The sphinx (game writeup) by Strega

The sphinx, for if he has a name he's not saying, is a magically altered androsphinx who disposes of intruders in the dungeons below the ruined Castle Greyhawk. Since the castle has been on-and-off deserted for over 400 years and the sphinx maintains that he has been there since it was constructed, it can be assumed that is immortal or nearly so. (One theory is that he does not age as long as he remains in his chamber, and since he rarely if ever leaves it...)

As long as the sphinx remains in his chamber he has +16 to Spot and Listen checks (the statues watch for intruders as well). The Damage Reduction and immunities above only apply when he is in his chamber, as they are powered by the room's magics.

The sphinx speaks Common, Elvish, Dwarfish, Goblin, Orcish, Giant, Draconian, and half a dozen other languages he doesn't get to use often (At the DM's discretion these languages will be of creatures or races that live in the local area.) He can understand (but not 'speak') thiefish sign language due to 'talking' with many thieves before eating them.

Combat: If the sphinx charges an opponent he can can follow with a full attack, including both rake attacks, thanks to his Pounce ability. He will priortize Disarming an armed opponent and gets +4 on opposed rolls to disarm Medium sized opponents and +8 to disarm Small ones. Unarmed opponents are prime sphinx food (see below).

Besides swipes with his formidable claws and a powerful bite, the sphinx is capable of swallowing prey whole. If he hits an opponent with a bite attack he can then start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. At the start of the next round he can attempt to swallow a grappled man-sized or smaller opponent by making another successful grapple check. Should he succeed, he can then attempt to bite a different opponent in the same round thanks to his Cleave feat.

If he elects not to swallow grappled prey he can use two Rake attacks with his rear claws instead, in addition to biting damage and attacking with both front claws in the same round.

Size Large prey can also be swallowed, but it takes the sphinx three successful Grapple checks, each of which is a full round action due to the effort involved. The first engulfs roughly the first third, the second the middle, and the third sends the rest down into his stomach. Should the victim win a Grapple check he correspondingly disgorges one-third of his victim, or loses his grip if he has not yet begun to swallow. It is possible for the swallowing attempt to go on for some time as Large prey are partially swallowed and then partially escape.

The sphinx can eat a total weight of prey equal to his own weight in one sitting, though if he eats more than a quarter his body weight it will impede his ability to fight (-4 to attack rolls if he is between 25% and 50% of his body weight in food, -8 if from 50% to 100%). He can regurgitate swallowed Medium-sized prey at will, as a standard action (uses up an attack). Large prey take as long to cough up as they did to swallow, so it behooves him to not swallow such a meal if he will have to fight afterward.

Once a victim is entirely in the stomach it suffers 2d6+10 crushing damage and 2d6 acid damage per round until dead. A swallowed victim can attack the sphinx from within with a light slashing or piercing weapon to do 25 points of damage (vs. AC 20), which will provoke the sphinx to regurgitate his meal. (Damage reduction does apply versus such attacks.) He makes every effort to not swallow dangerous meals; typically the sphinx will disarm or, if all else fails, kill the opponent before swallowing.

It takes the sphinx about half a day to full digest a Medium-sized creature or up to a week or more to digest a Large one (about 2 days per 1,000 pounds of prey). Multiple Medium-sized creatures are digested twice as fast as the equivalent total weight of Large creature.

When pressed or when confronted with multiple opponents the sphinx will Roar. He can do this three times per day, with the following effects on everyone in the room:

The first time he roars, everyone in the room must succeed in a DC 21 Fortitude save or suffer the effects of a Fear spell for 2d6 rounds.

If the sphinx roars a second time during the same encounter, all creatures in the room must succeed on a DC 21 Fortitude Save or be paralyzed for 1d4 rounds, and they will be deafened for 2d6 rounds (no save).

If it roars a third time during the same encounter, all those in the room must succeed on a DC 21 Fortitude save or take 2d4 points of Strength damage for 2d4 rounds. In addition, any Medium or smaller creature within 90 feet must succeed on a DC 21 Fortitude save or be thrown to the ground and take 2d8 points of damage.

The force of this last roar is so great that it deals 50 points of damage to any stone or crystalline object within 90 feet. Magic items and held or carried items can avoid damage with a DC 21 reflex save. Other androsphinxes are immune to these effects. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Appearance: The sphinx resembles an anthrosphinx, with a large lion body and feathery wings similar to a hawk's. Unlike typical androsphinxes his face is entirely leonine, instead of a mix of human and lion. His mane covers his nape and shoulders, and extends some distance between his wings and in a strip to roughly the bottom of his ribcage. He stands well over six feet tall at the shoulder, not counting mane, and his weight is estimated at rougly 5,000 pounds. His wings would more than span the width of the chamber if unfurled, so naturally he cannot fly in the room.

