Ghrelin (3.5e Monster)

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Author: Eiji-kun (talk)
Date Created: 8-31-18
Status: Complete
Editing: Clarity edits only please
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Size/Type: Medium Aberration
Hit Dice: 7d8+49 (80 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft, climb 25 ft
Armor Class: 20 (+3 dex, +7 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+13
Attack: Bite +13 melee (1d6+8 plus 1d6 cold plus grab, 20/x2) or Slam +13 melee (1d4+4 plus 1d6 cold, 20/x2)
Full Attack: Bite +13 melee (1d6+8 plus 1d6 cold plus grab, 20/x2) and Two Slams +8 melee (1d4+4 plus 1d6 cold, 20/x2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks: Improved Grab, Rip Apart, Swallow Whole
Special Qualities: Clambering, Consumption, Darkvision 60 ft, Heat Vampire, Regeneration 5, Resist Electricity/Fire/Sonic 5, Scent, Zealous Hunger
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +6
Abilities: Str 26, Dex 16, Con 24, Int 7, Wis 13, Cha 7
Skills: Climb +16, Search +9, Tumble +13
Feats: Improved TripB, Sudden Dodge, Dash, Icewalker (DC 14)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, Pair, or Famine (3-12)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Half Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment:

The humanoid was nearly naked, clad in tattered robes covered in blood and filth. Their body was at once emaciated to naught but bone and bearing bloated pot bellies which stank of rot. It twitched, turning towards your with oversized exposed jaws, crazed eyes, and skin which seem to crawl with worms just below.

Sometimes confused with ravenous undead, these humanoid creatures are actually beings supposedly from another realm. Their natural form is without shape, a spirit of entropy and decay. Through means not yet understood they get stuck within the material world and within flesh of those starved to death and their bodies are given new life now powered by these alien spirits. For this reason they are not extraplanar, and are tormented by their new fleshy and living prison of meat. Within this form they continue to feel the ineffable hunger, the desire to fill the void with food, energy, heat, indeed anything. They begin to bite and chew whatever they can find including each other, but they find themselves unable to die. But others... the sweet taste of flesh and the consumption of vitality is what they desire most, and they will go to any lengths to get it.

They resemble the bodies of the corpses they are imbued within, but their alien nature always changes them into something else. Their flesh is more of a taut rubbery pseudoflesh of orange, brown, or gray hue and they show very little bleeding or normal biology beyond the contents of their stomach. Their stomach has transformed into an extradimensional gullet from which a million hungry maws bite and chew at their prey, and they are capable of unhinging their jaw to swallow the most impossible sizes, easily shattering bone and tearing muscle while maintaining an unbroken skin. It is said that their interiors are filled with billions of tiny spines that help entrap prey and force it down its gullet.

It seems they do not even need to eat as ghrelins have been unearthed in crypts thousands of years old as hungry as the day they were entombed and no less mad. They are humanoid in size and shape, and speak no known languages. They prefer attacking other creatures before attempting to eat their surroundings or each other.


Berserkers in battle, ghrelin are not much for tactics. They win through swarming and overwhelming their opponents while relying on their innate survivability.

Clambering: A ghrelin can scramble along the walls and ground with little impedance. They may use their climb speed while prone and do not take the normal penalties to attack and AC (but still gain a +4 bonus against ranged attacks and still cannot used some ranged weapons). Many choose to walk around prone, standing up only for more speed. They cannot run while climbing.

Consumption (Ex): A ghrelin gains 2 hp for every successful attack it makes. If it manages to swallow a creature via Swallow Whole, it gains fast healing equal to the highest level HD it swallowed. It also recovers hp equal to a creature's HD and purges any negative status effects covered by heal if it devours a creature's corpse with a successful swallow whole against the corpse.

So hungry is the ghrelin, that spells and effects which absorb hp such as vampiric touch have the opposite effect on the ghrelin, healing it and harming the caster.

Heat Vampire (Ex): A ghrelin absorbs heat on a touch, dealing +1d6 cold damage on its natural attacks, grapples, and unarmed strikes. Creatures and objects striking the ghrelin also take damage as if struck.

While they do take non-lethal damage from fire, it also drives them into a frenzy and grants them haste for 1 round after taking fire damage. They can touch any non-magical flame and snuff out a 5 ft cube area of fire as an attack action.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a ghrelin must hit an opponent of up to its own size with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can try to swallow the foe the following round. Ghrelin jaws can unhinge unnaturally and impossibly wide permitting such absurd swallowing feats.

Regeneration (Ex): A ghrelin's regeneration is bypassed by cold damage, negative energy, and starmetal. A helpless ghrelin can also be staked through the throat or stomach by any stone or metal piercing object (a coup de grace) to suppress its regeneration. Complete body destruction, such as being turned to dust or stone, also works.

Rip Apart (Su): A ghrelin works well in packs. A group of 3 or more ghrelin can grapple the same target, pulling and stretching the target in different directions. Those trapped in this method take 2d6+16 damage and must make a Fortitude save DC 20 or have a limb removed as per remove limb. While the limb could be restored, often the next step is for the ghrelin to swallow the limb and abscond. The saving throw is Constitution based.

Swallow Whole (Ex): A ghrelin can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of up to its own size by making a successful grapple check. The swallowed creature takes 1d6+8 points of bludgeoning damage, 4 points of acid damage, and 4 points of cold damage per round from the ghrelin’s extradimensional gullet. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 20 points of damage to the gullet (AC 10+). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out.

A Medium ghrelin’s gullet can hold 1 Medium, 4 Small, 16 Tiny, or 64 Diminutive or smaller opponents.

Zealous Hunger (Ex): A ghrelin is consumed by maddening hunger. It renders them immune to all mind-affecting effects, pain effects, staggering, and cannot reduce their movement speed below 1/2 normal.

Skills: A ghrelin has a +8 racial bonus on Climb and Search checks. A ghrelin can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.

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Eiji-kun's Homebrew (5343 Articles)
AlignmentAlways chaotic evil +
AuthorEiji-kun +
Challenge Rating7 +
EnvironmentAny +
Identifier3.5e Monster +
Level Adjustment+
RatingUndiscussed +
SizeMedium +
TitleGhrelin +
TypeAberration +