Seugathi

Seugathi

(Creature)

CE

Aberration

Seugathi

Level

Varies

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Images of seugathi

Source: Hands of the Devil, pg(s). 82

Type

Aberration

CR

6

Environment

Any underground

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Images of seugathi

Source: Bestiary 2, pg(s). 243

Ⅰ

Ⅱ

Seugathi are intelligent, tentacled subterranean worms that serve alien neothelid masters in the darkest depths of the earth. These monstrous creatures follow strange orders that often seem completely insane to humans.

Appearance

Seugathi resemble a cross between an enormous caterpillar and a writhing worm, their bodies stretching to about 14 feet in length and weighing upward of 650 pounds. They tend to rear up when threatened by supporting themselves with their dexterous caterpillar-like legs. A seugathi's head is located directly at the top end of their body and is covered in insect-like emerald eyes. Below this is their alien mouth, a vortex of teeth from within which three sharp, bony jaws click and clack. At the other end of their body, their torso splits into two long, slender, and dextrous tentacles each about six feet in length. A seugathi can use these tentacles to perform delicate manipulations as easily as a human hand. In combat, seugathi often wield additional weapons in their tentacles.

Habitat and ecology

Seugathi dwell—or at least begin their lives—in the Orvian vault of Denebrum, among the deepest realms of the Darklands. It is home to both them and the dark masters they ferverently serve, the neothelids, which are huge worms with incredible mental powers and the seugathi's creators.

A neothelid can spawn hundreds of young seugathi into a pit-like depression. They are only a foot long when spawned but grow quickly by consuming their brothers and sisters. Within a year, only one fully grown seugathi remains, having consumed the flesh and minds of its siblings. This also fills the newborn seugathi with numerous missions, as the neothelid creates each juvenile seugathi with a single purpose. These missions often seem insane to mortals but normally further their masters' secret purposes, which often involve the summoning of creatures from the Dark Tapestry like the havero or spawn of Yog-Sothoth.

While they can survive off Darklands fungi or the flesh of subterranean creatures, seugathi prefer to consume the rational thoughts of sane beings. These thoughts are sustenance to them, but siphoning them from their victims completely destroys the creature's sanity. This initially leaves the victim confused and bewildered, and by the end they become a gibbering mess. Seugathi can repress this hunger—they need not constantly feed—but do so only in the most important of circumstances. When denied their favourite food, however, seugathi become even more short-tempered and violent. A seugathi's bite is venomous, and the poison makes their victims more susceptible to their feeding.

Society

Seugathi outside of Orv are generally loners and rarely interact with other creatures, though they sometimes live in small groups of their own kind called cults, or are led by similarly-minded creatures, such as a worm that walks. Their strange missions sometimes require them to become a part of non-seugathi societies, often other Darklands civilisations such as deros. They can take on a variety of roles when interacting with others, from religious leader to profane advisor, simple guardians or servants. When forced to become part of these societies, the seugathi must exercise extreme self-control in their thirst for sane thoughts or risk being destroyed for their sanity-draining abilities.

Even though their minds and motives are alien to most humanoids, seugathi have a very human-like trait: they keep pets. Specifically, they keep large numbers of the eel-like olaggi.

Religion

Little is known of seugathi beliefs, but some worship the Old Ones, the beings who inhabit the Dark Tapestry.

On Golarion

Neothelids are waging a proxy war against the xoarians of Ilvarandin. Their forces, including many seugathi, have captured the Alimentral district of Ilvarandin. Seugathi also live in the aptly named "worm district" of the ghoul city of Nemret Noktoria in Sekamina. Some have also been spotted assisting their neothelid masters in the Thassilonian ruins of Hollow Mountain in Varisia.

Seugathi dwell in the sewers of Vyre, although their purpose there is unknown. A particularly powerful seugathi sorcerer named Crawlbrother also inhabits the waters below Osirion's Kilik-tura Oasis.

Seugathi also live in the Darklands of Tian Xia, particularly the realm of Zaikongon beneath the Valashmai Jungle.

In the Great Beyond

Fiendish seugathi are believed to inhabit the Abyssal realm of Sekatar-Seraktis and were first summoned by the ancient runelord Sorshen, who was intrigued by their ability to alter the minds of others.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.