TEXT: SHANTAK AND Y’GOLONAC
  A Call of Cthulhu d20 Roleplaying Game web enhancement
  — By John D. Rateliff and Bruce R. Cordell
  H
  ere’s a surprise for fans of the Mythos… a bonus web enhancement
  from “the cutting room floor” of the Call of Cthulhu d20 Roleplay-
  ing Game. The shantak monster and the Great Old One Y’golonac
  both were cut from the book late in the production process due to lack of
  space. Now they live again online in this exclusive web enhancement
  from 
  the 
  official 
  Call 
  of 
  Cthulhu
  d20 
  website:
  www.wizards.com/callofcthulhu.
  SHANTAK
  Huge Magical Beast (Lesser
  Servitor Race)
  Hit Dice: 8d10+40 (84 hp)
  Initiative: +5 (+1 Dex, +4
  Improved Initiative)
  Speed: 30 ft., fly 180 ft.
  (average)
  Armor Class: 16 (+1 Dex,
  –2 size, +7 natural)
  Attacks: Bite +14 melee, 2
  wing buffets +9 melee, tail
  slap +9 melee
  Damage: Bite 2d6+8, wing
  buffet 1d6+4, tail slap
  1d6+12
  Face/Reach: 10 ft. by 15 ft./15
  ft.
  Special Qualities: Damage
  reduction 20/+1, dimensional
  travel, immune to vacuum,
  low-light vision, darkvision
  60 ft.
  Saves: Fort +11, Ref +7, Will +2
  Abilities: Str 26, Dex 13, Con 20,
  Int 4, Wis 11, Cha 10
  Skills: Listen +5, Spot +2,
  Wilderness Lore +5
  1
  CALL OF CTHULHU – SHANTAK AND Y’GOLONAK
  Feats: Improved Initiative,
  Power Attack
  Climate/Terrain: Any 
  Advancement: 9–16 HD (Huge);
  17–32 HD (Gargantuan)
  CR: 5
  Sanity Loss: 0/1d6
  Not any birds or bats known
  elsewhere on earth . . . for
  they were larger than ele-
  phants and had heads like a
  horse’s . . . . The Shantak-
  bird has scales instead of
  feathers and those scales
  are very slippery.
  —H.P. Lovecraft, The
  Dream-Quest of
  Unknown Kadath
  Shantaks are massive, ele-
  phantine beasts that serve as
  aerial mounts for the Great
  Old Ones. A shantak’s
  horselike head is attached
  by a sinuous neck to a
  grotesque body that shares equal
  shrift with bird and bat. Shantaks
  brood in cavernous holes, and their
  wings are encrusted with rime.
  Shantaks hold an extreme if unreasonable fear
  of nightgaunts and always retreat from them. Shan-
  taks can fly through space, and have been known to
  carry an unwary rider straight to the throne of Azathoth.
  Shantaks do not speak, though they understand the
  commands of their riders no matter what the language.
  ADDITIONAL CREDITS
  Editing and Typesetting: SUE W. COOK
  Editorial Assistance: PENNY WILLIAMS
  Web Production: JULIA MARTIN
  Web Development: MARK JINDRA
  Creative Director: CHRISTOPHER PERKINS
  Art Director: DAWN MURIN
  Graphic Design: ROBERT CAMPBELL
  Call of Cthulhu d20 RPG Design: MONTE COOK
  and JOHN TYNES, based on the work 
  of LYNN WILLIS and SANDY PETERSON
  Inspired by: H. P. LOVECRAFT
  Visit our website at www.wizards.com/callofcthulhu
  This WIZARDS OF THE COAST® game product contains no Open Game
  Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without
  written permission. To learn more about the Open Gaming License and
  the d20 System License, please visit <www.wizards.com/d20>.
  This d20 System game utilizes mechanics developed for the new
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip
  Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison.
