Ekolid (CR 4)
Small Outsider (Chaotic, Evil, Extraplanar, and Obyrith)
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Initiative: +3 (Dex); Senses: darkvision 60 ft., true seeing, Listen +13, and Spot +13
Languages: Abyssal
AC: 17 (+1 size, +3 Dex, natural +3), touch 14, flat-footed 14
Hit Dice: 6d8 (39 hp); DR: DR 5/cold iron or lawful
Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +9
Speed: 30 ft., climb 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (average)
Space: 5 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack +6; Grapple +2
Attack: 6 stings +10 and bite +5 melee
Damage: Sting 1d4 plus implant egg, bite 1d4
Special Attacks: Form of Madness (60 ft. radius, Will DC 14)
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 13
Special Qualities: immune to mind-affecting spells, and abilities, poison, resist acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10, obyrith traits, quickness
Feats: Combat Reflexes; Lightning Reflexes; Weapon Finesse
Skills: Balance +14, Climb +17, Hide +16, Jump +11, Listen +13, Move Silently +12, Spot +13, and Tumble +14
Advancement: 7-11 HD (Small); 12-18 HD (Medium); see text
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground
Organization: See text
Treasure/Possessions: See text
Source:
Fiendish Codex I
The demon's ant-shaped body is the size of a wolf, yet its numerous spindly legs spread nearly 6 feet across. Vertical mandibles gnash above a cluster of black eyes, and three pairs of membranous wings sprout from its thorax. Its insectlike body trails off into a writhing mass of tails, each tipped in an upward-curving stinger protruding from a distended bulge.
An ekolid is a primeval insectoid demon that sees other life forms as little more than incubators for its eggs.
Combat
Although an ekolid is intelligent, its tactics in battle are remarkably simple. Its primary advantage is its speed. An ekolid rushes up to its prey and attempts to implant as many eggs as it can into every available target. Once an ekolid implants at least one egg in each creature in the group it is fighting, it retreats to a secure place to watch its young hatch. If any implanted creature survives the birthing process, the ekolid returns to implant more eggs in the survivors.
Form of Madness (Su): A creature within 60 feet that observes an ekolid must attempt a DC 14 Will save. Failure indicates the creature begins hallucinating that tiny biting insects are infesting its hair, skin, and clothes. The victim takes a -1 penalty on skill checks and must succeed on a DC 10 Concentration check in order to cast any spells until the insanity is cured by heal, greater restoration, miracle, or wish. A creature that makes the save is immune to that particular ekolid's form of madness for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting ability that does not affect chaotic evil outsiders. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Looking at multiple ekolids requires a separate save for each one's form of madness, but the effects are not cumulative.
Implant Egg (Ex): Each time a creature takes damage from an ekolid's sting attack, it must attempt a DC 15 Fortitude save. Failure indicates that the ekolid implants an egg just under the creature's skin. An implanted egg hatches at the start of the ekolid's next turn, at which point a ravenous ekolid grub gnaws its way out of the victim. This deals 1d6 points of damage per egg that hatches and nauseates the victim for 1 round (no matter how many eggs hatch). Remove disease or a similar effect destroys any unhatched eggs, but immunity to disease does not prevent infestation. Newly hatched ekolids are otherwise harmless, but grow to maturity quickly over the course of only a few hours. A hatched grub falls to the ground after crawling free of its host. A grub has 1 hit point and effectively no Armor Class. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Quickness (Su): An ekolid is supernaturally quick. It can take an extra move action during its turn each round.
Sample Encounter
Although it's not unheard of to encounter a lone ekolid, these creatures more often travel in packs, roving in constant search of new victims in which to implant eggs and propagate their vile kind.
The Infested Steading (EL 12): A group of hill giants have been acting up recently, raiding caravans and attacking villages. When the PCs arrive at the hill giant fortress to put a stop to the raids, however, they find the giants have already been killed and the bodies are riddled with deep bloody holes.
