 |
| Andromeda liberata da Perseo by Piero di Cosimo, via Wikimedia |
Herakles,
appropriating the myth of Perseus and Andromeda, apparently also rescued a
princess from a ketos, doing so in true herculean fashion by leaping into its
mouth and slaying it from within. In 58
BC, the Romans put the bones of what they believed to be the ketos that Perseus
slew on display during gladiatorial games.
The bones were described as “forty feet long, with ribs taller than an
Indian elephant, and spines eighteen inches thick.”
 |
Image ©Peter on flikr
"Hercules Slays the Ketos" from vase painting in Athens, Stavros S Niarchos Collection. |
Many
medieval depictions of the inside of the whale emphasize its overwhelming heat,
to the point where at least one such depiction has Jonah going bald from the
heat. In a late tenth century tale recounted by the
French monk Letaldus, with parallels to the story of Jonah, a fisherman named
Within is swallowed by a great whale and kills the whale by setting his boat on
fire and attacking the creature’s insides with his sword. After four days and five nights, he is washed
up in the whale's carcass and emerges hairless.
The whale that swallows Within is likened to Scylla and Charybdis, and
described “with snake-like teeth and with an ever gaping gullet, a gullet that
could tumble entire cities to the underworld.”
 |
Photo by wmpearl, via Wikimedia
Jonah Cast Up, 280-290 CE, marble, late Roman, Asia Minor, Cleveland Museum of Art |
The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.
Ketos CR 12
XP 19,200
N Gargantuan
dragon (aquatic)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light
vision, sense target 12 miles; Perception +20
Aura frightful presence (120 ft., 5d6
rounds, DC 19)
DEFENSE
AC 28, touch 6, flat-footed 28 (+22
natural, -4 size)
hp 162 (12d12+84)
Fort +17, Ref +8, Will +11
Immune mind-affecting effects,
paralysis, sleep
SR 18
OFFENSE
Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft.
Melee bite +22 (2d8+21 plus grab), tail
slap +17 (2d8+7)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft.
Special Attacks capsize, fast swallow, selective
disgorge, swallow whole (see text)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)
constant - comprehend languages, true
seeing
at will - dispel magic, mass suggestion
(DC 19)
1/day – control
weather, control winds (DC 18)
1/week - vortex
(DC 20)
STATISTICS
Str 39, Dex 10, Con 25, Int 8, Wis 17, Cha 16
Base Atk +12; CMB +30; CMD 40 (can’t
be tripped)
Feats Alertness, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Intimidating Prowess, Power Attack, Vital
Strike
Skills Bluff +10, Intimidate +32,
Perception +20, Sense Motive +20, Stealth -5, Survival +10, Swim +37
Languages comprehend languages
SQ geas susceptibility, voiceless
suggestion
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Geas Susceptibility (Ex)
Ketoi are
often used as agents of vengeance by gods, demigods, and powerful spellcasters to
punish the disobedient. Although ketoi
are immune to mind-affecting effects, this can be bypassed by casting wish, limited wish, or miracle
followed immediately by geas/quest. Geas/quest automatically bypasses the ketos’
spell resistance, but is subject to a Will save as normal. The caster can then command the ketos to seek
out a particular person or creature, either to eat them, to hold them in the
ketos’ gut for a period of time, or to return them to the caster. Once the command is given, the ketos pursues
it with single-mindedness, pausing only to eat and sleep as necessary. The ketos will use its spell-like abilities
to punish ships or cities which harbor the target.
Sense Target (Sp)
A ketos that
has been commanded to seek out a specific person can unerringly sense their
location within 12 miles. When located by this ability, the target is
instinctively aware that they are being pursued by a powerful force. The target also gains a +4 bonus to resist
the ketos’ mass suggestion spell-like
ability. This is a Divination effect.
Selective Disgorge (Ex)
A ketos has
uncanny control over the contractions of its gut, allowing it to vomit forth
exactly what it what it wants while leaving its other stomach contents in
place. It typically uses this ability in
three main ways:
Person:
the ketos vomits up a person or other swallowed creature only when it proves to
be a threat to the ketos’ life or comfort, or when commanded by the power that
sent it. It will never willingly swallow
the same creature again.
