Monster: Omnipath
In this installment of GURPSifying the Bestiary, I’d like to cover a Pathfinder monster that I really like. I remember opening up the Occult Bestiary pdf for the first time and upon seeing this image, I thought that there’s no way this monster is boring, and I was right. It is very interesting both in terms of lore, abilities, and looks, so this is a perfect candidate for a post.
In short, the omnipaths are aquatic creatures related to the aboleths. Possessing immense telepathic powers, they serve as information and communication hubs between the aboleths, veiled masters, and creatures enslaved by them. They can create a telepathic mesh that connects multiple creatures from across the world, share senses with them, and even assume direct control. And, of course, they have this cool triple-jawed mouth. In Pathfinder, the omnipaths have some innate spell-like abilities and also innate psychic spellcasting. I’ve covered my take on psychic magic in GURPS before, but if you don’t like it, it’s easy to replace it with psionics.
Let’s start with the body. The omnipath is 25 feet long and weighs 2 tons. This corresponds to SM+4, ST 28, and HP 31. It seems to be very agile and tough, so let’s give it DX+3 and HT+4, and even FP+5. Unlike the aboleth, the omnipath does not have any tentacles, so I will give it No Manipulators. It’s also serpentine, so I will give it Double-Jointed, Injury Tolerance (No Neck), and Enhanced Move 2 (Water).
The skin is tough and slippery. I will give the omnipath DR 3 with Tough Skin and Slippery 3. Their eyes are clearly on the sides of their heads, so that’s going to be Peripheral Vision. Let’s also give it Nictitating Membrane 2 – that’s the level necessary to remove the base -2 to Vision underwater. I will also give them Infravision, even though realistically, it doesn’t work that well underwater.
Since this is a fully aquatic creature, I will give it No Legs (Aquatic), Pressure Support 3, Speak Underwater, and Temperature Tolerance 3 (Cold). Now, as far as I know, the Pathfinder aboleths did not get their own book, like Lords of Madness for D&D 3.5, so some biological features have not been expanded. For example, the omnipath has the mucus cloud ability, just like the aboleth, and since they are related creatures, I will steal some metabolic features from the D&D aboleth. For example, breathing. While the omnipath in the book can only breathe water, in D&D, aboleths actually breathe mucus that they exude. This mucus required food and water to produce, and dries up into a hard shell without water, forcing the aboleth to enter a state of hibernation. I will give the omnipath the same ability.
But in addition to that, I will give the omnipath Doesn’t Breathe [20] and Dependency (Water; Constantly; Enters hibernation after losing 1xHP, -50%) [-12].
Just like the aboleth, the omnipath has the slime ability. The aboleth used to have it as a follow-up to its tentacle attack, but here I will give it as a follow-up to the tail attack.
Slime: Toxic Attack 1d (Biological, -10%; Follow-Up, Tentacles, +0%; Cyclic, 1 minute, 10 cycles, being moistened with cool, fresh water negates damage, Resistible, +200%; Onset, 1 minute, -10%; Resistible, HT-3, -15%; Symptoms, 1/3 HP, Negated Advantage, DR 2 with Tough Skin, +18%) [12].
Slime: Before rolling to hit with the tail, the omnipath can spend 1 FP to coat it in slime. If this attack hits, then it deals 1d follow-up toxic damage with an onset of one minute, unless the victim resists with HT-3. Then every minute for ten more cycles, the damage repeats. Being moistened with cool, fresh water negates cyclic damage, and each cycle can be resisted with HT-3. The skin of the victim gradually becoming a clear, slimy membrane, and after losing 1/3 HP to this toxic damage, the victim’s natural DR with Tough Skin becomes reduced by 2, to the minimum of 0, until he heals above this threshold.
Speaking of the tail, it’s going to be a crushing striker with Cannot Parry and Weak. Also, see these bioluminescent things on it? That’s the Illumination perk.
I will steal the dietary requirements from the aboleths, but change them a bit. This is Reduced Consumption 4 (Food Only, -50) [4], Restricted Diet (Carnivore) [-10], Odious Racial Habit (Eats sapient beings) [-15]. I will not give them the Plankton Strainer feature, but I will give it Likes eating eyes [-1] as a quirk. Just like the aboleths, omnipaths are Unaging [15].
