Umber Hulk: A Hypnotic Digger

The wall caved in. That’s the last thing I remember.
A survivor’s account of an umber hulk attack.

Lore: Diggy Diggy Hole

Burrowing beneath the earth in search of food, an umber hulk is a truly horrible creature. They hide within stone, using their sensitive hair-like feelers to sense its prey as they approach. With its ability to scramble the minds of its victims, those lucky few to survive an attack from one won’t have much to tell about it.

And… that’s it. There’s nothing else to these guys. No interesting history, no culture, no demon lord or god responsible for their creation. They’re just big bug monsters that live underground.

If you’re looking for an interesting encounter setup, this is the perfect pick. Maybe it could be part of a one-off or a side quest, wherein the party needs to go looking for an NPC that’s gone missing underground only to find it has been devoured by an umber hulk. Anything beyond that, however, you’ll need to find a different monster.

Design: Ant Farm Gone Wrong

Thanks, I hate it.

What kind of sound would this thing make?

When it comes to ‘monsters I wouldn’t want to meet in a dark cave and/or dungeon’, this one is definitely near the top of the list. Not just because it’s massive. Just imagining this thing busting out of the wall like the Kool-Aid Man and erasing your brain to eat you is some legitimate nightmare fuel.

It also just looks really creepy! Look at its face! Are those little black beads its eyes, or is it the big orange what-are-theys right beneath them? Plus the hair. I dunno, something about that just makes my skin crawl!

This is a solid design. It’s creepy, it’s unique, and it fits the creature perfectly. We’ve got a good one on our hands here.

Even if I hate it and I want them all to die in fire.

Stats: My Eyes Are Up Here

For the most part, an umber hulk is pretty simple to fight. It’s definitely a tough beastie, with a high AC and near triple-digit HP. Its attacks are straight-forward and do decent damage, if not much else. It would be a slugfest…

…if not for two unique abilities.

The first is Confusing Gaze. Should a player fail a saving throw, they lose their ability to take reactions until the start of its next turn. On each turn, they must roll a d8 to determine what they do. The results can be:

1-4: the creature does nothing
5-6: the creature takes no action but uses all their movement
7-8: the creature can make one attack against a random target, or do nothing

The other ability is Tunneler. This does just about what you’d expect. It lets it tunnel through stone. It’s a simple ability, but it adds a whole new dimension of movement options for it to use in combat.

Those two abilities make the fight so much more interesting. How do the players keep track of a monster who can burrow through the ground? How do they handle the hypnotic powers and how do they deal with the party members who do fall under its effects? It adds an extra layer of strategy that elevates it beyond a simple slugfest.

Placement

This is an alright entry. The lore is pretty weak, but the design and stats make up for it. Overall, a pretty good monster.

With all that in mind, the Umber Hulk is going to #63 on the Best of the Bestiary!

Beholder
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Umber Hulk <—————–
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