CREATURE CODEX A
Astral Snapper
This hideous creature has the body of a pale human. Its yellow eyes
are slit with vertical pupils, and its wide grin reveals a mouth full
of shark’s teeth.
Hunters from Beyond. Mysterious extraplanar creatures,
astral snappers hunt humanoids on the Material Plane, but
they feed on their victim’s innards while concealed in the Astral
Plane. They erupt back into the Material Plane from the slain
creature once the feast is complete. Though they are most at
home in the Astral Plane, they can only get there through killing
another creature and can only remain there until they have fed.
Servants or Parasites. The few scholars familiar with
these creatures speculate that they may have come into the
world either attached to or in the wake of far greater creatures
from beyond the stars, and perhaps they serve such godlike
beings in some way.
Strange Hungers. Astral snappers hunt by means of stealth
and ambush, while seeking out lone travelers. When the astral
snapper enters the victim’s body by opening a portal in it to the
Astral Plane, many of the creatures believe the astral snapper has
simply broken off its attack and vanished. They count themselves
lucky right up until the first pains of being devoured from the
inside strike them.
ASTRAL SNAPPER
Medium aberration, neutral evil
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 78 (12d8 + 24)
Speed 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
12 (+1) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 8 (–1)
Saving Throws Con +4
Skills Arcana +4, Deception +1, Perception +5, Stealth +4
Damage Resistances bludgeoning and slashing from
nonmagical attacks
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Deep Speech
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Astral Devour. A creature hosting an astral snapper’s astral form
must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw each time it finishes
a long rest. On a success, the astral snapper is ejected from
the host and the Astral Plane into an unoccupied space in the
Material Plane within 10 feet of the host and is stunned for 1
round. On a failure, the astral snapper consumes part of the
host’s internal organs, reducing the host’s Constitution score
by 1d4. The host dies if this reduces its Constitution to 0. The
reduction lasts until the host finishes a long rest after the astral
snapper has been expelled. If the host’s Constitution score is
reduced to 0, the astral snapper exits the host’s body in the
Material Plane by tearing its way out through the abdomen. The
astral snapper becomes completely corporeal as it exits the host,
stepping out of the host at its full size.
From the time the astral snapper succeeds on the initial
dive into the host through the Astral Plane until the moment
it emerges from the host’s abdomen, it can be seen by any
creature that can see into the Astral Plane—its head buried in
the host’s back. The astral snapper has disadvantage on Wisdom
(Perception) checks and is effectively stunned when in this
position until it takes damage.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The astral snapper makes two attacks with its claws.
If both attacks hit the same target, the target must succeed on
a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or its wound becomes a rift to
the Astral Plane. The astral snapper immediately passes through,
closing the rift behind it. The target is then affected by the astral
snapper’s Astral Devour trait.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit:
9 (2d6 + 2) slashing damage.
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