Now, there are also some abilities that the aboleths do not possess. First, I gave the omnipath Magic Resistance 2 with Improved. Second, they have Immunity to Mind Control – their minds are way too different from normal beings. Third, I gave them Regeneration (Regular) [25].
Pathfinder also gives them immunity to electricity for some reason. And I will actually leave that in as DR vs. electricity. Maybe the omnipath’s mind requires a great deal of bioelectricity to function or they have adapted to various electrical fish species. Who knows?
In terms of their mentality, I gave them IQ+5 and Callous [-5]. I did not give them No Sense of Humor because that’s detrimental to their ability to impersonate others.
But now, let’s get to the unique stuff. First, the triple-jawed bite. An easy and simple way would be to just give it extra Striking ST with the bite, but that’s not fun. I could give it Extra Mouth 2, but that would make all three mouths the same, and they obviously differ in size and jaw strength. So, instead I went this way – the middle set of jaws is a Natural Weapon that cannot parry and deals thrust cutting damage at -1 per die. The inner set of jaws in an identical Natural Weapon, but with -2 per die. In addition to that, I gave them Extra Mouth 2 only for the purpose of opting for a free grapple on an extra hit to make these extra Natural Weapons behave like bites. Basically, the extra mouths work like pincers. Finally, I also added Extra Attack 2 limited to only these extra jaws. Obviously, I had to apply a nuisance effect to represent logistical difficulties – if the omnipath bit someone with its outer jaws, then the middles and inner jaws can only target the same target.
Then, we have another unique ability – the telepathic mesh. This is going to be difficult. Just take a look at the statblock!
With that done, there are only two abilities left. First, innate spellcasting. In this case, the omnipath has both normal spell-like abilities and psychic spellcasting. Let’s simplify this by just giving it 11 levels of Psychic Sorcerous Empowerment. By default, this only opens up improvisation, but omnipaths could also learn spells as alternative abilities. I am going to ignore the spell-like abilities, as they seem to be redundant – the innate psychic spellcasting covers them.
Finally, being repositories of knowledge that never forget anything, the omnipaths can rummage in their memories to use mental skills that they do not normally possess. I will give them Photographic Memory and three levels of Wild Talent limited to mental skills – that should work.
And here’s the result – the statblock is huge.
Omnipath [Bestiary 6, page 204]
Attribute Modifiers: ST+18 (No Fine Manipulators, -40%; Size Modifier, -40%) [36]; DX+3 (No Fine Manipulators, -40%) [36]; IQ+5 [100]; HT+4 [40].
Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM+4; HP+3 (Size Modifier, -40%) [4]; FP+5 [15].
Advantages: DR 3 (Tough Skin, -40%) [9]; Doesn’t Breathe [20]; Double-Jointed [15]; Enhanced Move 2 (Water) [40]; Immunity to Mind Control [30]; Infravision [10]; Injury Tolerance (No Neck) [5]; Magic Resistance 2 (Improved, +150%) [10]; Nictitating Membrane 2 [2]; Peripheral Vision [15]; Photographic Memory [10]; Pressure Support 3 [15]; Reduced Consumption 4 (Food Only, -50%) [4]; Regeneration (Regular) [25]; Slippery 3 [6]; Speak Underwater [5]; Striker (Crushing; Cannot Parry, -40%; Weak, -50%) [1]; Temperature Tolerance 3 (Cold) [3]; Unaging [15].
Electricity Resistance [65]: DR 20 (Includes Eyes, +10%; Includes Internal, +20%; Limited, Electricity, -40%; Tough Skin, -40%) [50] + Immunity to Electrical Conduction [5] + Immunity to Noxious Electrical Effects [10].
Innate Psychic Spellcasting: Sorcerous Empowerment (Psychic) 11 [84].
Mucus Cloud: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Underwater only, -30%; Aura, +80%; Advantage, Alternate Form (same template, but with Doesn’t Breathe (Gills; underwater only)); +150%; Area Effect, 1 yard, +25%; Biological, Passive, -5%; Extended Duration, 30x, +60%; Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%; Respiratory Agent, +50%) [40].
