Yaggol

Yaggol are a degenerate offshoot of the dreaded mind reavers. 'Degenerate' here does not mean more depraved, since mind reavers could hardly be more so; the yaggol have slid backward culturally, and their once fearsome mental powers have withered and been forgotten.

They look almost exactly like their kin but stand about seven feet tall and are physically stronger, with the same evil octopus-like head and four long tentacles hiding the mouth. Their skin shifts like a chameleon's to match their surroundings, from vivid green to scarlet-orange through many shades of brown, green and yellow. Each hand has three oddly jointed fingers, any of which can oppose the other two. Elders wear long robes, while the young often wear only loincloths.

Less intelligent than their ancestors, yaggol are still cunning and deadly. Hidden against any natural backdrop within their color range they are almost invisible: elves have a 50% chance to spot them and others 20%, and only within 30 feet. Undetected yaggol automatically gain surprise.

In melee a yaggol pounds with its fists and lashes with its tentacles. Like a mind reaver's, a tentacle that connects worms its way to the brain in 1d4 rounds, then sucks it out and devours it, and each attached tentacle deals 1d6 points per round automatically. A victim can break free with a Strength check, taking 1d10 points for every tentacle torn loose.

They have no innate spells left, only a crude mind blast affecting everyone within 10 feet. Everyone caught takes 3d6 damage from searing mental pain unless they save vs. wand; other yaggol and mind reavers are immune. The effort is exhausting: the creature must wait an hour to use it again and is dazed and unable to act on the following round.

Savage but not suicidal, yaggol abandon losing fights, even leaving their own behind. When possible they take captives to eat later; otherwise they kill as many as they can to stock the tribe's larder.

They descend from the mind reavers, a race from the dark, cold depths of the stars. Their garbled legends say they once lived among the stars and were cast down for offending some great power; more likely they are the remnants of a failed colony wrecked by the great cataclysm. They speak their own language and whatever tongue is local. Once lovers of darkness, they have adapted to the surface but cling to the warm, humid gloom of the jungle and never leave it.

Yaggol live no more than 60 years, the first five as tadpoles, when famine may lead their elders to eat them. High birth rates make up for the losses. The race is asexual, and its members casually call themselves both he and she, not grasping any difference between the words.