The hill giant shaman recently botched a call planar ally spell, releasing a 14 Hit Die ekolid that promptly killed him. The other giants, used to giving the shaman his privacy, didn't realize what had happened for several hours, by which point nine of the ekolid's young had grown to full strength. When a giant opened the door to the shaman's chambers, he released the plague of ekolids into the rest of the fortress. Those giants that didn't die are now hiding in the fortress dungeon, having abandoned the upper reaches to the ekolids - who are even now preparing to expand into the surrounding countryside.
Ecology
Ekolids are capable of seeding hundreds of eggs in an hour. They have little interest in dead bodies, so the availability of living victims is usually the only thing that moderates their violent reproductive cycle. Newly hatched ekolids grow rapidly, achieving full size over the course of only 6 hours. Fortunately, young ekolids are ravenous during this period and feed upon their siblings, generally ensuring that only one or two demons survive to adulthood.
Environment: Ekolids prefer warm climates and are most often found in desert layers of the Abyss. They are particularly prevalent in the Driller's Hives (layer 2) and the Plains of Gallenshu (layer 377), where they are a constant menace to that layer's armanites. Ekolid have an obvious affinity for the obyrith prince Obox-ob; they are particularly common on Zionyn (layer 663), where they serve him as minions.
Typical Physical Characteristics: An ekolid combines the features of an ant, a scorpion, and a spider. Upon close observation, however, it is terrifyingly obvious that it is more than a mere insect. Although its body is only 2 feet long, its legs and ovipositors are long and spindly, making it seem much larger than it actually is. An ekolid weighs 45 pounds. Coloration ranges from brown to red, with a pale yellow underbelly and crimson mandibles. All ekolids have black eyes.
Society
Ekolids are driven by the urge to reproduce constantly, infesting non-ekolids with their eggs. The closest an ekolid comes to displaying recognizable emotion is the horrid gleeful chattering it makes while watching its young hatch from a screaming, living host.
Ekolids generally don't form societies. The most notable exception to this rule are the ekolids of Zionyn. Here, under the rule of Obox-ob, the ekolids build vast hive-cities out of the bodies of those that have served as their incubators. They coat these bodies with a resinous ooze harvested from the shuddering oceans of Zionyn, resulting in morbid cathedrals and towers of the preserved dead. An ekolid city is a nightmarish mockery of a decadent human city, with marketplaces dedicated to supplying exotic creatures to serve as incubators, vast temples dedicated to Obox-ob, and immense open-air forums where the demons can observe "performance hatchings" by powerful ekolid nobles.
Rarely, a group of ekolids finds the Material Plane, where it builds smaller scale versions of its Abyssal home. In these cases, the ekolids usually just cover the walls of existing stone structures with preserved dead, rather than using them as the primary construction materials.
Typical Treasure
Ekolids generally have no interest in treasure, leaving behind whatever their victims might have carried as they move on in search of new prey. On Zionyn, the seat of ekolid power, this is not the case. Many of the native ekolids have class levels and carry gear as appropriate for an NPC of their level.
Ekolid Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (the planes) can learn more about ekolids. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.
| DC | Result |
| 16 | An ekolid is incredibly fast. It resists damage from weapons not made of cold iron or infused with lawful energies. |
| 21 | An ekolid's "stingers" are actually ovipositors that implant quick-hatching eggs in its victims. These eggs hatch in seconds, but remove disease can kill the eggs before they hatch. |
| 26 | Ekolids are primeval demons from a time before the tanar'ri ruled the Abyss. They are immune to mind-affecting attacks and poison, and they are resistant to acid, cold, electricity, and fire damage. |
| 31 | Ekolids embody a primal fear of infestation. Their visages can unhinge even the most resolute of minds, forcing those who succumb to endure hallucinations of tiny biting insects for the rest of their lives. |
Advanced Ekolids
Rumors of large, Huge, or even Gargantuan ekolids with up to 54 Hit Dice persist, although if these creatures do exist, they likely dwell only in the most remote of all corners of the Abyss. These ekolids are said to be unusually dull-witted.
On Zionyn, ekolids advance by class level. Most prefer to take levels in bard, cleric, ranger, or rogue. Ekolids do not have a favored class.