Planar Bestiary
A carcinisating vilomah resembles a monstrous withered crone that has partially transformed into a shelled animal. Portions of her body have hard growths like a crab, her hands are enlarged into grasping crab claws, and her eyes might extend out of their sockets on segmented eyestalks. Her flesh might be muted colors to help blend in with the walls of her lair, or it can be bright red, green, or violet if she is angry and aggressive.
A vilomah was originally a variety of fey being known as a "hag" who was unusually attached to one of her daughters, only to be devastated when that daughter died (regardless of how old she was or the manner of her death). The hag finds an isolated place where she can retreat into her grief, hardening herself against the world, mentally and physically, transforming into a vilomah and developing magic appropriate to her lair and emotions.
A carcinisating vilomah's lair is filled with dozens of common crabs, which were once intruders or local animals but were transformed by her spells of shapechanging. She feeds and frets over these creatures like an elderly human who takes care of dozens of cats, but she is not averse to snacking on them when distracted or when food is scarce. Threatening or harming her pets is the quickest way to provoke her ire.
Grieving hags who retreat to underwater or coastal locations become carcinisating vilomahs and have water-themed abilities, but those who choose other environments develop similar abilities relating to those places and the local vermin. For example, a desert-dwelling vilomah might develop scorpion-themed abilities, a city-dwelling one might take on a cockroach aspect, one in a forest might become more like a spider, and so on.
Motive: Grieving, transforming intruders
Environment: Anywhere near or beneath water, usually alone
Health: 20
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (5 points)
Armor: 2
Movement: Short; short when swimming
Modifications: Deception, perception, magic lore, and stealth as level 7
Combat: The vilomah attacks twice per round with her claws. On a hit, the victim takes damage and is grabbed. A grabbed victim is held immobile and takes 2 points of damage each round from the crushing claw. The victim can escape with a successful Might task as their action.
The vilomah can cast spells within short range that deal damage to a target by spraying poison or frost, that further protect her from damage, that disguise her true nature, that dispel other magic or that confer the ability to breathe water on herself and others. Three times per day, she can target a creature within short range with a transformation spell; on a failed Might defense task, the target's physical tasks on their next turn are hindered. At the end of their next turn, if they fail another Might defense task they are transformed into a mundane crab, or regain normal movement on a success. Only magic able to reverse curses or more powerful magic can turn a shapechanged crab back to their original form.
Interaction: A vilomah is often encountered magically disguised as a mundane humanoid creature. Negotiation with one is difficult, because the vilomah's underlying grief demands that she create more crab "children" from other creatures she finds or captures.
Use: People in a nearby fishing village have lost three of their number out on the water in the last month. They fear a sea monster has moved to the bay.
Loot: The lair of a vilomah may contain a few magical charms and powers, including the following: a powder of blinking, a charm that will turn one shapechanged victim back into their true form, and a scroll that restores 6 points of health or Pool points to the reader.
GM Intrusion: The claw grabbing a character detaches, creating a separate claw entity (level 2) under the vilomah's control, still grabbing the character. The vilomah magically regenerates the lost arm after a few rounds.