Buy me a coffeeQallupilluk, “The Frozen Child-Stealers”
“Beware the Qallupilluk: The Spine-Chilling Sea Monster That Hunts Alone Children Beneath Thin Arctic Ice!”
The Qallupilluit (plural form) are malevolent mythological creatures in Inuit folklore, infamous for their chilling ability to prey on children and solitary individuals who venture too close to dangerous Arctic waters.
Appearance
Qallupilluit are humanoid but unmistakably aquatic, with skin that is pale, slimy, and scaly, often described as green or bluish in hue. Their webbed hands and feet, long black hair, and sharp, claw-like nails contribute to their monstrous image. They have fins protruding from their spines, emphasizing their semi-fish nature. Dressed in amauti—a duck-skin pouch traditionally worn by Inuit mothers to carry children—Qallupilluit use these to snatch and carry off their victims.
Behaviour
These creatures are patient and stealthy. They use deceptive tactics to lure children and adults close to the water’s edge, including eerie knocking sounds beneath the ice or hypnotic humming. Once their prey is near enough, Qallupilluit strike quickly, grabbing the victim with their webbed hands and securing them in their amauti. This action is typically followed by a swift dive into the icy depths, where the victim is lost forever.
Habitat
Qallupilluit thrive in the frozen waters of the Arctic, particularly in areas with fragile or breaking ice, where they can exploit the danger posed by unstable surfaces. These creatures are especially associated with the transition between winter and spring when the ice is melting and the waters are perilously shallow. Their habitat is often described as the dangerous, isolated edge of Arctic seas, reinforcing their role as a symbol of the perils of the environment.
Modus Operandi
The Qallupilluit use a combination of subterfuge and physical agility to capture their prey. They often create distractions or alluring noises to draw children and adults closer to the edge of the ice, where the surface may be weak. Once the victim approaches, the Qallupilluit strikes, pulling them into their amauti and dragging them into the water. Some versions of the myth suggest the Qallupilluit eat their victims to stay alive, while others claim they raise them as surrogate children.
Motivation
The motivations behind Qallupilluit’s actions vary depending on the version of the legend. In some tales, they are driven by an inability to have their own children, and thus, they abduct children to raise as their own. In other versions, they are purely predatory, seeking to consume their victims for sustenance or out of malice. The myth primarily serves as a cautionary tale, warning children against the dangers of wandering alone or playing too close to the dangerous Arctic waters.
Qallupilluk 5e
Qallupilluk Pathbfinder
Qallupilluk
The lumpy, scaled hide of this monstrous humanoid woman drips with icy water, as do its lank, tangled black hair and ragged sealskin garments, both decorated with numerous shells and tiny living crustaceans. A curiously sweet smell wafts from her.
[This content was created by Paizo Publishing LLC for the Pathfinder rules but is not from the Pathfinder RPG product line.]
Qallupilluks (kah-loo-PEE-look) are sinister and much dreaded haglike denizens of far northern seas. Inhabitants of coastal regions fear them as child snatchers who steal the young and drag them below the waves. Those stolen are rarely seen again, as they are transformed into horrible scaled monstrosities enslaved by their adoptive mothers, though they are sometimes turned against their former families and friends with a dreadful hunger if the qallupilluk becomes angered. Qallupilluks are always female.
Most stand about 5-1/2 feet tall, though their hunched posture makes them appear shorter. They typically weigh about 160 pounds.
Ecology
Qallupilluks are most commonly found along the frozen shorelines and pack ice of arctic and subarctic seas and oceans, though they can occasionally be found in large coldwater lakes and rivers. During the warmer months, they may lurk in the dark and chilly depths of their watery homes, and likewise in the heart of winter, when pack ice is at its thickest, they are unlikely to venture too close to the surface unless some greater need drives them. During the seasonal transitions when the ice cracks and shifts, when it’s treacherous even for experienced ice hunters and fisherfolk to travel, these vicious crones prove most dangerous. They wait near gaps and weak points in the ice and listen for the footsteps of creatures above, sometimes humming or tapping insistently on the ice like trapped seals, in the hope of drawing the curious especially children onto dangerous ground.
