This semi-canine humanoid has rancid green flesh and hooflike feet, yet its eyes sparkle with the gleam of intelligence.
Leng Ghoul CR 10
XP 9,600
CE Medium undead (extraplanar)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +20
Defense
AC 25, touch 17, flat-footed 18 (+7 Dex, +8 natural)
hp 126 (12d8+72)
Fort +10, Ref +11, Will +13
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; Immune cold, undead traits
Offense
Speed 30 ft., burrow 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee bite +16 (1d8+7 plus disease and paralysis), 2 claws +17 (1d6+7 plus paralysis)
Special Attacks rend (2 claws, 1d6+10), sneak attack +2d6
Statistics
Str 24, Dex 24, Con —, Int 17, Wis 20, Cha 23
Base Atk +9; CMB +16 (+18 trip); CMD 33 (35 vs. trip)
Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Improved Feint, Improved Trip, Lunge, Weapon Focus (claws)
Skills Acrobatics +19, Climb +30, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, planes, religion) +12, Perception +20, Sense Motive +20, Stealth +22
Languages Aklo, Common
SQ erudite
Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or cult (3-8)
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Disease (Ex) Leng Ghoul Fever: Bite—injury; save Fort DC 22; onset immediate; effect 1d3 Con and 1d4 Dex damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Charisma-based. A humanoid that succumbs to Leng ghoul fever becomes a normal ghoul unless in life it had 12 or more Hit Dice, in which case it rises from death as a Leng ghoul.
Erudite (Ex) All Knowledge skills are class skills for Leng ghouls. In addition, a Leng ghoul can cast spells from any magic scroll as if it had the spells on its spell list. It automatically succeeds at the caster level check necessary to use the scroll.
Paralysis (Ex) A successful DC 22 Fortitude save negates a Leng ghoul's paralysis. At the end of each round after the first, the victim can attempt a new DC 22 Fortitude saving throw to end the paralysis effect; the effect is otherwise permanent. Once the effect ends, the victim is staggered for 1 round.
The ghouls of the nightmare dimension of Leng are far more powerful and more intelligent than their lesser kin that haunt and caper in the lonely graveyards of the Material Plane, yet they are also more prone to discussion and debate with intruders. Ghoul warrens that burrow deep enough can inexplicably cross over from this world to Leng, allowing the ghouls of that realm access to this world. Leng ghouls delight in feasting on dead flesh and consider themselves gourmets of rot and decay, treating a full coffin as a sumptuous banquet table.
Leng ghouls maintain complex societies and extensive warrens when they colonize reaches of the Material Planes, digging deep below the surface graveyards they choose to haunt. These creatures are not only driven to gather victims to slaughter and bodies to ripen—they also seek out forbidden texts and magical scrolls to augment their ever-increasing stores of knowledge, which often rival the greatest of wizardly libraries in size, although their subject matter tends to be limited to necromancy and the study of forbidden rites. A Leng ghoul can sometimes be convinced to let a particularly delicious-looking intruder go (relatively) unharmed in exchange for new lore.
Although most Leng ghouls venerate the Great Old Ones or Outer Gods (they have a particular affinity for Nyarlathotep), a rare few of these creatures retain more of their humanity than merely their living intellect. These unique few drift away from evil in their pursuit of magical lore—while they still hunger for dead flesh, many try their best to feed only on those who died naturally or willingly offer themselves up to the carrion feast in return for favors. While many eventually succumb to the temptation to feed on fresh kills in time, a rare few manage to maintain nonevil alignments. Such rare ghouls also retain some or all of the class levels they had in life, transferring those levels onto their new undead forms. The bulk of these Leng ghouls have levels as arcane spellcasters or rogues, since those who were once divine spellcasters, or otherwise religious in life, tend to be wholly devoted to gods of evil and decay.
