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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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PFS StandardPenanggalan

Penanggalans feed on the blood and entrails of the young. When their cannibalistic hunger strikes, penanggalans bathe their bodies in an alchemical substance that smells like vinegar. Once submerged in the concoction, their neck rips from side to side, allowing their head to float upward and pull out their lungs, stomach, and intestines. They leave their bodies in the vinegar bath much like a molting crab leaves its old shell, then fly off to find a victim filled with blood and guts.

As grotesque as these creatures are when hungry, the penanggalan appears young and healthy while wearing their body. Such is the nature of their existence: they consorted with otherworldy beings, gaining a lifetime of youth in exchange for an evil hunger for the young. But they are not immortal. They age and die normally like the people they once were—they just retain their youthfulness throughout this existence.

It can be difficult to spot a penanggalan among the populace. The faint scar ringing their neck at the point of separation can be explained away as a blemish, and it can be hidden under a flashy necklace. Meanwhile the faint, sour scent of a penanggalan's preserved body, while peculiar, is not uncommon in the sweaty tropics they frequent.

Recall Knowledge - Aberration (Occultism): DC 20
Unspecific Lore: DC 18
Specific Lore: DC 15

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

PenanggalanCreature 5

Legacy Content

CE Medium Aberration Tanggal 
Source Bestiary 3 pg. 200
Perception +6; darkvision
Languages Aklo, Common
Skills Deception +9, Intimidation +7, Midwifery Lore +4, Stealth +9
Str +3, Dex +5, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +2, Cha +5
AC 17; Fort +4, Ref +11, Will +6
HP 83; Weaknesses slashing 5
Spewing Bile When the penanggalan takes slashing damage, their wound spews bile on adjacent creatures, dealing 2d10 poison damage (DC 14 basic Fortitude save). The penanggalan loses their spewing bile and penanggalan bile abilities until the end of their next turn.
Speed fly 40 feet
Melee [one-action] proboscis tongue +9 [+4/-1] (finesse), Damage 2d6+5 piercing plus penanggalan bileMelee [one-action] entrails +9 [+4/-1], Damage 2d4+5 bludgeoning plus GrabConstrict [one-action] 2d4+3 bludgeoning, DC 16Elongate Tongue [one-action] The penanggalan's tongue extends, the membrane stretching and becoming translucent. Until the end of the turn, the penanggalan's proboscis tongue Strikes have a 10-foot reach, and any target is flat-footed against the Strike unless it has a Perception DC of 17 or higher or the ability to precisely sense invisible things.Penanggalan Bile (disease) Rest doesn't decrease the drained value from penanggalan bile; Saving Throw DC 14 Fortitude; Stage 1 drained 1 (1 week); Stage 2 drained 2 (1 week); Stage 3 drained 3 (1 week); Stage 4 deadRide Corpse [three-actions] (concentrate, polymorph, transmutation) The penanggalan inserts their entrails into their humanoid body, allowing them to appear as and move about like a normal human. The body has 10 Hit Points and the same defenses as the penanggalan. When the body is destroyed, the penanggalan is ejected unharmed. The body becomes a corpse, and if it is neither controlled by the penanggalan nor stored in an alchemical vat, it decays as normal.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Tanggal Segmentations

Like penanggalans, other tanggals feed on flesh and separate from their body in some form. Such creatures also have their own weaknesses. The manananggal splits from the waist rather than from the neck, and the smell of vinegar repels them instead of signaling their presence. The balan-balan also splits from the neck like the penanggalan, but they leave illusion-draped banana trunks in coffins to resemble the corpses they stole.