Just so we're on the same page here, Krispy and Deriven - I'm talking about the encounter called...That's silly and crazy.
Ugh.
Definitely would change that one if I were running it...
I am running Age of Ashes (the party is near the end of Book 5), and i do remember the encounter with this monster. It was hell, and the party did a run, run, brave sir robin from the fight!
Next we are set on doing Extinction Curse and i will for sure change that encounter, as written it is asking for a TPK....
My party fought it too, same AP, and they took damage from the maws it materialized, thought they could hurt it by targeting them and its eyes, then used seek in the area the initial voice had come from - the stove in the kitchen - and found it there, druid cast stone to flesh to remove high resistance to anything but adamantine, and they took it down. Not easily, but not with particular difficulty either. Interesting monster for sure, wish its abilities were better described in the MM.
My party fought it too, same AP, and they took damage from the maws it materialized, thought they could hurt it by targeting them and its eyes, then used seek in the area the initial voice had come from - the stove in the kitchen - and found it there, druid cast stone to flesh to remove high resistance to anything but adamantine, and they took it down. Not easily, but not with particular difficulty either. Interesting monster for sure, wish its abilities were better described in the MM.
And how many turns did it take them to find it with Seek? At DC 41, appropriate for a level 20+ obstacle, its no easy task - essentially requiring that the party bust out a good die roll - and run strictly as RAW its a Secret check, meaning they don't have any idea how they're rolling, or whether they're failing because they're looking in the wrong spot or they've rolled badly.
I don't do secret checks, admittedly, and that might have helped them. They were all gathered in this regular room though so one seeked while the others aided, and it wasn't really all that long before they found it. It had also talked before, as per written in the room description.
Anyways they've become real monsters. I remember when bosses gave them tough, even despairing fights... nowadays they bulldoze over everything in their path. 15th level. I think I'm doing something wrong, plus the critical hits deck really makes the fighter something out of Dragonball Z (It's over 9000!!).
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I don't do secret checks, admittedly, and that might have helped them. They were all gathered in this regular room though so one seeked while the others aided, and it wasn't really all that long before they found it. It had also talked before, as per written in the room description.
Anyways they've become real monsters. I remember when bosses gave them tough, even despairing fights... nowadays they bulldoze over everything in their path. 15th level. I think I'm doing something wrong, plus the critical hits deck really makes the fighter something out of Dragonball Z (It's over 9000!!).
No. You're not doing anything wrong. At 15th level the PCs become real nightmares to challenge. 15th level is some kind of power level.
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No. You're not doing anything wrong. At 15th level the PCs become real nightmares to challenge. 15th level is some kind of power level.I don't do secret checks, admittedly, and that might have helped them. They were all gathered in this regular room though so one seeked while the others aided, and it wasn't really all that long before they found it. It had also talked before, as per written in the room description.
Anyways they've become real monsters. I remember when bosses gave them tough, even despairing fights... nowadays they bulldoze over everything in their path. 15th level. I think I'm doing something wrong, plus the critical hits deck really makes the fighter something out of Dragonball Z (It's over 9000!!).
It's because they finally start hitting legendary in stuff, and the flood gates start open.
Thank you for the comforting words you guys =)
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I don't do secret checks, admittedly, and that might have helped them.To echo earlier posters there's nothing wrong with letting the players play the game (=roll the dice themselves).
But it DOES significantly lower the difficulty of finding hidden things, and we who don't do secret rolls need to respect that our experiences aren't valid in a RAW discussion.
In other words, yes, your characters found and destroyed the monster. That does not change the fact it is very likely a design failure, since by RAW it will eat a level-appropriate group for breakfast.
In this case, it's actually pretty demoralizing. At 13th level, even a master in perception with 18 wis is only at a 23, (13+6+4 attribute) by my math meaning they need an 18 to successfully find the darned thing. Any worse and you're realistically only on a 20. A rogue is slightly better but far from reliable.
Its just bad all around. I feel like someone made a mistake with some assumption when this was created...
So that DC needs to come way down, and the text needs to more clearly state that the creature needs line of sight to those it attacks (which would prevent the "princess is in another castle shenanigans).
