Monster of the Week: Vrock

The Vrock is a terrifying warrior Demon of considerable power, often invoked by Conjurers who need a ferocious guardian, defender or soldier. Like all Demons it is a capricious, untrustworthy beast, and only a very powerful, brave or foolhardy magician would dare to keep such a beast as a guardian.

Because Vrocks are quite intelligent, they are often assigned tasks which require them to perform their soldierly duties while not under the direct supervision of their conjuror - often far away from the original location of their materialisation, and subject to subtle or sophisticated instructions.

The Vrock is a vicious fighter, capable of attacking with both arms, both legs and its wicked beak in the same round. It has a powerful scream which can paralyse its opponents, and every 30 seconds it can release a poisonous dust from its body, which infects all nearby creatures with deadly parasitic spores. It usually attacks from above, and casts Heroism on itself before dropping into combat. Because of its spell resistance, it tends to ignore spell-users and focus on fighters. Vrocks take great pleasure in leaving spell-users till last and hunting them down when they are at their most defenseless. Combat, death and torture are the only pleasures in a Vrock's brutal existence. Vrock statistics are described below.

VROCK

Hit Dice: 10d8+70 (115 hp)
Initiative: +2
Armor Class: 22 (–1 size, +2 Dex, +11 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 20
Attack: Claw +15 melee (2d6+6)
Full Attack: 2 claws +15 melee (2d6+6) and bite +13 melee (1d8+3) and 2 talons +13 melee (1d6+3)
Special Attacks: Dance of ruin, spell-like abilities, spores, stunning screech, summon demon Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to electricity and poison, resistance to acid 10, cold 10, and fire 10, spell resistance 17, telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +14, Ref +9, Will +10
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 15, Con 25, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 16
Skills: Concentration +20, Diplomacy +5, Hide +11, Intimidate +16, Knowledge (any one) +15, Listen +24, Move Silently +15, Search +15, Sense Motive +16, Spellcraft +15, Spot +24, Survival +3 (+5 following tracks)
Feats: Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Multiattack, Power Attack
Challenge Rating: 9
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil

A vrock is about 8 feet tall and weighs about 500 pounds.

Dance of Ruin (Su): To use this ability, a group of at least three vrocks must join hands in a circle, dancing wildly and chanting. At the end of 3 rounds of dancing, a wave of crackling energy flashes outward in a 100-foot radius. All creatures except for demons within the radius take 20d6 points of damage (Reflex DC 18 half ). Stunning, paralyzing, or slaying one of the vrocks stops the dance. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Spell-Like Abilities: Caster level 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

At will - mirror image, telekinesis (DC 18), greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only);

1/day - heroism.

Spores (Ex): A vrock can release masses of spores from its body once every 3 rounds as a free action. The spores automatically deal 1d8 points of damage to all creatures adjacent to the vrock. They then penetrate the skin and grow, dealing an additional 1d4 points of damage each round for 10 rounds. At the end of this time, the victim is covered with a tangle of viny growths. (The vines are harmless and wither away in 1d4 days.) A delay poison spell stops the spores’ growth for its duration. Bless, neutralize poison, or remove disease kills the spores, as does sprinkling the victim with a vial of holy water.

Stunning Screech (Su): Once per hour a vrock can emit a piercing screech. All creatures except for demons within a 30-foot radius must succeed on a DC 22 Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Summon Demon (Sp): Once per day a vrock can attempt to summon 2d10 dretches or another vrock with a 35% chance of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 3rd-level spell.

Skills: Vrocks have a +8 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks.