Hellmouth Unleashed!

Hell Unleashed is releasing later this month at GenCon. As I'm a Campaign Setting subscriber, I get early access to the PDF. Looking through the book, I spotted a creature that caught my eye: the hellmouth. The introductory section of the book details different ways to access Hell, including these interesting creatures. In brief, they are gigantic, ancient, wormlike creatures that dwell in the boundaries between planes. They have a head on each end which houses a mouth containing a portal to the opposite end. Very brazen creatures can make use of these portals to travel between Hell.

The book lacks details for the hellmouth, but does mention it is at least a CR 24 creature. Thus, I decided to take a shot at creating a hellmouth for myself. Check out my idea of it after the break.

An enormous, fiendish head rests at the end of this massive worm. Its colossal maw is seemingly endless with a dark glowing deep within.
HELLMOUTH CR 24

XP 1,228,800

LE Colossal outsider (evil, extraplanar, lawful)

Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., planar sight 200 ft.; Perception +0

Aura aura

DEFENSE

AC 44, touch 14, flat-footed 44 (–1 Dex, +13 insight, +30 natural, –8 size);

hp 555 (30d10+390); fast healing 10

Fort +23, Ref +18, Will +21

Defensive Abilities planar acuity; DR 15/epic; Immune fire; Resist acid 10, cold 10, poison 10; SR 35

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft., burrow 40 ft., fly 20 ft. (clumsy)

Melee 3 bites +38 (4d6+32 plus grab/19–20)

Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft.

Special Attacks planar regurgitation, swallow whole (4d6+24 plus 4d6 acid, AC 25, 55 hp)

STATISTICS

Str 43, Dex 8, Con 36, Int 6, Wis 14, Cha 11

Base Atk +30; CMB +54 (+58 grapple); CMD 76

Feats Awesome Blow, Ability Focus (planar regurgitation), Blind-Fight, Cleave, Critical Focus, Great Cleave, Great Fortitude, Hover, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Staggering Critical, Weapon Focus (bite)

Skills Fly –17, Perception +35, Survival +35

Languages Infernal

SQ esophageal gates, powerful bite

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Hell)

Organization solitary

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Esophageal Gate (Ex) A planar portal resides deep within a hellmouth’s throat. The portal functions exactly as a gate, save that it only allows for planar travel. The portal is connected to a duplicate portal at the opposite end of a hellmouth, allowing passage between its two heads.

While a hellmouth is hibernating, access to a portal is unimpeded. Access to a portal while the hellmouth is awake proves significantly more difficult. A creature that wishes to access a portal must intentionally enter a helllmouth’s maw (automatically taking bite damage) or be swallowed whole. A creature that entered a mouth intentionally must make a DC 28 Reflex save to enter the portal or be swallowed whole. A creature that has been swallowed whole that cuts its way free may chose to enter the portal instead of leaving the hellmouth’s gullet. The DC is Constitution-based.

Planar Acuity (Ex) The portals within its body allow a hellmouth to tap into planar resonations, allowing it to understand innate truths about reality. While in Hell, this grants the hellmouth an insight bonus to AC equal to its Constitution modifier and fast healing 10.

Planar Regurgitation (Ex) When it succeeds to maintain a grapple check to swallow whole, a hellmouth may chose to instead swallow the creature down the auxiliary esophagus that leads to its planar portal. If a creature is swallowed in this way, it is instantly transported to the hellmouths’s other head, ejected 10 feet from the head, and knocked prone. A creature that succeeds on a DC 30 Reflex save is instead swallowed as normal. The DC is Constitution-based.

Planar Sight (Ex) A hellmouth’s portals allow it to view planar vibrations granting it the ability to discern any extraplanar changes. This functions as blind sight, but is only functional while a hellmouth is in Hell.

Powerful Bite (Ex) A hellmouth applies twice its Strength modifier to bite damage.

A hellmouth is usually in a state of hibernation, but will wake to eat every few centuries. Hellmouths hibernate at a location where the massive amounts of food they require are easily accessible. Usually, this is only within reach of one of its heads. To feed both of its heads, a hellmouth will intentionally swallow food into its portal and regurgitate the food from its other mouth to feed its second head. Feeding periods vary from a few months to a few years, depending on the immediate access to food.

The first hellmouths were said to feed on the primal energies that were used to create Hell, leading to the creation of the portals within their bodies. These portals resonate at strange, incalculable frequencies that grant hellmouths their longevity. Particularly ancient hellmouths grow to understand the frequencies and are able to tap into strange planar energies. These ancient hellmouths are capable of reaching into other planes or even summoning devils to do their bidding.

The statistics presented here are only for a hellmouth’s single head. If one head is slain, the other survives, but its portal becomes nonfunctional. Given enough time, a hellmouth may regrow a destroyed head, but the process can take decades.

A typical hellmouth is between 1000 feet and hundreds of miles long and weighs at least 25,000 pounds.