Recently we introduced all you wonderful people to the horrors of the abolita, an elderly aboleth whose goal is to nurture young aboleths and strengthen the power of the brood. We came up with the idea of this horrible psychic badass during an episode of the Help Action podcast and shortly after I gave you all the stats you need to bring them to life in your games. On the show, and in their background information, I mentioned the little ones that they care for and whom we have dubbed as abolittles. Now you can raise your very own cute little nightmare fish monster in your games with not just one, but three new statblocks for you to use! I give you the Abolittle, Abolittle Respawn, and the Swarm of Abolittles.
Table of Contents
Abolittle
Spawn of Evil
An abolittle is an aboleth spawn that is born from the natural coupling of two adult aboleths looking to expand the brood. Aboleths are usually too focused on their business of torturing minds and trying to conquer civilizations to feel compelled to do so more than a couple of times throughout their entire existence, but when they do it is out of a primal need to grow their numbers and not out of emotional attachment. In fact, once the brood has been laid most aboleths abandon their eggs to get back to their plans of domination. When aboleths procreate they lay a clutch of around 4-6 soccer ball-sized eggs that they usually hide in some deep dark crevice somewhere, unless they are aware of an abolita’s lair that they can leave them with. Aboleth eggs take anywhere from two to three months to hatch at which point the abolittles begin to look for food and weak minds they can dominate to help them survive.Â
Abolittles look very much like their full-grown counterparts but are a bit more spindly and gangly in comparison. They are spry and much more dexterous than older aboleths which is necessary to them surviving on their own until their powers develop. Abolittles grow and mature very quickly taking only about 4 years to reach their full size. The time this process takes can be reduced if an abolittle is nurtured and cared for by an abolita.
Fearsome Fish
Though they are small in size they don’t stay small for long and a run-in with an abolittle should not be taken lightly. They may lack the fierce strength of their elders but they are still an aboleth and are wiser than most creatures at such young ages and have the ability to force a creature to bend to its will. If you can avoid falling under their control, a lone abolittle can be dealt with quite easily if outnumbered but encountering them in groups should be avoided if in any way possible. In either regard, take extreme caution when running into an abolittle of any kind and pray that there isn’t an abolita lurking somewhere nearby.
Abolittle Respawn
An abolittle respawn is an aboleth spawn that is created in the Elemental Plane of Water as a reincarnation of an aboleth that has died. When an aboleth is killed, their soul is transported back to the Elemental Plane of Water where it takes days or even weeks to reform a new body. When it is done, the soul is reborn as an abolittle that retains all of its memories from its previous lives. Carrying with them their wealth of experiences makes an abolittle respawn much smarter, and deadlier than a normal abolittle. A respawn’s body grows and matures at the same rate as an abolittle but because of their retained memories, unless they are under the guidance and direction of an abolita a respawn may grow restless and too ambitious for its own good and set out to retake its place in the world. This same drive makes them feel superior to any other abolittle regardless of the previous lives they may have lived. This causes them to prefer working alone and keeps them from joining in swarms.
Swarm of Abolittles
Creatures with a strong will can usually fend off a lone abolittle without much difficulty, especially when working together as a team. However, one should always avoid groups of abolittles at any cost. Even a team of skilled, level-headed fighters can fall prey to the ferocity of an abolittle swarm. Attacking in numbers makes abolittles much more deadly and the psychic onslaught caused by them focusing on a single target can force the most stable of minds to go mad under their pressure. If you are unlucky enough to stumble upon a few abolittles, it’s best to turn away and avoid them, besides, groups of abolittles usually mean an abolita isn’t too far away.
I hope you enjoy using these new aboleths in your games and would love to hear your feedback! If you want to listen to the episode that spawned the ideas for these little baddies you can do so by clicking this link!
