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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Straugh

When skirmishes break out between tunneling ghouls and creatures that dwell beneath the surface of Golarion, there's a chance that ghoul fever could infect such animals, producing strange new variants of ghoul beasts. However, letting the natural corruption run its course sometimes results in unsatisfying monsters, so some necromancers speed the process. This is the situation that led to the creation of the first straugh. A priest of Kabriri made the monstrosity to defend a claimed cemetery from another sect of ghouls who were preying upon the interred bodies. In some places, ghouls use straughs to tunnel into rival warrens or highly fortified mausoleums.

Recall Knowledge - Undead (Religion): DC 29
Unspecific Lore: DC 27
Specific Lore: DC 24

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Changes from being Elite are marked in red below.
NOTE: The +2 damage bonus to non-strike offensive abilities (+4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.

Elite StraughCreature 11

Legacy Content

Uncommon CE Large Ghoul Undead 
Source Pathfinder #184: The Ghouls Hunger pg. 88
Perception +19; darkvision, scent (imprecise) 30 feet
Skills Acrobatics +19, Athletics +24, Intimidation +19, Stealth +24, Survival +24
Str +8, Dex +3, Con +7, Int -4, Wis +3, Cha +0
AC 31; Fort +24, Ref +18, Will +18
HP 240 (negative healing); Immunities death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, unconscious
Speed 30 feet, burrow 20 feet
Melee [one-action] beak +25 [+20/+15], Damage 2d12+2+12 piercing plus ghoul fever and paralysisMelee [one-action] talon +25, [+21/+17] (agile, reach 10 feet), Damage 2d8+2+12 piercing plus Improved Grab and paralysisConsume Flesh [one-action] (manipulate) Requirements The straugh is adjacent to the corpse of a creature that died within the last hour; Effect The straugh devours a chunk of the corpse and regains 7d6 Hit Points. It can regain Hit Points from any given corpse only once.Fetid Screech [one-action] (olfactory) Unaware that its vocal organs have withered and decayed, the straugh instinctively but ineffectively attempts to screech, instead releasing malodorous gas, half-digested corpse flesh, and small swarms of maggots from its open beak. The straugh releases a disgusting cloud of gas and decaying detritus in a 15-foot cone; any creature within the area must attempt a DC 30 Fortitude save. On a failure, the creature is sickened 2. On a critical failure, the creature also takes a –5 foot status penalty to its Speeds for 1 round. Any creature that succeeds at the save is temporarily immune to Fetid Screech for 24 hours.Ghoul Fever (disease) Saving Throw Fortitude DC 30; Stage 1 carrier with no effect (1 day); Stage 2 4d8 negative damage and regains half as many hit Points from all healing (1 day); Stage 3 as stage 2 (1 day); Stage 4 4d8 negative damage and gains no benefit from healing (1 day); Stage 5 as stage 4 (1 day); Stage 6 dead, and rises as a ghoul the next midnightParalysis (incapacitation, occult, necromancy) Any living, non-elf creature hit by a ghoul antipaladin's attack must succeed at a DC 28 Fortitude save or become paralyzed. The creature can attempt a new save at the end of each of its turns, and the DC cumulatively decreases by 1 on each such save.Rock Tunneler A straugh can burrow through solid stone at a Speed of 10 feet. It can leave a tunnel if it desires, and it usually does.Tunneling Strike [two-actions] (earth) Requirements The straugh has Burrowed underground and remains undetected by the creature it plans to attack; Effect The straugh Burrows twice to emerge from the ground adjacent to at least one enemy and immediately makes a Strike against that foe.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Hungry Beasts

Some creatures are especially engineered by foul necromancers to have traits like that of ghouls. Skavelings and straughs are examples of this. As a GM you can create your own ghoul variants if you wish. Pathfinder Book of the Dead (see Undead Adjustments) provides advice on how to accomplish this on the fly with nearly any creature, though some make more sense than others. The best creatures to receive the ghoul treatment are those normally associated with being ravenous and dangerous. When you want a creature that is significantly more powerful than the base creature, it's sometimes best to be your own necromancer and design a ghoul-like undead beast from the ground up to reflect their increased threat level.