Living Apocalypse
Source: Alien Archive 2
CR: 20 XP: 307,200
CE Colossal ooze
Init.: +12 Senses: blindsight (wireless signal) 60 ft., sense through (blindsight) 60 ft., sightless Perception: +34
Defense
HP: 405
EAC: 34 KAC: 35
Fort: +19 Ref: +15 Will: +20
Offense
Speed: 60 ft., fly 60 ft. (Su, perfect)
Melee: None
Ranged: apocalypse beam +30 (12d6+20 B plus radioactive exposure)
Offensive Abilities: radioactive, radioactive exposure
Statistics
Str: +4 Dex: +12 Con: +6 Wis: +4 Int: — Cha: +9
Skills: Acrobatics +34 (+42 to fly), Intimidate +39, Mysticism +39 (to identify spells and other magic effects only)
Ecology
Environment: any
Organization: solitary
Special Abilities
<p><b>Apocalypse Beam (Ex)</b> As an attack, a living apocalypse can blast a target with a focused beam of radiation. This beam has a range increment of 120 feet.<br/><br/> <b>Broadcast (Ex)</b> A living apocalypse can receive and transmit wireless signals as if it had a system-wide comm unit; this also grants the creature its blindsight and sense through abilities. Though a living apocalypse cannot understand or speak any language, it is capable of remembering complex broadcasts it has received and repeating them, though often in a jumbled order or in short snippets, which it sometimes does in an attempt to lure creatures closer to it. A creature attempting to determine the nature of a living apocalypse’s broadcast must succeed at a DC 45 Engineering or Sense Motive check, or it misinterprets the signal as an improvised distress call.<br/><br/> <b>Destructive Intuition (Ex)</b> A living apocalypse has an intuitive understanding of magical energy and its own spell-like abilities, despite its otherwise mindless nature. A living apocalypse has a +39 bonus to Mysticism checks to identify spells and other magic effects.<br/><br/> <b>Pure Energy (Ex)</b> A living apocalypse subsists on pure energy that it creates, making it self-sufficient. It does not age, and it does not need to breathe, eat, or sleep. It can survive extremes of cold, heat, pressure, and even the vacuum of outer space.<br/><br/> <b>Radioactive (Ex)</b> The area within 20 feet of a living apocalypse is suffused with high <a href="Rules.aspx?Name=Environmental Rules&Category=Environment" style="text-decoration:underline">radiation</a>. The area within 20 to 40 feet is suffused with medium radiation, and the area within 40 to 60 feet is suffused with low radiation. If a living apocalypse stays within a 1-square-mile area for 24 hours, that area becomes suffused with low radiation for as long as the living apocalypse stayed there, even after the creature leaves. If it stays in such an area for 2 days or longer, the area becomes suffused with medium radiation for as long as the living apocalypse was there, which then downgrades to low radiation that lasts for the same duration. If a living apocalypse stays in such an area for a week or more, the area becomes suffused with high radiation, which downgrades to medium and then low radiation after time periods equal to the time the living apocalypse was in the area.<br/><br/> <b>Radioactive Exposure (Ex)</b> A creature struck by the apocalypse beam of a living apocalypse must succeed at a DC 27 Fortitude save or treat all areas of radiation as being one level stronger (from no radiation to low radiation, low to medium, medium to high, or high to severe) for 1 round.</p>
Description
The horrific creature known as a living apocalypse is created when the most powerful destructive energies known to the galaxy are unleashed without constraint or limitation, especially in acts of malice or as a result of criminal negligence. A living apocalypse can be the result of powerful energy generators melting down, the use of doomsday weapons, or even magic experimentation gone horribly awry. The creature is driven by an instinctive need to destroy, and it often takes the form of a massive cloud of impenetrable oily smoke, lit from within by pulsing bolts of green radioactive discharge. A living apocalypse is drawn to high concentrations of life and complex structures, from vibrant rainforests to bustling cities, and attacks them without warning or remorse. Though mindless, a living apocalypse is driven by a supernatural force of anarchic evil to enact ruin. It has been suggested that a living apocalypse is an agent of the Devourer, but even if this is true, Devourer cultists are incapable of intentionally creating or controlling them. Some lifeless worlds are the burned-out remains of civilizations that created a living apocalypse and were totally destroyed by it.
As a creature that is infused with incredible destructive energies, a living apocalypse commands energy rays of pure radioactive force and powerful magic abilities it can employ with instinctual cunning. Though it is unable to form complex plans or comprehend complex chains of cause and effect, a living apocalypse is able to apply its ability to manipulate energy to deal with immediate threats with what seem like carefully considered tactics. Once a living apocalypse is unleashed in a region, it destroys everything in its path until there is not a complex structure or significant life-form left within hundreds of miles. Because it is mindless, the ooze follows a path dictated by what it can sense at any given moment. If it can’t detect anything nearby, it settles in one place, using its broadcast ability both to listen for wireless signals and to send signals out in the hopes of drawing in more victims.
When there is nothing left to destroy and no change for centuries, a living apocalypse eventually goes into a dormant state, often at the bottom of a chasm or within the stormiest region of a world, waiting for centuries for someone to find it. A typical living apocalypse is 30 feet in diameter and weighs 187 tons.