses with rocks.

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Lore

Knowledge (local/nature)

• DC 15: Athachs are malformed giants born with three arms and a brutal nature.
• DC 20: Their bite delivers debilitating poison.
• DC 25: Expert rock throwers and hoarders of gems, they can detect precious stones by scent.