Huge fiend (demon), chaotic evil
Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points 310 (23d12 + 161)
Speed 40 ft.
Proficiency Bonus +6
Proficiency Bonus +10 (5th Edition Advanced Mode)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 (+7) | 11 (+0) | 25 (+7) | 6 (-1) | 13 (+1) | 14 (+2) |
Saving Throws Str +13, Dex +6, Con +13, Wis +7
Skills Athletic +14 (suggested), Perception +7
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft. (suggested 360 ft.), passive Perception 17
Languages Abyssal
Challenge 17 (18000 XP)
Charge. If the goristro moves at least 15 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 38 (7d10) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 21 Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 20 feet away and knocked prone.
Crushing Blow (suggested). Goristro’s fist attacks have a chance to shatter objects carried by the target. Anytime the goristro successfully hit with its fist attack, the target must make a DC 22 dexterity saving throw. If the saving throw fails, then one piece of equipment is shattered by the blow. Weapons are destroyed first, then armors or shields, and at last items carried inside the backpack. Soft materials are immune to the crushing blow.
Deadly Blows (suggested). If the goristro successfully hits with both fists the same target in the same round, then the target must make a successful DC 22 constitution saving throw. If the saving throw fails, then add one level of failure to the character’s death saves.
Labyrinthine Recall. The goristro can perfectly recall any path it has traveled.
Magic Resistance. The goristro has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration (suggested). The goritro regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. The goristro dies only if it starts its turn with -25 hit points.
Siege Monster. The goristro deals double damage to objects and structures.
Trample (suggested). The goristro can trample any medium or smaller creature that come across its path as part of its movement, this ability counts as a free action. No attack roll is required. The trample inflicts 29 (5d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage. The target may avoid the trampling as a reaction by making a successful DC 17 dexterity saving throw. This ability triggers attacks of opportunity.
ACTIONS
- Multiattack. The goristro makes three attacks: two with its fists and one with its hoof
- Multiattack (suggested). The goristro makes three attacks: two with its fists and one with its hoof or three hurl boulders attacks.
- Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage.
- Hoof. Melee Weapon Attack:+ 13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 23 (3d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 21 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
- Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 45 (7d10 + 7) piercing damage.
- Hurl Boulders (suggested). Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 60/240 ft., one target. Hit: 29 (4d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage.
5th Edition Advanced Mode
Limiting the power of a character and making the overall difficulty of the game harder, does not reduce the creativity, indeed it does quite the opposite.
The Game Master has the option to use any and all of the instances proposed in this guide, or just some of them according to their preference.
It is the lack of something that move and motivate characters, not the abundance of it
DESCRIPTION
A goristro is a massive demon that resembles a fiendish minotaur. It has a broad, lumbering frame that stands over 20 feet tall and weighs more than 14,000 pounds. Its arms are long and wide like tree trunks, and it moves on its knuckles like a giant gorilla. Its head is similar to a leering bison, with carnivorous teeth and huge horns that curve upward. Its skin can be dark brown, sickly green, or purplish gray, and it may have markings indicating its master, such as collars, bands, tattoos, or horn carvings. A goristro is a fearsome sight to behold, and a terrifying foe to face.
Collectively known as goristroi, these huge tanar’ri can be found on nearly any plane of the Abyss, for they are adaptable and much desired by the rulers of the place to serve as engines of destruction. Abyssal lords and powers are able to command the goristroi and keep them serving as guardians, enforcers, siege engines, and so on. The hulking goristroi are too stupid and bestial to do more than carry out their orders, and thus their status never reaches that of the true tanar’ri.
COMBAT
A goristro is a brute force combatant that relies on its immense strength and durability to crush its enemies. It has no subtlety or strategy, and will charge headlong into battle, smashing anything in its path with its horns, fists, or feet. It can also hurl large objects or creatures with ease, or grapple and bite its opponents. A goristro is resistant to most forms of damage, and immune to poison. It can see in the dark and through invisibility, and has some degree of magic resistance. A goristro is also a siege monster, capable of dealing double damage to objects and structures. A goristro’s greatest weakness is its lack of intelligence and willpower. It can be easily fooled, distracted, or dominated by more cunning foes. It also has a voracious appetite for living things, and will not hesitate to eat anything that moves, even if it is not edible or beneficial.