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D,  Forgotten Realms, the d20 system logo, and the
  WIZARDS OF THE COAST logo are registered trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast,
  Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All Wizards characters, character names, and the  distinctive
  likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by WIZARDS OF THECOAST, INC.
  CALL OF CTHULHU is a registered trademark of Chaosium Inc. 
  Chaosium Game Mechanic ©2002 Chaosium Inc. 
  This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America.
  Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is
  prohibited without the express written permission of WIZARDS OF THE COAST, Inc.
  This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations,
  places, or events is purely coincidental.
  ©2002 WIZARDS OF THE COAST, Inc. All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A.
  EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS
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  SCENARIO INQUIRIES:
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  (Questions?) 1-800-324-6496
  
  COMBAT
  A shantak attacks with a bite, a
  pair of wing buffets, and a tail slap
  when commanded by a rider—oth-
  erwise, the creature generally avoids
  conflict. A shantak’s tail can only
  strike targets in a 15-foot-diameter
  semicircle centered on the creature’s
  rear.
  Dimensional Travel (Su): A shantak
  moves at its normal speed in atmosphere.
  In the vacuum of space, a shantak can use
  a form of dimensional travel to transport
  itself and its rider(s) up to 5 light-years as
  a single move action.
  Immune to Vacuum (Ex): Shantaks
  suffer no ill effects in the vacuum of space.
  They do not confer this immunity upon their
  riders, however.
  Y’GOLONAC
  Gargantuan Great Old One (Demigod) 
  Domain: Destruction
  Hit Dice: 20d12+147 (277 hp)
  Initiative: +4 (Improved Initiative)
  Speed: 80 ft.
  AC: 20 (+20 base, +1 god, –1 size, +0 Dex)
  Attacks: 2 hand-mouths +31 melee, 1 groin-bite +31
  melee 
  Damage: Hand-mouth 2d6+11, groin-bite 3d6+11
  Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./10 ft.
  Special Attacks: Blood drain
  Special Qualities: Divine quali-
  ties, damage resistance 36/+4,
  SR 33, possess mortal, blind-
  sight
  Saves: Fort +20, Ref +13,
  Will +21
  Abilities: Str 32, Dex 10, Con 25,
  Int 20, Wis 26, Cha 30
  Skills: Balance +24, Climb +35,
  Cthulhu Mythos +29,
  Hide +23, Jump +35,
  Listen +32, Move Silently
  +24, Search +20, Spot +32,
  Swim +35 
  Feats: Improved Initiative,
  Power Attack, Cleave
  Climate: Any
  Organization: Unique
  Challenge Rating: 19
  Treasure: None
  Alignment: Chaotic Evil
  Advancement: None
  Sanity Loss: 1/1d10+1 to see
  Y’golonac’s avatar, 1/1d20 to
  witness transformation,
  1d10/1d100 to experience
  possession.
  CALL OF CTHULHU – SHANTAK AND Y’GOLONAK
  2
  “He saw why the shadow on the frosted pane yesterday had been
  headless, and he screamed. As the desk was thrust aside by the tow-
  ering naked figure, on whose surface still hung rags of the tweed
  suit, [his] last thought was an unbelieving conviction that this was
  happening because he had read the Revelations . . . but before he
  could scream out his protest his breath was cut off, as the hands
  descended on his face and the wet red mouths opened in their
  palms.”
  —Ramsey Campbell, “Cold Print”
  Y’golonac’s shape is known only through the vile distortions under-
  gone by those he possesses. A character possessed by Y’golonac swells
  into a headless horror (increasing by one size category), a monster
  whose pallid, flabby flesh glows with a sickly luminescence. Even
  worse, a gaping sharp-toothed mouth opens in the palm of each hand
  of the naked figure, whereby the ravening monster may feed. Some-
  times a third mouth appears in its groin, huge and drooling and lined
  with improbably sharp teeth. The possessed character reverts to
  normal when the Great Old One withdraws. The victim should
  find new clothing, since the god’s expanding bulk shreds every-
  thing the victim wears. The victim regains consciousness naked
  and drenched in blood—Y’golonac is a messy eater.