Slime: Toxic Attack 1d (Biological, -10%; Follow-Up, Tentacles, +0%; Cyclic, 1 minute, 10 cycles, being moistened with cool, fresh water negates damage, Resistible, +200%; Onset, 1 minute, -10%; Resistible, HT-3, -15%; Symptoms, 1/3 HP, Negated Advantage, DR 2 with Tough Skin, +18%) [12].
Telepathic Mesh [466]: Mind Reading (Mindlink Required, -40%; Psychic, -30%; Sensory, +20%; Telecommunication, -20%) [9] + Mindlink (10-99; Long-Range 4 on Transferable, +200%; Nuisance Effect, Does not work after having emotions tampered with, -5%; Transferable, Aboleths, veiled masters, enslaved ones, Must be willing or helpless, +50%) [69] + Possession (Assimilation, +10%; Full Memory Access, +10%; Malediction 3, +200%; Mindlink Required, -40%; Psychic, -30%; Ranged, +40%; Telecontrol, +50%) [340] + Telesend (Broadcast, +50%; Mindlink Required, -40%; Psychic, -30%; Sensie, +80%) [48].
Triple-Jawed Bite [43]: Extra Attack 2 (Accessibility, Only extra jaws, -20%; Nuisance Effect, Must hit the same target, -10%) [35] + Extra Mouth 2 (Accessibility, Only to opt for a free grapple on an extra jaw hit, -60%; Link, +10%) [5] + Natural Weapon (Extra Jaw; Cutting; Cannot Parry, -40%; Link, Extra Mouth, +10%; Reduced Damage, -1/die, -30%; Single, -20%) [1] + Natural Weapon (Extra Jaw; Cutting; Cannot Parry, -40%; Link, Extra Mouth, +10%; Reduced Damage, -2/die, -60%; Single, -20%) [1] + Sharp Teeth [1].
Vast Knowledge: Wild Talent 3 (Focused, Mental, -20%; Game Time, +0%) [48].
Disadvantages: Callous [-5]; Dependency (Water; Constantly; Enters hibernation after losing 1xHP, -50%) [-12]; No Manipulators [-50]; Odious Racial Habit (Eats sapient beings) [-15]; Restricted Diet (Carnivore) [-10]; Social Stigma (Monster) [-15].
Perks: Illumination [1].
Quirks: Likes eating eyes [-1].
Features: No Legs (Aquatic).
Notes: Length 25 feet; Weight 4,000 lbs.
Creature Type: Aberration.
|
Knowing Your Own Strength [1,268] |
Typical Stats
|
ST: |
28 |
HP: |
31 |
Speed: |
6.75 |
|
DX: |
13 |
Will: |
15 |
Move: |
6 water |
|
IQ: |
15 |
Per: |
15 |
|
|
|
HT: |
14 |
FP: |
19 |
SM: |
+4 |
|
Dodge: |
9 |
Parry: |
N/A |
DR: |
3* (tough skin), 20 (vs. electricity) |
Triple-Jawed Bite (16): An omnipath has three jaws nestled within one another. It may bite with all three of them, performing three Attack maneuvers that target the same victim. The outer jaws deal 3d+1 cutting (KYOS: 6d cutting) damage, the middle jaws deal 2d+2 cutting (KYOS: 5d cutting) damage, the inner jaws deal 2d-1 cutting (KYOS: 4d-1 cutting) damage. Reach C. The omnipath can worry with all thee jaws at once.
Tail Slap (16): thrust 3d+2 crushing (KYOS: 6d+1 crushing), Reach C-3.
Innate Psychic Spellcasting: Improvisation up to 11 points, hardcore improvisation up to 84 points. A list of possible spells can be found here. Typically, an omnipath knows at least 12 psychic spells.
Mucus Cloud: When underwater, the omnipath exudes a mucus cloud. Any creature in the same hex as the omnipath that breathes in the mucus must make a successful HT roll or lose the ability to breathe air and gain that ability to breathe water for 30 minutes times the margin of failure.