Maybe reduce the area of stone it can manipulate as well. By half maybe?
Do you think that would about cover it?
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So that DC needs to come way down, and the text needs to more clearly state that the creature needs line of sight to those it attacks (which would prevent the "princess is in another castle shenanigans).
Maybe reduce the area of stone it can manipulate as well. By half maybe?
Do you think that would about cover it?
It clearly states they don't need line of effect to make the attacks and that while the infestation aura is active they can see anywhere in the aura able to make eyes and mouths everywhere.
What I would like made more clear is whether you have to seek them while they are attacking. Is it a 4th level invisibility effect or once they attack are they visible? Right now I'm going with not invisible. Impersonate in no way stops someone from seeing you attacking. It merely allows you to blend in until you attack.
For example, if an assassin is impersonating a waiter, you won't know he's there to kill you until he attacks. But once he attacks, you'll still be able to clearly see him attacking.
The Grikkitog can blend into stone so you don't notice it. But once it attacks, you should be able to clearly see it attacking if you have line of sight to it because Impersonate does not make an attack unseen or hidden. It just allows them to blend in with their stone surroundings until they attack.
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die roll - and run strictly as RAW its a Secret check, meaning they don't have any idea how they're rolling, or whether they're failing because they're looking in the wrong spot or they've rolled badly.
This is the biggest problem, IMO. Seems cover such a small area that someone who doesn't spot something is more likely to start rolling on new areas.
Though this does make options like Scent pretty clutch.
The more I think about this, the more I think you should be able to attack the manifestations. The monster feeds on people through. That suggests they are extensions of its body and you should be able to hit them like any other monster whose jaws are grabbing you. This actually still leaves room for an interesting challenge, in that the creature can fight defensively by not leaving the manifestations out, but that still leaves the players readied actions and more time to Seek the core.
It clearly states they don't need line of effect to make the attacks and that while the infestation aura is active they can see anywhere in the aura able to make eyes and mouths everywhere.So that DC needs to come way down, and the text needs to more clearly state that the creature needs line of sight to those it attacks (which would prevent the "princess is in another castle shenanigans).
Maybe reduce the area of stone it can manipulate as well. By half maybe?
Do you think that would about cover it?
I'd like to think that I was being pretty clear in that I was stating how things probably SHOULD be, rather than how they ARE.
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That it can attack without revealing itself is the real problem here.
Can it do so automatically though? The rules text of Impersonate might be of help here:
"Success You trick the creature into thinking you’re the person you’re disguised as. You might have to attempt a new check if your behavior changes."
The second part could be interpreted as meaning the grikkitog needs to make a new check to remain hidden every time it attacks, until it spends three actions to Implant Core once again.
That it can attack without revealing itself is the real problem here.Can it do so automatically though? The rules text of Impersonate might be of help here:
"Success You trick the creature into thinking you’re the person you’re disguised as. You might have to attempt a new check if your behavior changes."
The second part could be interpreted as meaning the grikkitog needs to make a new check to remain hidden every time it attacks, until it spends three actions to Implant Core once again.
Impersonate does not allow you stay undetected when attacking. Not sure why anyone continues to interpret it this way when there is zero rules support to indicate it allows this.
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Impersonate does not allow you stay undetected when attacking. Not sure why anyone continues to interpret it this way when there is zero rules support to indicate it allows this.
This is incorrect on several levels.
The Impersonate activity does not interact with Attacking in any way. The word 'attack' doesn't even appear in its entry.
Secondly, the Grikkitog (and anyone else using the Impersonate activity) is never undetected as a result of the activity. Levels of awareness aren't relevant to this discussion at all.
Saying "Impersonate does not allow you to stay undetected" is technically true, but also misleading because it was never undetected in the first place and being undetected has nothing to do with how the ability works.
Impersonate does not allow you stay undetected when attacking. Not sure why anyone continues to interpret it this way when there is zero rules support to indicate it allows this.This is incorrect on several levels.
The Impersonate activity does not interact with Attacking in any way. The word 'attack' doesn't even appear in its entry.
Secondly, the Grikkitog (and anyone else using the Impersonate activity) is never undetected as a result of the activity. Levels of awareness aren't relevant to this discussion at all.
