Eloko

Crocodile monkey guardian of the jungle. A small fey.

Have you ever felt the fear of being alone in the jungle? This hairless chimp-like creature with an unhinged crocodile jaw embodies that. Plants grow on it.

Slow-building dread, Patient malevolence, Unexpected strength.


 
HD: 2 Armor: none
Hit it: normal Dodge it: normal
Move: normal, swim & climb normal  

It resists mundane weapons and spells (because it’s a fairy). It can bully plants, see in the dark, and hold its breath 30 minutes. Also, as a imaginary creature, willpower must be used for attack rolls against it instead of dexterity.

However, if it touches cold iron, it loses all these abilities and spells for a round. Additionally, biloko (the plural of eloko) can see in the dark and hold their breath for 30 minutes.

Attacks (1/round)

Violent Clubbing The eloko makes a melee attack (1D6).

Bell Chime The eloko charms someone using the sound of its magical bell. A charmed target sees the eloko as a lost child. Only one person can be charmed at a time.

Swallow The eloko makes a grapple attack against a human-sized or smaller target. On success, the target is swallowed and takes 1D6 acid damage at the start of each of its turn. An Eloko can swallow one person at a time.


Random Encounter
  1. Monster: 1 eloko.
  2. Lair: A rotten, hollow tree with dried fruit bells hanging from it. A human can squeeze in it and discover it is very comfortable and smells like wet bark. There are always two exits to an eloko tree, whether through a tunnel or a different hole in the tree; one exit leads to night time, while the other is day time.
      OR
    Omen: You hear the ringing of a small bell.
  3. Spoor: The abandoned camp of somebody travelling alone with fresh blood everywhere and no signs of struggle.
  4. Tracks: Crude bone chimes in the general direction of a river or water.
  5. Trace: [Rumour] A local folk tale warning against going alone in the woods.
  6. Trace: [Rumour] A strange fetish, protecting against the effect of the eloko bell.
D6 What the Monster Wants
  1. Make people fearful of strangers.
  2. Find a surrogate parent, and eat it.
  3. Make a friend, kill their friend’s friends.
  4. Ensure that no one is out during the day.
  5. Ensure that no one is out during the night.
  6. Make sure that everybody is alone.
Salvaging the Body

You …(Roll as many times as the HD of the monster)

  1. Nothing.
  2. A fish / bone / wood club.
  3. An intact hunting tool.
  4. Wooden jewellery offered by the locals at a shrine.
  5. A protective amulet from a devoured hunter.
  6. An intact eloko bell.

Conversing with heads collected by a donestre might give a wizard the inspiration to create a spell with the word bell.

Eloko Bell. Can be used to cast charm person, and the target sees you as a small child. Each time you use the bell, roll a D10, on a roll of 1, you are sucked into the fairy dimension of the bell and somebody else who is trapped there is released.


DM Notes

The eloko is a central African monster that preys on people that carelessly go into the jungle. Richard J. Leblanc Jr’s adaptation in the Creature Compendium is what inspired me. He had split them into two non-magical variants, but I chose to make them more fairy-like and unique. — SaltyGoo

Written on November 14, 2020