Slime: Before rolling to hit with the tail, the omnipath can spend 1 FP to coat it in slime. If this attack hits, then it deals 1d follow-up toxic damage with an onset of one minute, unless the victim resists with HT-3. Then every minute for ten more cycles, the damage repeats. Being moistened with cool, fresh water negates cyclic damage, and each cycle can be resisted with HT-3. The skin of the victim gradually becomes a clear, slimy membrane, and after losing 1/3 HP to this toxic damage, the victim’s natural DR with Tough Skin becomes reduced by 2, to the minimum of 0, until he heals above this threshold.
Water Dependency: The omnipath’s survival depends on the mucuous membrane it creates around itself. This mucus requires water to produce, so it dries up quickly on land. The omnipath loses 1 HP per minute outside of water. To stop this damage, it must immerse itself in water for at least a minute. When it loses 1xHP due to this, it enters a state of hibernation – it remains aware of the surroundings, it can see and hear, but it loses its tactile and olfactory senses. The mucuos membrane hardens up, granting the omnipath DR 6, but also completely paralyzing it. This “long dreaming” is considered to be a fate worse than death, as the omnipath is in constant pain. It does not have to breathe, eat, or drink, and if this membrane is penetrated, it will bleed out and die quickly.
Telepathic Mesh: An omnipath can form telepathic connections between a select group of creatures. This ability functions only for creatures that are on the same plane as the omnipath and less than 0.1 light-year away. Only aboleths, veiled masters, and creatures dominated by an aboleth or a veiled master can be added to the telepathic mesh (up to 99 individuals). Adding a creature to the mesh requires that creature to be willing or helpless, the omnipath being able to observe it either directly or through the senses of another member of the telepathic mesh, and the omnipath making a successful IQ roll after a minute of concentration.
Omnipaths can broadcast thoughts and sensory experiences to the rest of the telepathic mesh and read their surface thoughts with no roll required. In addition, it can possess any creature in the telepathic mesh as per the Possession advantage (p. B75) with the Telecontrol enhancement. Omnipaths do not need to physically touch their hosts, but their IQ roll takes Long-Distance Modifiers (p. B241). When possessing a member of the telepathic mesh, the omnipath can freely access the memories of the host at any time. To recall a specific fact from the subject’s memories requires a straight IQ roll. When the omnipath possesses a new body, it may choose to “forget” any of its current skills and use the points this frees up – and any unspent points – to learn any skills known by the host, at up to (host’s level)-1. Skills forgotten in order to learn new skills are gone. Skills learned from the host will move from body to body with the omnipath.
This is a psychic ability that requires the user to have full control over their thoughts and emotions to use. They cannot use this ability if they are berserk, if their emotions or thoughts are being externally controlled, if they are suffering a shock penalty, and 5 seconds after getting stunned or frightened. In addition, any active uses (reading thoughts, broadcasting thoughts, possessing a new host) requires an All-Out Concentrate maneuver.
Vast Knowledge: Three times per day, gleaning countless pieces of information from a vast network of active minds an omnipath may attempt a roll against any mundane skill based on IQ, Perception, or Wil, using its score in the appropriate attribute. Default penalties are not applied, but situational and equipment modifiers apply normally, as do any modifiers for advantages or disadvantages. Tech level is irrelevant. This is not a supernatural ability, but an effect of the omnipath accumulating knowledge.
Traits: Callous; Dependency (Water; Constantly; Enters hibernation after losing 1xHP); Doesn’t Breathe; Double-Jointed; Enhanced Move 2 (Water); Immunity to Electrical Conduction; Immunity to Mind Control; Immunity to Noxious Electrical Effects; Illumination; Infravision; Injury Tolerance (No Neck); Likes eating eyes; Magic Resistance 2 (Improved); Nictitating Membrane 2; No Legs (Aquatic); Odious Racial Habit (Eats sapient beings); Peripheral Vision; Photographic Memory; Pressure Support 3; Reduced Consumption 4 (Food Only); Regeneration (Regular); Restricted Diet (Carnivore); Slippery 3; Social Stigma (Monster); Speak Underwater; Temperature Tolerance 3 (Cold); Unaging.
Skills: Acting-16; Area Knowledge (Any)-16; Brawling-16; Diplomacy-16; Fast-Talk-16; History (Any)-16; Interrogation-16; Intimidation-16; Observation-16; Research/TL3-16; Thaumatology-16.
Creature Type: Aberration.
Notes: Length 25 feet; Weight 4,000 lbs.
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