Sgauru: Slug of Nightmares

Creature Feature

By John Terra

Some well-traveled adventure-seekers classify monsters in two groups: "big and hideous" and "mean
and nasty." Sgauru is big, hideous, mean, and nasty. It's a creature that not only smashes buildings but
crushes spirits as well.

Sgauru is the only one of its species, a monster bred by the Yuuzhan Vong. Its name translates as
"bludgeon," although warmaster Tsavongh Lah nicknamed it "Biter." Sgauru is the junior partner of a
symbiotic team that includes Tu-Scart. Both creatures' origins and purposes are similar.

Sgauru resembles a giant, heavily muscled, segmented slug, 10 meters long. Its skin has flat, white
natural armor plating. It has six stubby front legs and a set of powerful pincers at its rear. Sgauru's head
is oversized but capable of being held upright thanks to powerful neck muscles. The beast's massive
head is just as armored as the rest of its body, allowing it to use its head like a wrecking ball without
causing itself undue pain or injury. From its mouth wriggle four dozen tentacles, each one four meters
long.

Sgauru's eyes are small, bright, and beady, a pair of glittering black jewels set against the dead white
of its head. Some eyewitnesses claim that Sgauru reminds them of a Sarlacc turned inside out. One
reason Sgauru is more disturbing than Tu-Scart has to do with how alien Sgauru looks in relation to its
symbiotic twin. After all, most cultures have some forms of snakes on their worlds, and Tu-Scart
"merely" looks like an oversized specimen of a serpent. Sgauru, on the other hand, is a hideously unique
life form, its constantly writhing mouth tentacles performing an unsettling dance of doom. By piecing
together accounts from victims terrorized by Sgauru, New Republic scientists and psychologists
speculate that Sgauru's aura of horror comes from a combination of its alien appearance, the disturbing
movement of its tentacles, and possibly a secreted pheromone. The creature radiates an aura of pure
psychological terror that demoralizes victims by virtue of its presence alone.

Along with its partner Tu-Scart, Sgauru travels aboard warmaster Tsavongh Lah's ship and is only
released on his personal say-so. Sgauru travels without incident during space travel, provided that its
surroundings are a pure Yuuzhan Vong environment. Only the sight and smell of inorganic alien objects
drives the creature into a destructive frenzy. When Sgauru is exposed to a less "pure" environment (for
example, one with buildings and machinery), it instinctively goes berserk and heads for the nearest
structure, intending to level it as quickly and brutally as possible. Handlers with amphistaffs guide the
creature if a particular target needs to be destroyed first.

Sgauru, along with Tu-Scart, exists for the sole purpose of aiding the Yuuzhan Vong in their divine
crusade to purge worlds of "blasphemous" artificial structures, such as buildings, machinery, and the
like. It focuses far more on destroying structures than it does on killing any living things. In fact, unless
outright attacked, Sgauru ignores living creatures and focuses on inorganic structures. (Tu-Scart
generally devours victims who try to flee from collapsing buildings.) If attacked, however, the monster
responds with ruthless, brutal force.

Sgauru's favorite tactic is to rear up using its powerful muscles and flail its thick, stubby legs against a
building. This is followed by a devastating head-smash that uses gravity to its full effect. Once a
building is demolished, Sgauru feeds off the debris, using its tentacles to better manipulate the pieces.
The monster's intense stomach acids are capable of breaking down just about every artificial material
known to the galaxy. Any living victim swallowed by Sgauru stands little chance of survival.
Although capable of operating alone, Sgauru is at its best when its symbiotic partner, Tu-Scart, is
within 10 meters or is making physical contact. When in symbiosis, the beasts share a telepathic link.
What one sees, hears, and feels, the other does as well. The mental link was bioengineered using the
same theories and methods that enable villips to communicate with each other over great distances.

Scientists have wondered of the potential consequences of prolonged symbiotic deprivation for Tu-Scart
and Sgauru. After all, some symbiotic species require the partners to remain in proximity in order to
stay alive. Unfortunately, most experts conclude that the symbiotic relationship is not one of life
dependency, but rather life enhancement. However, most of Sgauru's senses are woefully
underdeveloped. It relies on sensory information from its symbiotic partner, so if the link between
them were broken somehow, Sgauru would be rendered deaf and blind.

There is speculation that Sgauru is a female and Tu-Scart is male. This inevitably leads to the question
of whether or not the pair can mate. Any offspring resulting from such a union would no doubt feature
the worst traits of both parents, and the thought is best left unexplored. In terms of mortality, not
even the Yuuzhan Vong have any idea of Sgauru's lifespan. After five decades, both beasts are still
going strong, undiminished by time.

