
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

All Creatures
Abilities | Monsters | NPCs
All | Families | Templates
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Slime Puppeteer (Ungothol)

Early in the alghollthu's attempt to control the sapient creatures of Golarion, they created the ungothol to feed them information. These slime-covered creatures would infiltrate humanoid settlements and send back information to their masters using powerful telepathy. Over centuries, the slime puppeteers proved inferior compared to the more versatile faceless stalkers.

Slime puppeteers disguise themselves as their humanoid meals. They envelop their target, killing it, then the puppeteer's skin and the corpse's skin both become gelatinous and merge. The puppeteer's form replaces the outer layer of the corpse's body, while long, wiry tendrils implant themselves in the corpses' nervous system. The result is a nearly-perfect copy of the dead creature, now controlled from within by the sinister alghollthu agent. The slime puppeteer can speak using the dead creature's voice, though without the original creature's language or memories.

Recall Knowledge - Aberration (Occultism): DC 27
Unspecific Lore: DC 25
Specific Lore: DC 22

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Slime PuppeteerCreature 6

Legacy Content

Rare CN Medium Aberration 
Source Pathfinder #194: Cult of the Cave Worm pg. 82
Perception +8; darkvision
Languages Aklo, Common, Undercommon; telepathy 100 feet
Skills Acrobatics +8, Deception +10, Religion +4, Society +7, Stealth +10
Str +5, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +3, Wis +2, Cha +4
Telepathic Bond (telepathy) A slime puppeteer maintains a strong telepathic bond with the alghollthu that created it. This bond has planetary reach, but the puppeteer is blind and deaf while accessing this bond.
AC 18; Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +4
HP 95
Stinky Sweat (aura, olfactory) 10 feet. When a slime puppeteer takes fire damage, they form a layer of pungent slime on their skin that remains until washed away. While the layer is present, creatures adjacent to the slime puppeteer must attempt a DC 18 Fortitude save. On a failure, the creature is sickened 1. A creature that succeeds at its save is immune to the puppeteer's sweat for 1 minute.
Speed 10 feet, fly 30 feet, swim 30 feet
Melee [one-action] tail +9 [+5/+1] (agile, reach 10 feet), Damage 1d6+7 piercing plus 2d6 poisonMelee [one-action] wing +9 [+5/+1] (agile, nonlethal), Damage 1d4+7 bludgeoningEnvelop [one-action] (attack, incapacitation) The puppeteer wraps their body around an adjacent target (DC 18 Reflex negates). The target is restrained and the puppeteer is immobilized. The puppeteer can make only tail Strikes against the restrained creature and can only engulf a single Medium or Large creature. The puppeteer can end an Envelop as a free action.Mimic Form The puppeteer can take on the form of a corpse they have enveloped. This takes one hour, during which time the puppeteer can't move or attack and has an AC of 16. Once the target's form has been taken, the puppeteer cannot use its Envelop, fly speed, and swim speed abilities until Mimic Form ends. The puppeteer only has access to their wing Strike while using Mimic Form. The puppeteer can end Mimic Form as a three-action manipulate activity.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Puppeteer Variations

The slime puppeteer is only one attempt at creating a terrestrial spy; the alghollthu created countless more. It's challenging to tell how many of their kind survived until the modern day. Some slime puppeteers traded the sensitivity to hot environments for cold. Others were massively enlarged, targeting various giant communities. There are even rumors of elemental-infused slime puppeteers capable of infiltrating the elemental planes, but so far no solid evidence has been presented to recognized scholars.

All Monsters in "Alghollthu"

NameLevel
Alghollthu Master (Aboleth)7
Faceless Stalker (Ugothol)4
Skum (Ulat-Kini)2
Slime Puppeteer (Ungothol)6
Ulat-Kini Initiate4
Ulat-Kini Mindreaver7
Veiled Master (Vidileth)14

Alghollthu

Source Bestiary pg. 12
In bygone millennia, aquatic monsters known as alghollthus used their occult powers to conquer and rule vast parts of the world. Their empires contained countless mortal slaves treated as little more than cattle. Alghollthus shaped their slaves and other creatures using mental manipulation and physically transformative magic. Aberrant horrors from faceless stalkers to mimics can be traced back to this meddling. The rulers of the alghollthu race, the so-called veiled masters, further shaped entire societies by assuming the forms of those they controlled. From the heights of power to the shadows of poverty, the veiled masters manipulated these societies according to their own dark designs, enslaving, killing, or horrifically transforming those who discovered their plans or acted against them.

In time, the alghollthus grew frustrated with their increasingly upstart slave societies and sought to wipe the slate clean—both starting anew and punishing those who had become too willful and rebellious. They used incredible magical power to call forth a cataclysm, hoping to destroy the rebellious societies they’d manipulated. Yet they miscalculated the strength of faith and will to survive of their pawns and slaves, and in time the world and its empires recovered and grew strong once again—this time without alghollthu influence.

Today, the alghollthus have retreated from their mass-scale manipulation of the surface world, and they have mostly remained within the deep aquatic realms where they still rule without question. Yet they have not abandoned their plots entirely, and the reemergence of servitor races like ugothols points to a frightening possibility—that the alghollthus have turned their hateful eyes to the surface once again.

Sidebar - Locations Alghollthu Domains

The ruling castes of the alghollthu species dwell in oceanic depths or underground waterways, while their servitors like ulat-kinis and ugothols can often be found in coastal regions and marshes.

Sidebar - Treasure and Rewards Alghollthu Treasure

Although most alghollthus lack the greed that tempts most mortals, they do gather wealth and magical tools to use in their schemes. A given aboleth or veiled master might also wear magical jewelry and other objects. Faceless stalkers and other humanoid servants of alghollthus use weapons and armor, such as the faceless stalker’s sword or ulat-kini’s trident, as well as other tools. These servitor races can be as acquisitive as other humanoids.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Alghollthus

While the veiled masters are the rulers of alghollthu society, they are not the most powerful of their kind. Greater, more mysterious creatures that function as organic thought networks, immense aquatic engines of war, or specialized extractors of forgotten secrets dwell among their sunken cities. Meanwhile, the world above remains infested with creatures that were originally created by the alghollthus but have long since drifted away from their aquatic progenitors to become their own sinister monstrosities.