  Y’golonac’s true form is said to be that of a gargantuan head-
  less giant imprisoned in a vast underground ruin behind a wall
  of bricks. It is possible that this is mere myth, and that he has
  no tangible existence outside those bodies he possesses. He
  can manifest at any time he likes through one he has suborned
  to his will. Many investigators have been disconcerted to see
  a maniac or cannibalistic serial killer they have cornered
  transforming into something even more inhuman and dan-
  gerous.
  Y’golonac’s mouths are clearly designed to rip flesh and
  drink blood, not exchange niceties. Therefore, he does
  not speak, although he stands and receives worship if
  sated with sacrifice—that is, if he is provided with
  someone to kill and mangle to his heart’s satisfaction.
  WORSHIP
  Y’golonac desires a large cult, but has
  thus far been unable to attract one.
  Those few misguided souls
  who do worship him either
  learned how to evoke him
  by reading the blasphemous
  Revelations of Glaaki or were inspired
  by dreams and visions.
  COMBAT
  Y’golonac always attacks foes on sight
  (or his worshipers, if they have failed to
  provide him with a sufficient sacrifice),
  never breaking off until either he has slain
  and drained his foe or the body he pos-
  sesses is dead. He never uses weapons. 
  Possess Mortal (Su): Y’golonac can
  possess any mortal who worships
  him. If the mortal resists, she must
  make a successful Will save (DC 30)
  to keep from being possessed—only
  a sane character can resist, however.
  
  Blood Drain (Ex): Y’golonac’s mouths inflict the damage listed above when
  they first bite. Thereafter, each round they automatically drain 1d3 points of
  Intelligence and 1d3 points of Wisdom. This is permanent ability drain, not
  temporary ability damage. A character whose Intelligence or Wisdom score
  reaches 0 becomes a vegetable. Thereafter, the Great Old One can possess
  that character at any time, using the body to satisfy his lust in whatever
  manner he sees fit.
  ABOUT THE AUTHORS
  Born in Watertown, S.D., Bruce R. Cordell earned a degree in Environmen-
  tal, Population, and Organismic Biology from the University of Colorado.
  While working as a Research Associate in process chemistry he learned to
  synthesize DNA, but he could not resist the call of game design. 
  In 1995, after a few years as a freelancer and designer of online text-
  generated virtual worlds (specifically, the Tolkien-inspired Elendor
  MUSH), he abandoned science for a designer position at TSR (now
  Wizards of the Coast). His many design credits include the Psionics
  Handbook, The Sunless Citadel, Heart of Nightfang Spire, the Ori-
  gins Award-winning Return to the Tomb of Horrors. He also code-
  signed the Call of Cthulhu d20 Roleplaying Game.
  Bruce lives in Seattle, Wash., with his wife Dee and their five
  cats and has just completed his first novel. Visit his website at
  <www.brucecordell.com>.
  3
  CALL OF CTHULHU – SHANTAK AND Y’GOLONAK
  A noted Tolkien scholar with a
  Ph.D. in fantasy, John D. Rateliff
  has been gaming for 20 years. He has
  worked professionally in the industry
  since 1991, mostly at TSR and Wizards
  of the Coast. 
  Editor of Night Below and Return to
  the Tomb of Horrors, and co-editor of
  the new D&D Player's Handbook and
  DUNGEON MASTER's Guide, he also
  designed Return to the Keep on the Border-
  lands, Reverse Dungeon, The Standing
  Stone, and Song and Silence. You can see his
  recent editing work in the FORGOTTEN
  REALMS® Campaign Setting, and he served as
  an editor and codesigner of the Call of
  Cthulhu d20 Roleplaying Game. 
  Don't ask him about the "catbite incident."
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Call of Cthulhu (CoC) (BRP) [multi]/Call of Cthulhu (d20)/CoC d20 - Shantak and Y'Golonac.pdf