Saying "Impersonate does not allow you to stay undetected" is technically true, but also misleading because it was never undetected in the first place and being undetected has nothing to do with how the ability works.
Then why is level of awareness the primary point of discussion? That is what is confusing people.
It is true in the context of the ability as it is being discussed. Impersonate allows it to blend in with the stone for purposes of "hiding" in a stony environment. Which is no different than someone impersonating an orc and blending in with a group of orcs. Once the orc impersonator attacks, it is no longer blending in with the orcs. Thus you can see it and attack it if you have line of sight.
Once it attacks, you can see and attack the core. Impersonate does not make you undetected or invisible. It's only advantage is blending in with stone before attacking, so that it would take a high Perception check to determine it is there before it attacks just like if you studied a group of orcs you wouldn't be able to pick out the orc impersonator until it attacked.
It is no different.
It looks like a stone.
Then it still looks like a stone.
Except now it's attacking you (or manipulating its surroundings to attack you). I can see how the monster might appear to remain quiescent, yet nothing suggests that and it lacks Stealth to mask its presence. So it's visible and it's also fighting. One might conclude it's an elemental due to its disguise; it still appears as a stone that's attacking. The situation's not straightforward since one can easily imagine far worse (and obviously have), but pared to the basics, the monster has to be exposed to the air for its aura and cannot hide well. It's meant to be revealed. (Though yes, one could plant it on the opposite side of a wall, yet that seems to go against the spirit of being exposed. Even worse could be a chasm or wall of lava, though maybe parties can handle that at such levels.)
I have to imagine choosing Deception instead of Stealth was intentional by Paizo, making this an excellent ambush predator (akin to the old Trapper) or a hit-and-run predator (though the 3-action Implant hinders that), yet nothing like the unfindable slaughter-beast some have pictured it as. Not that it mightn't grab people at a distance and ruin their day.
And its aura is what allows it to attack from alternate directions, leading me to ask if auras (not the kind that need a detect spell) are visible or not. I generally feel active auras are visible, even a Champion's, such is the glow of their presence, i.e. original Paladin in Hell art. With the alterations to spell emanations over the years, I'm unsure of the official interpretation.
Once it attacks, you can see and attack the core. Impersonate does not make you undetected or invisible.
If I impersonate a city guard and attack someone, does everyone suddenly realize I'm not a city guard as soon as I make an attack? I'm not aware of anything in the rules that makes it so.
So if the wall behind me turns into a mouth and bites me, how do I suddenly know the Perfectly Normal Rock on the other side of the cave is responsible?
Its a GM call to allow that - I dont see anything in the rules that indicates its a Rules as Written call, though.
Observers should be able to determine which city guard attacked, or which city guards are involved in combat vs. sitting around idly.
An Animated Statue could still look like several inanimate statues around it, but once it attacks, it's obvious who's the enemy even though all the statues look the same.
Giving the Grikkitog the ability to remain perfectly still while engaged in combat is what's causing issues. That's not one of its abilities.
ETA: It's not a "Perfectly Normal Rock", it's a "Rock in combat; alert, active, and ready to dodge attacks". That may seem nonsensical yet I think it's our real-world interpretation of rocks that's interfering. The monster keeps looking like a rock, yes, but that doesn't mask its actions nor hide it from observation.
Yeah, if you enable players to harm the Grikkitog by attack the limbs/maws in it's 120ft range and to notice them (and maybe the point at which it's buried itself) after it starts attacking then the monster becomes trivial.
The question is what was the intention of the monster?
Because if it was "it doesn't reveal itself and can't attack it's limbs/maws" then it's just a murder machine that the party can basically only run away from or get very lucky to locate.
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The issue is that the core of the creature does not move, glow, make noise, or otherwise do ANYTHING other than simply exist in order to make its attacks, it has a dangerous melee attack with the range of a longbow that it uses without doing anything at all to reveal itself as even existing let alone point to where its location is.
Heck, the maw itself isn't even a part of its body, it's simply another section of stone that is in no way connected to the core that just animates into a natural weapon that exists for only as long as it takes to make the attack.