HABITAT / SOCIETY
A goristro is native to the Abyss, the chaotic evil plane of infinite layers where demons dwell. It can be found in any layer that suits its preferences, such as wastelands, jungles, mountains, or underground caverns. A goristro is usually solitary or part of a small herd of its kind, roaming the Abyss in search of prey or destruction. A goristro has no loyalty or respect for other demons, except for those who are stronger or more powerful than itself. A goristro may serve a demon lord or another master who can control it with magic or intimidation, but it will always resent its servitude and look for an opportunity to rebel or escape. A goristro may also be summoned by mortal spellcasters who seek to use its might for their own purposes, but such an act is extremely dangerous and often ends in disaster.
ECOLOGY
A goristro is a living engine of chaos and evil that exists only to destroy and consume. It has no natural predators or competitors in the Abyss, except for other demons who may challenge it for territory or resources. A goristro does not need food to survive, but it enjoys eating living things for the sheer pleasure of killing and devouring them. It does not care if something is actually edible or nutritious; it will eat anything that fits in its mouth and moves, such as animals, plants, rocks, metal, or even magic items. A goristro does not reproduce naturally; new goristros are created by the spontaneous generation of the Abyss or by the will of powerful demon lords who shape them from raw chaos. A goristro has no culture or society of its own; it follows only its primal instincts and urges. A goristro has no redeeming qualities or potential for redemption; it is an embodiment of pure evil that must be destroyed or banished by any means necessary.
From the third volume of “Deception And Strategems”, by the pit fiend Mellagorus:
Though the lumbering goristroi are excellent at climbing sheer stone faces and though these assaults can break our fortications, such strategies also present us with an opportunity to destroy the beasts.
Their powerful clawed fingers can make handholds in sheer stone, but their enormous size makes them vulnerable to falls, and they suffer twice the damage a smaller creature might from a fall.
The goristroi are especially afraid of Bigby’s forceful hand, dig, fly, levitation, and other spells that can push them off the heights to be broken on the rocks below or, even more amusingly, onto the weapons of their fellow tanar’ri.
Weak-minded goristroi are also vulnerable to spells such as cause fear, fear, symbol of fear, and repulsion, which drive them off walls.
For all these reasons, arcanaloth are the best countermeasures to employ against goristroi assaults on an entrenched position on the height.
Fools though they are, tanar’ri commanders rarely order a goristro over the walls unless the situation is desperate or a diversionary attack has drawn off most of the defenders.
Take this as a sign of weakness and counterattack.
Usually solitary, goristroi are only important among their kin because of their ability to absorb damage and to mete it out.
They are stupid and otherwise limited in power, unable even to gate in other tanar’ri. The vast majority of goristroi encountered are in the service of some Abyssal ruler, blindly carrying out the duties assigned to them with complete fanaticism.
There is never a question of retreat or morale when dealing with these brutes, though the threat of long falls can induce paralysis on the field of action. In all other respects, they always continue to follow their given commands until completion or death occurs.
In the Blood War the goristroi serve as siege engines and rallying points for lesser tanar’ri, much as elephants do among some prime-material worlds.
A goristroi citadel is a platform strapped to the creature’s head and shoulders like a helmet. The tanar’ri carries this citadel as a lesser creature might carry a knapsack; it hardly seems aware of it.
Again from Mellagorus’ “Deception And Strategems“
Goristroi citadels are dangerous and best kept busy with cannon fodder and inferior troops, but if they can be broken the lesser troops surrounding them are usually routed. The best way to accomplish this is to harry a goristro from two directions.
The retarded behemoth will turn from one attack to the other, unconscious of the fact that its rapid movements are shaking and battering the creatures within the citadel to death. At this point flying troops such as abishai can take the citadel and slay the goristro by a surgical strike to the neck with axes, polearms, and cleavers.
Goristroi ruled by an Abyssal lord or power always wear some symbol of servitude, such as a collar, an arm or wrist band, or an implanted symbol. Such devices zypically have the power to conves telepathic commands to the wearer as well as serve as tracking devices should the masters wish to know the whereabouts of their servants.
Without direct command or supervision, goristroi tend to wander off on destructive rampages of their own direction and desire.
Goristroi do not breed naturally. They are carefully mated by their owners after extensive negotiations, eventually resulting in a single young. The goristroi are carefully watched throughout the entire process, for fear of foul play by the other side, such as an attempt to slay these valuable beasts.
Generally, the terms are that the owner of the male goristroi gains the female young, and the owner of the mother is entitled to the male young produced. The young grow to maturity within five voracious, screaming years.
This allows the lucky owner to breed further young on his own, albeit inbred ones. However, abductions, infanticide (if the young is the wrong gender), and even outright purchases of the live young are fairy common. Under no circumstances are the parents allowed to have any influence on the young goristro.