Magma Silt Horror

The magma horror is blood red, darkening to black toward the top of its head, with eight tentacles up to 25 feet long. It has no eyes and relies on psionics to perceive prey.

Unlike its cousins, it is highly intelligent and a formidable psionicist, commanding life detection, synaptic static, psionic crush, mind thrust, contact, mind link, hear light, danger sense, and clairvoyance. It waits in magma pools, hot springs, fumaroles, or geysers, periodically scanning with clairvoyance and life detection. When it finds something big enough to eat, it opens contact, then uses mind link and send thoughts to persuade the target to come closer.

Once prey is in range it lashes out with all eight arms. When its roll beats the needed number by at least four, it ensnares the victim, who takes 1d8 extra damage each round with 1d4 limbs pinned uselessly as the horror heaves them toward the molten rock or scalding water. Passing an Open Doors roll lets the victim stay put; one dragged in suffers whatever heat damage applies.

Escape requires severing the tentacle, which takes 8 points of damage. Any attack that misses the tentacle must be rerolled against the trapped creature to see if it hits them instead.

If it is losing, or about to lose more than half its tentacles, the horror releases a steam jet: anyone within 90 feet who fails a save vs. breath weapon is swallowed in a harmless cloud that blocks normal sight and infravision while it gets away. It is immune to fire and heat but takes double damage from cold.

Magma horrors live in volcanic regions and are solitary, coming together rarely to mate and separating right afterward. One may shift between a geyser, a hot spring, and a lava flow within its domain, but never leaves familiar ground.

Like every horror it is always starving and seizes any chance to eat. Going more than six weeks without a meal makes it start to weaken, which can be hard in places few creatures visit.