Additionally, there is almost never a situation where this creature does NOT have Concealment and at least Partial Cover since it will at all times be embedded in the stone which further complicates things in terms of locating and actually attacking it and gives it a dramatic boost to its defenses in the form of a Flat check and an AC that's even higher than what is listed in its statblock. Given that it can attack within 120 feet of itself even if it is found it only takes 1 action for it to fully submerge itself in the stone and become totally hidden+undetected for any creature without precise tremor sense.
As written this monster is a TPK machine if the party cannot escape it when it is used to its full potential by a competent GM. The only way to even bring this down to an Extreme Encounter is for the GM to be lenient and/or mistakenly run it a VERY sub-optimal and borderline suicidal fashion.
Yeah, if you enable players to harm the Grikkitog by attack the limbs/maws in it's 120ft range and to notice them (and maybe the point at which it's buried itself) after it starts attacking then the monster becomes trivial..
Trivial might be overselling this. It still has high AC, athletics, attack, and damage, and saves, HP, and resistance about where it would be for any combat critter. All it otherwise lacks is actions economy enhancers beyond Barbed Maw, which is also pretty good.
Heck, the maw itself isn't even a part of its body, it's simply another section of stone that is in no way connected to the core that just animates into a natural weapon that exists for only as long as it takes to make the attack.
This is the assumption I was making, based off of examples in media like Pride from Full Metal Alchemist. But I'm pretty sure this isn't right. When a creature is grabbed, Barbed Maw "feeds upon its flesh" which implies the Grikkitog is eating and gaining nutrients through part of its body. Also, the core itself isn't any different than the manifestations. It is just rock that the parasite has infested with its essence.
It also creates the most balanced encounter, so.
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I for one certainly wouldn't apply cover and concealment rules should the PCs find the core.
Seems like unnecessary, unsupported overkill.
I for one certainly wouldn't apply cover and concealment rules should the PCs find the core.
Seems like unnecessary, unsupported overkill.
I'm fairly certain that these advantages are intended* to be represented by its Resistance 10 (except adamantine).
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I for one certainly wouldn't apply cover and concealment rules should the PCs find the core.
Seems like unnecessary, unsupported overkill.
Overkill? Yeah, for sure. But unsupported? Absolutely not, the creature exists in its base form almost completley submerged in a SOLID material that surrounds 5/6th of its body in stone and I don't know what I'd call that if not concealment and cover, hell a character swimming in water gets these benefits and it's much easier to atttack something swimming in that than being submerged in solid stone.
That'd be cover (maybe greater), not concealment.
(Not asserting whether I'd apply it or not.)
Once it attacks, you can see and attack the core. Impersonate does not make you undetected or invisible.
If I impersonate a city guard and attack someone, does everyone suddenly realize I'm not a city guard as soon as I make an attack? I'm not aware of anything in the rules that makes it so.
So if the wall behind me turns into a mouth and bites me, how do I suddenly know the Perfectly Normal Rock on the other side of the cave is responsible?
Its a GM call to allow that - I dont see anything in the rules that indicates its a Rules as Written call, though.
No, but you know the city guard is attacking and can attack back.
Just as you know the stone is attacking you and can attack back.
Nothing in impersonate indicates you can't.
Nowhere does it say the Grikkitog can attack while keeping it's eyes close or you can't see it's mouth or base core stuck in the wall.
I'm not saying you as a GM can't work that way. I'm saying that I don't plan to give abilities it doesn't have listed like attacking while completely invisible or undetected.
I see it as being inside or otherwise covered by the material in the same way that an earth elemental is. That is, attacking the earth of its core is like attacking another creature's flesh. Unless it is actively buried due to burrowing or something, I just don't think it would benefit from such bonuses "simply for being" while on the surface.
I suppose it could only have a small portion of its Huge-sized core sticking out of the surface of the ground, and get improved cover that way, but once again, that seems like overkill on an already difficult challenge to me.
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Don't know if this "solution" works as I am neither a GM nor do I have access to the bestiary but hear me out:
1. Cast Animate Dead, spell level 6 or 7.
2. Chose Wraith or Dread Wraith according to the level of spell used.
3. You now have a speed 40ft or 60ft flying minion that can speak common and has lifesense 60ft.
The idea is to have a flying minion (i.e. being immune to the Grikkitogs melee attacks) that can cover a huge area with its special sense (not entirely sure about this because AoN is not mentioning if it is a precise, imprecise or vague sense, however I do think that despite all his attempts to impersonate rock the Grikkitog will still register as a living being), and which can describe the location of its findings because it can communicate with the party.
