No. Enc.: 1
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 12' (4')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 3
Attack: 1
Damage: 2d4 (Bite)
Save: MU 5
Morale: 9
Strange, slithering silicaceous and carnivorous stains, the Type II variant Gobbling Grout is a larger, slightly more aggressive and nastier customer than it's predecessor the far more shy and retiring Type I. Where the weaker Type I relies upon slow-motion stealth to make its attack upon the unwary and unprepared, the Type II prefers to arrange itself so as to present a nearly unavoidable ambush as it adheres to stairs, narrow passages, confined spaces, at the bottom of disguised pits, and other such places where passersby are most likely to come into contact with them. Thankfully, these things tend to prefer dark, damp environments and seem to have an intense dislike for bright lights and intense heat. Even a hungry Type II will seek to escape rather than attempt to go after what appears to be an easy meal when confronted by even as much as a Gloomlight spell or a Koponu in a tin cage.
Once a Type II Gobbling Grout bites a victim, they must make a Save or else the gritty thing will lock onto them and slowly begin to curl up around the affected part in order to bite again. It takes 3d4 minutes for the sluggish thing to finally get curled into position to do a follow-up bite. Often this is enough time to take suitable preventative measures.
Particularly large specimens can sometimes curl up for a third bite attack, again taking another 3d4 minutes to get into position.
Type II Gobbling Grout is not suited for the production of mortar or much of anything else. Their only real use is as hindrances, nuisances and weak traps used to deter things such as ratterlings and the like, and even then these things are not terribly effective even at that simple a task.
Several back alley magic peddlers, Midwives and golemicists will sometimes pay a small fee for a sealed jar containing a Type II Gobbling Grout. It is unclear just what they might actually do with the things though.
Local folklore asserts that Type II Gobbling Grout can destroy animated statues and most masonry/stone-work golems if left unattended for extended periods of time, necessitating regular inspection and maintenance of these sorts of features.
There are other types of Gobbling Grout, at least four distinct varieties are noted in the Sewer System Concordance & Cthonic Ephemeris published every October by the Sewer Militia in Wermspittle.
Wonderful! Each of these is inspired.
ReplyDeleteThanks! We have a lot of monsters in Wermspittle that aren't just claws, teeth and bad breath...though there are a few of those around the place. Especially over around Darimund's Shop or along Tussaud Street.
ReplyDeleteThe Gobbling Grout, much like the Gore Worms, are integrated into the setting. People harvest these things, exploit them commercially and industrially, and they are more than just something that preys upon the dim and ignorant in the Sewers below...though they certainly do their share of that as well...