Crawling Hand, Giant
A giant rotting hand rocks unsteadily, propped upon thick, stubby fingers. Its pale, necrotic flesh pulses and crawls with sickly boils.
Crawling Hand, Giant (CR 5)
Medium UndeadAlignment: Neutral Evil
Initiative: +2
Senses: Blindsense 30 feet, Darkvision 60 feet; Perception +7
Speed: 30 feet
Space: 5 feet
Defense
Armor Class: 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural)Hit Points: 52 (7d8+21)
Saving Throws: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +6
Immunity: undead traits
Offense
Melee: claw +11 (1d6+7 plus Grab)Reach: 5 feet
Special Attacks: mark quarry, pus burst
Statistics
| Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 (+5) | 15 (+2) | - | 2 (-4) | 13 (+1) | 14 (+2) |
CMB +10 (+14 Grapple)
CMD 23
Feats: Dodge, Lightning Reflexes, Toughness, Weapon Focus (claw)
Skills: Acrobatics +3, Perception +7, Stealth +12
- Racial Modifiers: +4 Stealth
Special Abilities
Mark Quarry (Su)
A crawling hand is assigned a quarry by anointing the hand with a drop of the intended quarry's blood. If the hand has no current quarry, it automatically gains the next creature it damages as its quarry. Once attuned to a target, it becomes aware of the target's location as if under the effect of a continuous locate creature spell. The hand gains a +1 bonus on all attack rolls, damage rolls, and skill checks made to seek out and destroy the marked quarry. The mark quarry ability lasts until the quarry or the hand is slain.Pus Burst (Su)
When damaged by a piercing or slashing melee weapon, a spray of vile pus strikes the attacker unless the attacker makes a DC 15 Reflex save. Weapons that provide reach protect the attacker completely from a pus burst. Creatures struck by pus become nauseated for 1d3 rounds and take 2d6 points of negative energy damage. The save DC is Charisma-based.Ecology
Environment: Any Land or UndergroundOrganization: solitary or gang (2-5)
Treasure: none
Some say the origins of the crawling hand lie in the experiments of demented necromancers contracted to construct tiny assassins. Other tales tell of gruesome prosthetics sparked to life by evil magic, which then developed primitive sentience and vengefully strangled their hosts. Regardless, the crawling hand is an efficient killing tool.
When not commanded to kill, the crawling hand remains still and can be handled and transported safely. Typically, owners carry them about in small, velvet-lined boxes.
Crawling hands can also be placed as guardians and programmed with contingency commands, such as to hunt down and slay an individual who performs a specific task like violating a shrine, opening a warded door, or breaking the seal of a casket.