Umber Hulk
Umber hulks have their own language.
Umber hulks dwell in the depths of the earth. They raid dungeons for food, much the way anteaters raid ant colonies, eating their fill and then moving on to let the “colony” recover.
Umber hulks are usually solitary hunters. Males and females mate, then go their separate ways. One to three young are born about a year later in a special nursery which has been hollowed out by the female. Two years later, once the hulklings are big enough, the female begins taking them with her when hunting. It is during this period that unfortunate victims may stumble across more than one umber hulk at a time.
No umber hulk culture is known, but it is rumored that there may be entire cities of these beings underground with tunnels that radiate out, like threads in a spider’s web, toward the nearer dungeons and mountain ranges. If true, this would explain much, for umber hulks seem to disappear or spring up in a region at will and always take great care in hiding their tunnels behind them.
Umber hulks eat young purple worms, ankhegs, and similar creatures. Their favorite prey, however, is humankind.
Umber hulks are powerful subterranean predators whose ironlike claws allow them to burrow through solid stone in search of prey.
Umber hulks are tremendously strong, standing nearly 8 feet tall and over 5 feet wide. Muscles bulge beneath their thick, scaly hides and their powerful arms and legs all carry great claws. They have no necks to speak of, but the head features a powerful maw with rows of triangular teeth and 8-inch mandibles capable of biting through any hide or bone. Most peculiar of all are the four round eyes, spaced evenly across each umber hulk’s forehead. Umber hulks are black, shading to a lighter shade of yellowish gray on the front. Their eyes are mere blackened dots each the size of a small coin.
Umber hulks use their thick claws to hew passages through earth and stone. Many deep caverns in the Underdark are linked together by umber hulk tunnels. An umber hulk’s gaze causes confusion among its enemies, making them wander in a daze or, in the case of shadow hulks, attack their friends.
For all of their monstrous features, umber hulks are intelligent opponents. They usually dig to a point adjacent to a main corridor, then wait, peeking through a crack they’ve made, until likely prey walks by. The umber hulk then springs out upon its startled victim. When using this technique, opponents have a -5 modifier on their surprise rolls. Other tactics involve planned cave-ins and dead-end tunnels where an umber hulk can wait for victims to come to him. Their burrowing rate varies from 10 feet per turn in solid stone to 60 feet per turn in soft earth.
The one saving grace when fighting an umber hulk is their speed. Their gait is slow and ponderous and their balance is poor in wide spaces.
Umber hulks never fight to the death unless cornered (which is rare, since the creature can dig through stone). If hard pressed, an umber hulk won’t hesitate to cause a cave-in (25% chance of success per round) and then dig his way to freedom.
Infravision: 90 ft.
Confusing Stare: Looking into an umber hulk’s eyes causes confusion, as per the spell, unless a saving throw versus spell is made.
Burrow Ambush: -5 Surprise
Double Grab: If both claw attacks are successful, the target is grabbed and takes an ongoing 10 pts. of damage per round (mandibles) until escaped.
Claw Frenzy: May attack three seperate targets with full attacks.
Special Advantages
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Special Disadvantages
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