Choker
In the deepest crevices of the Underdark and the forgotten corners of crumbling cities, chokers lie in wait. These small, aberrant predators are masters of ambush, using their elongated, tentacle-like limbs to snatch unsuspecting prey from ceilings, chimneys, or alleyway shadows. Though dimwitted and cowardly, their uncanny speed and grasping strength make them formidable to the unwary. Driven by an insatiable hunger and a peculiar fascination with the trappings of civilization, chokers are both feared and misunderstood denizens of the dark.
Tangle-Limbed Stalkers
Chokers stand about 3.5 feet tall when hunched, but can stretch to nearly 6 feet due to their rubbery, boneless limbs. Their mottled gray or earthy brown skin aids in camouflage within stone and shadow. Each limb ends in a starfish-like hand, lined with stiff cartilage spines that allow them to grip walls and ceilings effortlessly. Their movements are unsettling—fluid and jerky, with a gait that seems both comical and menacing. A choker's face is a grotesque mask of jagged teeth and milky eyes, often twisted into a perpetual snarl.
Solitary Predators
Chokers are solitary by nature, coming together only briefly to mate. Their intelligence is limited, but they exhibit a curious obsession with objects from other cultures, often adorning their lairs with trinkets taken from victims. They communicate through a primitive language, and some have been known to respond to bribery or simple negotiations. Despite their lack of formal society, chokers display a rudimentary understanding of names and relationships, occasionally forming fleeting alliances with other creatures.
Lairs of Secrecy
Chokers do not establish governments or hierarchies. Their lairs are typically isolated, hard-to-reach nooks high in cavern walls or urban ruins. In rare instances where chokers congregate, there is no clear leadership; instead, they operate on instinct and opportunity. Their interactions with other societies are minimal, often limited to predation or, less commonly, serving as informants or guides in exchange for food or shiny objects.
In the deepest crevices of the Underdark and the forgotten corners of crumbling cities, chokers lie in wait. These small, aberrant predators are masters of ambush, using their elongated, tentacle-like limbs to snatch unsuspecting prey from ceilings, chimneys, or alleyway shadows. Though dimwitted and cowardly, their uncanny speed and grasping strength make them formidable to the unwary. Driven by an insatiable hunger and a peculiar fascination with the trappings of civilization, chokers are both feared and misunderstood denizens of the dark.
Tangle-Limbed Stalkers
Chokers stand about 3.5 feet tall when hunched, but can stretch to nearly 6 feet due to their rubbery, boneless limbs. Their mottled gray or earthy brown skin aids in camouflage within stone and shadow. Each limb ends in a starfish-like hand, lined with stiff cartilage spines that allow them to grip walls and ceilings effortlessly. Their movements are unsettling—fluid and jerky, with a gait that seems both comical and menacing. A choker's face is a grotesque mask of jagged teeth and milky eyes, often twisted into a perpetual snarl.
Solitary Predators
Chokers are solitary by nature, coming together only briefly to mate. Their intelligence is limited, but they exhibit a curious obsession with objects from other cultures, often adorning their lairs with trinkets taken from victims. They communicate through a primitive language, and some have been known to respond to bribery or simple negotiations. Despite their lack of formal society, chokers display a rudimentary understanding of names and relationships, occasionally forming fleeting alliances with other creatures.
Lairs of Secrecy
Chokers do not establish governments or hierarchies. Their lairs are typically isolated, hard-to-reach nooks high in cavern walls or urban ruins. In rare instances where chokers congregate, there is no clear leadership; instead, they operate on instinct and opportunity. Their interactions with other societies are minimal, often limited to predation or, less commonly, serving as informants or guides in exchange for food or shiny objects.
Traits
Boneless
You can move through and occupy a space as small as 4 inches wide without squeezing.
Scion of the Great Old Ones
You have Resistance against effects that would cause Confusion, Madness, or a similar effect.
Spider Climb
You can climb walls and ceilings without making an ability check.
Tentacle
Your Unarmed strikes deal 1D4 bludgeoning damage + your attack modifier and on a hit you can use a bonus action to Grapple the target. You can only Grapple one creature at a time this way and are unable to take attacks while Grappling a target.