Souped-up Otyugh?

[Brianide]

I'm looking to amp out an otyugh to be a good boss battle for five level 5 heroes. I think I want it to be Huge instead of Large. It definitely needs some more HP as well to last more than a couple rounds. What else should I do?

[Tiny Coffee Golem]

Fiendish template

[Lincoln Hills]

Sounds like you've already decided on the Giant simple template. If you just want it to be a Really Big Otyugh, you could just put Advanced on it. For something truly exotic, you could choose one of the things that 'is not a disease but can be removed by remove disease" (such as russet mold infestation) and rule that the otyugh's resilience to infection has, instead of killing the otyugh, created a horrible symbiotic mass.

[CalebTGordan]

Here is a giant advanced one to look at. I believe the CR is actually 7, even though it says 6.

Keep in mind that the environment will also challenge the players. Having the walls all be with in 15 to 20 of the Otyugh will make people think twice about provoking within that 15ft. reach he has. Also, any exits or entrances shouldn't be straight hallways into the lair, but turn into it from an angle so any archers are forced to be within 20-30 of the beast. Difficult terrain in a a given, but if the place is filled with filth, consider having patches of slippery filth, requiring DC 10 acrobatics checks to move through (look at rules for ice for further inspiration.) Think of other hazards that might be used, like small pits the beast could just move over (5x5 holes for example,) falling rubble, or disease carrying piles of filth.

Lastly, you could consider giving the beast the swallow whole ability. He is of a large enough size that he could easily swallow a medium creature.

Giant Advanced Otyugh:

OTYUGH CR 6
Male Otyugh
NN Huge Aberration
Init +1; Senses Darkvision (60 feet), Scent; Perception +14
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DEFENSE
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AC 22, touch 9, flat-footed 21. . (+1 Dex, -2 size, +13 natural)
hp 63 (6d8+36)
Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +8
Immune disease
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OFFENSE
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Spd 20 ft.
Melee Bite (Otyugh) +10 (2d6+8/20/x2) and
. . Constrict (Otyugh) +10 (1d8+8/20/x2) and
. . Tentacle x2 (Otyugh) +6 x2 (1d8+4/20/x2)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks Grab
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STATISTICS
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Str 26, Dex 12, Con 21, Int 9, Wis 17, Cha 10
Base Atk +4; CMB +14 (+18 Grappling); CMD 25
Feats Alertness, Toughness +6, Weapon Focus: Tentacle
Skills Fly -3, Perception +14, Sense Motive +5, Stealth +2, Survival +12 Modifiers +8 Stealth in lair
Languages Common
SQ Disease (DC 18) (Ex)

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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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+8 Stealth in lair (Ex) You gain a bonus to Stealth Checks under the listed conditions.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Disease (DC 18) (Ex) Filth fever: Bite-injury; save Fortitude DC 14; onset 1d3 days; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Dex damage and 1d3 Con damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Grab (Huge) (Ex) You can start a grapple as a free action if you hit with the designated weapon.
Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases.
Scent (Ex) Detect opponents within 15+ feet by sense of smell.

Notice the Int score is 9. This means you could get away with playing the beast a little smarter then a regular otyugh. Maybe it goes to grab casters first, maybe it uses the environment in a cleaver way, or maybe it will forgo an attack of opportunity to use on someone else later.

There are more ways to create a challenging encounter then just beefing up the monster.

[Brianide]

Awesome, I'll check those options out. Plus, I can always give it a little more HP on the fly if it's getting knocked down too quick.

[Son of the Veterinarian]

The intelligence is important to remember. An Otyugh isn't just some dumb dungeon dweller, they are more than capable of forming long-term alliances with other monsters. In particular, a huge Otyugh like the one you want to create will most likely be the "king" of the local area.

It could have a cult of were-rats, goblins, or were-rat goblins serving it. It could be female and have a horde of baby Otyughs running around, as well as a smaller, harassed male trying to keep her fed so he doesn't end up as dinner.

A Otyugh that lives in a dumping ground for corpses (sacrificial victims perhaps) could have absorbed some of the knowledge from the brains of it's meals and have turned into a kind of mad oracle.

If you can stand to lose the idea of it being a huge creature, how about an Otyugh that attaches itself barnacle-like to the bottom of a large passenger ship or livestock transport, feeding off the garbage thrown overboard. It can flatten itself out, but is still large enough to affect the ship's handling. The PCs have to dive under the ship's hull and deal with the creature.