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I'm not as concerned as many are here since I am running Age of Ashes, and in the adventure...
Perhaps in other situations it can be quite deadly, but as presented above it is quite reasonable. I think the Moderate 12 rating is fine for this encounter as written.
I would not apply cover or concealment, because the monster entry mentions neither of those things.
It is sitting there fully visible out in the open. It is "hiding in plain sight" which is just an expression, because Stealth and Observed/Hidden doesn't come into this.
The comparison with a city guard isn't applicable, like at all, since this monster attacks by having entirely different areas sprout the eyes and the maws it needs for precise attacks.
These areas are not connected to the monster, and attacking them gives the same results as whacking the floor with your sword - no results at all. (You're attacking the monster's Aura, not the monster itself or any of its appendages)
ONLY by spending actions on Seek can you pinpoint the position of the monster. (Unless you happen to have one out of a small selection of "I win" spells at the ready, which is FAR from given) Once you have done that, yes, the fight becomes, if not trivial, then straight-forward. The monster is right there, and isn't protected by anything that bothers a level 14 hero.
But that's a huge huge if.
First, you must seek the correct area. The Grikkitog's area is HUGE, and needs DOZENS of Seek cones.
Then you must beat the very very hard Deception DC.
Thirdly, remember that Seek checks are secret. Just because the GM tells you "you don't find anything" doesn't mean you aren't looking straight at the Grikkitog.
Mathematically, if you must roll an 17 to succeed, you need to make five (yes 5!) Seek checks before you can reliably say "it's not here" since you only roll a success once every five rolls on average. (You can theoretically stand looking at the Grikkitog ALL DAY LONG and never spot it, but that's not likely).
You need to do this = spending whole rounds doing nothing but staring intently at a small patch of rocky terrain WHILE something is eating you and your friends.
AND EVEN IF you do find it quickly, it has all the abilities it needs to simply retreat down into stone, and repeating the cycle from...
Nowhere in the rules or the creature is it stated that the creature remains hidden or undetected while attacking. That is where I think so many of us are going wrong by assuming Impersonate acts as hidden once it attacks if you have line of sight to the creature.
That's my take for ruling using available rules. Once it is active, you can see it if you have line of site. Prior to attacking you must make a Perception check to spot it Impersonating stone.
But as is usual, run it as you see fit. I ran exactly as you stated when I first ran it. It got quite ugly. Then I spent more time reading Impersonate, which clearly does not allow a creature attack undetected or remain hidden after attacking.
I read Infestation Aura and it does not allow the creature to remain hidden or undetected while attacking. It allows the creature to manifest eyes and mouths providing very specific attack and defensive capabilities clearly spelled out in the rules.
I am not giving it what is not there even if it intuitively seems to work that way. Pure reading of the rules is that Impersonate does not allow it to attack even when manifesting eyes and mouths without being detected.
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Yeah, I don't see the need to Seek if there's line of sight.
It's not hidden so you do see it. It looks like a rock. Once combat begins it looks like a rock that's doing things. Even if one argues it can remain as still as a rock while engaged in combat & defending itself (I disagree), it still has to roll Deception every time it interacts with someone.
The main trouble is if it learns about you when you don't have line of sight. Yet it'd still be in combat and it has poor Stealth so IMO you could track it down if it's nearby.
Yes, that's the barest interpretation of its powers, yet why would I give it that extra nudge that puts it into broken territory?
It's not a trick question, Zapp. It's legitimate. You assuming there's no answer is an issue though, perhaps causing you not to question. You giving Impersonate the ability to mask all combat involvement is where I see a houserule.
Creatures in combat, even if using (perhaps in this case) passive offensive abilities, do have to take defensive ones. At minimum, that's what keeps them from being flat-footed. With a +4 Dex creature, which the Grikkitog is, defenses would also include evading to the degree of an elite athlete.
