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Great Ghul (Efreeti)

This ragged creature has decayed skin drawn taut over corded muscles and bony limbs. Its lower jaw is over-sized and lined with jagged, bloodstained teeth. Its hands end in black, viciously curled claws, and it has donkey hooves instead of feet. The stench of the grave is strong around it.

Great Ghul CR 6

XP 2,400
CE Medium undead (shapechanger)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +15

DEFENSE

AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+2 Dex, +6 natural)
hp 57 (6d8+30)
Fort +8, Ref +4, Will +7
DR 10/cold iron and good; Immune undead traits; Resist fire 10

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee bite +10 (1d6+6 plus 1d6 fire) and 2 claws +10 (1d4+6 plus 1d6 fire and 1 bleed)
Special Attacks bleed (1), cursed claws, heat (1d6 fire), rend (1d6+6)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 11th; concentration +15)

3/day—greater invisibility (self only)

STATISTICS

Str 22, Dex 15, Con —, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 18
Base Atk +4; CMB +10; CMD 22
Feats Great Fortitude, Improved InitiativeB, Power Attack, Step Up, ToughnessB
Skills Bluff +10, Climb +18, Diplomacy +7, Disguise +11 (+21 when shapechanged), Intimidate +11, Perception +15, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +13, Survival +13 (+21 tracking); Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +8 Survival when following tracks
Languages Common, Ignan, Infernal
SQ change shape (humanoid or hyena; does not detect as undead in these forms; alter self, beast shape I), create spawn, genie-kin

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Create Spawn (Su)

A humanoid slain by a great ghul becomes a ghoul on the next moonrise; a janni slain becomes a ghul, and a more powerful genie a great ghul. Destroying the body or blessing it prevents this reanimation.

Cursed Claws (Ex)

A great ghul’s claws are considered both cold iron and magic for the purposes of bypassing damage reduction.

Genie-Kin (Ex)

For all race-related effects (such as a ranger's favored enemy), a great ghul is considered a genie even though its type is undead.

Heat (Ex)

An efreeti great ghul can activate or deactivate its heat ability as a free action.

Base Creature

ECOLOGY

Environment warm deserts
Organization solitary or pack (2-8)
Treasure standard

Sometimes a janni dies in a state of disfavor with fate; as a parting curse from their race’s age-old enemy, the lord of the divs, such an ill-favored genie may come back from the dead as a ghul, a ghoul version of genie-kind. Ghuls are easily recognized as inhuman by their donkey hooves, which shame them greatly; most ghuls take great pains to hide their hooves from view.

Ecology

Ghuls feed upon carrion much as their lesser ghoulish kin, but prefer the fresh blood of mortals, especially children and innocents. They haunt desolate cemeteries and necropolises feeding upon the interred as well as any mourners and gravediggers they can catch. They despise the light of the sun (though it does not harm them), so such locations are usually safe during the day, though there are no guarantees that a hungry ghul might not brave the dreaded light to obtain a tasty-looking morsel.

Habitat & Society

Ghuls live in the desert wastes in isolation or in small packs. Sometimes a pack of ghouls is led by a great ghul (see below) or a single ghul leads a company of ghouls.

Great Ghuls

Djinn, efreet, marids, and shaitains may rise as great ghuls, though this is much rarer than with jann. Stripped of most of their elemental powers, they hate themselves and all living things, seeking solace in murdering and corrupting mortals. Great ghuls like to follow passers-by invisibly before revealing themselves in suitably isolated locales. If they f ind potential victims particularly interesting, they may engage them in a battle of wits or some challenge in order for them to spare their lives. A common challenge is to provide the ghul with a certain number of fresh corpses within a certain number of nights. Sometimes a great ghul will take the form of a beautiful maiden or cherubic child in order to tempt a foolish mortal into corruption and murder.

Great ghuls have all of the powers and abilities of normal ghuls, plus the following: DR 10/cold iron and good, Improved Initiative and Toughness as bonus feats, greater invisibility (CL 11th, self only) as a spell-like ability, change shape (allowing any humanoid forms in addition to ghul and hyena form), create spawn, plus one ability related to its original genie type (heat, metalmorph, water’s fury, or whirlwind).

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3, © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Jesse Benner, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, James Jacobs, Michael Kenway, Rob McCreary, Patrick Renie, Chris Sims, F. Wesley Schneider, James L. Sutter, and Russ Taylor, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.

Pathfinder 23: The Impossible Eye. Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Greg A. Vaughan

Pathfinder Chronicles: Dark Markets, A Guide to Katapesh. Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Stephen S. Greer, Amber Scott, Greg A. Vaughan, and Sean K Reynolds.