When they hear victims approaching, qallupilluks usually hide to allay suspicion, at least long enough for the qallupilluk’s supernaturally sweet scent to cloud the children’s minds and leave them vulnerable to the qallupilluk’s magical charm. Children venturing too near are snatched up in the qallupilluk’s long arms and dragged below, thrust into the capacious hood of the qallupilluk’s amautik (its hooded sealskin parka) and carried off to its subaquatic domain. While a qallupilluk’s magic can sustain such lost souls underwater, it either lets its prey drownsaving it to be consumed lateror acts swiftly to transform the victim’s mind and body into a monstrous servant that it treats as its own misshapen child.
Qallupilluks are always female and have great difficulty reproducing. They steal land-dwelling humanoid children whenever possible, in part to reduce their loneliness and to lash out at the surface dwellers that seem to have so easy a time of procreating. More importantly, however, they steal children in order to cultivate potential breeding stock. While attempts to breed with natural-born merrow and similar aquatic monstrosities have universally ended in failure, some unique factor in the nature and potential of other humanoids transformed into such beasts offers at least some chance of successful conception. Even then, success is hardly guaranteed, but those transformed unfortunate that breed true may allow the qallupilluk to birth another of her kind.
| Qallupilluk CR 7 |
| XP 3,200 LE Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic) Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13 Aura cloying scent (15 feet) |
| DEFENSE |
| AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+2 Dexterity, +7 natural) hp 76 (8d10+32) Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +8 DR 5/cold iron; Resist cold 10, fire 10 |
| OFFENSE |
| Speed 30 ft., swim 40 ft. Melee bite +12 (1d4+4), 2 claws +12 (1d6+4) Ranged javelin +10 (1d6+4) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; Concentration +11) At willwater breathing3/daycharm animal (DC 17), charm person (DC 17), chill metal (DC 18), sleet storm 1/daycommune with nature, divination Special Attacks curse of scales |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 18, Dexterity 14, Constitution 19, Intelligence 13, Wisdom 15, Charisma 14 Base Atk +8; CMB +12; CMD 24 Feats Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Lightning Reflexes , Stand Still Skills Knowledge (nature) +12, Perception +13, Stealth +13, Survival +13, Swim +23 Languages Aklo, Aquan, Common, Giant SQ amphibious |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Cloying Scent (Su) Qallupilluks exude a vaguely sweet and unexpectedly pleasant briny scent. This smell comforts and distracts humanoids and animals that come within 15 feet of the qallupilluk, causing such creatures to take a –2 penalty on saves against mind-affecting effects. Curse of Scales (Su) If a qallupilluk grapples a Medium or Small humanoid opponent, her target begins transforming into an aquatic monster. Starting on the third consecutive round of grappling, the grappled target must succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude save every round or fully transform into a grindylow, reefclaw, bunyip, merrow, or scrag. Once fully transformed, the creature is slavishly devoted to the qallupilluk that created it. If the qallupilluk is slain, the creature loses this devotion but remains transformed. The transformation ends after 1 hour or if the creature is slain. A qallupilluk can make this transformation permanent by performing a ritual that takes 10 minutes and deals 30 points of damage to the qallupilluk. This is a curse and polymorph effect. The save DC is Constitution-based. |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment cold aquatic Organization solitary, family (26 qallupilluks and 14 aquatic monsters) Treasure standard |
Habitat & Society
Qallupilluks live along the murky floor of their watery domains, but rarely dwell far from humanoid habitation. They may craft hovels or lodges from stone or coral on the seabed, or rarely from sunken logs, stumps, and snags in freshwater lakes. Some few craft semipermanent homes in the submerged recesses of icebergs floating through the cold seas. Qallupilluks are one of many dangers that arctic tribes use to reinforce their strong cultural and behavioral taboos and rituals. They feature in many tales of northern tribes as bogeymencautionary tales to warn children away from wandering alone, accepting gifts from strangers, venturing too close to the seashore, and especially wandering onto cracking or unstable ice. The dangers they present are all too real in the life of the tribes, and give ample force to the cautionary fables of village shamans.
Qallupilluks are known to possess fragments of ancient and obscure natural secrets, and those in search of such lore sometimes cast offerings into cracks in the ice in an effort to implore the qallupilluk to answer their request. Qallupilluks favor offerings of beads, jewels, coins, and ivory carvings, though those offering them gifts must be careful to offer nothing that will reveal a reflection. Qallupilluks loathe their hideous appearances and do not wish to be reminded of them. Those foolish enough to offer a mirrored item do not generally live to regret their mistake. Still, for those whose offerings are sufficient, a qallupilluk may reveal herself to the supplicant and engage the creature in conversation. A wise supplicant will offer compliments and sweet-talk or offer up additional gifts of food and drink, or even an invitation to community festivities. Though they recognize their own hideousness and their reputation, qallupilluks are vain enough to fall prey to flattery and greedy enough to be taken in with promises of future rewards. They will abide by the letter of any covenant or promise they make, but are swift to take revenge on those they discover have tricked them or who renege on an agreement.