Vomit:
once per day, the ketos can spew forth a mound of rotting fish. This creates a 10 ft. area of difficult
terrain. All within 20 ft. of the
putrescent pile must succeed at a DC 22 Fort save or become nauseated for as
long as they are within that area and for 1d4 rounds after. Those hit by the vomit (a ranged touch attack
with a range increment of 5 ft.) suffer a -4 penalty to their saves against the
effect. Leaving and re-entering the area
provokes a new save. Those who
successfully save against one pile of vomit are immune to the effects of that
vomit pile for 24 hours. The save DC is
Constitution-based.
Water:
as a standard action, the ketos can unleash a blast of water from its
gullet. The water spreads out in a 30
ft. cone. Against creatures and movable
objects, this wave acts as a bull rush.
The ketos makes a combat maneuver check and applies its results to each
creature within the area. The CMB for
this bull rush is +19 (base attack bonus + Constitution). This bull rush does not provoke attacks of
opportunity, and can affect creatures of any size.
Although these are the most common uses of
the disgorge ability, it is not limited to these. Some stories tell of a ketos vomiting forth a
great treasure, either as payment or as bait.
Swallow Whole (Ex)
As a free
action any time during its turn, if a ketos has a Huge or smaller creature
grappled in its mouth, it can attempt a new combat maneuver check (as though
attempting to pin its opponent). If it
succeeds, it swallows its prey, and the opponent takes bite damage.
The interior of the ketos’ gut is
surprisingly spacious, and creatures of Large size or smaller are not
considered grappled while within it. The
ground is uneven and mostly covered with water, rotting fish, and incidental
detritus swallowed by the beast over the years.
The air is stagnant yet breathable, but also unbearably hot and
creatures trapped within have been known to suffer from heat stroke (treat as
very hot conditions under the environmental rules for heat).
The ketos’ gut is particularly resistant to
attacks from within. It has an AC of 28,
regeneration 10/fire, immunity to bludgeoning damage, and 42 hp, although a
ketos will usually use its selective disgorge ability to vomit out any
creatures that seem close to cutting or burning their way through before they
can do any permanent damage.
Voiceless Suggestion (Su)
When using
its mass suggestion spell-like
ability, the ketos implants an idea rather than a specific sentence in the
minds of those whom it targets. For
example, it might suggest that an appropriate sacrifice might halt its attacks,
or that a particular person on board a ship is the cause of the sailors’
misfortunes. The ketos does not need to
be able to speak for this ability to function.
ECOLOGY
Environment any ocean
Organization solitary
Treasure incidental
This mighty
sea serpent has a long, coiling body, a ferocious wolf-like head, and strong
claw-like flippers that grant it limited mobility on land. A hungry ketos will terrorize seaside
settlements by harassing shipping and summoning inclement weather until it is
appeased with an appropriate sacrifice.
If successful, the ketos will often return to that settlement regularly
for further sacrifices. Sometimes, a
ketos is sent by a god to terrorize a disloyal city or punish a particular individual. Powerful spellcasters have also been known to
make use of ketoi in this way, employing them as agents of vengeance and
destruction. Several myths and folktales
center on such a ketos, usually involving an impious soul being punished
with a stay in the beast’s gut, or a disobedient king being forced to sacrifice
his child to the ketos to appease an angry god.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've been intending to stat up this monster for quite a while now, but Bestiary 5 has just come out and features two new monsters quite similar to this, which sort of lit a fire under me. The Ketos is a subject near to my heart, because one of the things I study academically is the mythological conception of whales. Also my name is Jonah, which helps.
One thing missing from either of the whale-monsters in Bestiary 5 is any sense of divine purpose or disfavor, something that is core to both the Andromeda and the Jonah stories. For that reason, I gave the ketos the ability to seek out a particular target, and to wreak havoc on ships and ports with its control weather and control winds spell-like abilities. With the ability to capsize ships, vomit up rotting fish, and spew forth waves that knock sailors off the decks of ships, the ketos is designed to be a sailor's misfortune. The mass suggestion spell-like ability, made more subtle with the Voiceless Suggestion ability, should help sailors and city folk alike identify the source of their woes and encourage them to cast it into the ketos' waiting maw.
Of course, its geas susceptibility means that major antagonists will be able to sicc a ketos on your adventuring party as well. What will your party do when the sailors you were travelling with suddenly all want to throw you into the sea?
-your cetacean d20 despot
Edit: an incomplete version of the above stat block was originally published. It has been updated to include all the appropriate feats
Edit: an incomplete version of the above stat block was originally published. It has been updated to include all the appropriate feats
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