Lurker Above
CR: 7 XP: 3,200
N Huge aberration
Init: +5 Senses: blindsense 10 ft., darkvision 60 ft., scent Perception: +5
Defense
AC: 19, touch 9, flat-footed 18 (+1 Dex, +10 natural, –2 size)
hp: 85 (10d8+40)
Fort: +7 Ref: +4 Will: +9
Defensive Abilities: amorphous
DR: 10/piercing or slashing
Resist: cold 10, fire 10
Weaknesses: light sensitivity
Offense
Speed: 10 ft., climb 5 ft., fly 40 ft. (poor)
Melee: slam +15 (3d6+15 plus grab)
Space: 15 ft. Reach: 10 ft.
Special Attacks: constrict (3d6+15), smother
Statistics
Str: 30 Dex: 12 Con: 19 Int: 2 Wis: 15 Cha: 9
Base Atk: +7 CMB: +19 (+23 grapple) CMD: 30 (can’t be tripped)
Feats: Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Perception), Skill Focus (Stealth)
Skills: Climb +18, Fly +1, Perception +5, Stealth +8 (+16 in rocky areas), Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+12 in rocky areas)
Ecology
Environment: any underground
Organization: solitary
Treasure: standard
Description
Smother (Ex) When a lurker above grapples a target, it forms an airtight seal around its prey. A grappled target cannot speak or cast spells with verbal components, and must hold its breath (see Suffocation, Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 445).
Lurkers above are the nearly mindless males of the species, and follow much the same tactics as executioner’s hoods, save that they gain the ability to stretch themselves wide, glide with both speed and silence, and can even fly by awkwardly flapping their flesh. They typically hide on cavern ceilings, shifting their coloration and texture to match the surrounding terrain.
Like all lurking rays, lurkers above are carnivorous, preferring the tang of living flesh—though they can subsist for a time on the minerals they absorb from rocky surfaces through their tentacles. Males are less able to subsist on minerals, however, and hence hunt more actively. While lurkers above are poor fliers, they’re excellent gliders, able drop off a ceiling and silently float more than 100 feet horizontally over the course of a 5- or 6-foot drop.
Lurkers above can grow to be 15 feet from tip to tip, and weigh nearly 500 pounds when fully fed.