Then there's Impersonate & Implant Core. The Implant Core action gives one free Impersonate which automatically succeeds. The description uses the singular tied to taking this action so future Impersonate attempts are not automatic (unless using Implant Core again). With Impersonate, each time a creature directly interacts with another, they have to make the check again.
I'd say using an attack action against an enemy qualifies, though I could accept somebody ruling it's too indirect. That's interpretation of rules, not a pair of houserules.
The other aspects are also matters of interpretation.
Are auras (the active kind that don't require Detect abilities) visible or not? Unknown.
In media, auras can be portrayed either way and the rules don't specify.
What are the visuals involved in making jaws attack via Infestation Aura? Unknown.
But it is the Grikkitog making the attacks, not the Grikkitog commanding the earth to attack. Though it's flavored the latter way, that still wouldn't assert the Grikkitog's motionless when doing so. Yet the phrasing has it anyway as the Grikkitog Striking, as in it's making an attack action. That's active enough IMO to reveal the creature, even if it keeps looking like a stone that does these things, even if via an external conduit.
Take for example a creature w/ a Reaction when attacked, or Free Action like the Mu Spore. If within range, the Grikkitog provokes those even if attacking from a different direction via Infestation Aura. (While there could be a side argument over whether it'd provoke, the Grikkitog is visible & detectable and would be taking the provoking action, so unless one gives Impersonate an ability to mask that action (which is going too far IMO) then there's some clue provoking the Reactions.)
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Another way to flip this is what if PCs started imitating rocks?
Would they have near invisibility? Would they gain so much leeway as some are giving the Grikkitog? Hope not.
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I have to side with Zapp here, this creature breaks a half dozen norms of monster and game design in general, and due to all the things it has in its wheelhouse, it punches way WAY above its weight-class because of that.
In terms of advice, I would give for people who actually use the creature is that they indicate that the use of the Attack can only EVER be used if it's fully surfaced and within Line of Sight of their target and whenever they use their Attack they are prohibited from any voluntary movement until the beginning of their next turn because otherwise this thing ends up being the ULTIMATE master of Guerilla Warfare and is nigh-invincible since it can do the following even IF you rule that their attacks reveal them as creatures and their precise location:
Turn 1) Implant
Turn 2) Strike, Strike, Free Action release Implant Core, Earth Glide into the stone
Turn 3) Earth Glide 3x to a new unseen location adjacent to the surface
Turn 4) See steps 1-3, rinse/repeat until all PCs are dead or flee.
Another way to flip this is what if PCs started imitating rocks?
The trouble with this question is most PCs don't have any sort of analogous ability.
The grikkitog perfectly imitates rock and nobody is able to spot it. Then, on the other side of the room, or perhaps in a different room altogether, a mouth pops out of the ground to attack someone and now everyone in the area knows precisely where the grikkitog is.
I know you're arguing that that's RAW, but I think it's also easy to see why that's deeply unintuitive and not a particularly obvious interpretation, even if we concede your assertion.
Another way to flip this is what if PCs started imitating rocks?The trouble with this question is most PCs don't have any sort of analogous ability.
The grikkitog perfectly imitates rock and nobody is able to spot it. Then, on the other side of the room, or perhaps in a different room altogether, a mouth pops out of the ground to attack someone and now everyone in the area knows precisely where the grikkitog is.
I know you're arguing that that's RAW, but I think it's also easy to see why that's deeply unintuitive and not a particularly obvious interpretation, even if we concede your assertion.
Actually I wouldn't argue PCs would know about a Grikkitog's position if it's out of line-of-sight (nor do I indulge in RAW idolatry). This situation would be similar to an archer who could see through a barrier the party can't, and launch their arrows from different directions. Brutal.
I think setting the monster up in such a scenario would increase the encounter level dramatically (and w/ the archer too), especially if the connection to the PCs' area was effectively nonexistent. Perhaps there's a tiny airshaft to listen through to know to activate the eyes. Wouldn't necessarily want visible eyes until several victims are in the room.I do not know what a party would/could do to combat such a creature in such a venue, so wouldn't set it up in such a way. I'd make sure to preface any such encounter with reasons for the Grikkitog not to fight in such a way because they typically could with a bit of shuffling. Even the AP Grikkitog(s) could retreat to a nearby room and do this very thing given their decent Int and superb Wisdom. Whoopsies.