Personality: The sphinx is a guardian first and foremost and normally kills and eats (not necessarily in that order) intruders who are deposited in his chamber. Anyone who falls into one of the many traps -- pit traps and Teleport traps, at least, both send people to his chamber -- falls under his purview as guardian and will be eaten unless he decides for some reason not to do so. On the other hand, those entering his room of their own violition find him more sociable. The only known way to enter without triggering his guardian instinct is to come in via the secret passage and through the portcullis (see below). Even other monsters trigger his aggression if they enter via one of the traps.

The sphinx was originally bound to kill and eat everyone who entered via the traps, barring inedible or unsavory prey, but since it has been several centuries since he last received orders on the subject he has decided that he has a certain latitude when it comes to "punishing" intruders. These days a female, or rarely a male, of nearly any species may be given an ultimatum: come willingly to the sphinx's bed for a night, and he will lift the gate and let them leave.

At least two females have accepted this offer and have reported that while he is rather better endowed than a man, and equipped with feline barbs on his member, it is not impossible to couple with him -- merely unpleasant. It is not known whether he is always trustworthy; he may, or may not, sometimes eat people who he has said he will free. He is not known to rape people, unless you count "Have sex with me or I eat you" as rape, but once again, perhaps he does so and then eats his victim. Digestion can cover up a multitude of sins.

He does not have to swallow his prey whole, as he has a fully functional set of teeth, but it keeps his room from becoming painted with dried blood. He is able to digest bones and leather, but probably not metal or stone. He has not been observed to swallow an armored opponent, but it is suspected he disgorges large indigestibles in owl-like pellets the way some other predators do.

When idle for more than a day the sphinx will sit down in a vacant spot in the line of lion statues and go into a sort of stasis. Dust will magically gather on his pelt and soon he will resemble just another statue. He can remain in this state for hours, days, years, or however long he wishes. Though this may be a form of sleep he is still aware of intruders and will revive within 1-3 rounds of any such arriving. He shows no ill effects from his extended lonely life and barring occasional sexual trysts with intruders he seems perfectly content to remain alone.

The sphinx's chamber: This is a gray stone room some 40' wide and 120' long. Statues line the long walls, animal-headed humans interspersed with seated winged lions of various sizes. The ceiling is some 12' high at the edges of the room and 20' at the middle, with a few inconspicuous air vents no more than 6" wide. The sphinx can reach any point of the ceiling by either rearing up (near the walls) or leaping upward.

At one end of the room is a 10' wide portcullis of thick, interlocking iron bars, again with openings no more than 6" wide. There is a single grating in the floor, some 3' wide, and the entire flood slopes subtly so that any liquids will eventually depart by this route.

The grating, which serves the sphinx as a toilet, leads to a narrow shaft, at the bottom of which is a trapped Gelatinous Cube that survives on the cat's droppings. Presumably it, too, is immortal, or is replaced somehow when it dies.

Numerous pit traps in the ruins above deposit people in this room, as do Teleport traps and perhaps still other traps. Entering through any of these means triggers the sphinx's guardian instinct, which usually results in the intruder being eaten. Entering via the portcullis, on the other hand, does not trigger aggression. The portcullis leads to a secret exit from the ruins. It is suspected that this passage is heavily trapped and that the sphinx will somehow trigger the traps if attacked from this direction. Lifting the portcullis requires a difficulty 50 Strength check, on which up to three human-sized characters can combine their efforts. (1d20 + total Strength, 50+ total to lift). Due to long experience with the door the sphinx can always "take 20" and automatically lift the portcullis in 1 round.

The sphinx's chamber was ritually enchanted and contains a strong magical damping field which has several effects:

There is a Dimensional Lock spell covering the entire room. No form of extradimensional travel will work in or out of the room save the existing Teleport traps, and these only allow entry, not exit.

The damping field also stifles any attempt to damage the room or create anything in it. Cloudkill, Stone to Flesh, Disintegrate, magical Walls, and Polymorph, among otther spells, automatically fail when cast on the walls, portcullis, or the statues.

Use of any other spell or spell-like power in the room fails unless the caster or casting device succeeds in a SR 35 spell resistance check. This blocks even innate powers such as shape-changing: a werewolf in wolf form who entered the room would be stuck that way barring a successful roll to overcome the SR. As a result of this the sphinx, who could otherwise cast a certain number of priest spells, is magically powerless. He could not overcome the SR even with a roll of 20.

Magical devices with a passive effect, such as magical weapons or Protection rings, operate normally, but those that use charges or project an effect (such as a Wand of Fireballs) must overcome the room's SR to operate

It is suspected that some sort of minion creature or construct enters the sphinx's room from time to time to tidy up and remove any accumulated loot. What form this minion takes and what it does with the loot accumulated by the sphinx is not known.

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