Section 15: Copyright Notice – Pathfinder Adventure Path #51
Pathfinder Adventure Path #51: The Hungry Storm © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Nelson.
Qallupilluit, Monster (CR 9)
Medium humanoid (fey), chaotic evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 127 (15d8 + 60)
Speed 30 ft., swim 40 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 18 (+4) | 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 12 (+1) |
Saving Throws Dexterity +6, Wisdom +6, Charisma +4
Skills Perception +6, Stealth +6, Survival +6
Damage Resistances Cold, Necrotic
Damage Immunities Poison
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 16
Languages Common, Aquan, Sylvan
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
TRAITS
Amauti of the Depths.
The Qallupilluit carries a magical amauti, a baby carrier that doubles as a predatory trap. As a bonus action, the Qallupilluit can open or close its amauti. When closed, any Small or Medium creature that ends its turn within 5 feet of the amauti must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pulled into it, becoming restrained. A restrained creature can attempt to escape by using its action to make a DC 15 Strength or Dexterity check, ending the effect on itself on a success. The Qallupilluit may carry one restrained creature in its amauti at a time.
Amphibious.
The Qallupilluit can breathe both air and water.
Frozen Step.
The Qallupilluit moves across ice and snow with ease. Difficult terrain composed of ice or snow doesn’t cost it extra movement, and it can move across water surfaces at normal speed if they are frozen or solid.
Innate Camouflage.
The Qallupilluit can hide even when it is only lightly obscured by ice, snow, or other natural features. It has advantage on Stealth checks made in snowy or frozen environments.
ACTIONS
Multiattack.
The Qallupilluit makes two claw attacks or one bite and one claw attack.
Claw.
Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.
Bite.
Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) poison damage and be poisoned for 1 hour.
Chilling Grasp (Recharge 5-6).
The Qallupilluit slams its webbed, icy hand down onto the ground, causing an explosion of magical cold. Each creature within a 15-foot radius must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be frozen in place for 1 minute. A frozen creature is restrained. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. If the creature has cold resistance or immunity, it only takes half damage but is still restrained for 1 round.
Siren’s Call (Recharge 6).
The Qallupilluit emits a high-pitched, hypnotic sound that echoes across icy waters. Each creature within 60 feet of the Qallupilluit that can hear the sound must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed for 1 minute. While charmed, the creature is drawn to the Qallupilluit and must use its movement to approach her. The charmed target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
REACTIONS
Icy Retaliation (Recharge 5-6).
When a creature hits the Qallupilluit with a melee attack, it can use its reaction to unleash a wave of icy spikes. The attacker takes 7 (2d6) cold damage, and if the attacker is within 5 feet of the Qallupilluit, it must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or take 7 (2d6) piercing damage from the spikes.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
The Qallupilluit can take 2 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 Qallupilluit regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
- Move. The Qallupilluit moves up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
- Claw Attack. The Qallupilluit makes a claw attack.
- Frost Breath (Costs 2 Actions). The Qallupilluit exhales a cone of freezing air in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
TACTICS
- Ambush Predator: The Qallupilluit uses its Innate Camouflage and Amauti of the Depths to lure or capture isolated adventurers, especially those wandering near water or ice. It prefers to strike from unexpected positions, often waiting beneath the ice or snow for a chance to grab its prey.
- Freeze and Captivate: The Qallupilluit will often use Chilling Grasp early in combat to restrict movement and isolate enemies. This allows it to grab victims into its amauti or overwhelm them with its claw and bite attacks.
- Manipulate and Corrupt: Once it has ensnared a target, the Qallupilluit may use Siren’s Call to trap the remaining foes into a situation where they are forced to come closer or be helpless. This keeps its enemies in its desired range to continue attacks or capture more victims.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
Qallupilluit often haunt frozen lakes, caves, or ice floes, making the environment a perilous battleground. They are especially dangerous in icy areas where movement is hindered, and water may conceal the creature’s presence. Their Amphibious and Frozen Step abilities make them formidable predators even in subzero temperatures, capable of hunting above or below the ice.