Delver

Huge Aberration
Hit Dice:	15d8+78 (145 hp)
Initiative:	+5
Speed:	30 ft. (6 squares), burrow 10 ft.
Armor Class:	24 (–⁠2 size, +1 Dex, +15 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 23
Base Attack/Grapple:	+11/+27
Attack:	Slam +17 melee (1d6+8 plus 2d6 acid)
Full Attack:	2 slams +17 melee (1d6+8 plus 2d6 acid)
Space/Reach:	15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks:	Corrosive slime
Special Qualities:	Darkvision 60 ft., immunity to acid, stone shape, tremorsense 60 ft.
Saves:	Fort +12, Ref +6, Will +11
Abilities:	Str 27, Dex 13, Con 21, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 12
Skills:	Knowledge (dungeoneering) +14, Knowledge (nature) +4, Listen +20, Move Silently +17, Spot +20, Survival +14 (+16 underground)
Feats:	Alertness, Blind-Fight, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Toughness
Environment:	Underground
Organization:	Solitary
Challenge Rating:	9
Treasure:	None
Alignment:	Usually neutral
Advancement:	16–30 HD (Huge); 31–45 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment:	—

A huge creature burrows through the solid rock wall. Its teardrop-shaped, rocky body glistens with slime, and it uses the blunt claws of its two great appendages to clear away the debris.

The delver is a bizarre creature that lives in the depths of the earth, burrowing through solid stone with the help of a corrosive slime it secretes from its rocklike skin.

Delvers are shy and mostly inoffensive, but rogue specimens with murderous streaks are not unknown. They feed on stone and may even devour creatures such as xorns and earth elementals. A delver burrowing through stone leaves behind a usable tunnel about 10 feet in diameter.

The slime covering a delver’s body is highly corrosive. The creature feeds by dissolving rock with its slime and shoving the resulting goo under its body, the underside of which is almost all mouth.

A delver eats rock but enjoys various nonmetallic minerals as seasonings in the same way that a human enjoys spices. Adventurers might secure information and assistance from a delver by offering it tasty minerals (usually gems) or pick-me-ups (such as coins). Metal is an intoxicant to delvers. Some delvers become addicted to metal and are a menace to miners and anyone who carries metal equipment.

Combat

A delver prefers to fight from its tunnel, which it uses to protect its flanks while lashing out with its flippers.

A delver expecting trouble may honeycomb an area with tunnels, leaving most closed with layers of stone 1 or 2 inches thick. The delver can quickly dissolve the stone cover and pop up to attack unexpectedly.

Corrosive Slime (Ex): A delver produces a mucuslike slime that contains a highly corrosive substance. The slime is particularly effective against stone.

A delver’s mere touch deals 2d6 points of acid damage to organic creatures or objects. Against metallic creatures or objects, a delver’s slime deals 4d8 points of damage, and against stony creatures (including earth elementals) or objects it deals 8d10 points of damage. A slam attack by a delver leaves a patch of slime that deals 2d6 points of damage on contact and another 2d6 points of damage in each of the next 2 rounds. A large quantity (at least a quart) of water or weak acid, such as vinegar, washes off the slime.

An opponent’s armor and clothing dissolve and become useless immediately unless the wearer succeeds on a DC 22 Reflex save. Weapons that strike a delver also dissolve immediately unless the wielder succeeds on a DC 22 Reflex save.

A creature attacking a delver with natural weapons takes damage from its slime each time an attack hits unless the creature succeeds on a DC 22 Reflex save. These save DCs are Constitution-based.

Stone Shape (Ex): A delver can alter its slime to temporarily soften stone instead of dissolving it. Once every 10 minutes, a delver can soften and shape up to 25 cubic feet of stone, as a stone shape spell (caster level 15th).