Lurker Below

Lurkers Below are nightmarish creatures that hide themselves underground, and extend their tentacles up to catch prey, usually through man-made holes they burrow into the bottom of (wells, fountains, etc.) Primarily scavengers, the Lurkers will rarely pass an opportunity to grab an unwary passerby.

The Lurker Below is a mass of tentacles, usually 12-18 in number, secured to a spherical mass of dark flesh. The tentacles are approx.1 ft. in diameter, and grow to a length of roughly 10 ft. past the opening of their hole. The tentacles are normally found wrapped around the lair, sensing the surrounds. The tentacles are used to gather prey, which the Lurker then drags down to the central body, where it is slowly absorbed. The Lurkers central body moves at an extremely slow pace, therefore they are loath to move once they have found a good “lair”.

Some subterranean races have been able to “lure” Lurkers Below to convenient locations to guard caverns. A steady diet of prey or refuse will keep the Lurker satisfied, it is believed.

Lurkers Below have no language, and do not seem to respond to any form of communication.

Combat

A Lurker Below attacks anything it senses in range of the opening of its lair. It will generally strike at anything within 10 ft. The Lurker will grab and constrict anything it finds.

Improved Grab (Ex): The Lurker must hit a Medium-size or smaller opponent with one of its tentacle attacks to use this ability.
Constriction (Ex): The Lurker deals tentacle damage automatically with a successful grapple check.
Tremorsense (Ex): The Lurker can sense creatures in a 10 ft radius of its lair opening.

Tales tell of other variations of Lurkers Below, some with barbed tentacles, some that are poisonous, and some that drain energy just by touch. It is also believed that an encounter with a colossal Lurker was the inspiration behind the spell, Evard’s Black tentacles, but that is unproven.