I think the need for the creature to be exposed to the air is an indicator it's not really supposed to be completely hidden, even though there are ample other ways for it to be so. It's either poorly written or needs a sidebar explanation or perhaps needs the eyes/mouths to be attackable (though that'd likely make the monster too easy).
Another way to flip this is what if PCs started imitating rocks?The trouble with this question is most PCs don't have any sort of analogous ability.
The grikkitog perfectly imitates rock and nobody is able to spot it. Then, on the other side of the room, or perhaps in a different room altogether, a mouth pops out of the ground to attack someone and now everyone in the area knows precisely where the grikkitog is.
I know you're arguing that that's RAW, but I think it's also easy to see why that's deeply unintuitive and not a particularly obvious interpretation, even if we concede your assertion.
I agree with this. I ran it as 4th level invisibility the first time I ran it.
I spent more time reading the rules and thinking, "Am I giving this creature abilities not spelled out in the rules?" I decided I am.
So I thought about how this works mechanically:
1. The creature does not remain Implanted all the time. It implants as need in a hunting area.
2. It does not say the creature keeps it core mouth and eyes shut when it attacks. It starts attacking throughout the aura. You can easily see this as the core coming to life and suddenly everything around the core coming to life.
Once you read on the Impersonate rules and think about what this might look like in game, you can see what happening a little better versus the intuitive idea that the core somehow stays inert and hidden when the creature becomes active within its infestation aura. Nothing in infestation aura indicates the monster stays hidden once it starts attacking.
Even playing it this way, the creature is still powerful and interesting.
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c) Or you've been wrong. Maybe the dev thought a rock taking Attack actions would become obvious to those with line of sight...
...and mistook the requirement for the Grikkitog to be exposed to the surface to work its aura for it needing to reveal itself; maybe didn't realize the workarounds of it being exposed to a completely hidden or separate surface. I think that's the biggest gaff, not Implant Core & the superior Impersonation ability, but the way Infestation Aura lets them attack indirectly from impregnable positions.
Heck, the dev(s) may have a whole different anime-style visual narrative w/ lots of effects that betray the beast once it begins attacking.
Trouble is, nobody knows and Impersonate lacks the development that Stealth has. Why does the Grikkitog use Impersonate to look like a rock when other creatures (i.e. Ropers) use Stealth to do the same?
Did the dev intend for the Grikkitog (if even within line-of-sight) to need to roll Impersonate every time it attacks/interacts w/ PCs?
And Impersonate provokes AoOs, another oddity in the mix.
Grikkitogs are in two APs, so it must have some appeal to the devs beyond sadism (I'd hope.) Haven't any of the Paizo personnel run these beasts somewhere? Though technically unofficial, has anybody tossed the question at James Jacobs on his thread?
Maybe the dev thought a rock taking Attack actions would become obvious to those with line of sight...
This is likely true, as it's baked into the successful result of the Impersonate action: "You might have to attempt a new check if your behavior changes." This means GMs who think it is too tough can roll a new check for the grikkitog when appropriate, fully supported by the rules. GMs who think it is fine or want the creature to be more dangerous can opt not to, and also be fully supported by the rules. As long as the GM is consistent in their ruling then either way is fine and differences are simply table variation. I for one am going to consider the grikkitog attacking to be a behavior change and have it make a new check if any PC is within line of sight.
Success You trick the creature into thinking you’re the person you’re disguised as. You might have to attempt a new check if your behavior changes.
Failure The creature can tell you’re not who you claim to be.
Critical Failure The creature can tell you’re not who you claim to be, and it recognizes you if it would know you without a disguise.
Without some successful Recall Knowledge checks, my party is going to be SO screwed!
They will simply have no idea what it is they are fighting and will likely waste numerous rounds attacking the eyes and mouths, never realizing they even need to be making Perception checks. They will most likely perceive it as a burrowing monster using hit and run tactics against them.
There are so many problems with the way this monster is presented that it is alarming.
Again, attacking eyes and mouths probably works as written.