Being the lesser partner in the symbiotic relationship, Sgauru suffers from one critical weakness. If Tu-
Scart is slain, Sgauru must immediately make a Fortitude save (DC 20). If it fails, Sgauru dies as well.
Even if it makes the save, the shock forces Sgauru to remain motionless for one round, unable even to
defend itself. Tu-Scart, on the other hand, suffers no immediate ill effect if Sgauru were to die first,
other than possibly getting angrier. However, the pair is so closely linked that if one died in combat and
the other survived, the warmaster would turn the survivor into a sacrifice and grow a new symbiotic
pair.

As is the case with Tu-Scart, there can be only one Sgauru in existence at a time. In the unlikely event
that the current Sgauru is destroyed, another can be "grown" by Yuuzhan Vong master shapers in
3d10+30 standard days.

Sgauru: Predator 15; Init +4; Def 22 (+12 natural, +4 armored scales, -4 size); Spd 15m; VP/WP
100/140; Atk +11 melee (1d8+19 head slam), +9 melee (4d6+19 bite), +9 melee (6d6+19 pincers), +9
melee (4d6+19 6 front legs); SQ Immune to Force, Sense, and Alter, symbiosis, improved grab, reach,
swallow whole, terrifying presence, damage reduction 10, omnivorous, demolition, aura of horror; SV
Fort +21, Ref +9, Will +4; SZ G (10 m long); FP 0; Rep 5; Str 49, Dex 11, Con 34, Int 6, Wis 8, Cha 16.
Challenge Code G.

Skills: Intimidate +20, Listen +15, Survival +5.

Feats: Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Multi-Attack, Cleave.

Special Qualities: Symbiosis -- Sgauru maintains a symbiotic relationship with Tu-Scart. In order for the
symbiosis to be fully effective, Sgauru and Tu-Scart must be touching or, at least, no more than 10
meters apart. When in symbiosis, the monsters share all sensory input. They also communicate
mentally, functioning together as if they were a single entity. This communication allows them to use
rudimentary tactics. Telepathic communication counts as a Free Action, regardless of how detailed the
tactics are. Fortunately, the monsters aren't that bright, which precludes any detailed planning. All
skills and attacks gain a +4 bonus, and all attacks inflict maximum damage. When determining
initiative, roll each monster separately. Both monsters go at the highest initiative value. Thus, if
Sgauru's initiative roll is 13 and Tu-Scart's is 17, both creatures act on 17. When in symbiosis, Sgauru
and Tu-Scart are immune to all poisons, drugs, and other forms of chemical attack, and they can even
exist without atmosphere for a standard day.
Improved Grab -- Sgauru can bring six of its tentacles to bear against any one target. If at least two
tentacles hit a victim, the monster starts a grapple (see the grapple rules in Chapter 8 of the Star Wars
Roleplaying Game core rulebook).

Swallow Whole -- A victim swallowed by Sgauru suffers 5d6 points of acid damage per round. All actions
taken by the victim suffer a -10 penalty. In addition, the victim's entire collection of gear is "attacked"
by 30 points of acid damage automatically each round. This reflects the fact that Sgauru's digestive
system is best suited for inorganic materials; thus, such items suffer the full brunt of the internal
juices.

Omnivorous -- Sgauru can eat any organic or artificial object and derive nutritional sustenance from it.
It particularly favors artificial matter, savoring the unusual taste. If given a choice, Sgauru eats
inorganic matter before starting on living creatures.

Demolition -- Sgauru was created to demolish artificial constructs. When attacking buildings,
machinery, or other structures, Sgauru scores a Critical Hit on a roll of 17 through 20 and inflicts triple
damage.

Aura of Horror -- The aura functions exactly like Terrifying Presence, except that it automatically
affects all beings in a 20-meter radius of Sgauru. It's a free action, and Sgauru still uses Terrifying
Presence on one opponent during its initial round of combat.

About the Author

John was introduced to RPGs in 1978 when he was a sophomore in college. Since he began freelancing
in 1986, he's written for many role-playing systems and game worlds, including AD&D, Forgotten
Realms, Dark Sun, Dragonlance, Top Secret,TORG, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, DC
Heroes and Earthdawn, and he's also contributed to Dragon and Dungeon Magazines. John lives in
New Hampshire with his lovely fiancée, four kids, and a black cat named Spooky. He's also a big Star
Wars, H.P. Lovecraft, and Mystery Science Theater fan, though not all at the same time.

Here's another serving of material that didn't make it into the final version of The New Jedi Order
Sourcebook!

Spy on the Yuuzhan Vong in this free web enhancement for The New Jedi Order Sourcebook!