Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

This post is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

Otyughs have been in the game since at least AD&D 1st Edition, and are probably the game’s most unintentionally iconic monster. Fourth Edition leans into this iconic status and features them in both the Manual and the Vault.

The Lore

Otyughs are large, strange-looking beasts who feed on rotten organic matter. They love to hang out in dark places where such matter is plentiful, like fetid swamps, middens, sewers, mass graves, and so on. I think some editions make them sapient, but here they’re mostly just animals.

These beasts behave like ambush scavengers, something which you don’t find often in the real world. They bury themselves in mounds of filth, or submerge themselves in pools of tainted water and such. Their central tentacle contains their eyes and nostrils, so they use it to peek at their surroundings. They strike with their other two clawed tentacles at any unlucky creatures that pass by, kill them, and add them to the pile to wait until their flesh is rotten and good for eating. They will also eat whatever rot was already there, of course.

You can’t really tame an otyugh, but lots of people use them as natural garbage disposals because if you put them in your middens or sewers they’ll happily stay there. Less scrupulous people also use them as security systems, since they’ll attack any smartass adventurers who think they can invade your dungeon through its sewers.

There’s a small danger here, which is that if an otyugh’s trash pile doesn’t get renewed fast enough the thing will wander off in search of another. I imagine this isn’t a problem for a sewer in active use, but an “artificial” pile meant to house a guardian otyugh would need maintenance.

Otyughs aren’t very fast, but their brown mottled hides are excellent camouflage for their chosen habitat, their tentacles are strong and dangerous and, well, they smell like shit. It’s hard to handle a sword when you’re trying to hold your lunch in.

They also have a propensity to mutate, acquiring a coloration and perhaps other properties in line with its specific chosen environment. This makes them suceptible to external mutating energies as well, such as those of the Far Realm (or a Cocaine Wizard’s privy).

The Numbers (Monster Manual)

The MM only has one Otyugh stat block. It’s a Large Natural Beast, and a Level 7 Soldier with 82 HP. It has Darkvision and trained Perception, a land speed of 5 and a swim speed of 5. It’s immune to disease, and it pretty much has to be.

Otyughs are also trained in Stealth, and have a trait called Spying Eye for the eye-tentacle trick described in the Lore section which gives them a +10 bonus to Stealth when immersed in filth. This elevates its total bonus to +18, making it challenging to spot even for the party radar at equivalent levels.

Its Otyugh Stench is an aura 1 that inflicts a -2 attack penalty on any living enemies inside. It will mostly attack with its Tentacles, which are Reach 3, pull the target 2 squares and grab on a hit in addition to doing damage. By MM rules, the escape DC is 22 for Athletics and 16 for Acrobatics, due to the large disparity between the otyugh’s Fortitude and Reflexes.

Against adjacent targets the creature can use its Diseased Bite, which deals a little more damage than the tentacle and cause the target to contract filth fever.

This is standard Filth Fever, not a specific variant. It’s a level 3 disease whose Improve and Maintain DCs are 16 and 11. Stage 1 eats a healing surge. Stage 2 adds a -2 penalty to AC, Fortitude, and Reflex. Stage 3 keeps the penalty, eats all of your healing surges and prevents you from recovering hit points.

This is one of those cases where the first stage is an annoyance, but you really don’t want to let the disease progress to stage 3 (also known as “sepsis”).

The Numbers (Monster Vault)

We have three otyughs here, extending their viability as threats into the early paragon tier. In the Monster Vault rules, disease transmission isn’t automatic. You need to make a save after a fight in which you were exposed, and only contract the disease if you fail.

Otyugh

This one is an update of the MM Otyugh. Still a level 7 soldier with 82 HP, it fights in much the same way. I’ll note the differences.

The damage from all of its attacks has been updated. The tentacles have a fixed escape DC of 16, and the diseased bite deals extra damage against grappled targets. Spying Eye is gone as a separate trait, though the creature’s Stealth bonus of +13 means it does still get a boost here.

The bite’s disease is named Lesser Otyugh Filth Fever and has the exact same stats despite being level 7. I guess the level 3 in the MM was a typo. Its text does clarify that when you reach Stage 3, you can no longer make Endurance tests to recover naturally.

Charnel Otyugh

A specimen that likely spent too long hanging out in cemeteries or battlefields. Or maybe the pet of some lich or vampire. Still a Large Natural Beast, this one is a Level 10 Elite Soldier with 212 HP and a host of necrotic powers.

The Stench is still here, with identical effects. Its basic tentacle attack is the Charnel Lash, which works like the standard otyugh tentacle attack with an escape DC of 18 and ongoing necrotic damage on top of the other effects (save ends).

The charnel otyugh can use Life Leech against a grabbed target, a minor-action attack against Fortitude that deals 10 necrotic damage and heals the monster for 5 HP on a hit.

Its Rotting Bite also has an ongoing necrotic damage rider, and transmits Greater Otyugh Filth Fever, a level 11 version of the disease with an Improve DC of 19 and a Maintain DC of 13. Its effects are the same otherwise.

The monster can also flail its tentacles around in a Charnel Frenzy (Close Burst 3; recharge 5-6) dealing a bit less damage than the basic attack but still inflicting ongoing necrotic damage.

Neo-Otyugh

An otyugh mutated by the Far Realm, either from being exposed to a rift or from eating aberrant creatures. Unlike its lesser relatives it’s a Huge Aberrant Magical Beast, meaning its sapient! Its Int is 7, making it as smart as a hill giant.

Neo-Otyughs are Level 11 Elite Controllers with 232 HP. Their land and swim speeds go up to 7 from the usual 5. Their Stench is an aura 2 with the same effects, and they also have Threatening Reach.

Their Tentacles are Reach 4, and aside from the usual damage a hit pulls 3 squares and grabs (DC 19). The usual bite has been upgraded to a Massive Maw of Decay (close blast 2)! It does physical damage plus ongoing necrotic damage, and exposes anyone hit to Greater Otyugh Filth Fever. It also does extra damage against grabbed targets.

As if this wasn’t enough, Neo-Otyughs have psychic powers. Disgusting Lure (Ranged 20 vs. Will) is a minor-action attack that does a bit of psychic damage and a larger amount if the target doesn’t end their next turn adjacent to the Otyugh.

The neo-otyugh can also used a grabbed victim as a Body Shield when hit by an attack. This isn’t automatic, and requires an attack against the grabbed victim’s Fortitude. On a success, the attack hits the victim instead of the monster.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

We have two in the MM, exemplifying the two most common otyugh fight scenarios.

  • Level 7: 1 otyugh and an assortment of troglodytes. The trogs use the otyugh as a garbage disposal and will try to push meddlesome adventurers towards it.

  • Level 7: 2 otyughs and 2 carrion crawlers. Carrion crawlers are opportunists and will often hang around otyughs to steal their kills.

As I said back in the introduction, to me Otyughs are an iconic part of D&D. If I see an otyugh in a story of any type, I know it’s not just a fantasy story, but specifically a D&D one. So while I don’t exactly find them cool, I like them in that capacity.